Chapter 21
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Scott
“I can’t tonight,” I say to Cole when he invites me out for a beer. “I’ve got plans.”
“Since when? This morning you said you were free.”
“Yeah, well, that was before I found out Trina broke up with her boyfriend. She finally ended it with him.”
“What does that have to do with tonight?”
“I’m taking her out.”
“Like on a date?” he asks, sounding surprised.
“It’s not a date. I’m just being a friend, getting her out so she doesn’t spend all night crying in her apartment.”
“Where are you taking her?”
“We’ll get a drink and then I’ll take her to dinner. And I thought we’d stop by this art gallery that has an exhibit she’d like.”
“Sounds like a date.”
“It’s not.”
“It could be. I know you like her.”
“As a friend. That’s it.” I move in front of the mirror and button my shirt. “Unlike you, I can go out with a girl without it leading to sex.”
“You could, but that’s usually not how it turns out.”
“Nothing’s going to happen. She just broke up with the guy she was going to marry. Sex is the last thing on her mind.”
“You don’t know that. Some girls deal with a breakup by having sex with another guy.”
“It’s not gonna be me,” I say, rolling up the sleeves on my shirt. “She already thinks I’m just some guy who sleeps around. I don’t need to be proving her point.”
“You could at least kiss her.”
“I’m not kissing her. Did you not hear me say this isn’t a date?”
“I heard you. I just don’t believe you. You wouldn’t be spending all this time with her if you only saw her as a friend.”
“The time I’ve spent with her is for work. It’s not personal.”
“Yeah, right.” He laughs.
“I’m serious. If I’m not there, how would she know what to toss and what to keep?”
“She’d make a pile of whatever she’s not sure about and have you come look at it later.”
“It’s not that simple.” I put on some cologne, not for Trina, but because I always wear cologne. “Some of the boxes have personal stuff. I don’t want her accidentally tossing something I might want.”
“Has she found any of Megan’s stuff?”
My chest tightens hearing her name. “No. Most of that stuff is gone, and the few things I kept are in my apartment.”
“Have you told Trina about her?”
“No, and I’m not going to. I don’t tell anyone about Megan, so why would I tell Trina?”
“I was just thinking your situations are kind of similar, with your engagements ending and everything changing. Obviously, your situation was a lot worse, but—”
“Mine wasn’t even close to hers,” I say, angry he dared to compare them. “Megan died. It wasn’t a breakup. She fucking died.”
“Yeah, sorry. I shouldn’t have said it. I was just—never mind. I’ll let you go.”
“Cole, I didn’t mean to yell at you,” I say with a sigh. “Hearing her name set me off, but that’s not your fault. I shouldn’t have reacted that way. It’s just this past week hasn’t been easy with all the memories. Going through that storage room is harder than I thought it’d be. Even going through stuff from my company reminds me of her.”
“If you ever want to talk about it, my door’s always open.”
“I don’t need to talk. I knew I’d feel this way if I ever went through that stuff. It’s tough, but I’ve just got to deal with it.”
“Maybe you should let Trina go through that stuff without you.”
“It’s faster when we’re both doing it. And it helps having her there. She doesn’t know the meaning behind the stuff so she doesn’t react when she sees it, which helps me not react. It’d be harder if I were doing it alone.” I check the time. “I need to get going. Why don’t you ask Marc to go out tonight?”
“He’s got a date.”
“Not anymore. I just talked to him. He said she cancelled on him.”
Marc lives upstairs, three doors down from Cole. We rarely see him because he doesn’t like being home. He’s one of those people who always has to be out.
“Then, yeah, I’ll go over there,” Cole says. “Have fun on your date.”
“Stop calling it that.”
He laughs. “Let me know how it goes.”
He assumes something’s going to happen, but it’s not. Would I like it to? Of course, but any guy would. Trina’s hot, even when she’s wearing sweats and her hair’s a mess. But what I’d like to happen and what’s actually going to happen are two different things. I’m not getting involved with a girl who just broke up with her boyfriend. Plus, she’s a relationship girl, which is not what I’m looking for.
Checking myself one last time in the mirror, I realize I look like I’m going on a date. I’m wearing dark pants with a button-up shirt and a jacket. It’s nothing special, but it’s a big change from what Trina is used to seeing me wear. But I’m taking her to a nice restaurant so I couldn’t just throw on a t-shirt.
Going out to the hall, I walk down to Trina’s door.
I knock a few times. “Trina, it’s Scott.”
“Be there in a minute!” she yells back. I hear something fall to the floor, then her shoes clicking as she races to the door. She swings it open. “Hi! I got home late from work so I’ve been hurrying to get ready.”
She looks gorgeous. I thought she was hot before, but this is a whole new level. She’s absolutely beautiful. She’s wearing a silky black dress with a slit up the side and tiny straps that tie at her shoulders. Her long blond hair is down and straight, a much different look than her usual messy bun. And I’ve never seen her wear that much makeup.
“You look incredible,” I say, unable to take my eyes off of her. “It almost doesn’t look like you.”
She laughs. “I’m not sure if that’s a compliment.”
