Fringe Benefits (9 page)

Ladies’ Night Out
.

It was usually Dani’s favorite monthly event, especially when she and Beth met early to have some best friends’ time. Even though they taught at the same school, their rooms were about as far apart as they could be and yet still be in the same building. Thankfully, they always met for their weekday lunches with Mallory—and often with Jules as well. Ladies’ Night Out was still much more fun.

But not tonight.

Dani’s thoughts kept drifting back to Nate, especially to the last thing he’d said to her.

… the only kiss she’s gonna get is on the cheek.

What kind of guy said something like that?

“Dani?” Beth laid a hand on her arm. “What’s wrong? You haven’t said more than ten words since you got here, and those were mostly to order a drink.”

Lifting her margarita, Dani gave a mock toast. “Which I need desperately.” She took a sip before setting it back down and playing with the salt on the rim of the glass. “Sorry, you just became the designated driver.”

“No worries,” Beth replied. “It’s my turn, and I honestly don’t mind.”

The waitress swept by their table to drop off their order of fried mozzarella sticks and two small plates. Dani really didn’t have an appetite, but she picked up a plate and set it in front of her. Then she grabbed a stick and dropped it on the plate.

Beth picked one up, gingerly bit into the end, and then started fanning her mouth. “Too hot. Too hot.” She set the stick on her plate as well. “You’d think I’d know better by now.”

“He won’t kiss me anymore¸” Dani blurted out.

A knowing smile filled Beth’s face. “I assume we’re talking about Nate, and the
anymore
tells me he’s kissed you more than in the school supply closet.”

Dani nodded.

“Spill!”

It felt good to tell Beth about the kisses she’d shared with Nate, even better to explain what had happened after their morning run, about how he simply wouldn’t open his stubborn eyes and see that she wasn’t the right woman for him.

“So?” Dani asked after she’d ended her tale.

“So… I think he’s absolutely right. You’re being silly.” Beth waved at someone behind Dani. Before Dani could turn around, Beth said, “Mallory and Jules are here. Do you want them to know about all this kissing stuff?”

That question was pure Beth, always alert to anything that could possibly hurt someone’s feelings. There were some things Dani could only share with her best friend, but if Beth couldn’t understand the importance of her being Nate’s boss as well as being older, maybe Mallory and Jules could.

With a sigh, Dani nodded. “We should include them. Maybe the three of you can help me figure out what to do.”

“Do?” Beth let out a small laugh. “What you
do
is kiss the man!”

Mallory slid into the booth on Dani’s side. “Kiss the man? Are we talking about Nate?”

Jules joined Beth on her side. “Who else would she be talking about?”

“The guy’s too young for me,” Dani insisted.

Damn, but she shouldn’t even have to be dealing with Nate Ryan. She never should have let her friends goad her into offering the basement suite to him. If she and Nate only spent time together at school, she could resist that incredible smile, that tempting dimple. That absolutely sublime butt…

“I told you,” Beth said. “You’re being silly. Age doesn’t matter.”

Dani snorted. “Sure it does. And don’t forget I’m his department head. People at school would have a field day with gossip.” She adopted a deep, judgmental tone. “Look at that old lady with that young stud.”

“Old woman my ass,” Jules drawled. “You don’t even look like you’ve hit your thirties. You and Nate would be great together. Two baby faces.”

“He can’t be that much younger anyway,” Mallory said. “He said something about being in college for quite a while. What is he? Twenty-three? Twenty-four?”

“Twenty-four.” Dani threw up her hands. “And I’m thirty-one. Hell, I’ll be thirty-two next week. I’d look ridiculous with a twenty-four-year-old!”

The conversation stopped long enough for the waitress to take the Ladies’ orders, and Dani sipped her margarita in hopes the topic would turn.

As if Beth would ever allow that. “Speaking of which… Are we doing the Crab Hut for your birthday? I could get the cake.”

“It’s a school night,” Dani replied. “We can celebrate on the next Ladies’ Night Out.”

“Spoken like a true creature of habit,” Jules teased. “Now… back to the topic of the good-looking hunk living in your basement—the one who’s a mere eight years younger. Is he a good kisser?”

“Must be,” Mallory said. “Otherwise she wouldn’t be upset that he won’t kiss her anymore. That is what you were talking about when we got here, right?”

