Page 40 of Waiting for Tuesday

His brows furrowed, seeming bothered by my reluctance to invite him home, but eventually he nodded. “Seven.”

Then he walked out of the room, closing my office door behind him, and I hid my face in both hands. “What did you just do, Tuesday? What have you done?”

Chapter SEVENTEEN

Tuesday

* * *

Whiskers weavedin and out of my legs by my closet, causing me to stumble as I pulled a long, bohemian skirt from its hanger. “Ooof!” He fell to his side, looked up with pathetic green eyes, and mewed.

I frowned and crouched down to my haunches to scratch him behind the ears. “I’m sorry, buddy.”

He began to purr, rolled to his back, and started rubbing himself against the carpeted floor, ignoring me.

I pushed myself to stand, feeling guilty about rushing out of the house so quickly when Whiskers had been left alone all week. But he’d always been a loner, and I wasn’t sure he’d notice my absence anyway.

Which reminded me. I grabbed a dark brown halter from the top of my dresser and pulled it over my head before I walked down the hall, sliding my skirt to my hips. The best thing about wearing only a B cup was that a nice cotton spandex was all the support I needed.

Whiskers’ bowl sat on the mat by the breakfast table, and I filled it with two scoops of kibble. Then out of guilt, I opened the fridge andadded a few pieces of tofu on top. John would be back at the shop any minute, so I really had to go, but already my stomach was filled with nervous flutters.

I should have said no, but I couldn’t. All the reasons and excuses I’d come up with since I met him weren’t good enough anymore. I wanted him. I wanted this, and as hard as it was for me to admit, there was something between us that was beyond my understanding. Even though I’d never done anything like this before in my life, a part of me knew I’d regret it if we didn’t explore it.

I leaned against the wall to pull on my sandals, thinking about that afternoon. The fact that he would walk out on work because of how I felt about the situation still rocked me. I searched my mind for any man who’d ever cared that much, was willing to give up something—anything—like that for me… but I couldn’t, not even my own father.

Something pulled at my heart strings a little bit. Something I didn’t have a name for. I only met him six weeks ago, and for half of that I couldn’t even stand him. Yet here I was, getting ready for a night that was pretty much guaranteed to lead to sex. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. All I knew was the thought of seeing him again sent a shiver up my spine and caused goose bumps to cover my whole body.

I grabbed my bag and keys from the top of the bar, and Whiskers turned to look at me.

“It’s just a date. I’ll be back in a few hours.”

He tilted his head slightly, as if knowing that wasn’t the full truth. I paused at the couch and scratched him behind the ears before opening the door. “It’s nothing. It’ll be fine.”

* * *

John was sittingin the bed of his truck when I pulled into the lot. Exactly as he had the afternoon he kissed me, but this time he was waiting for me. I was ten minutes late, which already had my nerves on edge, but the sight of him wasn’t helping matters. Seeing him again was like pulling in a lung full of crisp clean air after climbing a tall mountain. It sent goose bumps to run the length of my body but filled me with a sense of satisfaction that overwhelmed me. It didn’t seem possible, but he was becoming more and more attractive the longer I knew him.

He wore the same style of jeans I’d seen him in almost every day, though these were a little darker. Maybe a little newer. His face was clean-shaven, his hair freshly styled, and his soft, blue button-up shirt was stretched across his broad shoulders and rolled up to his forearms.

I took a deep breath and climbed out of my cab. My heart was beating harder and faster with every step, but I kept moving toward him.

His eyes raked over me, taking me in, then came to a stop on my face. “I was beginning to think you changed your mind.”

A knot formed in my throat, tight and constricting. “It was touch and go for a while, but I didn't want to make things awkward between us in the morning.”

He laughed then shook his head and looked down to his feet. He was beautiful, sinfully good looking—maybe more so because he got my sense of humor. He was the type of guy I would normally deny myself. But here I was with my heart in my throat as I walked toward the devil, and it felt amazing. I inhaled deeply as I came to stand in front of him. The smell of him, even though faint, left me intoxicated. I loved the scent of him. So clean, masculine, and raw.

I came to rest on the tailgate, not sure what was supposed to happen next. I’d never had a relationship like this before. One that was purely about enjoying each other and nothing more.

“So, how do you feel about animals?” he asked.

I turned to him. “That depends, what kind?”

His chin tipped up as he looked over at me. "Lions, tigers, bears. That kind of thing.”

“Do you want to watch the Wizard of Oz?” I laughed.

“Nah.” He rose to his feet and stood in front of me. “I have a buddy who works at the zoo and they need some help. I thought maybe you’d like to go with me?”

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