“Sorry. I wasn’t thinking. Maybe we should’ve done this another time so you could sleep.” There was no way I could sayI just wanted to see you after we spent all night talkingwithout it sounding weird.
Straightening up, he rubbed his hand across his mouth, stifling another yawn. “I don’t mind. Caffeine helps, and I’m just gonna power through and make up for it with an early night tonight. I’ve done enough of it this year, pulling all-nighters to get my assignments done. I work best that way.”
“Me too. Okay, if you’re sure you’re good with it, why don’t we cycle to the cafe so we can get you a coffee, and then you can give me my first mugging lesson.”
Nate grinned at me, shaking his head as he bent down to pick up his bike. “One day, someone’s gonna hear you talking about me being a mugger, and then we’ll both be in trouble.”
“Wewill? I’m not the mugger.”
Wheeling his bike over to mine, he stopped right next to me, dipping his head to my ear. “You’re my accomplice, Pinball Prince.”
I shivered again and quickly moved my bike away from his, so I could no longer feel his body heat. “Whatever you say.”
With a laugh, he swung his leg over his bike, the muscles in his legs flexing. “You’re so tanned,” my mouth said before my brain could catch up.
“Uh…I am?” He shrugged. “I guess so, yeah. I spend a lot of time outside. Speaking of…I know you said before about wantingto play football and not being able to, so I brought a ball with me. It’s in my bag. I thought we could have a kick around later, if you wanted to.”
My stomach flipped. “That would be great,” I said, much more softly than I’d planned. “But first, let’s kick off our third date with caffeine. Race you there.” With that, I jumped on my bike and began pedalling as hard as I could.
“You’re going the wrong way,” Nate called, effortlessly catching up with me. Bastard. How was he so good at everything?
“I am?”
“Yeah. The cafe’s that way.” He jerked his head to the right, and slowing down my manic pace, I steered my bike in the indicated direction. By the time we reached the cafe, we’d slowed right down, cycling next to each other so we could talk at the same time.
Nate disappeared inside the cafe while I waited with the bikes, returning with two iced lattes. It was a warm day, and I was already overheated from all the cycling, so it was exactly what I needed.
We slowly wheeled our bikes along the path, sipping our coffees, and I caught Nate up on my night out at the club while he told me about his cousin’s party. It was so easy to fall into conversation with him, and somehow, the time seemed to fly by while we were talking in a way I’d never really experienced with anyone before.
“Let’s stop over there.” Nate pointed towards a large, empty patch of grass just off the path with several large trees shading the edge of the space. “We can leave our bikes under the trees and have a kick around.”
“Okay.” After dumping my empty coffee cup in the nearest recycling bin, I wheeled my bike over to the tree and proppedit up against the trunk. When Nate joined me, he unzipped his backpack, pulling out a ball.
“Fuck me, it’s hot today.” Dropping the ball to the grass, he lifted his shirt, pulling it over his head, and I was suddenly faced with miles of tanned, smooth skin and toned muscles.
“Fucking hell,” I whispered, swallowing hard.
“Huh?”
“Oh. Uh…you’re really fucking fit, you know.”
“Yeah, you told me that on our second date.” He shot me a grin. “It’s not like you have anything to worry about. I told you that already. Have you tried using that mirror I mentioned?”
There was nothing for it. I steeled myself, tugging my own T-shirt off, leaving me in just my shorts and trainers.
Nate fell silent as he stared at me with his lips slightly parted. His sunglasses were way too dark for me to work out his expression, but I could feel his gaze boring into me, sweeping down my body.
“Okay, I know I don’t have the body of an underwear model like you do, but I didn’t realise it was going to shock you speechless,” I said, attempting a laugh that came out a little shaky.
He swallowed, and my gaze was drawn to the way his Adam’s apple moved. What was it about his throat that always seemed to catch my eye?
“Fuck off,” he said, swiping his tongue across his lips before he continued. “You’re fit as fuck.”
Whoa. I’d said the same thing to him in the pub, but there was something about that low rasp in his voice— “Fit as in physically fit or sexy fit?”
“Both. Fuck. No.” Rubbing his hand over his mouth, he groaned. “You know. I didn’t mean it that way.”
“Hey, my date thinks I’m hot. That’s always a good sign.” I elbowed him in an attempt to release the weird tension betweenus, and it worked…except for the fact that my bare skin slid against his in a really distracting way. Who knew that jabbing someone in the side with your elbow could be weirdly hot? And he was a man. It was all very fucking strange. I would blame it on sunstroke, but we were currently in the shade, and the temperature in the sun was warm rather than heatstroke-inducing.