Interesting.
“So it’s not the beer.” Sue wished she’d ordered onion rings to go along with the beer. Onion breath would have made a nice backup barrier. “And this afternoon, you were flirting with me. You were, weren’t you? ‘Lucky fireman’ was your first shot, right?” She studied his face in the low light and wished for better interrogation tools. “It was a good one.”
“Thanks.”
His silence made the questions tumbling in her head louder, more strident. If this was a normal date, she’d coax him with small talk until he was comfortable opening up.
Was it time to face the fact that normal wasn’t working? Max needed different handling.
So she tried silence.
The music inside the Two Step drifted out occasionally, but otherwise, she could hear murmurs of quiet, secret conversation but no words. Small waves broke on the lake shore beneath the deck.
And it was nice.
She hated silence. In her experience, silence meant anger or disapproval, but with Max, silence was comfortable.
“You don’t date coworkers. That’s what I’ve heard.” Max tipped his beer up and took a drink. “But you’ll date everyone else. Why is that?”
Okay, so silence worked as a tactic, but it had no effect on improving Max’s conversation skills. “I don’t date everyone else. I like my job. That office runs with military precision. No jealous ex is going to mess that up.” She tugged on her hand again. He held it firmly again. “And there’s no law against going to dinner with a different guy every night if I want to.”
Was he judging her? He wouldn’t be the first. Sue was pretty sure the cafeteria ladies started their mornings with the latest report of who she’d been seen with. Their disapproval couldn’t be over her daily lunch of a pizza slice and a candy bar, could it? Had they seen what came out of that kitchen?
Max leaned forward to set his empty bottle on the railing.
Sue waited for him to confirm her suspicion that he thought she was too easy. Instead he propped his feet back up on the railing.
“It’s just dinner, Mom. Nothing more. Some men enjoy conversation and dinner out without all this…drama of relationships.” Why was she explaining herself to him? She didn’t even want his good opinion.
“Drama like…sex.” He snorted. “Right. They don’t want the drama.”
“I’m going to go. You are half a step from saying something that will make me angry and then working together will be difficult and this is the reason why I don’t get involved in drama with coworkers because my job is the most important thing in my life right now and any man who messed that up for me would be toast.” Sue slipped her feet back into her high heels. “I’m going in to find someone to dance with me.”
This time when she yanked, Max let go.
Being free of stone-faced Max Holt should feel better.
Go inside. Sit with the girls. Then go home.
Before she made it to the corner booth where three women were giggling loudly enough to be heard over the music, fireman Brady stepped into her path with a grin. “Is this a sign we need a do-over?”
The disgruntlement weighing her down was a bigger sign she should have kept driving past the Two Step altogether, but Sue smiled brightly. “Only if you want to dance.”
Brady held out his hand and immediately twirled her into a quick two-step in the swirling mass on the dance floor. When he wasn’t talking, she and Brady were a great match. Every cue he gave her, she picked up. The joy of moving to the music, each step perfectly placed, and losing her breath with each spin, made her wonder why she didn’t spend more time at the Two Step.
Max would never do this. Sue tried to chase the thought out of her head as she stared up at Brady. He was so handsome. The good-natured smile was about as far from Max’s alert watchfulness as could be. Why did Max give her that jittery flutter? “You’re a great dancer.” And not the right guy.
“My mother and my seventh grade PE teacher will both be glad you think so.” He squeezed her hand and guided her into promenade. “After the school lesson, my mother had a habit of turning up the radio and dragging me through the steps in the kitchen after dinner.”
“Did you know at the time it would make you a big hit with the ladies?” The thing about facing the same direction Brady did as they danced was that she could catch more of the envious glares from said ladies.
“No. I should definitely write Mom a thank-you note.” He turned her back to face him with a grimace. “I’m talking about my mother. I’ve got to get out more.”
Sue squeezed his shoulder. “It’s sweet, even if we’re confirming what we already knew.” Not the right guy.
How did she know? The instant Max walked inside the Two Step, she knew it. Nothing changed. “What Was I Thinking?” was still playing. Boots were scooting. And Brady was smiling down at her.
But the flutter that kept her on edge returned with a vengeance.
“I guess you’re right.” As the song ended, Brady lifted her hand and pressed a kiss against it.
Manners. So hot. Why didn’t his do anything for her?
“Thank you for the dance anyway.” Brady led her off the dance floor, his dejection adorable.
Sue hugged him hard. “You’ll never sleep alone unless you want, fireman, and you know it.” She gave him a gentle shove toward the group of blondes at the bar and returned his wave.
She’d had a beer. She’d danced. All that left was girls-night-out time.
“Hello, ladies,” Sue said as she slid in next to Mari Rodriguez, the school’s new choir director. “I hope you’re staying out of trouble.”
Mari bumped her shoulder. “I thought you might be getting into trouble. Where’s your dance partner? He’s hot.”
“Caught in a swarm of blondes.” Sue shrugged. “When the frenzy clears, you should definitely cast a line. Brady’s great.”
