By Saturday,he knew that seeing her on Sunday was completely out. Through Math, he had gathered that she would be going to church with her parents, then to her parents’ house for lunch. After that, it was book club again, an odd week due to some of the members wanting to be out of town the following weekend, which was Thanksgiving.
This week had been a total miss for Hue in his Amanda sightings. None. Monday had been a long one for him at work, and on Tuesday, she hadn’t made it home from the clinic until after eight. Or at least that’s when he heard her door slam across the hall. Wednesday and Thursday, he was out at Math’s to help him sort cattle in the evenings, and she had not shown up. Friday, he had actually spotted her at the café at lunchtime but hadn’t been able to talk to her before she left.
Now it was Saturday evening, and her apartment was completely quiet. No TV running, no sounds of movement. Not that he was listening for her…
He was itching to cross the hallway and knock on the door to see if she was there, but he had no excuse for doing it. Nothing that wouldn’t seem weird for him to be there. So, he just watched TV and thought about her.
Unable to control it any longer, he jumped up and went to her door and knocked. Waiting for her to answer, he tried to come up with an excuse, but none were coming to mind. Knocking again, he looked at his watch. It was 7:00 p.m., so she should be in there. Unless she was gone, like he had suspected all day.
One more knock had the door opening, and he was looking at her finally. After almost a week, there she was in front of him. He could tell she had been sleeping—her hair was a little messed, and she looked warm and just-woke-up sexy. “What do you want, Hue?” She was alert as always after a nap.
“Milk? I’m out and need a cup.” Brilliant, lame excuse.
Her face said he was annoying her, and she didn’t need to get up for this. “Fine, come on.”
Leaving the door open as she went into her apartment, he followed. She was wearing an oversized Landstad Tiger’s T-shirt and gray sweatpants. The outfit should not be sexy, but on her, it was. He wanted to pin her to the wall and see if she was wearing a bra under that shirt. He knew she wasn’t.
He shoved his hands in his pockets because his dick was enjoying the idea of no bra way too much. No need for her to suspect how he felt about her or, more importantly, how he thought about her. Indecent thoughts he shouldn’t be having about her at all. But he always was.
“Is the store closed?” she asked as she dug into the fridge for milk.
“Ah, no, just too cold to go out again tonight,” he said; nothing else came to mind.
“It’s gotten cold lately, hasn’t it?” She shook her milk container and then looked into the carton. Right now, she wasn’t wearing her glasses, and he suspected she wasn’t wearing her contacts, either. For the first time, he wondered if she was far or nearsighted.
“I know, but I’m out of milk.”
“I think there’s enough in here.” Shrugging, she handed him the carton.
“I don’t want to take the last of your milk.” He felt guilty suddenly. He actually had milk, and he didn’t want her to be without for no real reason.
“I have another one.” She pointed to the now closed fridge.
“What have you been up to today?” Not wanting to leave, he tried to keep her talking.
“Nothing really. I had to read my book for tomorrow and got caught up on paperwork.”
“Sounds like you wasted a Saturday,” he teased.
“What did you do that was so great?” she countered.
“I watched three football games.” He watched her roll her eyes at him.
“Please, they were only college,” she said, as if that was worth her time.
“You bet, sweetheart, but one day some of those players will be playing in the NFL in a game that you will sleep through, maybe even the super bowl.” He grinned at her.
“I do not sleep during football. I rest my eyes.” She argued the same argument she’d used a hundred times.
“For hours at a time?”
“My eyes are strained,” she stated, as if it were a fact.
He took her chin in his hand and looked into her eyes. Her beautiful blue eyes. “They don’t look strained to me.”
She blinked at him and said, “I was just sleeping, so they have rested today.”
Running his thumb across her jaw, he said, “I—” But his phone rang from his pocket.