Page 136 of Theirs to Take

“You okay?” she asked. “Did you need something else?” she asked.

“No,” he croaked. “I’m good. See you later.” He hightailed it back to the locker room before making more of a fool of himself.

“Smooth, Eli,” he whispered under his breath, “real smooth.”

Mina

She wasn’t sure if she believed Eli when he said that tonight wasn’t a date or not. She was going for hard to get when she told him that she didn’t want to risk her job by going on a date with her boss. But then, he went and said that he wasn’t interested in dating her—well, that’s what it felt like he said to her, anyway. She hated that she even brought it up, but there was something about Eli that made her lose her mind just a little. Okay—she lost her mind a whole lot, but she planned on getting herself together enough to get through an evening with Eli—hanging out as just friends.

After the gym, she ran home to shower and straighten up her place. She thought about lighting a few candles but didn’t want to seem like she was setting the mood. So, she sprayed some lavender spray and decided that would have to be good enough.

The knock on the door startled her and had her heart racing, making her feel like a foolish schoolgirl. Eli had a way of making her feel that way every time he walked into a room, and God, when he smiled at her, she nearly swooned.

Mina took a deep breath and pulled the door open. “Hey,” she squeaked, clearing her throat, “come on in,” she said.

“I brought dinner, as promised,” he said, holding up two bags. Her neighbor’s dog jumped around Eli’s legs, excited to have a new friend to pester.

“Thanks for doing that,” she said. “Sorry about her. This is Daisy, my neighbor’s dog.” The little Yorkie seemed to know that she was being introduced to her new friend and sat still, waiting for Eli to pet her.

“I don’t mind,” he said, “nice to meet you, Daisy.” The puppy wagged her tail and started jumping around his legs again. “Thanks for inviting me over.” He looked around her place. “Your apartment is great,” he said.

“Thanks. I wasn’t sure if I should light candles and all that stuff. I didn’t want you thinking that I believed tonight to be a date.” She wanted to admit that she did think tonight was a date, but there was no way that she’d come right out and say it after he assured her that he wasn’t asking her out on a date. Honestly, everything about tonight felt like a date to her.

He chuckled, “I don’t mind if you light candles. I won’t think that you’re trying to seduce me or anything like that.”

“Oh, okay,” she said, feeling a bit disappointed. He was really putting up walls and Mina wasn’t sure if she should tell him to cut it out or allow him to continue. Wall made working with him easier, but she wasn’t sure that her heart would be able to stand the disappointment.

“How about you work on the candles, and I’ll put dinner on the table if you point me in the right direction to the kitchen.”

“Um, sure,” she agreed. “The kitchen is right down the hallway there. I’ve already set the table, so just put the food out and I’ll be right there.” He walked down the hallway and she just stood there like an idiot, watching him walk back to her kitchen. As soon as he disappeared, Mina took another deep breath and checked her reflection. “Get it together,” she whispered to herself. “You’re screwing this all up.” Mina quickly lit a fewcandles, shaking her head at herself for even telling him why she had neglected to light them in the first place. She shouldn’t have brought up the “D” word. Calling tonight a date, in any way, was a mistake. He was going to see her as desperate and that wasn’t what she wanted.

“You coming?” he called from the kitchen.

“On my way,” she said, checking herself in the mirror one last time. She was sure that inviting him over tonight was a mistake, but if it gave her the shot she wanted with him, it was worth all the embarrassment she currently felt.

The thought of sitting at a dinner table all evening, and having to come up with conversation, felt like a punishment. She and Eli usually had no problem talking to each other and coming up with topics of conversation. Heck, at the wedding, they practically talked each other’s ears off while dancing the night away. There was no pressure, and she had such a good time. Tonight, felt the exact opposite of their night at Evan and Carrie’s wedding. Tonight felt forced and she hated that.

“Um, would you like to take our dinners to the family room and watch the movie I rented while we eat?” she asked.

“Yeah, sure,” he agreed. He practically jumped at the offer to watch a movie. It would save them both from having to come up with small talk. “That sounds great. What kind of movie did you rent?” he asked.

“Well, I knew that I was going to be dog-sitting, so I picked up a movie for myself earlier this morning when I ran some errands. I got a romcom, I hope that’s okay.” She could tell by the grimace on his face that he was less than thrilled by the ideaof watching a romcom that she picked out. “We could just watch something on television if you’d rather skip the movie.”

“I honestly don’t mind,” Eli lied. “As long as you don’t tell my brother that I watched a rom-com, I think that I can handle it.”

She giggled and sat down next to Daisy on the couch. The dog had decided to take a nap and for such a little dog, she sure took up a lot of space. Eli sat down next to Daisy and patted her head. She quickly settled back down and went to sleep.

“She’s pretty cute,” Eli said. “I’ve never had a dog, but Daisy seems sweet. Have you ever had any pets of your own?” he asked.

“No, I don’t really have time for one,” she said. “Daisy needs a bunch of attention and if she doesn’t get it, she goes nuclear and tears stuff apart. She did that to my favorite pillow this morning, while I was running errands.” She nodded to the pillow sitting in the corner of her family room floor that the little terror had torn apart earlier.

“Wow,” Eli said, “you are one ferocious puppy.” Daisy looked at Eli and rolled over to show him her belly.

“She really likes you,” Mina said.

“Well, I never had time for a pet either, but if I got one, I’d want one just like Daisy. Except, I could do without the pillow destruction and all that stuff.”

“My neighbor said that he has to take her to work with him or he’d come home to a real mess,” Mina said.

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