Mari’s eyebrows raised. “But…”
“We don’t have enough in common.” Sue wished for another beer. That would be her personal limit, but the heat and noise would be more bearable with cool refreshment. She glanced across to the bar and noticed Max had paused there, too.
“Hey, there’s Max,” Mari said as she waved. “He never comes over, but someday he’ll wave back.”
This night was not that night. Max tipped his chin and headed for the door.
“Until then, I’ll keep chasing him out.” Mari rolled her eyes. “The guy’s antisocial.”
She was absolutely right. He was standoffish and hard to talk to.
“Brady is definitely not antisocial.” Sue winked. “So maybe I am.” Everyone laughed like she was making the greatest joke, but Sue was beginning to think her own social skills might be a problem. “You girls be careful, get home safely.” When everyone moaned and tried to stop her from leaving, Sue shook her head and slid out of the booth. If she was lucky, she’d make it all the way to the door without another conversation. For some reason, the Two Step had gone from perfect diversion to annoying distraction.
If she had to guess, it was around the same time Max had walked out the door.
Chapter 4
Coming to the Two Step had been a mistake, especially since Jack had bailed without a phone call to let him know he’d been stood up. His impatience at being forced to wait for the end of school and the June tests had driven him out of his tiny apartment, but the temptation that had eased into the chair next to him on the deck was as unwelcome as she was impossible to ignore.
So why was he standing here under the neon sign? Just waiting.
Sue was still inside.
If he saw her leaving with the fireman, the guy who danced and made her laugh, then he’d know these crazy thoughts running around in his head about making the best of a temporary situation would stop.
He was leaving. They wouldn’t be working together. He and Sue could enjoy some time with no threat of anything getting awkward at work. Why hadn’t he made that clearer? And if he had, what
did he expect would change?
The door opened and Sue stepped out, one hand on her forehead.
She stopped to pull her keys out and the door closed behind her. No fireman. The grim satisfaction that rumbled through him was not surprising at all.
“Tell me he didn’t go for the electoral college again.”
Sue took a couple of steps closer. “No. We talked about his mother. What are you doing?”
“Waiting for you.” And celebrating the fact that the fireman had even less conversational ability than he did. “To make sure you get safely to your car.” That sounded right. Gentlemanly. Definitely not jealous.
Instead of thanking him, she spun on one heel and took off at a fast clip across the gravel parking lot. She was going to break her delicate neck in those shoes, but there was no way he was going to order her to slow down.
When the lights flashed on a vintage red convertible, Max was not surprised.
Then she crossed her arms in front of it and waited for him to come closer.
That caught him off guard. He’d been prepared for a shower of gravel.
“Where are you on all those other nights? With the other men?” she snapped.
“At home. Probably thinking about you.” At some point, he’d lost his filter. Everything that rattled around in his brain had started dribbling out of his mouth, but watching the shock on her face had not gotten old. He wondered if it ever would.
“Right.” She pursed her lips.
“And I don’t give a damn how many men you go out with,” Max said as he pressed one hand to the car’s hood for balance. “As long as you’re safe and happy, it’s nobody’s business but yours.”
Her shoulders relaxed. “I know that.” Apparently other people didn’t.
If they stood there in the shadowy darkness for much longer, he was going to make perfectly evident that he wouldn’t mind being included in the happy number of men she’d had dinner with. If he asked, he wasn’t sure she’d say yes. “Are you getting in or not?”
“Not until you tell me what’s changed.” Sue met his stare directly. The dim parking lot didn’t do much to showcase her eyes, but she licked her lips nervously when he stepped closer.
Maybe she wasn’t interested in dating him.
She was aware of him and that was a solid stroke to the old ego.
“I won’t be at Lincoln next year. That’s made me consider what might have been.” There. He’d knocked over her biggest obstacle. “I’m going back to Dallas.”
She stared at the sky again. “So, what? I should be all excited about some short-term affair?”
He would be. Why shouldn’t she?
“No, but you could do dinner. With me.” This hadn’t been in his plans for the evening. He’d intended to buy a nice woman a couple of drinks and then to take her back to his place. He’d vacuumed with that in mind.
Arguing in a parking lot had never crossed his mind.
He’d rather be facing off with Sue than trying to charm a stranger.
“This game, it’s been fun,” Max said as he eased close enough to hear the catch in her breath. “You teasing me, me resisting. Did you ever figure out what would happen if you caught me?”
Sue braced one hand against the car door. “No. Excellent game play. You’re a worthy opponent.”
Max’s rough chuckle was loud in the silence between them. “Winner chooses the spoils. You and me. Dinner.”
“Are you sure you’re the winner?” Sue pursed her lips. “Maybe we’re still playing.”
“I’m not.” Max took her hand in his, reminded of the hot thrill of holding her hand while he ran a finger under the hem of her skirt. “What’s the worst that could happen?”
“I wish I knew the answer.” Sue stepped closer, pulled his head down, and kissed him. Whenever he’d imagined a clench like this with her, it had been hot. But in the dusty gravel lot of the Two Step, she burned him alive. Her lips were sweet against his, but when he teased into her open mouth, she returned the favor. Each brush of her tongue lit a spark.
