He took a step closer to her and she rethought her whole proposition. His cologne was obnoxious and all she wanted to do was tell him, “Never mind,” but she had already come this far. “Are you asking me on a date?” he asked.
“I believe that I am,” she agreed. Kai crossed her fingers behind her back and hoped like hell that he bought all of her lies. “So, about it?”
“We can go out on a night that you have off. Would that work better for you?” No—that would not work better for her. The whole point of going out with Gabe was to make sure that Taz saw them together, and that would only happen at the Smokey Bandits.
“It’s just that, I don’t get many nights off, and with school this semester, well, I’m afraid that we’ll never get our chance if we wait until I have a free night. I’m trying to make it happen—you know so that I can see you?” she asked. Kai even batted her damn eyelashes at him—something she’d never considered doing for any other man, but Gabe seemed to really like it.
“Wow, you like me that much?” he asked. This was the part where she needed to tread carefully. She would never want to lead anyone on, but Gabe’s ego seemed to need constant stroking, and he still hadn’t agreed to meet her for dinner tonight.
“Um, I do like you, Gabe, I’m just not sure how much yet. That’s why I’d like to go out to dinner. You know—get to know each other and see where we end up.” She could tell by the smirk on his face that he hoped that they’d end up in her bed, but that just wasn’t going to happen. The more Gabe pushed, the less guilty she felt about using him to make Taz jealous. Besides, she had a feeling that Gabe would rebound just fine after she let him down easily and told him that she liked another man.
Kai peeked out of the classroom to find his two groupies waiting for him. “I guess they can’t follow directions,” she mumbled to herself. Gabe turned to see what she was looking at and chuckled.
“Yeah, sorry about that,” he said. “Listen, I had plans for tonight.” Gabe looked back at the two women waiting for him and Kai rolled her eyes behind his back. “But I can tell how much thought you’ve put into this. I’d love to meet you for dinner tonight, Kai,” he said. “What time do you usually get a break?”
“Um, about seven,” she said. “Does that work for you?”
“Sure,” he agreed. “What’s your number? I’ll text you and then, you can send me the address.” She told him her cell number and pulled out her phone when she got the notification that he sent her a text. Kai quickly texted him back and nodded.
“Just sent it to you,” she said. “See you at seven.” He waved to her over his shoulder on his way out of the classroom.
“Ladies,” he said, “you waited for me. Listen, I have someplace that I need to be at seven, but until then, I’m all yours.”
“Asshole,” she breathed. Why she had gone with the good-looking one was beyond her. She had only spoken to Gabe a handful of times at a few college parties that she attended. When she first got to college, she wanted to try the whole experience, but Kai quickly learned that hanging out with younger-aged college students and drinking just to puke and pass out, wasn’t her scene. That’s when she started hanging out at places like the Smokey Bandits. The guys were hot and didn’t drink to puke and pass out—well, most of them didn’t anyway.
Kai didn’t know many guys around campus, so her options were limited, but choosing Gabe had her rethinking her whole plan. Now that she had his number, she could just text him and tell him that she had to cancel their date, but she had a feeling that wouldn’t go over well with him. He was a player, and she really didn’t want to play.