by Leigh Landry
“I had to chaperone a field trip.” She paused again. “For my daughter.”
“Oh.”
He’d been expecting her to tell him she spent the day changing her tires or practicing her knife throwing, not hanging out with a bunch of school kids. Her kid.
Then again, she did work in the children’s department of a library. This woman had so many interesting layers to her, and despite having stripped off all her clothing the other night, he had a feeling he still had a long way to go to get to the real Natalie. Or at least to get the complete picture.
“Don’t worry, I’m not asking you to adopt us both as your new family. You can breathe again.”
He grinned. “It takes more than a kid to scare me off. How old?”
“Six.” Her face lit up with the word.
“Fun age. Where’d y’all go?”
The glow left her face. “Zoo.”
“So, like twenty-something six-year-olds?” Shane laughed. “Sounds traumatizing.”
“Kind of.” She seemed to relax a little, as she stirred her drink. “We did a head count on the bus. Came back with the same number we went there with. I don’t know if they’re the same kids, but it was the same number at least.”
“Sounds like a win to me.” He took a sip, then said, “Thanks for telling me that.” He couldn’t imagine how many times she’d probably had this reveal and how many times it had probably gone very badly.
She shrugged. “I’ve learned it’s better to be honest up front.”
“Right. Since we’re being honest…”
She stiffened and froze, still holding her straw, her defenses fully engaged.
He took a deep breath and told her the truth. “I have a cat. A kitten, actually.”
She stifled a laugh, and looked away as she shook her head. When she looked back, she raised a serious eyebrow. “A kitten, huh?”
He nodded. “I hope that isn’t an issue for you.”
“Wait, I don’t remember a cat the other night.”
“She’s tiny. I keep her in my bedroom when I’m gone, so she doesn’t get into too much trouble.”
“Good call.” She cleared her throat. “Well, thank you for being honest about that with me.”
“You’re welcome.” He raised his glass for a toast. “Here’s to tiny beings.”
She gave a small smile. It was wonderful and warm and he fucking loved it on her.
“To tiny beings and new friends.” She clinked her glass to his.
“Friends?”
“Would you prefer fuck buddies?”
The server froze and made a choking noise a couple feet away. Natalie turned to him, unfazed by his presence or his proximity to their conversation. “We’re still good,” she said coolly. He gave a quick nod and left again.
“Friends is fine,” Shane said.
Friends was decidedly not fine in Shane’s brain. But he was willing to follow her at whatever pace she was willing to take with him. The reveal about her kid should have scared him away. Hell, a week ago he’d have cut his losses long before this point. After whatever baggage she had Friday, a kid, and her obviously pushing him away or at least keeping him at a distance…none of those were good signs that this would be an uncomplicated situation.
After a disaster of a family blow-up and a couple of relationships with (unknown to him) unavailable women, he didn’t want anything but simple relationships anymore. Easy. Stress-free. Absolutely no drama.
But despite all of that, he felt comfortable around Natalie. She was easy to talk to, and their playful banter was one hell of a turn-on. For the first time in months, he felt like he could relax and have a little fun while he got to know someone. He didn’t even realize how much he’d missed that.
“So, Mr. Kitten Parent. Tell me something else about yourself. You said you play guitar?”
“You remember that?”
“Of course I do. I was pissed off, not pissed drunk. Don’t avoid the question.”
Her directness was just about the sexiest thing he’d ever come across.
Sexiest and most terrifying.
“I don’t have my guitar anymore.”
She frowned, clearly not buying his bullshit. “Did you look between the couch cushions?”
“I know where it is. I’m just not getting it back.”
She leaned back in her bar seat while she took a sip of her drink. Her lips wrapped seductively around the end of her straw. She swallowed and asked, “Why not?”
Why not? That was the big question, wasn’t it? The one he’d been avoiding for almost a year. And for some reason he didn’t quite understand yet, he was willing to answer that question for her.
“It’s at my brother’s house. We haven’t spoken in a year. Ain’t worth it.”
“Did you like playing?”
“I guess. Yeah.” Shit, that was an understatement.
“Then go get it. You don’t have to forgive or forget whatever resentment you’ve got, but if it’s yours, it’s yours. Or just buy a new one.”
He laughed. This woman was a fixer, through and through. “That easy, huh?”
“I didn’t say easy. I said do it.” She leaned her elbows on the table again, and the neckline of her shirt dangled low and loose. A second later, he felt her boot slide up the side of his calf beneath the table. “You don’t strike me as the type that’s scared to try something new.”
He pulled his leg away, as much as he liked it there. “What about you?”
“What about me? I have my guitar. And I’m not the one who’s afraid here.”
“Oh no?” he challenged. “Then what’s with all the ‘I’m not looking for a thing’ stuff?”
She narrowed her eyes. “Just because I’m not looking for something doesn’t mean I’m scared of it.”
“It doesn’t have to. But it usually does.”
“Well, it doesn’t mean anything in this case.”
It was as if someone cranked down the thermostat and thrown up a glass wall between them. “Sorry, I thought we were friends. I told you about my cat.”
