great pictures so it was definitely worth it."
"You like that? Taking pictures, I mean."
Her smile came back, bright and enthusiastic. "Oh yeah, definitely. That's what I do at the hospital: take portraits of the kids and finesse them, show them how cute they are. It gives them hope, you know? To see that they're not just hospital gowns and IVs and machines. I've always loved photography. That's what I really want to do. Not just portraits but everything. I love it."
Mat found himself smiling back, wrapped up in her enthusiasm and excitement. "Maybe you could show me some of your stuff. I mean, if you want."
"Yeah. Maybe." But her smile faded, more forced now than genuine, and Mat didn't understand what he'd said to make it dim. He opened his mouth, thinking maybe he should apologize, but she shook her head and pointed ahead of them. "You can just drop me off up there."
'Up there' was in front of a row of fenced-in storage units, the kind where people could rent them by the month. It looked run down, dilapidated, with an air of desperation surrounding it. He could imagine, for just a second, what it must feel like to be forced to keep all your possessions in one tiny unit, locked away and then abandoned. No, he took that back. He couldn't imagine, didn't want to imagine.
"Is that where you work?"
Nicole shifted in her seat, not looking at him. "Um, no. But I can walk the rest of the way."
"Don't be ridiculous. I can drive you. Just tell me where to go."
"Really, it's not that far—"
"Nicole. I am not dropping you off on the side of Pulaski Highway and making you walk to wherever. It's not safe. Just tell me where to take you."
She didn't answer right away. And when he passed the storage area, she glanced over at him with a look of surprise. And something else. Desperation? Panic? And shit, he didn't want her to panic, even though he couldn't understand what caused it. Unless she thought he was just going to keep going, not drop her off anywhere. Shit. He should have thought of that, should have realized that maybe he was giving her the wrong impression. She was a woman alone in a car with someone who was essentially a stranger. Never mind that they'd met already, that they'd slept together. They were still really nothing more than strangers.
And he'd just driven past where she asked to be dropped off. He could only imagine what thoughts were going through her mind.
Mat cleared his throat again and started pulling the car over to the side of the road. He could turn the car around, take her back to where she asked to be dropped off. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have—"
"No." She glanced over at him, then looked back out the window, her jaw tense. "No, it's okay. Um, you can drop me off up ahead. That's where I work."
Mat squinted, looking up the highway to see where she meant. There really wasn't anything he could see, at least not any place he could imagine she'd be working. Nothing except a strip club, the neon lights bright and garish in the shadows of the evening sun.
He slowed the car, glancing first at the single story concrete building then at Nicole. He cleared his throat, not sure what to say, and pulled the car into the gravel parking lot.
No, not gravel. The lot was asphalt, but so torn up and rutted that he'd thought it was gravel at first. The car lurched and bounced over a deep pothole and he clenched his jaw at the sound of the undercarriage scraping against asphalt. He pulled into one of the empty spots and sat there, staring at the building in front of him, not quite sure what to say.
He wasn't a prude. Despite that damned nickname Derek had started, he wasn't a prude. And he certainly wasn't an innocent. Hell, he'd been to strip clubs before. Not many, and only because one teammate or the other had dragged him along. He didn't have anything against them, they just weren't really his style.
And the one he was looking at now was on a different scale than the others he'd been to. He didn't want to
"You like that? Taking pictures, I mean."
Her smile came back, bright and enthusiastic. "Oh yeah, definitely. That's what I do at the hospital: take portraits of the kids and finesse them, show them how cute they are. It gives them hope, you know? To see that they're not just hospital gowns and IVs and machines. I've always loved photography. That's what I really want to do. Not just portraits but everything. I love it."
Mat found himself smiling back, wrapped up in her enthusiasm and excitement. "Maybe you could show me some of your stuff. I mean, if you want."
"Yeah. Maybe." But her smile faded, more forced now than genuine, and Mat didn't understand what he'd said to make it dim. He opened his mouth, thinking maybe he should apologize, but she shook her head and pointed ahead of them. "You can just drop me off up there."
'Up there' was in front of a row of fenced-in storage units, the kind where people could rent them by the month. It looked run down, dilapidated, with an air of desperation surrounding it. He could imagine, for just a second, what it must feel like to be forced to keep all your possessions in one tiny unit, locked away and then abandoned. No, he took that back. He couldn't imagine, didn't want to imagine.
"Is that where you work?"
Nicole shifted in her seat, not looking at him. "Um, no. But I can walk the rest of the way."
"Don't be ridiculous. I can drive you. Just tell me where to go."
"Really, it's not that far—"
"Nicole. I am not dropping you off on the side of Pulaski Highway and making you walk to wherever. It's not safe. Just tell me where to take you."
She didn't answer right away. And when he passed the storage area, she glanced over at him with a look of surprise. And something else. Desperation? Panic? And shit, he didn't want her to panic, even though he couldn't understand what caused it. Unless she thought he was just going to keep going, not drop her off anywhere. Shit. He should have thought of that, should have realized that maybe he was giving her the wrong impression. She was a woman alone in a car with someone who was essentially a stranger. Never mind that they'd met already, that they'd slept together. They were still really nothing more than strangers.
And he'd just driven past where she asked to be dropped off. He could only imagine what thoughts were going through her mind.
Mat cleared his throat again and started pulling the car over to the side of the road. He could turn the car around, take her back to where she asked to be dropped off. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have—"
"No." She glanced over at him, then looked back out the window, her jaw tense. "No, it's okay. Um, you can drop me off up ahead. That's where I work."
Mat squinted, looking up the highway to see where she meant. There really wasn't anything he could see, at least not any place he could imagine she'd be working. Nothing except a strip club, the neon lights bright and garish in the shadows of the evening sun.
He slowed the car, glancing first at the single story concrete building then at Nicole. He cleared his throat, not sure what to say, and pulled the car into the gravel parking lot.
No, not gravel. The lot was asphalt, but so torn up and rutted that he'd thought it was gravel at first. The car lurched and bounced over a deep pothole and he clenched his jaw at the sound of the undercarriage scraping against asphalt. He pulled into one of the empty spots and sat there, staring at the building in front of him, not quite sure what to say.
He wasn't a prude. Despite that damned nickname Derek had started, he wasn't a prude. And he certainly wasn't an innocent. Hell, he'd been to strip clubs before. Not many, and only because one teammate or the other had dragged him along. He didn't have anything against them, they just weren't really his style.
And the one he was looking at now was on a different scale than the others he'd been to. He didn't want to
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