She tried to be quick about getting ready, hating to make anyone wait. Once the pencil residue was gone, she grabbed a fitted long-sleeved tee from her closet. She was pulling on her jeans when her cell phone rang in the other room. “Will you get that?” she called through the closed door.
“Yup.”
She finished dressing, ran a brush through her hair, and yanked open her bedroom door. She came up short, breath caught in her throat when she almost ran into Zane.
He was less than six inches away. She needed to put some distance between them, but she couldn’t get her feet to move.
He was close enough she felt his heat and smelled the crisp musk she always associated with him. She couldn’t pull her gaze from his. What had they been doing before? She reached out and ran her fingers over the short black hair on top of his head. “I miss this being long.”
He leaned into the touch, resting his hand on her hip. “It’ll grow back.”
“Hello?” A digitally muffled voice cut between them.
He held up her phone. “It’s Kenzie.”
Right. Reality. She took the phone from him, and put enough space between them to clear her thoughts. Sort of. “Thanks,” she said again. “Hey, Sis.”
Zane leaned against the far wall in the hallway, something unreadable in his gaze. Heat spread through her at his attention.
“Am I interrupting?” Kenzie’s question was lighthearted.
Riley couldn’t help but wish they’d been doing something to interrupt. “I just got out of the shower.” She winced when she realized how that sounded. “Alone.”
Zane’s mouth twitched with the threat of smile. She spun away to hide that the single gesture had eased her sour expression.
“As long as he hasn’t moved in.”
Riley sighed, making sure it was loud enough to echo through the receiver, but she didn’t mind the teasing. Maybe now wasn’t the best time to mention she’d given Zane a spare key. “You’re not as funny as you think you are. What’s up?”
“Grump. Have dinner with us next weekend. Both of you.”
Riley wanted to keep up her stern demeanor, but she liked spending time with Kenzie and Scott. “All right. I’ll be there, and I’ll ask him.”
“Fantastic. I’ll let you two get back to whatever, and I’ll e-mail you details.”
They exchanged goodbyes, and Riley tucked the phone into her jeans’ pocket. “Where to?” she asked Zane.
“Duh? That is, if it’s still there.”
She grinned. There was one place they always went. It was half-bar, half-arcade, and one of their favorite spots in the valley. “It definitely is.”
“Epic.” He didn’t pull away when she intertwined her fingers with his and tugged him outside and toward the parking lot.
“I’m glad you knew what I was talking about. I had this flash of panic thinking everything I knew had changed, and the entire world had flipped upside-down.” His tone was playful as he gestured wildly.
“Say I was a pod person. Would you really miss much about me?”
Only after they were both inside the truck—which smelled of coffee and Zane—did he say, “I’m not answering that.”
“You brought it up.”
He navigated traffic smoothly. “I know. I shouldn’t have. Whenever I say stuff like that, it gets me in trouble. No one actually wants to know what you think of them, unless it’s really good. They only think they do.”
That made it sound like his opinion of her wasn’t good. Now she had to know. Maybe he wasn’t teasing after all? “I’m not them. If you don’t tell me, I’ll... um...” She’d what?
He glanced at her, one eyebrow raised, and then turned his attention back to the road. “Yes?”
Crap. She had no idea how to threaten him and still keep it light-hearted. “I’ll pout?”