CHAPTER 8 #2
With that, I left Justin in his office and pulled out my phone. I shot Jamie a quick text, asking if she wanted to go out again. Turned out, I really enjoyed her company. Being around her settled me, brought me peace when I spent most of my day immersed in chaos.
Jamie: I’m definitely free tonight. What did you have in mind?
Me: It’s a surprise.
Jamie: You said that last time.
Me: You have something against surprises?
Jamie: Not at all.
Me: Good. I’ll pick you up at seven.
Jamie: Should I wear anything particular?
I wanted to tell her to wear nothing at all, but I didn’t.
Me: Casual is good.
Jamie: See you at seven.
Yes, she would.
Jamie
This whole dating thing was difficult.
Not the actual date part. That was easy. And fun.
However, the getting ready part … it made me anxious. But here I was, going casual once again to spend my evening with Edge. Part of me had hoped Cav would be tagging along since we’d already done the single date, but I figured the two of them knew what they were doing.
Or maybe they didn’t, and we were all just winging it.
Either way, I was pulling on my shoes when the knock sounded on my door. Just like last time, my heart rate sped up and my hands got a little clammy. I briefly wondered if this nervousness would decline the more time I spent with Edge.
Opening the door, I looked up into the handsome face I’d been seeing in my dreams lately.
“Hey,” I greeted with a smile.
“Hey, back.” Edge stepped inside. “You ready?”
“As I’ll ever be,” I admitted truthfully.
The good news was, after our last date, I knew what to expect.
Since we’d gone bowling and for ice cream, I figured Edge was the casual date sort of guy.
Thanks to my full-time student status, I had plenty of outfit options at my disposal.
Tonight I’d opted for a pair of brown leggings and a cream-colored, oversized cashmere sweater.
Based on the way Edge’s gaze slid over me, he approved of my choices.
“So, where to?” I asked, hoping he’d give up the surprise sooner rather than later.
No answer was forthcoming, yet there was a twinkle in his glittering eyes.
He took my coat from my hand and helped me into it. “Surprise, remember?”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah.”
Knowing he wasn’t going to elaborate, I grabbed my purse and my keys.
“After you.” I motioned toward the door, following him.
I locked up and allowed Edge to lead me down the sidewalk to the parking lot. I was expecting to see his car, but instead, I noticed…
I had to do a double-take.
“A limo?”
He smiled, then motioned for me to get in the door the driver was holding open.
“I figured this would be easier than parking.”
I laughed. “My friends and I generally use Uber, but this works, too.”
“Ah. Uber.” He looked as though he hadn’t considered that. “Well, this’ll give us a little more privacy.”
I ducked into the car while Edge said something to the driver. I couldn’t quite make it out as I scooted to the opposite side. I noticed there were seat belts, but I wasn’t sure if I should put it on. Was that what people usually did? It would be safer that way, right?
“Relax, sweetness,” Edge said as he joined me.
I laughed. “Easy for you to say. Do you do this often? Cruise around town in a limo?”
“From time to time.”
“Really?”
“No.”
I laughed. I was catching on to his humor.
The window between the driver and us slowly slid up seconds before the car pulled away from the curb.
Feeling the weight of silence, I decided to pelt him with another question. “So, what did you need the privacy for?”
He didn’t answer right away, which caused me to look at him.
“Come here, Jamie.”
I swallowed, the intensity in his gaze sending sparks dancing across my skin.
Not sure what he meant by come here, I scooted toward him.
The next thing I knew, I was on his lap.
“This is what I need privacy for,” he said as his lips glided over mine.
I lost my breath along with my train of thought.
Settling into him, I slid my arm around his neck, my tongue blindly dancing with his.
This wasn’t the chaste, innocent cheek peck he’d offered on our first date.
No, this was … lightning in a bottle. Our tongues collided, dueled as Edge’s big, warm hand curled around behind my head, readjusting the angle and delving deeper.
I moaned into his mouth, tried to move closer, which earned me a sexy groan in response.
“Wow,” I whispered on a rush of air, my lungs working overtime to fill. “That was…”
Edge’s dark eyebrow rose as though encouraging me to finish my sentence.
I pulled my hands from around his neck, adjusted my sweater, and said, “Nice.”
“Nice?” Edge barked a laugh.
I couldn’t help it, I laughed, too. It was so much more than nice, but he didn’t need to know that.
“I’m thinking an entirely different adjective,” Edge said, his voice deeper, rougher than before.
“Yeah?” I pretended to stare out the window. “Like what? Pleasant?”
