Into The Fire (36 page)

“Yeah, until next time.”

He didn’t look at me again as he sat down and
got to work.

I released a deep sigh as the disappointment
washed through me. I wasn’t sure what I expected to happen. But I
wished I had a napkin with his phone number written on it.

***

Marie was painting her nails on the couch
when I walked inside. “How was work?”

“Good.” I tossed my bag on the counter then
pulled my hair loose from the tie. “Mr. Handsome has a name.”

“Ooh…” She blew on her big toe then closed
the bottle of nail polish. “What is it? I bet it’s something really
sexy. Like…Dublin. No, Carter. Wait…” She kept brainstorming
names.

“Are you done?” I asked sarcastically.

“Fine. What is it?”

“Hawke.”

Her eyes widened in obvious surprise. Then
she nodded her head slowly. “What did I tell you? I knew it would
be hot.”

“Apparently, it’s his middle name but that’s
what he goes by.”

“What’s his first name?”

“I didn’t ask.”

“Did you ask for something else…?” She leaned
forward in anticipation. “Perhaps a date?” She grinned like an
idiot.

“No. And he didn’t ask me out either.”

She smiled victoriously. “Not so easy, is
it?”

“I’m just unsure if that’s what he’s
interested in. A good-looking guy like that probably has a
girlfriend—or a long list of admirers. I doubt he’s available.”

“You’ll never know until you ask, right?” She
started painting her nails again.

“I suppose.” I had to eat my own words. Hawke
and I kept flirting back and forth, at least it seemed like
flirting. If it was going to go somewhere, I wanted to know. I
wasn’t in a hurry, but I didn’t like waiting around either.

***

A week later, Hawke appeared again. Like
always, he wore his slacks and collared shirt. His satchel was over
his shoulder, and his hair was slightly messy from a long day of
running his fingers through it. His aura admitted confidence and
power. He didn’t even need to speak to achieve it.

“Hey, Frankie.” He walked up to the counter
with his eyes glued on my face. His wide shoulders were formidable
but sexy at the same time. I wanted to hold onto them as I road him
up and down.

Stay focused.

“Hey, Hawke.”

“How are you today?”

“Great.”
Now that you walked through the
door
. I’d been waiting for that bell to ring all week. Every
time I looked it wasn’t him. But now he was finally there. “How are
you?”

“Parched.” He opened his wallet and set the
cash on the counter. “I’ll take the usual, please.”

“Black coffee?”

He nodded.

“You never mix it up?”

He shrugged. “I’m predictable.”

I poured his coffee then set it on the
counter. This time I didn’t tell him the total. I just got his
change and handed it back to him. “Do you work nearby?”

“A few miles away. I like coming here because
it’s usually dead—and quiet.”

“With the exception of the blender.”

He smiled slightly as he put the cash in his
wallet.

Was he ever going to ask me out? Was he
interested in me? Or did he flirt with everybody?

He shoved his wallet back into his pocket
then grabbed his coffee.

He wasn’t going to.
I’d never been
nervous to ask out a guy before but now I was. “You want to go out
for a drink sometime?” Now that I said it I realized it wasn’t so
hard. He would either accept my offer and I would be thrilled, or
he would say no and I would move on.

A slight reaction happened in his eyes, like
he was surprised by what I just asked. He set his cup on the
counter again like he intended to stay. “I would love to.”

My heart did a backflip.

“I assumed you had a boyfriend. Pretty girls
like you aren’t usually available.”

I tried to stop my cheeks from tinting but I
knew I was failing. “You’re in luck.”

“I am.” He pulled out his phone and asked for
my number. “Are you busy on Friday?”

“With you.”

His eyes lightened slightly. “I’ll pick you
up at seven.”

“Sounds good.”

“I look forward to it, Frankie.” He gave me
one final look before he grabbed his coffee and walked to the
table.

I grabbed a towel and started wiping down the
counters and appliances. My hands were shaking because I was so
excited. My heart was pounding and my feet couldn’t sit still.

I had a date with Mr. Handsome.

First Date

Francesca

“Let me check your hair one more time.” Marie
grabbed the curling iron and made a few more spirals in the back of
my hair. Then she sprayed it with hairspray. “Okay. Now it’s
perfect.”