Pulling her closer was the only option. When she shifted against him, each graze of her soft stomach robbed his brain of important blood flow. The giggles of a group of women walking to their cars, none of whom he recognized, got his attention through the haze of heat.
“Where’s a fireman when you need him?” Sue whispered. “My underwear is smoking.”
Max clenched his jaw to hold back the string of curse words that bubbled inside. He knew better than to get this close to her in a bar parking lot.
When he was sure he could control the urge to put his hand to the flame again, Max stepped back. “One thing’s for sure. You’re never boring.”
Sue pressed two fingers over her lips. “One more thing. If I’d known how you kiss, that silly rule would have been broken by September.” Then she winked and slid slowly into the driver’s seat.
Max called on every bit of willpower he had to shut the door firmly.
She rolled down the window. “Dinner. You and me. I’ll think about it.”
He would have been impressed with her cool delivery except she ground the gears trying to get the car out of the parking spot.
As long as she was in control, Sue was impressively confident. When the tables turned, her vulnerability did, too. Somewhere in between was the real woman. She’d be enough to keep a man occupied for decades. Did she know that?
As long as they both forgot about the future and concentrated on enjoying life, these last few days in Lincoln could be roller-coaster fun.
He watched her jerk out of the parking lot with a satisfied smile on his face.
Chapter 5
Her Sunday mornings always started the same way—a long conversation with her mother where Sue talked about how happy she was with her life in Lincoln while her mother dropped broad hints that life in Killeen would be much better.
“Two more weeks and then I’m free for the summer.” Sue scraped cursed wallpaper with one hand and held the phone with the other.
“And you will be coming home for a visit.” The firmness in her mother’s voice was easy to hear even over the tear of ancient wallpaper.
“I’ll make a stop in Killeen, for sure.” But Fort Hood wasn’t home. She didn’t have that place that some people talked about fondly, the house she grew up in.
“Your father will be happy to see you.” If you’ll remember his rules and go for a normal ponytail and mascara. After all these years of making her own decisions, why did her mother’s tone make her feel so small?
“And you know, Mom, if you wanted to come up to Lincoln for a visit, there’s plenty of home improvement to do. Dad could bring his drill.” Rarely did they make jokes at her father’s expense, but his poor handyman skills were legend.
At least this time, she could hear a smile in her mother’s voice. “I’ll mention that to him. Things at work are pretty hectic, so I don’t know…”
Sue understood exactly what that meant. Her father trained military police, and there was always a need for military police in the hotspots of the world.
Work was always too hectic for a week’s vacation.
Even to see her new house.
Or to help her set it up.
“Sure. I plan to live here for a long time. There’s plenty of time to schedule something.” And she didn’t need help making the house beautiful. She was doing fine on her own.
When it was finished, it would be one of a kind, perfectly suited to her tastes.
“Tell Dad I said hello.” Sue waited for something different and tried not to be too disappointed when her mother answered, “I will. We love you, Susana.”
When her mother ended the call, Sue shoved the phone in the overalls bib pocket and clenched both hands tightly on the ladder.
If she was climbing, she needed both hands and all of her concentration.
Ruminating on her mother’s phone call, her father’s distance, and the lack of support and approval she was afrai
d would always pinch was impossible while she was concentrating on not tumbling off the ladder in a clumsy case of vertigo.
Sue ignored the first knock on her door. Maybe it was rude, but a woman clinging for dear life on the top rung of an extension ladder deserved leeway. “Stupid, stupid wallpaper.” If she could finish this six-inch strip on all four walls, she’d have completed one room.
Seven layers of wallpaper had taken some serious time and effort to remove, but when she rolled on the beautiful gray she’d picked out for her master bedroom, she’d feel like she’d conquered the world.
When the polite knock turned to loud banging, the small premonition of who it might be outside her door made her knees wobble.
This restless itch that popped up whenever Max Holt was in the vicinity concerned her. If he left, would she miss it?
Sue slowly navigated the ladder, each step carefully placed because she hated ladders and heights.
Almost as much as she hated wallpaper.
One check of the mirror she’d hung beside the door showed she looked as awful as she imagined.
Even though she was prepared to find him standing there, Max’s extreme hotness and disgruntled frown made her step back. “What? I was on a ladder.”
Instead of waiting on the porch like the unwelcome visitor he was, Max put one hand on her shoulder and guided her back. When they were both clear of the door, he shut it and leaned against it. Then he held up a white paper bag. “Thought I’d be different. Let’s do breakfast instead of dinner.” Then he looked over her shoulder. “Also, you shouldn’t climb ladders alone. What if you fall?”
Sue snorted and yanked her cell phone out of the handy front pocket of her paint splattered overalls. “You wouldn’t say that to a man. Sisters have to do it for themselves anymore. And how did you get my address? Should I be worried about a stalker?” Then she poked him in the chest. “Ouch. I hurt my finger on your chest.”
Max grabbed her hand. “Watch where you aim that. And the address was on the party invitation.” His warm hand wrapped around hers made it difficult to remember why she was annoyed with this day.
Book Boyfriends Cafe Summer Lovin' Anthology 2015 Page 194