Page 75 of Talk Birdie to Me

“The rest?”

Cody took a big breath and dove into the deep end. “Spending the afternoon with me.”

He couldn’t believe he was asking that. He’d been so sure Lauren was wrong. That there was nothing between them. At least nothing worth pursuing at the expense of his next adventure.

But she was right.

So was his mom.

Spending half the day with Geena had been more pleasurable than all the new jobs and cities he’d explored. He wasn’t certain yet, but that pleasure might even be worth sticking around.

The big question now was whether she felt the same way.

Geena eyed him curiously. “So, this really is a date?”

“Do you want it to be a date?”

“I asked first. No cheating,” she said, echoing his comment to her before they started their tour.

“You know how I said I wasn’t into attachment stuff? That I like moving around too much?”

“Right. Yeah,” Geena said, visibly deflated.

Guilt overwhelmed him as he regretted the wording of his answer.

“I mean, that’s how I felt when I met you. I wasn’t looking for anything serious. And I for sure didn’t want to give you any other impression than that. Especially after I learned about your dirtbag ex. I didn’t want to start something if I was going to bail on you.”

“No, I get it. So you’re still looking for another job somewhere else?”

“I have resumes out, yeah.” He took another deep breath and told her the truth. “But I don’t know anymore if I want to leave.”

“Oh.” Geena blinked at him, assessing him and processing what he said. “So you’re maybe still leaving.”

“Maybe. But my reasons for staying are outnumbering my reasons for leaving.”

That was the truest answer he could give her. He was just beginning to entertain the possibility of staying, and he didn’t know if it would stick.

But he was starting to want it to stick.

She eyed him curiously. “So, does that mean this is a date? Are you collecting data to see if you find enough reasons to stay?”

Data points sounded too calculating. It probably made perfect sense to her, but he didn’t have lists or columns where he recorded and weighed things.

“It means I…” He stalled out again. Then he said what he’d been avoiding for days. “I, uh, like you, Bourque. But I don’t want to hurt you if I can’t be all in.”

Her confusion morphed into a playful smile. “I, uh, like you, too, Brasseaux. Let me worry about if I want to risk getting hurt or not.”

Cody noticed the slight flush to her cheeks. He wrapped a hand around her lower back and closed the space between them. With his face now inches from hers, he said, “So if you want it to be, then yeah, I want this to be a date.”

She held his gaze and her position. Then she said the words he’d been hoping to hear all day.

“I want this to be a date, too.”

Before either of them could change their mind, he reached his free hand up to slide it behind her head and pulled her even closer until their lips met. He kissed her, gently at first, making sure she was on the same page as him.

When she kissed him back softly, Cody slid his fingers over the short hair at the nape of her neck and pressed his mouth harder against hers. Heat spread through every limb until his whole body was humming with desire.

He was kissing Geena.

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