She was making this into a much bigger deal
than she needed to. “It’s just a date.”

“But this guy is hot.”

“All my dates are hot.”

“But Hawke is a whole new category.” She
turned me around and looked me up and down. “You look great. He’s
going to be drooling all over you.”

“He is hot and he seems really nice. But he’s
a regular person like you and me.”

It didn’t seem like Marie heard a word I
said. “I’ll be out until past midnight so you guys can have some
privacy.” She gave me a dramatic wink.

“I’m not going to sleep with him.”

“Why the hell not?”

“I don’t know him.”

“What do you need to know?” she asked. “He’s
hot. End of story.”

Marie and I operated our love lives in very
different ways. Sometimes her approach was better and sometimes
mine was. “We’ll see how it goes.”

“I put some condoms in your nightstand just
in case.”

“Marie!”

“What?” she asked innocently. “You never
know. Maybe he’ll forget to bring some.”

“You’re so—”

There was a knock on the door.

Marie clapped her hands excitedly. “He’s
here!”

“Oh my god, you sound like a mom.”

“I’m your best friend so I am kind of like a
mom.”

“No, your best friend is supposed to be
cool,” I argued. “And a mom is supposed to be annoying.”

“Whatever.” She waved my comment away.
“Answer the door. I want to see the look on his face when he sees
you.”

It took all my strength not to roll my eyes.
I wore denim jeans with a black tube top. I figured we would go
somewhere low key so there was no reason to dress up. I liked this
top because it made me look skinnier than I really was. Plus, I had
nice shoulders. I wasn’t a fan of my legs so that’s why I wore
jeans.

I opened the door and saw Hawke on the
doorstep. It was the first time I’d seen him in jeans. They hung
low on his hips, and he wore vans on his feet. His gray t-shirt fit
him nicely. It showed the strength of his chest and the tightness
of his stomach. And naturally, his face was beautiful. “Hi.” I
tried not to make it obvious I was checking him out so
thoroughly.

Hawke wasn’t discreet about it. He looked me
up and down with obvious approval in his eyes. He stared at my
shoulders then moved down my waist. His eyes moved to my face last,
and when they were there they didn’t leave. “You look
beautiful.”

“Thanks. You look good in regular
clothes.”

Hawk gave me that partial smile. “I look good
in pretty much anything.” He had a playful look in his eyes that
told me he wasn’t as arrogant as he sounded. “Are you ready?”

“Let me grab my clutch.” I stepped inside and
grabbed it from the table.

Marie was standing there like a nosey
schoolgirl.

Hawke spotted her from the doorway. “I
recognize you. From the coffee shop, right?”

“Yep.” She walked to the door and shook his
hand. “Frankie and I are roommates.”

“Very cool.” Hawke dropped his hand. “Seems
like a fun place to work.”

“If you like people who get grouchy over
coffee,” Marie said with a laugh.

“And getting fat from all the pastries,” I
added.

Hawke smiled. “It doesn’t look like either of
you girls struggle with that.”

Marie leaned toward me and whispered. “I like
him more.”

I needed to get out of there before Marie
embarrassed me. “Good night.” I grabbed Hawke’s arm and pulled him
with me.

“Night.” Marie waved from the front door like
an annoying parent.

Hawke chuckled as he walked beside me. “You
guys are close, huh?”

“Unfortunately.”

We reached his truck and he opened the
passenger door for me. “Good friends are hard to find. It’s a good
thing you two have each other.” He shut the door once I was inside
then got behind the wheel.

“Yeah, she’s great. I do love her…even right
now.” I looked at the house and saw her peeking through the window
like a creeper.

He started the engine. “Hungry?”

“Always.”

“Good. You like Italian?”

“Always.”

He gave me a smile full of amusement. “You’re
an easy date.”

I just hoped I wouldn’t be too easy.

***

Hawke stared at his menu across the table.
His shoulders looked nice in his t-shirt. But I had a feeling they
would look nice in anything he wore—and if he wore nothing at all.
“I hate to ask this…” He looked up from his menu and his eyes met
mine.

