I was too damn aware of him and in protest, I refused to look his way. Not until he took the seat beside me, the air from his movement blowing tendrils of my hair. "Hey Jana.” Even his voice had a smile in it.
“Hey.”
“How’s it going?”
“It’s going. You?” There was no reason to hold a grudge because he didn’t call. I didn’t really think he would, even if a tiny sliver of me wished for it.
“All right,” he said but his words were heavy. Anxious.
“You sure about that?” I swiveled in my chair and looked at him. I really looked at him and he was tense all over.
“Not even a little bit, Jana.”
I gave him a sympathetic smile and patted his shoulder. “Want to get lost in some painting?”
He looked to Kyle’s nearly nude form and back to me, one brow quirked up in a gesture that clearly said, “get real”. I laughed. “Yeah I guess.”
That’s what we did. I focused on the curve of his hip leading to his thigh because he was a beautiful picture of masculinity. And because I never got a chance to see a man this delicious up close. A quick glance at Max’s canvas showed he focused on the bicep, and he did a pretty good job.
The book club women were loud and boisterous, but they were having a good time and I envied that. Though I always felt a certain peace when I painted, I envied the good time they had together, laughing and drinking. So free and sure of their friendships. When class was over, I let out an exhausted breath and stood, stretching with my back facing the class.
“You mad at me?”
I froze and looked over my left shoulder. “No, why would I be?”
“I said I would call and I didn’t.”
I knew he was a nice guy. “Don’t worry about it, I didn’t really think you would. No harm, no foul.”
He sighed and touched my shoulder, but he didn’t do anything to move me so I turned to face him. “Jana, shit. I had a really good time the other day and I went to bed and slept. Like I haven’t slept in a long damn time. But the next night, I felt guilty as hell about it and I slept for shit.”
“I’m sorry to hear that, Max. Want to grab a drink and tell me about it?” Where in the hell did that come from? I never extended offers to hang out with anyone. Not even Teddy, really. Unless it was at my house, or sometimes hers.
He looked as surprised as I felt. “Really? Because I thought you were pissed off.”
“I was annoyed but mostly with myself for thinking you’d call. And I can’t believe I said that out loud.” He chuckled and I felt slightly less embarrassed.
“Yeah, I think we do need to have a drink and talk. About a few things.” His gaze was determined and a chill shot through me at the intensity in his gaze. “Where to?”
“Follow me.” I didn’t feel like going to a bar, especially with a guy like Max. Everyone would stare and wonder why he was with me and I just didn’t feel like dealing with that tonight. Besides, I figured Max wanted to talk in private and my backyard was the perfect location.
It took the entire drive home to get my nerves under control. This was nothing but a platonic talk with a guy I met, it didn’t have to be anything more than that. I knew that, even if my silly heart wanted it to be more. I pulled into my driveway and his bike came to a stop beside me, pulling my door open. “Never heard of this place before.”
“Funny. This is my place. I figured we could use the privacy for our chat.” He gave me a funny look that made me smile. “Only to chat. Believe me, even if I wanted to I wouldn’t know where to begin seducing a guy like you.”
He laughed. “Sweetheart, I’m halfway to seduced just looking at the way you fill out your jeans.”
Well, shit. I felt my cheeks flush. “See, that! I wish I could just say something smooth like that. Damn,” I fanned myself and nodded for him to follow me. His chuckle sounded behind me and I was happy I wore my hair down so he couldn’t see my flushed skin. I kicked my shoes off and turned on the lights, trying hard not to think about what he thought of my place. It was decorated to suit me, comfortable and attractive. In the middle of the desert, my little place was country chic.
“Nice place. It’s very you.”
“Rustic?”
He laughed. “No. Understated but nice to look at.”
“You’re good.” I felt nervous but I walked through to the kitchen and flipped on the lights. “Tequila work for you?” I turned to face him, and dammit, again I was struck by just how handsome he was. He shouldn’t be, not with that perma-scowl on his face, but there was something about him that had my body acting like a dog in heat.
“Hell yeah it works.”