Page 28 of Head Over Heels

When I get home from my date, I park my car outside Chase’s house and quietly let myself in with the key he gave me.

Chase is sprawled on the couch in a pair of cutoff shorts and a T-shirt, his arm behind his head. Thoroughly relaxed.

He surveys me, a question on his face.

“What?”

“You don’t look very ‘third date.’ ”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Don’t be coy,” he says. “Third date. You know, the sex date? You don’t look like you’ve had amazing sex.”

I roll my eyes. “There’s no such thing as that look.”

“There is. So, bad date?”

He’s so unbelievably cocky and irritating sometimes. An internal imp—or maybe an instinct for self-preservation—makes me say, “It was really fun.”

Chase’s expression doesn’t change. Which isn’t so surprising, but it still irks me.

“Where’d you go?” he asks.

“We went to see a play.Six Doors.Based on this novel that was super-popular a couple of years ago.”

“Ah, you went to the thea-tah,” he mocks airily, in a pretty damn good upper-crust British accent.

“It was really good.” That’s not a lie. Itwasa really good play. In fact, there was nothing wrong with the choice of venues, the play itself, the dinner afterward, or Kieran. But there was something wrong with my head. I kept—

I kept leaping ahead, to the part of the evening where I would debrief it with Chase. Then I’d catch myself and remind myself that I was with Kieran.Kieran.I was supposed to be enjoying my time with him, not cataloguing what I’d say about him to another guy, later.

“I’m sure it wasdelightful,” Chase says “Every girl loves the thea-tah. And din-nah afterwards, right, dahling?”

I smile at that. “Sushi.”

“Sushi. Of course. Takeout?”

I wince. “Yes.”

“At his place?”

Yes, but the last thing I want to do is talk with Chase about what happened at Kieran’s place. For so many reasons.

“None of your business.” I desperately hope that ends this thread of questioning.

“Oho! She gotaction,ladies and gentlemen!”

I flinch, internally. I shrug, and hope my face doesn’t give me away.

“Was it all you wanted and more?”

“It was—”

I look up and see his face. Corner-to-corner smirk. Somehow, I have no idea how, he knows it wasn’t a success.

For a moment, I teeter between hating him for mocking me and loving him for knowing, without my having to say it, that the date was a disappointment.

“I bet Kieran’s one and only flaw is that he’s a terrible kisser.”

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