Page 3 of Let Me Love You
She smiled, but shook her head, admonishing him.
“Sorry.” He lowered his head, disappointed, stomach twisting. He wanted to make a good impression. Wanted her to take him seriously, and yet he gawked at her as if he’d never seen a set of breasts in his life. He blew out a harsh breath.
“It’s okay, Ren.” Her voice seemed laced with sincerity. She had to know she was a knockout and had this effect on men. She moved on with their conversation as if his traitorous eyes had never wandered below her neck. “You obviously maintained your grades.”
“Yeah.” Relieved to move past the transgression, he answered. “Mom wasn’t impressed with my grades for the fall semester, considering it was my last year. I busted my ass and they improved in the spring. Football season distracted me.” He shrugged. “It’s hard to not participate in all the fun. Tailgating. Parties. You know. You went to Florida, too.”
The corners of her mouth twitched.
“Yes, I know what you’re talking about.” A reminiscent look softened her features. “But I wasn’t getting engineeringandbusiness degrees.”
“Don’t downplay what you do, Stace.” Even though Ren wouldn’t consider himself a reader of romance, he did read Stacey’s novels. The sex scenes enthralled him. He hadn’t realized reading a sexual encounter between characters could send his libido into overdrive, but his interest in her writing went deeper. Her work fascinated him—how she came up with story ideas and developed her characters. A lot went into writing a book, even if her ex thought of her career as a silly hobby. He’d spent numerous hours talking to her about her craft.
Her eyes fluttered closed and her cheeks pinkened as if his compliment had embarrassed her.
“I think highly of what I do. Creating worlds and characters, plotting storylines is no easy task. If it were, everyone would be successful and there are a lot of people trying. It took me seven or eight years of writing to create a book that drew the attention needed to push me to the next level. But my curriculum in college was different than yours. I’m sure your mom just wanted to see you excel.”
“She warned me during Christmas break that I needed to spend less time partying during the spring semester, and I’d better not use the basketball season as an excuse for less than perfect grades.” He chuckled. That conversation with Mom had been intense, but he understood her reasoning. “I agreed and buckled down, as Dad likes to say. I mean, I didn’t think either of my parents would be happy if I had to extend my college experience beyond five years.”
Stacey puffed out a chuckle. The sound zinged his heart.
She glanced at him with honesty in her eyes. “There’s nothing wrong with partying and having fun. Those chances won’t be as frequent once you start your job. With a career comes responsibility. It’s good that you enjoyed your college experience. Sounds to me like you kept your head on straight for the most part.” She winked. Butterflies fluttered in his stomach the way they always did when she teased him. “Congratulations and welcome to the real world, Ren!”
“Thanks. I think.” He grinned back.
“Any girls hold your eye?” Her genuine curiosity hung in the air. He’d always found it easy to talk to her about his personal life, including girls.
“I have my eye on a girl.” He said the words with confidence, but avoided her gaze. He feared she’d see the longing in his eyes. Heat coiled low in his belly, and arousal tensed his shoulders. He tightened his fingers around the armrests of the chair, attempting to rein in his desire.
He had his eye on a girl, all right. Her. Always. Since he was fifteen. Only at fifteen he didn’t know what to do with the attraction. At twenty-three, almost twenty-four, he knew exactly what to do.
Him being her neighbor wasn’t the reason for her interest. No, she expressed genuine interest in who he was and what made him tick. And he loved that. She saw beyond his exterior to the person underneath and liked him. A lot of women just saw him as a good-looking guy with an athletic body. He never thought he’d get bored having women peruse him with gazes begging for a ride, but he had. Though the physical admiration felt good, he wanted to be known for more than his face, body, and ability between the sheets. He wanted someone to want him for who he was underneath the physical qualities. Scratch that! He wanted Stacey to want him. Period.
“Have you asked her out?”
“Not yet. But I do have plans to let her know how I feel, soon.” Feeling her gaze on him, he looked up.
She cocked one curious eyebrow.
He fiddled with the button on the pocket of his cargo shorts, hoping he didn’t appear nervous. Why the hell was he so nervous anyway? He’d landed plenty of girls. Why wassheso intimidating?
His palms slickened with sweat and his nerves jangled with fear of being rejected. Girlsneverrejected him. Most girls threw themselves at him and he had the ugly task of turning them down when necessary. A woman like Stacey might discount his feelings as a crush and he didn’t know how to deal with that possibility. And that dismissal had a high probability. She wouldn’t just give in to what he wanted.
The eight years between them didn’t botherhim. Wouldshethink the gap in their age insurmountable? Unrealistic? Would her friendship with his parents turn the idea of them together into something dirty, a scandal she’d do anything to avoid?
Sex. Yes, he wanted to fuck her every which way to Sunday. The thought kept him awake on numerous nights and calloused both his hands. But more than sex, he wanted to hold her hand, wrap his arms around her, and kiss her good night. He craved being the person she confided in, laughed with, the shoulder she cried on. He wanted to share a life with her. His life. Her life. Yep, at some point, Ren Haynes had fallen in love with his neighbor. With Randy out of the picture,nothingprevented him from going after what he wanted. Well, except for the fear of rejection.
“Lucky girl,” she whispered, bringing him out of his reverie.
“I hope she feels that way.”
“Why wouldn’t she? You’re an amazing guy.” She fanned herself with her hands as if staving off the heat. “Is this someone you might be interested in for more than just one of your one-night stands?”
His face grew warm and he bowed his head in shame. At this moment, he wished she didn’t know him quite as well. That she might think him incapable of a commitment didn’t sit well.
“Yes. One hundred and ten percent.”
“Wow! Ren Hayneshasgrown up.”