She tucked a long, wavy strand of hair behind her ear and fought a smile. “Fine. I’m just busy. Work. Music. Kid. Life. I have a good life, but I don’t have time for a relationship.”
“But you have time for…fun?”
“No. But I’m making an exception this week, it seems. Consider yourself lucky.”
At that moment, he realized how right she was. He was damn lucky to have crossed paths with this woman. To realize what he’d been missing lately. What he’d shut himself off from these past several months. And hanging out with Natalie made him want to push his luck even more.
He leaned forward, rested his arms on the table, and lowered his voice. “What if I told you a relationship could be fun?”
She laughed and downed the rest of her drink. “I’d call you a liar.”
Shane loved a challenge. He especially loved a challenge he knew he could win.
“What if I could prove it?”
* * * * *
Five minutes later, they were walking down Jefferson Street, shoulder-to-shoulder, music streaming onto the walkway from bars, restaurants, galleries, and tattoo shops. Natalie held her coat tightly around her body, regretting her choice to wear a v-neck and not bring a scarf. Despite knowing just about every business downtown, she still had no idea where Shane was leading her.
Until he ducked into a set of double doors and crashing noises filled the air.
“Bowling?”
She was surprised, but not disappointed, so she entered the building while he held the door open for her. Inside, music blared over the crashing pins and bright lights illuminated the colorful geometric shapes decorating the walls. They’d decked out the whole place with purple, green, and gold streamers hanging from the ceiling and plastic beads dangling from the countertops. Tacky, but in a strange way, this place was warm and soothing, like coming home after a long trip.
“You said you wanted f
un,” Shane said. They walked up to the counter, and Shane requested a lane.
“I did,” she said. “This wasn’t exactly what I had in mind, but I like surprises.”
“Then wait to be amazed by the surprise of my expert bowling skills.”
Natalie gave her shoe size to the worker behind the counter. “Expert skills, huh?”
“Yup. Some of us give great book recommendations. Others are gifted with giant ball skills.”
She closed her eyes and shook her head. When she opened them, she took her shoes and offered to pay for the lane.
“Nope,” he said. “My surprise, my treat.”
They took their shoes and walked toward lane number eleven. Her phone buzzed in her coat pocket, and she pulled it out and smiled at the goodnight text from her ex’s number. Natalie wrote a quick reply, then put the phone away again.
“Sorry, my daughter. Just saying goodnight.”
“That’s sweet. She texts you every night when she’s away?”
“Yup. Unless I have a gig. Then I’ll text her beforehand or on a break.”
There was an awkward pause in the conversation, as they sat beside each other and removed their boots and shoes in exchange for bowling shoes. Their arms and knees brushed and bumped during the switch. The touch was both stimulating and comforting in a way that was completely unfamiliar to Natalie.
She didn’t really want to talk with him any more about her parenting schedule, and his silence hinted he wasn’t sure how to ease out of that subject either. So she took the initiative and switched gears.
“You liked my book recommendation, huh?”
“So far so good,” he said.
“You’ll have to let me know how you like the whole thing.”
“Well, you’ll have to give me your number so I can give you my final book review,” he said, securing the laces on his shoes.
Natalie laced hers as well, then stood with him to pick their balls. “Tell you what. You win, you get my number.”
He raised an eyebrow in interest. “That seems unfair.”
She crossed her arms. “Scared?”
“No, but we’ve already established my superior ball skills.”
She laughed. “I’m willing to take the risk.”
“Okay, if I win, I get your number,” he said.
“Good. And if I win,” she said, “you get my email address.”
He frowned.
She added, “You can still send your book thoughts in an email.”
“I don’t like this bet. But I like my chances.” He stuck his hand out. “Deal?”
Natalie looked at his hand for a moment. While she wasn’t even close to wanting to take a chance on a relationship, with this guy or anyone else, she did like her bowling odds here.
She reached out and shook his hand. It was warm and softer than she remembered his hands being, and she never wanted to let it go.
“Deal.”
* * * * *
An hour later, Shane was staring up at the final score, his mouth hanging open in disbelief. “You hustled me!”
“No,” Natalie said. “I never said I couldn’t bowl.”
He gestured wildly at the screen. “Yeah, but you never said you were 178 good either.”
“Eight years of summer leagues as a kid.” She shrugged. “You didn’t ask.”
She braced herself for a man-baby tantrum. Wouldn’t be the first she’d witnessed in a bowling alley after she whooped the pants off a dude. But his frustration settled into amusement and…something else.
“What?” she asked when she couldn’t figure it out.
He shook his head. “Nothing. Just amazed, that’s all.”
“That score’s nothing. Haven’t played in at least a year.”
“No, not that,” he said. “I mean, that score’s impressive, but I’m more amazed by the woman behind it.”
His eyes locked on hers, and she couldn’t manage to tear herself away from his gaze if she tried. It was weird, seeing herself in his eyes like that. Like she could do anything. Only one other person ever made her feel like that.
“This isn’t a thing,” she reminded him.
He laughed. “I remember.”
