who she couldn’t envision in her future?
Not the past. Not the future. Just the present.
And he would be a present—to her —of that she had no doubt.
“So,” he said as he polished off the last of his fries, “you ever been married?”
She shook her head. “You?”
“Just to my job.”
“It’s really important to you?” she asked, a little surprised. Yes, he appeared to love cars, especially his own, but he seemed so damned smart and capable. Was there really nothing else he could be doing with his life?
“It’s the only thing I’ve ever wanted. I have ever since I was five years old and my dad took me with him to work at O’Hare one day.”
“What did he do?”
“He was a lead mechanic for an airline, until he retired. So how about you? I gotta admit, I have a hard time picturing you being old enough to teach college kids.”
“I’m twenty-nine. Just got my doctorate in psychology and I’m testing out the waters.”
He gaped. “I don’t know where to start. The doctorate at twenty-nine part, or the fact that you’re a shrink.”
The reaction was a familiar one. Especially the psychologist part. Everybody worried about that one, as if she would be head-shrinking them from their first meeting.
“So, Doctor, I’ve been having this pain…”
“I’m not an M.D.” She laughed. “I couldn’t even prescribe you an aspirin.”
“Still, I’d be using that ‘Doctor’ all over the place if I had the right to.”
She couldn’t prevent a tiny smile. Because, yeah, she did like hearing it once in a while. She’d sure worked hard enough to earn it. “My best friend says I kept going to school just to avoid having to be responsible for anything else.”
“Else?”
Wishing she hadn’t brought it up, she skimmed over her family history, not giving in to old habits by sharing what lousy parents she’d been born to. That was just too depressing. But she did have to mention the breakup…and, as lightly as she could, her mother’s abandonment. What an upbeat first date she was!
“So, family responsibilities, school for almost a decade. No time for fun?” he asked, skimming over her past as if realizing she didn’t want to say any more about it.
“Define fun. ”
“Dating?”
“I don’t usually call dating fun.”
“Oooh, that sounds pessimistic.”
“Pragmatic. The last guy I dated couldn’t handle being with a woman with my I.Q.”
“You have a pretty high I.Q., huh?”
“Not especially, but he couldn’t even spell it!” She waved away any more questions, rolling her eyes. “I was stupid and lonely, so I broke my own number one dating rule.”
“Which is?”
“I never go out with soldiers.”
“Smart thinking,” he said with an exaggerated shudder. “So, how about sex?”
Sure. The word came to her tongue but didn’t fall off it.
“That’s fun,” she slowly replied. “At least, if I’m remembering correctly.”
His eyes darkened the tiniest bit, and his smile thinned, as if he regretted getting them into this intimate a conversation. But he didn’t immediately back them out of it.
“Yeah, so I hear.”
“Don’t tell me your memory’s fuzzy.”
“Probably more so than you’d imagine.”
Hmm.
“But from what I remember, oh, yeah, I’d call it fun. Especially when it lasts for hours and you aren’t sure whether you’re alive or dead because it doesn’t seem possible that anything can feel so damn good,” he said, his voice unwavering. But it wasn’t throaty or seductive; he merely sounded very sure of what he was saying.
She breathed deeply, in and out, willing her heart to stop racing. Then she finally nodded. “Interesting,” she murmured, hearing the weakness of her voice.
So interesting her thighs were locking together reflexively under the table. Good thing she’d put those panties back on. Otherwise she suspected the seam of her new slacks would be damp right now. Heaven knew her panties were.
“So should we talk
Not the past. Not the future. Just the present.
And he would be a present—to her —of that she had no doubt.
“So,” he said as he polished off the last of his fries, “you ever been married?”
She shook her head. “You?”
“Just to my job.”
“It’s really important to you?” she asked, a little surprised. Yes, he appeared to love cars, especially his own, but he seemed so damned smart and capable. Was there really nothing else he could be doing with his life?
“It’s the only thing I’ve ever wanted. I have ever since I was five years old and my dad took me with him to work at O’Hare one day.”
“What did he do?”
“He was a lead mechanic for an airline, until he retired. So how about you? I gotta admit, I have a hard time picturing you being old enough to teach college kids.”
“I’m twenty-nine. Just got my doctorate in psychology and I’m testing out the waters.”
He gaped. “I don’t know where to start. The doctorate at twenty-nine part, or the fact that you’re a shrink.”
The reaction was a familiar one. Especially the psychologist part. Everybody worried about that one, as if she would be head-shrinking them from their first meeting.
“So, Doctor, I’ve been having this pain…”
“I’m not an M.D.” She laughed. “I couldn’t even prescribe you an aspirin.”
“Still, I’d be using that ‘Doctor’ all over the place if I had the right to.”
She couldn’t prevent a tiny smile. Because, yeah, she did like hearing it once in a while. She’d sure worked hard enough to earn it. “My best friend says I kept going to school just to avoid having to be responsible for anything else.”
“Else?”
Wishing she hadn’t brought it up, she skimmed over her family history, not giving in to old habits by sharing what lousy parents she’d been born to. That was just too depressing. But she did have to mention the breakup…and, as lightly as she could, her mother’s abandonment. What an upbeat first date she was!
“So, family responsibilities, school for almost a decade. No time for fun?” he asked, skimming over her past as if realizing she didn’t want to say any more about it.
“Define fun. ”
“Dating?”
“I don’t usually call dating fun.”
“Oooh, that sounds pessimistic.”
“Pragmatic. The last guy I dated couldn’t handle being with a woman with my I.Q.”
“You have a pretty high I.Q., huh?”
“Not especially, but he couldn’t even spell it!” She waved away any more questions, rolling her eyes. “I was stupid and lonely, so I broke my own number one dating rule.”
“Which is?”
“I never go out with soldiers.”
“Smart thinking,” he said with an exaggerated shudder. “So, how about sex?”
Sure. The word came to her tongue but didn’t fall off it.
“That’s fun,” she slowly replied. “At least, if I’m remembering correctly.”
His eyes darkened the tiniest bit, and his smile thinned, as if he regretted getting them into this intimate a conversation. But he didn’t immediately back them out of it.
“Yeah, so I hear.”
“Don’t tell me your memory’s fuzzy.”
“Probably more so than you’d imagine.”
Hmm.
“But from what I remember, oh, yeah, I’d call it fun. Especially when it lasts for hours and you aren’t sure whether you’re alive or dead because it doesn’t seem possible that anything can feel so damn good,” he said, his voice unwavering. But it wasn’t throaty or seductive; he merely sounded very sure of what he was saying.
She breathed deeply, in and out, willing her heart to stop racing. Then she finally nodded. “Interesting,” she murmured, hearing the weakness of her voice.
So interesting her thighs were locking together reflexively under the table. Good thing she’d put those panties back on. Otherwise she suspected the seam of her new slacks would be damp right now. Heaven knew her panties were.
“So should we talk
Similar Books
