Page 14 of Beyond The Barre

When she still didn’t speak, he pulled out the chair and sat. His knee bumped gently against hers. “I was hoping to run into you again.”

“Why?” She didn’t mean to sound blunt. Be cool. Why did she let him affect her this way?

“You left the party the other night without saying goodbye.”

“Sorry about that. You seemed a bit preoccupied.”

“It was a really busy night.” He leaned forward on his elbows. “How about I make it up to you?”

Her heart thumped loudly in her ears. “You don’t have to do that.”

“No, I’d like to. Could I take you out for dinner?” His voice was a deep whisper now—quiet enough that she had to lean in closer to hear him. “Just the two of us.”

Gulp. She tried to remember all those reasons she didn’t want to get involved with Linc. She knew they were good reasons but right then, none of them were coming to mind.

“Okay,” she replied.

She was rewarded with a smile more genuine than she had ever seen on Linc before. It gave her a tiny thread of hope that maybe she had been wrong. Maybe it would be worth hanging out with Linc and seeing where things went.

Before she could change her mind, he whipped out his phone and asked for her number and address. She gave them to him and agreed to be picked up at seven that night.

“I’ll see you tonight then,” he said. “I’m really looking forward to it.”

“Me too,” she replied as he stood and put his phone back in his pocket.

“See you then.” He turned and walked out, leaving Scarlett alone to mull over what had just happened and why she was drawn to this man who was so obviously wrong for her.

Right on time, there was a knock at her door. Scarlett rose from the couch, where she had been nervously sitting, preparing herself for the night ahead.

Linc only wanted a one-night stand. She repeated the sentence to herself over and over again as she slicked on some lip gloss. That was all she wanted too. Sex as therapy, remember? Sure, dinner wasn’t necessarily part of the plan, but it’d be nice to spend a little time with him before they jumped into bed. All she had to do was spend time with him, let him touch her with those hands that made her sizzle, and then leave without falling for him. Simple.

Because falling in love ends badly …

It did, but that didn’t matter, as this was very much just a one-and-done deal. No love allowed.

She let out a deep breath before putting on a smile and opening the door.

A smile curved the edges of his mouth as she took him in. His chin was clean-shaven, his short hair slightly damp. His close-fitting faded denim jeans moulded over strong-looking thighs. He wore a black dress shirt with the sleeves loosely rolled, exposing muscled forearms with gold hairs. As she breathed in, she caught an enticing waft of citrus and scrubbed healthy male. She couldn’t drag her eyes away from him.

Perhaps catching her intense appraisal, he gave her a cheeky wink. She glanced away, embarrassed by her blatant ogling and flustered by her body’s reaction to him.

“Hi.” She finally managed to get a word out of her mouth.

“Evening, Scarlett. You look amazing tonight.” His eyes travelled the length of her body.

Earlier, she had pulled everything out of her wardrobe and tried multiple outfits on. Looking at herself in the full-length mirror, she hadn’t liked anything on her. All her pants made her thighs look huge and her dresses were too revealing. In the end, she had opted for a white cotton dress which scooped low down her chest but kept her shoulders covered.

“Do you like Thai food?” he asked.

She nodded without thinking, knowing she would go to McDonald’s with him if that was what he’d suggested, calories be damned.

“Great. The Thai here is the best on the Sunshine Coast, and it’s got a great view too.” He moved to let her pass him and lock the door before she followed him to his car.

They drove through the night, the streetlights twinkling like stars in the growing darkness. Scarlett relaxed and let the motion of the drive wash over her, soothing her as the engine hummed.

Soon they arrived at their destination, the smell of exotic spices and delicious food wafting out as they stepped inside.

They were shown to a table next to a three-tier fountain. Water was pumped up from a bowl the Budda statue was holding. The tinkling sound of the water journeying down the statue made for a serene background noise.

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