Page 25 of Hard To Leave

His body tensed. “My flight leaves at 3:30 tomorrow afternoon.”

I tried to hide my disappointment, but I didn’t do it very well. Logically, I understood we lived in two different states, hundreds of miles apart from each other. I knew he had to go back home, but I had just hoped for some more time together.

As if he could read my thoughts, his hand reached for mine again across the table. “Hey, listen. Let’s not think about that now, okay? Let’s just enjoy tonight. We’ll figure this out. I promise.”

I let his words settle, hoping they would soothe my anxiety. He may have been inexperienced when it came to relationships, but he knew exactly what to say, and he always seemed to know what I needed to hear.

I tried my best to push thoughts of him getting on that plane tomorrow out of my head and everything that would mean for us. I didn’t want to spend the rest of the night analyzing my feelings from every angle. And I didn’t want to think about saying goodbye to him before he even left.

“So…” He cleared his throat. “Please, tell me more about Tanner.”

A waiter appeared, interrupting our conversation. He placed our dessert in the middle of the table and handed us two spoons.

Jack picked up his spoon and waved it at me. “Ladies first.”

I took a bite of the Bananas Foster bread pudding, covered in Vanilla ice cream and a raspberry drizzle. I wasn’t normally a big dessert eater, but oh my God, it was delicious. I didn’t realize I had moaned out loud until I looked up. Jack’s eyes were trained on my lips, and his jaw looked tense.

“Sorry,” I said, wiping my mouth.

“Don’t be. At least I know what your little moans sound like now.”

I kicked his leg playfully under the table. “Why do I get the feeling you have a one-track mind?”

“Because when it comes to you, there is only one track I’m interested in running on.”

The man had no shame.

I dipped a piece of my bread pudding into the vanilla ice cream as he watched me with interest. The waitress from earlier appeared at our table and set the bill down. Jack reached into his wallet and handed her his credit card.

I watched with annoyance as she intentionally brushed her finger against his. She looked like she was two seconds away from giving him a lap dance. I just stuck my dessert into my mouth and looked into her eyes and pulled the spoon out, doing my best to give her my “stay the fuck away from my man” stare.

Jack tapped his chin with his pointer finger. “You’ve got a little ice cream right here.”

“Shit,” I said, picking up my napkin and wiping it off. So much for looking like a badass. “So, what did you want to know about Tanner?”

He sat back in his chair and fiddled with the salt and pepper shakers. “What’s he like?”

I considered his question and found myself liking the fact that he wanted to know more about my son. “He’s actually a pretty easy-going kid. He’s not rough and wild like most little boys are. He’s much quieter and reserved.” I looked off and laughed. “Unless the subject of baseball is involved.”

“Ah…so he’s a baseball fan.”

“Unfortunately.”

Jack raised a questioning eyebrow. “You don’t like baseball?”

I shrugged and placed my spoon down on the table. “Not really. The game is too slow for me. I would much rather watch football or basketball, but he loves baseball for some reason.”

Jack placed his hands over his heart as if someone had just shot him in the chest. “Well, that changes things a bit.”

“How so?”

“I don’t think this is going to work out after all. I’m really sorry. You’re a nice girl and everything, but not liking baseball is a deal breaker for me.”

I picked my napkin off my lap and shot it at him. Of course, he caught it. The table next to us turned their heads when they heard his loud chuckle. “You’re an ass, you know that?”

“I’ve been called worse.”

I rolled my eyes. “I probably don’t even want to know, do I?”

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