Beth nodded. “He told her flat out that he liked her, but he said she’d have to kiss him first next time.”

“Ball’s in your court, then.” Mallory glanced to her left. “Food. Thank heavens.”

The waitress interrupted long enough to bring drinks and more appetizers, after which Mallory raised her cosmopolitan in a toast. “Here’s to drinking just enough to trigger your libido and lower your inhibitions.”

“Here, here!” Jules said before taking a sip of her appletini.

While Dani wanted to accept the age gap between her and Nate as easily as her friends did, she simply couldn’t let it go. “You know, I can’t believe you’d encourage me, Jules. If I did start something with Nate, we’d eventually break up. Then we’d have to keep working together. You used to be miserable at school whenever you saw your ex. Why would you want me to go through that, too?”

“I’ll admit,” Jules replied, “it’s miserable to have to work with an ex. But you kinda have to
start
a relationship before you start worrying about how it
ends
. Nate seems like a nice guy, and he acts a helluva lot older than twenty-four. Connor likes him.”

“So does Robert,” Beth added.

“Mallory,” Dani begged, “help me out here. Tell them it’s ridiculous to go after Nate.”

Mallory shook her head. “Ben thinks he’s great. If you want him, you’ve got to let him know. What have you got to lose?”

“My pride. My self-respect.”

“Your heart?” Beth smiled. “Look, we all know you’re the most independent woman in the world. We get it. But you like this guy, Dani. You like him a lot. What would it hurt to kiss that toad and see if he becomes a prince?”

*   *   *

Ben swept his arm out to indicate the big basement. “Welcome to my man cave!”

“Thanks,” Nate replied, still feeling a bit awkward.

Ben had dropped by the house as a favor to Dani to see whether it was possible to give Nate a dedicated entrance to the basement suite. Thankfully, his conclusion was that Nate would have to be stuck going in and out through the kitchen. Since Nate wanted nothing more than to spend more time with Dani, that answer suited him just fine.

Taking an empty chair, Nate was surprised to find all three men staring intently at him. He glanced down at himself and then knit his brows. “What’s wrong? Do I have a stain on my shirt or something?”

Robert spoke first. “How are things going with Dani?”

“Why do you ask?”

“ ’Cause our women are worried,” Connor replied. “If you’re planning on getting serious, you’ll realize pretty damn quick that when the Ladies are worried—especially about one of their tribe—everyone will hear about it.”

“Especially us,” Ben added.

Robert popped the top off his longneck beer. “Look, Nate… I imagine you think we’re a bunch of meddling old women, but we all care about our wives and about Dani. We decided if we invited you to a night with the guys, we could figure out exactly how worried we should be.”

“Gee. I thought we were just cheering for the Sox.” Rubbing the back of his neck, Nate wondered how weird it would look if he simply got up and walked out. He’d never been a part of this type of friendly inquisition, especially about a woman. When he and Kat had told their families they were dating, any fireworks were dimmed by his mother’s relationship with Kat’s dad. Once Mark knew that Nate was serious about Kat, the only time the two men had spoken about the relationship was when Nate had to call to tell his mom and Mark that Kat was in the hospital because she’d miscarried the baby.

“You can stop looking like you’re facing a firing squad,” Ben said with a smirk. “We only want to know what’s going on.”

“If you all think I’m going to hurt her—”

Nate’s words were cut off by Connor. “It’s kinda stupid, I know. Dani is just… I don’t know how to explain it.”

“Wound too damn tight?” Robert offered.

“Yeah, she’s that for sure, but I was thinking more… fragile,” Connor replied.

Nate relaxed a little, realizing the men only cared about Dani’s well-being. “She’s both. If she were any more intense, you could put a lump of coal in her fist and by the time she finished squeezing it, you’d have a diamond.”

The other men laughed, which eased a few more of Nate’s worries.

“I think she likes to look strong,” he continued. “But underneath she’s… I don’t know, but ‘fragile’ isn’t the right word.”

“Vulnerable,” Robert said before taking a long pull of his beer. When Ben and Connor gaped at him, he said, “What?”

Connor grinned. “That was quite eloquent, my friend.”

