Page 62 of Indigo Sky

“Oh, stop. I’m notmadat you.”

I brought my gaze back to hers to find a soft, small smile had graced her lips once again. It left me feeling relieved, even as I noticed the faintest glint of sadness twinkling in her otherwise friendly eyes.

“I get what kind of reputation you might think I have, and I’m not blaming you for it. But we’re here because I want to get to know you and I want you to know me. So, I’m telling you, you are the only man I’ve ever invited back to my place.”

I felt the gentle tug of a smile pulling at the corners of my mouth. “Well, now, I feel even worse for turning you down.”

“If it makes you feel any better, I think that’s what left the biggest impression,” she replied as Birdy hurried over with our drinks.

The waitress placed the plastic cups in front of us, along with a couple of straws. I thought she might’ve said something, but I couldn’t tell you what it was.

It was impossible to hear anything above the beating of my heart as I stared across the table, holding the gaze of the most gorgeous, strongest woman I had ever known before in my life and knowing that, for whatever fucking reason, she genuinely liked me. And, fuck, she remembered. Not just my name or that we’d shared a moment once upon a time, but really, trulyremembered.

Birdy walked away, and Kate pulled the wrapper away from the straw.

Then, as she slipped it into her Diet Coke, she asked, “So, are you?”

I swallowed and shook myself away from my stupor, hoping I hadn’t stared like a moron for too long. “Am I what?”

“Still a virgin?”

“Oh,” I replied with a chuckle, giving my head a little shake. “No, nah, that, uh … that ship sailed a while ago.”

“Good,” Kate said, her lips passing over the end of the straw as she took a small sip. “I didn’t really want to be your first.”

I laughed, knowing damn well that if I hadn’t been blushing before, I sure as fuck was now.

“But, depending on where this goes,” she continued, leaning back into the seat, “I wouldn’t mind taking a chance at being the best.”

I didn’t say it then—I couldn’t, especially because Birdy was bounding over with our plates of food—but what I was thinking, as Kate casually accepted her meal with a wide, beaming smile, was,And if I play my cards right—and, fuck, I hope I do—she’ll also be the last.

***

So, long story short—and I won’t bore you with too many details—Kate and I … well, after that first date, we both kinda knew we were a done deal. Neither of us really said as much. We were too old for the wholewill you be my boyfriend-girlfriendshit.

But the second I walked her to her car that afternoon and I didn’t want to leave, knowing damn well I was going to see her in just a couple of hours at the club …

That was when I knew.

Yeah … I knew I was done for.

And if I hadn’t known it then, I definitely knew it when she stood on her toes and kissed me right at the corner of my mouth. Because even as unromantic of a kiss as it was, I still feltthat same spark I had all those years ago, as fuckin’ lame as that sounds.

Yeah, no … I was done for. Completely and totally gone. And when I got home that afternoon, I never took that shower, so I’d have go to work feeling even more like a dirty piece of shit. All because the second I walked through the door, the only thing I could think to do was tell my parents all about the girl I couldn’t wait for them to meet.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Saul was back at Midnight Lotus one week after Tyson Murphy had sprained his wrist. He showed up wearing a brace beneath the sleeve of his suit jacket, and when I asked if he was sure he could handle the job, he only glared at me and said, “Don’t piss me off, Rev. It’s been one helluva week.”

I wanted to scoff and tell him he had no idea what a bad week was, considering my lack of sleep, but then he followed it up by showing me his bandaged left hand and said, “Burned my hand trying to cook on Tuesday, so I have been completely fuckin’ useless these past few days. Do you know how demoralizing it is to ask your wife to help you wipe your ass when you know damn well you’d be perfectly capable if you didn’t have two busted hands?”

I cleared my throat and shook my head. “Nope. Can’t say that I do.”

“Yeah, well …” He readjusted the lapels of his jacket and released a loud huff. “Hope you never do. I never wanna go through that shit again, unless I’m old and I don’t give a fuck.”

Wendy wandered over to the bar, wearing a pair of leggings and a sequined bra. She looked at Saul pointedly and planted her hands on her hips. “Are you sure you’re all right to work tonight? Because if you’re not—"

“Oh my God, Wend,” he grumbled, raising his bandaged hand to his forehead.

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