I tensed slightly as I waited for whatever he
was going to say.

“Are you twenty-one? I was going to order a
bottle of wine.”

The air left my lungs as I relaxed. “Yes. I’m
twenty-two.”

Relief moved across his face. “Just wanted to
make sure.”

How old was he?

When the waiter came, Hawke ordered the wine
as well as his dinner. I did the same and handed my menu over.

Once we had nothing to look at, we stared at
each other. I could make eye contact with anyone without feeling
uncomfortable, but prolonged contact was awkward. However, Hawke
didn’t struggle with it. He stared at me openly, but not
intrusively.

I liked it.

He possessed obvious confidence without being
obscenely arrogant. He knew he was good-looking and didn’t hide
that fact. But he didn’t make it obvious either. “So, tell me about
yourself.”

“I hate that question.”

That usual pleasing look was in his eyes.
“Why not?”

“It’s too open-ended. Ask what you want to
know and I’ll tell you.”

He kept his back perfectly straight in the
chair. “Then that feels like an interrogation.”

I couldn’t deny that. “True. Let’s play a
game instead.”

“What kind of game?” He raised his eyebrow
like he was intrigued.

“I’ll ask you a series of questions and you
answer them.”

“And that’s different how…?” He tried to keep
the sarcasm out of his voice.

“I’ll show you.” I cleared my throat. “Coffee
or tea?”

“Coffee,” he blurted.

“Waffles or pancakes?”

“Waffles.”

“The beach or the snow?”

“The beach.” He narrowed his eyes. “Now you
know so much about me.” Instead of being annoyed, he seemed
entertained.

“Hey, this is important stuff.”

He chuckled. “Yes, waffles or pancakes is
important to know.”

“What if I want to make you breakfast in the
morning?”

His eyes darkened in obvious interest. I
hadn’t realized how that could be interpreted until it was too
late. His mind clearly went to a place I hadn’t anticipated. “Now
you can make me waffles and coffee while sitting on the beach.” The
slight smile from his lips never faded away.

“Exactly.”

“My turn,” he said. “Dinosaurs or
sharks?”

“That’s a really weird question,” I said
while laughing.

He shrugged. “I think it’s important.”

“Dinosaurs.”

“Leather or cloth?”

“Leather.”

“Rocks or sand?”

“Sand,” I answered.

He grinned. “Now I know your soul.”

“I guess you do.” I kept my hands in my lap
and fidgeted with my fingers so he wouldn’t be able to see them. I
was a little nervous and I couldn’t fight the feeling.

“Are you in school?” He glanced out the
window before he turned back to me.

“Webster University.”

He nodded. “That’s a great school. What are
you studying?”

“Business.”

He didn’t bother hiding his cringe. “Really?”
He seemed to realize how rude he sounded because he said, “Sorry.
There’s nothing wrong with that degree. I just didn’t expect it
from you.”

“What did you expect me to major in?”

He shrugged. “Something interesting. Like art
or music.”

“Well, I’m terrible at both of those things.
You should see the finger paintings I made as a child.”

“I would love to.” He said it with complete
seriousness.

I continued on. “I want to open my own bakery
someday. It’s been my dream since I was young. But I wanted to get
an education in business before I pursued it. I don’t know anything
about running a shop or getting it started. And if things don’t
work out, I have something to fall back on.”

Hawke nodded in interest. “You have a good
head on your shoulders. And if all your pastries are as good as the
one I tried, it’ll definitely work out.”

“Thanks.” Some people thought my dream was
stupid. It was nice to hear some encouragement once in a while.
“What do you do?”

“I’m an intern.” He released a sigh like he
didn’t like saying the truth out loud. “I work for an investment
company. Basically, we manage all of their investments but we don’t
actually make any decisions. We’re advisors more than anything
else.”

“That’s cool.”

“The internship doesn’t pay much so I’m
excited to do my time and move on.”

“They’ll probably offer you a full-time
position when you’re finished.”

“Maybe.” He didn’t sound enthused about that
idea. Maybe he didn’t like the company he worked for.

“My brother wants to be a stock broker. You
guys would have a lot in common.”