Robert laughed in response. “I can’t take credit. It’s Beth’s word, not mine.”

“Want a beer, Nate?” Ben asked. “The fridge behind you is stocked. There’s a great microbrewery near the stadium, and I’ve got their autumn ale. Grab yourself a snack from the table, too.”

With a nod, Nate helped himself to a beer and a bowl of fish-shaped cheese crackers before settling himself back in the recliner.

They watched a couple of innings without anything else being said about Dani. Thinking he might get through the night without any more brash questions, Nate had just put a couple of cheese fish in his mouth when Robert turned to him.

“Have you slept with Dani yet?” he asked.

Nate choked on the crackers.

Connor leaned over and slapped him between the shoulder blades as he glared at Robert. “I take back the eloquent comment.”

Robert shrugged. “I made my wife a promise that I’d find out, and you know I never want to disappoint her.”

With a bemused frown, Ben said, “Why not have Beth ask her, then?”

“Oh, don’t worry. She will. I’m supposed to ask as insurance that she gets the truth from Dani.”

Nate swigged his beer before addressing the original question. “Look, guys… I already told you, I care about Dani. Can’t we leave it at that?”

All three men shook their heads.

With a heavy sigh, Nate raked his fingers through his hair. “You know, I’ve never really had this kind of talk with anyone before.”

“You’ve never talked to anyone about sex?” Connor softened his incredulous tone with a grin.

“Actually, no. I haven’t. At least not with other guys.” How was he supposed to explain to them that he’d never really had friends to talk to?

As a kid, Nate had been almost painfully shy. He spent recesses by himself, usually reading, and lunches among the other kids had been agony. The only thing that kept him from being every bit as lonely at lunch as he was at recess was that the school had the kids sit in alphabetical order. Even then, no one ever talked to him. Nate Ryan was a skinny, geeky kid. That was all there was to it.

By middle school, he’d decided he could get by just fine without friends. Patrick was only a couple grades ahead of him, and if anyone picked on Nate, Pat would step in. The bullying stopped, but Nate really didn’t have anyone he was close to; there were only classmates who probably forgot about him the moment the last bell rang.

At least in high school, he palled around with the academic team, finally finding people every bit as socially backward and geeky as he was. His height had shot up, he’d added some muscle, and he could finally blend in instead of stick out.

“Did I tell you guys why I decided to be a teacher?” Nate asked.

Ben cocked his head. “Are you trying to change the subject, or will this eventually lead back to you and Dani?”

“It’ll lead back. I promise.”

“No,” Ben said. “You never told us why you chose teaching.”

Robert let out a chuckle. “I figured it was the great pay, terrific hours, and constant praise.”

The laughter eased Nate’s discomfort. “I wanted to help kids who were like me.”

Connor leaned back in his chair and cocked an arm over the back. “Meaning?”

“I was a nerd. A geek. A kid who never fit in and never made friends. I figured that if I taught, I could look for kids like me and help them not feel so… alone. That’s why it’s so weird for me to be talking to all of you about something as personal as my sex life.”

Silence reigned for several awkward moments before Robert said, “You know, I was a nerd, too. The only reason I made it through middle school was because the shop teacher took me under his wing.”

“My math teacher made school bearable,” Connor added. “By high school, I was getting pretty good at basketball, so I suddenly had friends.”

They all stared at Ben. “Sorry. No sob stories in my past. I had a lot of friends. But I do understand what it’s like to feel left out.”

Nate nodded. “That’s why it’s hard for me to talk to you guys about Dani. I’m just not used to sharing stuff with anyone—except maybe my brother.”

“Well, then”—Connor clapped and rubbed his palms together—“time to get used to having people around, Nate. You’re interested in one of the Ladies. You’ll never be alone again.”

Since that sounded more like a promise than a threat, Nate allowed himself to smile. “Thanks for inviting me.”

“You’re welcome,” Ben said with a nod. “Now, about Dani…”

“I like her,” Nate admitted. “A lot. But she’s resisting my charms.”

“That’s our Dani,” Robert said with a smirk. “Did any of you ever notice she always wears her hair up?”

Thinking about that, Nate nodded, as did the other men.

“That says something,” Robert added. “At least according to Beth. She said Dani can’t let her hair down. Ever.”