Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 82756 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 414(@200wpm)___ 331(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82756 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 414(@200wpm)___ 331(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
“You can order me around anytime you’d like.” Cal had a sexual glint in his eyes that I didn’t see often. He was definitely in date mode, and no way was I going to waste a playful, sexy Cal. I could live without the pain meds, especially when Cal gave me an appreciative once-over. “You look good too.”
“This?” I looked down at my aqua dress shirt. The color was flashy, but it was otherwise yet another oxford to pair with slacks for professor wear. “I wore this to campus. Got delayed by a student coming into my office, so I didn’t make it home to shower and change like I’d planned.”
“You don’t need to change on my account.” Cal’s tone was serious as he held my gaze. There was a message there, one I wasn’t sure I was ready for. Accepting Cal prickles and all was ridiculously easy. Accepting myself? So much harder, especially on days like this. And Cal seemed to intuit that, adding, “After all, you’re the one who said this is just trivia night with your guys.”
“Only one guy I’m interested in tonight.” I managed a flirty tone as I held out a hand to Cal, intending to pull him into my lap, but he merely laughed and sidestepped my grasp.
“Don’t tempt me into asking for kink instead of a date.”
“You can always ask for a kink date, baby. No rule that says we have to leave the house to date.” Winking at him, I chuckled. And perhaps that would be the better choice tonight. Bail on trivia night, tie Cal up, make him come undone, and maybe he wouldn’t notice that I wasn’t anywhere near my best.
“You? Miss a social obligation?” Cal shook his head. Amazing how well he knew me after a few short weeks. “Your friends are waiting.”
“True.” I groaned and turned back toward the garage. “Guess we should head out.”
The rain continued on the short drive to the tavern, but luckily there was an accessible spot open close to the door, so we weren’t too drenched as we made our way to the table where Sam, Knox, and Monroe were already waiting.
“Cal! You came!” Sam smiled broadly and pointed to the seat next to him as Monroe moved a chair away from the table for me. “Have a seat.”
“Thanks.” Cal nodded at Sam before deftly ducking behind me to take the chair on my other side. “Think I’ll sit next to Holden though.”
“That’s fine.” Sam drew out the word fine, giving me a pointed look. The other two looked plenty curious as well. The gossip mill would be churning big time by the end of the evening, but seeing as how this outing had been my idea, I couldn’t exactly complain. And Cal said he wanted to date, so perhaps he was less likely to be spooked by gossip than a few weeks ago.
“We already put in a food order, but you probably want to flag a server for your drinks.” Knox passed Cal a drink menu.
After we both had beers and the first batch of appetizers had arrived, Sam resumed his attempt to chat up Cal.
“I stopped by the house before here. The downstairs is looking so good, but the upstairs was the real surprise.”
“Yeah? You thinking about finally spending a night in your own house?” Cal’s dry tease made the rest of the table laugh. That Sam had yet to move a single item of clothing or a mattress into the house was becoming comical.
“I’ll get there.” Sam’s pale cheeks turned pink.
“If it feels too strange, you can always finish the work, then flip it for a handy profit.” Monroe was always sensible and pragmatic, but I wasn’t surprised when Sam made a horrified noise.
“I couldn’t do that!”
“Then take baby steps toward moving in. Bet your parents will be happy to have their garage apartment back.” Knox was far gentler in his approach, leaning toward Sam. “What would make it easier for you to move into the house?”
“I’m not sure. Probably just need to make up my mind and do it.” Something in the way Sam shifted said he might be lying about not knowing what the problem was. Maybe I shouldn’t have encouraged him to buy the place. Too many feelings for all of us wrapped up there. “I guess I start by picking a room.”
“It’s your house. You get the primary suite.” Knox shrugged like Sam was way overthinking things. “But let’s make the room feel more like you. Cal, do you have any ideas?”
“You want me to give decorating advice?” Cal shook his head and nabbed another fried pickle. “If it were my house, I’d say screw the whole owner-of-the-house rule. Take over the third floor. Full-on bath remodel up there with a walk-in shower or—”
“A soaking tub.” Sam’s expression turned damn near poetic. “Right under that dormer window.”