They dropped off their shoes and headed back out into the biting cold. Shane dropped an arm casually around her shoulder and brought her closer to him as they walked toward their vehicles. Natalie surprised herself by not minding the gesture one bit. In fact, she leaned into him a little.
For warmth, she told herself.
“This is my car,” she said when they approached her ten-year-old Camry.
Shane removed his arm from her shoulder, leaving her cold and longing, and handed her his phone. “I believe you owe me an email address.”
She pressed her lips together to hide her amusement. This man was as quick as he was gorgeous. “I believe you’re right.” She took the phone and added her name to his contacts. After typing for a second, she handed it back.
Shane looked down at the screen and grinned. “I believe that’s a phone number.”
“Just. A. Fling,” she reminded him.
He slipped the phone in his coat pocket, then put both hands on her hips, closing the space between them. “Just a fling.”
She met his icy-cold lips with her own and was instantly rewarded with a wave of warmth all the way down to her toes. His beard tickled her skin as he took her bottom lip between his teeth, softly and gently, then pulled away. His cheeks were red with both wind chill and the heat between them, and his eyes were filled with mischief and desire.
Natalie patted a hand against his chest, wishing there was a lot less coat and clothing between his skin and hers. “That’s enough fun for tonight.”
Another devilishly handsome grin appeared through his beard. He grabbed her hand and kissed her cold fingers. “’Til next time, then.”
He stood on the sidewalk until she got in her car and started it. After he waved and walked off toward his truck, Natalie dropped her face into her palms and shook her head.
She had no idea what she was doing with this guy. At all. It took everything she had to pull away from that kiss and not invite him back with her. Which would totally be in bounds for a fling. Wasn’t that what a fling was for?
But no. She kissed him and sent him home. After they went bowling. And laughed. And hung out like a real fucking date.
She sighed and put her car in gear. Surely she could handle this. She could keep her traitorous heart in check and enjoy herself. Because whatever this was, it was fun. Shane was fun. And damn it, she deserved a little fun.
Plenty of time to second-guess all her choices tomorrow.
Chapter 5
Shane rolled the sparkly blue pom-pom across the kitchen linoleum. A sparkly blue pom-pom he’d bought in the craft department of Wal-mart that morning. Because that was apparently a thing he did now.
A second later, a tiny orange-striped floof scrambled after the thing. It still didn’t have a name, because he was still trying to find someone to keep it permanently. He normally had a policy against bringing distressed strays home, but this kitten and Natalie had both blown that policy out of the water over the past couple weeks.
And he didn’t have an ounce of regret about either.
He couldn’t stop thinking about her. Kissing her goodnight. Watching her expertly own that lane in those tight jeans. Even sitting across from him at the bar in the Cuban place, clearly on guard and not taking once ounce of shit from him.
He was still thinking about what she’d said there, too. She got him thinking all the next day about how much he really did miss playing. How pissed he was that he didn’t have his guitar anymore. Just do it, she’d said. He wasn’t a fucking shoe. And neither was his guitar. She had no clue what she was asking him to do.
But today…today he started wondering if maybe that was the point. Maybe not knowing the situation meant she could make a lot more sense out of the past year of his life than he could.
; When his brother, Randy, and his sister-in-law, Julie, were having some trouble last year, Julie had reached out to Shane for advice. He’d met her for lunch a couple times. Reassured her that his brother was a good guy, that whatever was going on between them they could get through it. But when Randy found out they’d been spending time together, he flipped out. There was nothing Shane or Julie could do or say to reassure him. Shane had figured he’d come to his senses with time, but it had been a year and nothing.
His own brother had believed the worst about him. Then cut him off. Randy had tossed Shane aside, created a rift in their family, and moved on with his own life like it was the easiest thing in the world. Like Shane had never meant a damn thing to him in the first place.
But maybe it hadn’t been that easy or simple. Maybe Randy was hurting just as much as him from all of this.
Shane got up and opened a can of cat food while the little purr beast rubbed against his feet and screamed at him. He placed the can on the floor and went to the living room. After he grabbed his phone, he scrolled through his contacts, then let his thumb hover over his brother’s entry for a minute.
Maybe he should wait and call tomorrow while his brother was at work. He could leave a message. Better yet, he could just text him.
He could practically hear Natalie mocking him. Not that he should care what she thought. She made it clear they were just a fling. A fling shouldn’t have a say in something like this.
Yet, here he was. Calling his brother.
“Hello?”
It was weird hearing his brother’s voice after so long. Randy’s voice was soft, with a childlike quality to it. Innocent. But there was nothing innocent about him.
“Hey.”
“Shane?”
“Yeah, it’s me.” He scratched nervously at his beard. He should have put more thought into what he would say before he picked up that phone. He should have planned the words for his olive branch. But it was too late for that now. “I, uh, was calling to see if I could come pick up my guitar some time.”
Silence stretched out for what felt like hours, but was probably only a few seconds. Shane thought for a moment that his brother might have hung up on him.
“Yeah,” came his brother’s voice eventually. “Yeah, um, except…” He didn’t want Shane going to his house. Figured. That fucker. “How about I drop it off at the store?”