His hand shot up into my hair, palming the back of my head as he urged me closer. I wasn’t about to play coy. I wanted his mouth on mine, so I leaned into him, throwing my arms around his neck and taking that nice, pleasant kiss into another hemisphere altogether.
This time when we broke for air, I couldn’t resist sliding my hand over his smooth cheek. “I have a new fondness for limos.”
“Do you?”
I smiled. “I definitely do.”
He seemed pleased by that, sliding his hand over mine and linking our fingers before pulling my hand from his cheek. He pressed his lips against my palm, then tugged me back against him.
It took the rest of the drive for me to catch my breath.
Twenty minutes later, the limo came to a stop. I already knew where we were, and I couldn’t help but smile as I climbed out, accepting Edge’s hand for assistance.
“Did someone tell you this was one of my favorite places? Or are you a mind reader?”
“Just a hunch.”
I peered up at him. “Really?”
“No.” He smirked, and my knees weakened. “It’s open mic night tonight, thought maybe we’d get lucky and hear some decent comedy.”
“In that case…” I gripped his hand as we started toward the door.
“So, you’ve been here before?” he asked as we walked inside.
“I love this place. It’s one of my favorite places in the city. My friends and I come here probably twice a month.” I smiled up at him. “I’ve met the owner.”
Edge glanced down at me. “Have you?”
“Yes. Gretchen…” I couldn’t remember her last name.
“Not best friends, then?” he teased.
I grinned. “No. But I have met her, I swear.”
“Gretchen Reilley,” Edge provided.
I frowned. “You know her?”
His knowing smirk said he did. “She’s my sister.”
“Your…” Well, hell. I would’ve never put two and two together, although looking at him now, I could see a family resemblance. They both had the same aquamarine eyes and pointed eyebrows.
“Why don’t you grab a table while I get us drinks?” he suggested.
I nodded. “Sure.”
I found a small table that was relatively secluded while Edge went up to the bar. I watched him interact with the bartender. Although he seemed more comfortable tonight, there was still a lot of tension in his shoulders. But he was smiling, so I took that as a good sign.
When he joined me, he was carrying two glasses of wine, one red, one white.
“I ordered some finger foods. Hope that’s all right.”
“Sounds perfect.”
He motioned toward the glasses. “Your choice.”
Figuring he was more of a red drinker, I selected the white. He took his seat, moving it around so that we were on the same side, close enough to touch.
“How was your weekend?” he asked.
I sipped my wine. “Not nearly as good as the week’s starting out to be.”
Edge grinned, then leaned over and pressed his lips to mine. The sweet gesture caught me off guard, had my breath stilling in my chest.
“How was your weekend?” I asked, tossing the conversational ball back to him. “Do anything exciting?”
“Actually, yes.”
“Do tell.”
Edge held my gaze for a moment. “I stopped by Cav’s hotel room on Friday night.”
I stilled. “After our date?”
“Yes.”
“And…?”
I watched his Adam’s apple bob. “I kissed him.”
Ever step outside in the heat of the summer when the sun’s been bouncing off the buildings, steaming up the ground, and you can actually see the heat shimmering? I felt like I walked right into it. The hairs on my nape stood on end, the heat so intense I thought I might need to step outside.
“Jamie?”
“I’m sorry.” I cleared my throat, took a long swallow of wine. “You can’t just throw that at a girl and not expect her to … fantasize.”
His blue irises actually darkened. “You fantasized?”
I nodded, took another sip of my wine.
A guy walked up onto the small stage, set up the microphone and a stool, then disappeared.
“Have you heard from Cav?” Edge asked.
“I have. We … actually, we had lunch today.”
Based on the small line that formed on his forehead, Edge didn’t know that. I was surprised he didn’t. From the discussions I’d had with Cav, the two of them were tight. Considering Edge’s revelation, they were really tight.
“Really?” His hand slid around the stem of his wineglass, and he stared down at it.
“Yeah. We grabbed burgers between classes.”
“Hmm.”
“You didn’t know this,” I stated, working the information over in my head. Why wouldn’t Cav just tell him?
Edge put his arm around my chair. “It’s not necessary for me to know everything you do with Cav.”
I glanced at him, then over to the bar, not sure where to keep my eyes. “Well, it would seem he didn’t tell you about our lunch date, and he didn’t mention to me that you’d shared a lip-lock.”
“Does that upset you?”
I shook my head. “No.”
“Do you expect him to?”
I shrugged, let my gaze scan the room so I didn’t have to look him in the eye. “I guess I’m confused because I thought this was going to go a different way.”
“What way was that?”
I let my attention drop to the table. “Based on what you outlined at the club that night—”
Edge gripped my chin, turned my head to face him. “I said a lot of shit that night.”