Page 14 of Against the Clock
She’s like a breath of fresh air. Plus, she smells good. Really good.
“Is this a park or something?” she asks.
“Well, so, I probably should have told you this before I brought you here, but I, uh, I didn’t think it all the way through, maybe.”
“That’s not exactly inspiring confidence,” she says, her eyes narrowed. “Don’t forget, my friend Cameron is standing by with the SWAT team.” She holds up her phone.
“This is my home,” I tell her instead. “A lot of the guys like to live close to the training center, but I… wanted some peace and quiet. So I moved out here.”
The asphalt road turns to pavestones, and I grin at her wide eyes as she takes in the house before her. Thank fuck I called my yard guys this morning and asked about getting twinkle lights put up in the front garden. It looks magical.
“Do you always have Christmas lights up in the… garden?”
“Nope. I thought I would go the extra mile to try and impress a woman.” Nervousness fills me, and a low chuckle erupts from my throat. “Is it working?”
“Mmm,” she says, her brown eyes reflecting the warm yellow glow of the garden.
“It’s not as nice now as it was this summer,” I tell her, unable to stop talking. It’s like I’ve forgotten how to turn on the charm, like I’ve been transported back to the first time I ever took a girl out for dinner, and all I wanna do is impress her.
Like me, I want to say. I like you. Like me back.
“Usually it’s full of flowers and herbs, but now there’s just the sort of ruddy autumn colors as everything’s going dormant.”
“Are you kidding me?” she asks, swinging her head towards me as the truck rolls to a stop. “This is beautiful.”
I laugh, relieved, beaming down at her expression, full of wonder.
I like impressing her. I like that look on her face.
I want to see more of it.
“I should have worn different shoes,” she says ruefully. “I didn’t plan on hanging out in a garden.”
“That’s okay,” I tell her. “I’ll carry you to the table.”
I get out of the truck before she has time to refuse, hoping she’ll let me. Wanting to hold her, wanting to feel her pressed up against me.
Giddy with the chance to make it happen, I brush a hand through my hair before I open her door, trying to center myself, trying to play it cool.
There’s nothing cool about me right now. I want this woman.
The door opens and Kelsey’s staring at me, looking slightly bewildered. “You want to carry me to the table,” she repeats.
“If you don’t want to ruin your shoes.” I shrug, pretending like it’s no big deal, pretending like my heart isn’t hammering against my chest with anticipation and want.
“I could go barefoot.”
“No,” I shake my head. “What if you step on something? I can’t have you calling an audible on our date before you have a chance to try the life-changing sandwich in that bag.” I nod my head at the brown paper bag in her lap.
“Call an audible?” she repeats, the corners of her mouth lifting as she grins.
“Yeah.” My mouth twists to the side. “It’s a football term, sorry. You can take the quarterback out of the game but you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.”
“That’s a mixed metaphor,” she says, laughing. “And you’re not old. Not at all. And I know it is… I know plenty about football.”
I raise my arm, pretending to flex for her. “So you trust me to carry you into the end zone?”
She arches an eyebrow, her brown gaze turning fiery. “Are you trying to say you think you’re going to score tonight?”