Page 34 of Girls Will Be Girls
“Not outright.”
I take another sip of my drink, hoping he won’t make me explain any more than that, but it’s Lou, of course he does. I fight my cheeks reddening as he gestures for me to go on.
I put my beer down and hold my now cold palm against my cheek. “It kind of has to be one or the other. Casual or going somewhere.” I say.
“Okay.”
“I like knowing where I stand from the start, and I don’t like lines blurring between the two. So if it starts casual, it’ll stay casual, and it’s just tended to go that way recently.”
“Okay.” He repeats. “Good to know.” He smiles.
There’s another loaded silence as we stare at each other.
He breaks it first this time, changing the subject luckily. “Good day?”
“Mixed bag,” I say honestly. “You?”
“Same.” He nods. “What did you do?”
“What didyoudo?” I smirk.
“Always with the deflection.” He chuckles. “The tour was visiting some local towns further inland, so I was where they were.”
“Get anything good yet?” I ask.
“Mm, nothing major, but a good first day.” He nods at me. “How about you?”
“I got some good stuff.”
“Yeah?” He leans back. “What did you do?”
We’re interrupted by one of the bartenders bringing over our food. They set down two taster boards that are the size of a small island and two large bowls of fries. They then warn us which wings are the hottest, and I’m slightly scared by the amusement in their eyes when they point out the last one.
I hesitate for a second, figuring out how to eat wings without embarrassingly spreading sauce all over my hands and face. Lou clearly does not have that problem as he grabs the wing withboth hands and digs in. I watch his pleased chewing, his eyes on me, and a knowing smirk on his face as if he knows exactly what I’m thinking. I square my shoulders and take a huge bite out of my own wing, my eyes never leaving his, trying to show him that he doesn’t know me.
I hate that he looks so pleased.
We move onto the next wing in silence, eating the same one at the same time, from mildest to hottest, just like the pros.
It’s strange, this bubbling tension between us while we’re eating possibly the least sexy meal we could be eating.
His eyes stay on mine as I place the bone down. When I lick the sauce off my thumb, his gaze jumps down to watch, and the pleasure this crack in his cocky exterior brings me is almost dangerous. The change in his face is minuscule, but unmistakable. His eyes hood slightly, his jaw flexes a fraction, and the heat between us is rising with the spice level of the wings.
I can’t help the pleased smirk on my lips, especially when he clears his throat and looks away.
“So.” Lou swallows a bite. “You were telling me about what you did today.”
“Was I?” I bite into another wing.
“Mm-hm.” He nods. “I vividly remember you being very excited to share your day with me.”
I laugh, and I don’t know if it’s the beer, the food, or him, but I have zero willpower to hide stuff from him anymore. It’s so stupid when you think about it.
“I went paddleboarding,” I admit.
“You went paddleboarding?” He looks devastated. “I’ve been sweating my ass off listening to the same speech over and over, and you got to go paddleboarding?” He wipes his mouth and leans back. “So you’re a sports writer?”
I shake my head.
