Page 14 of The Girlfriend Zone

Her smile deepens. My chest tightens with excitement as she says, “Going on a date with you.”

I slide my hand down her chest once more, my fingers tracing her soft skin, sensing her comfort with each touch returning. “That’s right, you are.”

We untangle from each other, moving off the chair. “Ijust have one question,” I say since her honesty was seriously brave. I’m not about to tell her this out loud—it would sound patronizing—but I’m even more drawn to her for it.

“Sure, what is it?” she asks, sounding hesitant as she pulls her top back on.

“Is there anything you need from me? So you can hear me better?” I ask, buttoning up my shirt.

Her smile is warm, maybe even a little grateful, and it does something funny to my chest. “With them in, I can hear you about eighty-one percent of the time,” she says with a smirk.

I tilt my head, curious. “That’s specific.”

“So are the hearing tests these days.” Her tone turns more serious as she adds, “It’s like I tell my friends: I just prefer to see your face when we talk—it helps a lot to fill in any gaps. So maybe don’t wear a mask?” Her delivery is deadpan.

“And to think I was going to grab my zombie mask.”

She raises her hand like a stop sign. “Wait, are you into zombies?” Her look tells me she’d show me the door if I said yes.

“No. Are you?”

“The guy who was supposed to do the shoot today canceled because of a zombie video game launch he justhadto be at. Apparently, it’s a thing.”

“Well, then I’ll change my answer. I love zombie games because they gave me this chance for our first date.” Emphasis onfirst.I want Leighton to know I’d like to see her again. I need this to be a great date for her. Something fun, since she could probably use that after her shoot fell throughtwice, and after opening up the way she did. “How do you feel about geocaching?”

She tilts her head, her brow furrowed. “Never been. Is it fun?”

“Would I take you on a bad date?”

“I don’t know. Would you?” she teases.

“Try me.”

“We’ve already established I’m saying yes. Now, you’ll really have to impress me with this treasure hunt.”

“Challenge accepted.” I grab my socks and boots, tug them on, and we head out of the studio onto the streets of Hayes Valley. I open my geocache app, scrolling through nearby options. “There are some cool ones around here, but some of the best are in the Presidio. How do you feel about heading there?”

“I feel pretty good about it, Miles,” she says, and I notice her mood seems lighter now, more upbeat. That’s everything I could want. This date has barely started, and already, I don’t want it to end.

The Presidio is a national park with great views of the Pacific Ocean and the Golden Gate Bridge. It boasts some terrific nature trails, towering trees and a handful of redwood groves. But it’s also home to some seriously fun caches.

Like the sixth one we’ve been hunting this afternoon. “It’s over there,” she says, pointing toward a green park bench with absolute certainty.

I gape at her. “Seriously? You already found it? And you said you’d never been geocaching.”

She gives me a saucy look. “Yes, I kept my secret geocaching skills hidden from you, Miles.”

“You totally did,” I reply as we trek along TennesseeHollow Trail. She found the first cache in under five minutes—a trolley car keychain tucked above a stone in a low wall. Now, she’s hunting under a bench and pulls out a small toy car from a baggie.

“Look! I’ve always wanted a red sports car,” she quips, holding it up, victorious and deservedly so.

“You’re cramping my style,” I say, shaking my head in mock defeat.

She bumps her hip into mine. “Can’t help it if I’m better at this than you.”

I loop an arm around her waist and pull her close. She tilts her chin up, her lips inches from mine, waiting for a kiss.

But I stop short. “Not yet,” I say, savoring the moment.

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