“It is. I just meant I’m used to seeing you in sweats. It’s nice to see you in a dress.”
“Thanks!” She looks down at it. “I got this one really cheap at a sample sale, but I never have anywhere to wear it.”
My eyes drop to her black heels, which are at least three inches high. “You okay walking in those?”
“I’m an expert at walking in heels. I wore them every day at my old job.”
I’m a sucker for heels. The higher the better. And dresses with straps? Also a weakness of mine. I’m already imagining tugging those straps loose. And that slit in her dress? I can practically feel my hand going past that slit, sliding up her thigh.
This is bad. Really bad. The night just started. I can’t be having these thoughts.
“You look good,” Trina says. “I like the jacket.”
“Thanks.” I look past her and see the mattress I got her, which makes me think of her in bed, and… okay, I need to stop. “So are you ready to go?”
“Just let me lock up.” She steps out to the hall and I get a whiff of her perfume. It’s a light floral scent with a hint of citrus. It’s just what I imagined she’d wear. It’s also what I like. I’m not a fan of heavy scents.
“I’ve got a car waiting out front,” I tell her as we go down the hall.
“Scott.” She grips my arm, stopping me. “Before we go, I really want to thank you for doing this. I thought I’d feel sad going out so soon after ending it with Asher, or like it was wrong, but it actually feels really good.” She smiles. “Getting to dress up. Put on makeup. Do my hair. Go out with a hot older man. I needed this. It’s so much better then spending the night in my room.”
“Older man?” I laugh a little. “You make it sound like I’m 50.”
“I’m just saying you’re older than me.”
“Not by much. And what’s this about me being hot?”
“Forget that part,” she says, walking off. “Your ego’s big enough.”
Too late. She already said it. She admitted she’s attracted to me. I’m attracted to her too, which I’m sure she already knows. Whenever we’re together, you can feel the attraction we have to each other. Or maybe that’s just me, but I’m guessing Trina feels it too.
I’m starting to think this fake date is going to feel more like a real one, which means it’s possible it’ll end with something happening. I’m not planning on it. In fact, I’ll do whatever I can to make sure tonight is as innocent as it can be, although I’m not sure how I’ll do that with her wearing that hot dress and those sexy high heels.
“Where to?” the driver asks.
I give him the address and he pulls onto the street. Traffic’s bad. It’s going to take forever to get there.
“Callie couldn’t believe it when I told her I was going out,” Trina says.
“Callie’s your friend from Chicago, right?”
“Yeah.” Trina turns to me, smiling. “You remembered. I didn’t think you would. I only mentioned her once.”
“You’ve mentioned her a couple of times, and I have a good memory.” I really don’t, unless it’s something—or someone—I care about. “She’s the one married to the construction guy. And they have a baby. Am I right?”
Trina’s eyes widen. “Yes! You really do have a good memory. It took Asher a year just to remember Callie’s name.”
That’s because Asher’s a self-centered asshole who was using you and probably never loved you. I’m glad she finally realized that and dumped him.
“So you told your friend about me?”
“Yeah, and she thinks it’s really nice of you to take me out.”
She acts like I’m doing her a favor, when really, I wanted to do this. I like spending time with her, and I thought it’d be fun for us to do something other than clean out my storage room.
“Callie couldn’t believe you bought me a bed,” Trina says. “I can’t either. That was really generous of you.”
“It’s not a big deal, and I had to do it. I couldn’t have you falling asleep on the job.”
Trina turns to me. “Speaking of jobs, you were right about Frank. He tried to set me up with his grandson, Wally.”
“His name is Wally? How old is this guy?”
“Twenty-two. His name is Wallace, but people call him Wally. Frank was going to have him come to the store today to meet me, but I told him I was seeing someone else.”
“Who?”
She crinkles her nose. “I might’ve said you.”
“You told Frank we’re dating?”
“I just said we had a date.” She grips my arm. “Sorry, but I was desperate. I didn’t want Wally showing up and asking me out and—”
“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”
“Really? You’re not mad? Because I know you go there all the time and now Frank thinks we’re dating.”
“It’s one date. Maybe it won’t go well and you’ll find someone else.”
“Yeah, I could tell him that.” She sits back, gazing out the window. “But then I’d have to find your replacement, which is a problem since I’m not dating.”
“Just make someone up. The guy doesn’t have to be real.”
Trina tells me more about what happened at her job today, and before I know it, we’ve arrived at the bar. I get out of the car and offer Trina my hand. As she steps out to the street, the slit in her dress opens, revealing her leg, all the way up to her thigh.
Don’t look , I tell myself, but of course I look. How could I not? She looks absolutely stunning in that dress.
This was a terrible idea. Taking her out, knowing how attracted I am to her? What was I thinking? I clearly wasn’t, and now it’s too late. We’re out together on this fake date and she keeps touching my arm and getting close to me. It’s making me want to take her home and get her out of that dress.
But that’s not going to happen. I can do this. I’m not some horny teenage boy. I’m a grown ass man. I can be out with a beautiful woman without anything happening.