Chapter 12
12
HANK
Hey soldier
B ailey’s text came in right before I was about to head to lunch. It was Tuesday already and I’ve wanted to text her several times since our date on Saturday. There were multiple times over the last two days that I had picked up my phone, opened a new message, typed something, then deleted it. We’d seen each other at the gym the last few mornings and I waved to her when I caught her looking at me, but beyond that, we hadn’t really spoken.
Why are you being such a dicklicker about this? I’d thought to myself several times. I wasn’t normally like this with women but something about this one was throwing me off my game. My brain struggled to string together any logical thought when it came to her. I smiled at my phone, grateful she had taken the initiative. Again. Just like she did with our kiss on Saturday. The kiss that I had been replaying in my head ever since it happened.
I focused on my phone again, pulling my brain away from the thoughts of her plump, pink lips on mine, and texted her back.
Hey blondie.
Are you ever going to call me?
This girl doesn’t hold back any punches, does she?
Who’s to say I wasn’t going to call you today? You could be stealing my thunder again.
I was starting to think you didn’t have enough thunder in you to ask…again *wink emoji*
Would you like to get a drink with me tomorrow?
She added the second text before I could even recover from her jab.
I thought about her offer. It was Tuesday, meaning tomorrow was Wednesday, which meant it was campaign night. The guys would kill me if I canceled on them since we had just started this campaign a few weeks ago and were still laying the storyline. But I wanted to see her. Hell, I was starting to feel like I needed to see her for my own survival. There was this undeniable pull between us and having not been close to her in a few days, my body was starting to physically ache.
How about I do you one better. Let’s meet tonight if you can?
I would love that *blushing emoji*
Does 6:30 work?
She sent her response back quickly. A smile formed on my face knowing I was going to get to see her sooner than I thought I would when I woke up this morning.
6:30 it is. I’ll pick you up then.
You don’t have to pick me up, soldier, I can meet you wherever you want to meet.
I’m picking you up, don’t argue.
There was no way I was “meeting her there”. A true gentleman picked up his girl from her house and took her out. This “meeting you there” bullshit was not something I would be participating in. Especially with her.
Okay then, if you really want to, you can pick me up.
I’ll see you tonight at 6:30.
You’ll see me tonight at 6:30.
Hey blondie?
I sent the message off quickly before my courage disappeared.
Yeah?
I can’t wait to see you again.
I can’t wait to see you either :)
Right on the dot and as promised, I knocked on her door at six thirty. After we settled on drinks tonight, I’d looked up bars around her place so we wouldn’t need to drive anywhere. I didn’t want her to have to repeat the wardrobe change if she decided to wear a dress again. And damn was I hoping she would be wearing a dress again. The way her legs looked in the last one set me on edge in the best way possible.
After knocking once, I’d waited for a minute or so and started to wonder if she’d forgotten about our plans when she didn’t answer the door. Okay don’t panic, just knock again and see if she didn’t hear you the first time. My hand reached towards the door again and knocked, a little harder than I had the first time.
“Hold on a second, I hear you!” I heard her call from behind the door along with the sound of a loud crash and things falling to the floor.
“Bailey, are you okay?” I leaned into the door and shouted through it, slightly worried that she had fallen and was hurt. I was about to reach for the door handle and see if it was unlocked when it swung open.
“Holy shit.” She was standing in the door frame panting, a wide smile growing on her face. Behind her an entire bookshelf was toppled over and books were strewn all over the floor.
“That thing just tried to kill me.” Her thumb jabbed behind her, motioning to the fallen bookshelf.
“What the hell are you doing in here, blondie? Are you trying to hurt yourself?” My voice came out more concerned than I was anticipating. I stepped past her into her place without an invitation and studied the damage.
“Actually, that’s exactly what I was trying to do. I intentionally pulled the thing down while I was running to open the door just to try and scare you.” She jabbed me playfully in the arm as she came to stand next to me and I tried to ignore the feeling it created in my jeans. “The thing is super old, I found it on the curb one day and brought it home. Ophelia’s been telling me we need to mount it to the wall, and now I can tell her she was right.” She tried to laugh it off but I didn’t find her closeness to being crushed by a bookshelf funny at all.
“Don’t play, blondie. You could have gotten hurt. I’m glad you didn’t.” My hand reached out towards her and landed on her lower back instinctually. Her brilliant blue eyes met mine and her cheeks turned a slight shade of pink when I let my hand linger in the spot a little longer than comfortable.
“How about I help you clean this up and then we go get those drinks?”
“I would appreciate that very much, thank you.” She gave me a small smile before stepping away from my hand towards the fallen books. My fingers missed her as soon as she was gone.
As I helped her clean up the books, I looked around her place. The space was nice and modern, nothing like my completely average apartment that was north of the city. There was a full kitchen, two bedrooms, and a large living room that I could see from where we were. It was clear that women occupied the space because it smelled like vanilla and lavender. The vanilla I recognized, but the lavender was new to me.
“Nice place you’ve got here.” I lifted the bookshelf off the floor and set it upright against the wall.
“Thanks, it’s not mine. My friend owns it and is letting me live with her while I figure some stuff out.” She itched her forehead and sounded embarrassed.
“Well you two have a very nice place.” I smiled at her and she handed me some books to put back on the shelves.
“So, how did this thing fall down?” She was sitting on her knees collecting books and handing them to me so I could return them to their rightful home.
“Well, I was in my room reading while I waited for you to get here. Then you knocked but I was at a really good spot and I wanted to finish my page, so I tried to hurry up and finish reading. Then I guess I took too long because you knocked again. I didn’t want you to think I was blowing you off, so I raced out of my room and in the process of turning the corner, completely slammed into the bookshelf. Then it fell down and then I opened the door, and now we’re here picking up my mess.” Her face was warped into an expression that resembled a small child who had just been caught doing something they weren’t supposed to do. I barked out a laugh because the image of her running out of her room to open the door, just to knock over an entire bookshelf in the process, was comical to me.
“What were you reading that had you so enthralled?” I asked as she handed me the last few books and I placed them back on the shelf. I reached my hand towards her to help her stand.
“Something hot and steamy.” A wicked smile spread across her face as I pulled her up. She stood only a few inches away from me, our chests nearly touching, and it took everything in me not to grab her face and pull it into mine.
“You read hot and steamy books?” My eyes flickered between her lips and her gaze.
“It’s the only thing I read.” She licked her lips before chewing on her bottom one. The growing sensation in my jeans was almost hard to ignore at this point.
“Let’s go get those drinks.” She broke the tension that was building between us by stepping away and walking towards the kitchen island. She grabbed her bag that was sitting on the counter and turned to look at me. I was frozen where I stood and trying to recover from what she’d just told me.
It’s the only thing I read. I made a mental note to figure out where to buy whatever kinds of books were considered “hot and steamy”.
“You comin’?” Her head cocked to one side and her blonde hair fell in the same direction. Her cheeks were pressed into her eyes as she smiled at me, reaching her hand out for me to take.
“Yep. Let’s go get those drinks.” I reached for her hand and took it, our fingers intertwined. As we walked back towards the door, she pulled me closer to her and planted a kiss on my cheek.
“Thanks for helping me clean up my mess. That was really sweet of you.” She looked at me for a beat and before I could respond or kiss her back, she pulled me through her front door.
I knew this girl was soft and sweet, but I had just learned she had some spice in her as well.
And that was a side of her I wanted to see more of.