Soar

Chapter Seven

Casey

For the first time ever, I was late for work. I’d slept straight through my alarm, and I wasn’t even fully awake when I left the apartment. I didn’t remember much about my first date with Toby the night before except for the amazing coffee and how incredibly attractive he was. I’d had the most sensual dreams ever that night, and I woke up disappointed to find my tiny bed empty. I also had a vague recollection of him asking me out again. Hopefully he’d follow up on the offer. I definitely wanted to see more of him.

I tried to slip into work undetected but, of course, Eric caught me.

“You stood me up.” He stood there with his arms crossed, his massive biceps visible underneath his t-shirt.

“I specifically told you I wasn’t interested.”

“You take playing hard to get to a new level.”

“It’s because I’m not playing at anything.”

He laughed, and it didn’t sound forced. In fact, it sounded more natural than any other time I’d heard him. I looked up at him, wondering what had changed. He noticed my perusal and his face immediately went hard. “Get to work. You’re staying later to make up for your tardiness.”

“Right.”

“You’re lucky I don’t fire your ass.”

“Should I be kissing your feet too?”

“Not my feet.” He grinned and stalked off. So weird.

“How was it?” Remy asked eagerly when I got back from stowing my stuff in the break room.

“Probably the best coffee date ever.”

“I thought you were getting dinner.” She set down an Americana for a customer.

“I chickened out on it. I thought coffee was more casual.”

“And was it?” She leaned in expectantly.

“Yes, mostly.” I really wanted to remember more of the evening. I wondered if the forgetfulness was tied to hitting my head. If so, I really needed to suck it up and see a doctor.

“Mostly?”

“I could barely control myself, I wanted him so bad.”

She burst out laughing, scaring the customer who was retrieving her drink.

“Sorry,” I apologized to the woman who practically ran out of there. The exchange did nothing to stop Remy’s laughter.

“It’s not funny. I’ve never felt that strongly. I even had dreams last night.”

“Dreams?”

“Yeah, you know what kind.” I wasn’t about to go into details about the vivid image of showering with Toby that was probably seared in my brain forever.

“Was there a reason you didn’t sleep with him?” Her laughter died down, but it was replaced by a smile that was almost as bad.

“It was our first date.” That excuse generally would have covered it, except this time it was the guy putting on the breaks. I refused to read into his reluctance to come in. He had to work.

“Did you take care of it yourself then?” She grinned.

“No.” I looked away. That was just something I couldn’t do. I didn’t view myself as a prude, but a lot of people would.

She shook her head. “Were the dreams satisfying at least?”

“Kind of.”

“You might have a chance to live them right now,” Remy half yelled.

“What?” I turned around just as Toby walked over to the counter. I groaned. I was positive he’d heard her.

“Hey.” He smiled at me, but it was kind of warily. As weird as it sounds, he seemed worried that I was going to attack him or something.

“Hey.” I filled a cup with coffee and set it down. “Want anything to go with this?”

“Yeah.”

“What?”

“Dinner Saturday night.”

A rush of excitement flowed through me. “Didn’t I already agree to a second date last night?”

An amused expression crossed his face. “You did, but I wanted to make sure you didn’t change your mind in the light of day.”

I looked him over. He looked fantastic in the light of day, and although not filled with thoughts of ripping off his clothes, I definitely wanted a second date. “It’s still a yes. Saturday sounds great.”

“Terrific. I’ll give you a call with the details.” He grabbed his coffee. “See you soon, Casey.”

“Bye.” I waved before moving on to the next customer.

***

Mental note: When a rich boy asks you out to dinner, dress up. I’d thought my choice of dark jeans and a black, three-quarter length shirt was perfect for a casual dinner. I was feeling great until I answered my door to find him in a suit.

“Hey.” He smiled slightly, looking past me into my apartment.

“Hi. Should I change?” I wasn’t going to beat around the bush.

“No. That’s okay. I’m just still dressed from work.”

“Work on a Saturday?”

His smile grew. “You work on Saturdays.”

“Yeah, I work at a coffee shop. Where do you work?”

“Uh, it’s a complicated business.” He shifted his weight from foot to foot.

“Complicated business? Because that’s a detailed description.” Evasiveness wasn’t an attractive attribute.

He shrugged. “It’s not worth the time to explain.”

I put a hand on my hip. “I hope you have a better answer than that.”

“I work in management.” He put a hand in his pocket. “Is that better?”

“Not really, but at least you’re trying.” I stepped back into my living area. “Do you want to come in?”

“Oh…sure.” He seemed reluctant. I was starting to feel self-conscious about Rhett’s tiny pad. Maybe it wasn’t up to Toby’s standard. I wasn’t usually so insecure, but I couldn’t help but worry even though he’d done nothing to make me feel that money mattered to him. Somehow having him standing there in a suit that probably cost more than the monthly rent made it feel different.

“Are you sure I shouldn’t change?”

“Why do you keep asking that?”

“Because I feel underdressed compared to you. Am I going to be appropriately dressed for wherever we’re going for dinner?”

“Yeah. Perfectly dressed. I told you it was casual.”

“Okay. Then let’s go.” I grabbed my black purse and followed him out into the hall. After closing and locking the door, we headed to the stairs.

“Have you lived here long?” Toby asked as we walked down the first flight of stairs. Funny, he hadn’t asked me anything about that over coffee. It’s like we hadn’t done anything but flirt on our first date.