He fished in his pocket and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper and thrust it toward her. "Give me your number. Ill pick you up at seven, if thats okay. "
She took the piece of paper then slid off the table, bumping against him when her feet hit the floor. He didnt back away, and for a moment she stood there, her breasts brushing against his chest. Part of her wanted to kiss him again. Hell, she wanted to throw him down on the table and have her wicked way with him, but he was going to have to work for it this time.
She sidestepped him and walked over to where a pen lay on the counter. With a hasty scribble, she wrote down her number, then walked back over to hand it to him.
"No changing your mind," he said.
It was probably meant to be a threat or an order, but it came out more as a request, a fact she found endearing. It was interesting to see this man at a disadvantage, unsure of himself.
"You be there at seven and Ill be ready," she said.
He looked like he wanted to kiss her again. He even swayed slightly in her direction. Then as if deciding against it, he turned and stalked out the way hed come in. At the door he paused and turned around.
"Ill see you tonight. "
She smiled and nodded.
As soon as he disappeared, she balled up her fist, raised her arm and pumped her elbow down in a victory exclamation.
Score one for her. Finally.
This whole owning her sexuality, going for what she wanted thing wasnt a bad idea after all. If she hadnt gone after Nathan, no matter how disastrous it had been, she wouldnt have gotten fed up and gone to Damon, which had resulted in a mind-blowing sexual fantasy come true. Now she had fantastic sex on one hand and Nathan Tucker finally coming to heel on the other.
Not bad for a days work. Not bad at all.
Faith skulked down the aisles of the drugstore like a teenage girl after a pregnancy scare. Chastising herself for remotely caring if anyone saw her buying a damn pregnancy test, she snagged the first one she saw and turned it over to read the back.
Then she realized shed picked up an ovulation predictor kit. With a sigh, she bent down and focused on the boxes. Her head wasnt screwed on right today. She kept remembering how Gray had looked when hed stalked into her office.
Surely a guy whod lost interest wouldnt look so . . . hurt. Angry. Yes, hed been angry too, but those blue eyes she loved so much had also yielded worry and pain.
What a mess shed made. Calling off the wedding had been an impulsive action brought on by the desire to react. A reaction to her panic and stupid hysteria. Shed love to blame it on pregnancy hormones but that would mean she was pregnant, and she didnt really need that right now.
No, she was just stupid and now shed probably ruined everything with Gray.
She snagged the box that promised the earliest results and headed for the cashier. Thank goodness she was only minutes away from Julies. She could use Julies bathroom and then cry on her shoulder if necessary.
When she entered Julies salon, Julie met her at the door and herded her back to the massage room.
"Got it?" Julie asked.
Faith held up the bag and sighed. "Im being ridiculous, but I appreciate you letting me. "
Julie smiled. "What are friends for? If they wont let you be irrational twits, who will?"
For a moment, Faith sat there, the bag crumpled in her sweaty hand. Then she looked up at Julie and shook her head. "Im being a coward. I might as well get this over with. "
"Take your time, honey. Ive got no appointments. "
Suddenly remembering that when shed left Nathan had been here and now he was gone, Faith yanked her gaze back up to Julie.
"What happened with Nathan anyway? Did you toss him out?"
Julie grinned. "No, he asked me to dinner and I accepted. "
"Come on, is that all?" Faith sputtered. "Details. I know Im missing some details. "
"Okay, so he kissed me senseless then asked me to dinner. "
"And you said . . . ?"
"Yes, of course. "
Faith sighed in relief. She loved Nathan to pieces, and as clueless as he was, he still deserved a chance.
She almost swallowed her tongue as she realized that she was hoping for Nathan what she was unwilling to grant Gray—a chance to explain himself.
Hysterical ninny. Stupid, stupid, stupid.
"I need to get out of here," she mumbled as she stood. "I should be home, talking to Gray. "
"I agree. "
Faith whirled around to see Gray standing in the doorway staring at her and Julie, those blue eyes burning. She clutched the brown bag to her chest and stood there trembling, all her courage deserting her in a wimpy rush.
Gray took a step forward, then another, until he stood just a foot away, so close she could almost feel him touching her.
"Whats going on, baby?" he asked in a soft, worried voice.
Her grip was so tight on the bag that her fingers were bloodless, pale tips. He reached out and carefully tugged it away from her. Oh no . . .
He unrolled the top and peered into it, going completely still. She couldnt even see him breathe. Then he looked back up at her. Only the betraying shake of the bag told her its affect on him.
"Dont you think we should go home and do this together?"
Her chin trembled, and she fought back tears. He was precisely right. This was something they should be doing together, facing it together.
Silently, he reached for her hand, palm up, just waiting for her to take it. Closing her eyes, she extended her arm, allowing her palm to slide over his.
As he pulled her forward, she turned to Julie. "Thanks, Julie. Ill see you later, okay?"
Julie smiled. "Take care, hon. And let me know, okay?"
Faith nodded and allowed Gray to lead her outside to his truck.
"My car," she protested when he opened the passenger door.
"We can get it later. Right now I want you with me. "
He paused briefly to run his fingers down the side of her cheek, pushing aside the hair gathered there.
"Get in, Faith. Theres something I want to show you before we go home. "
Chapter 11
Realizing there wasnt much time for her to get home and get ready for her date, Julie left on the heels of Faith and Gray. It had certainly been an interesting day. The only thing that would make it more interesting would be if Serena showed up because she was dumping Damon or had finally accepted his proposal.
Relationships were quite simply a giant pain in the ass. Too much drama. They were laden with misunderstanding. No one ever communicated worth a shit as evidenced by Faiths departure from the common sense she usually possessed.
Good sex should be the ultimate goal. Anything else was just icing, and, well, too much sugar was never a good thing.
Julie drove to her apartment, tapping her nails on her steering wheel the entire way. This was the time where she was probably supposed to be bemoaning the fact that all her friends were in relationships and happy as clams and here she was, still single. She was supposed to be envious and lacking, right?