Operation Foreplay (32 page)

“Hey.” He stopped walking and stepped in front of me. “First of all, a thirty-second conversation with you would prove to anyone halfway educated that you are very intelligent. And second, I was referring to the fact that you’re a math girl. Usually numbers and words don’t stay connected for too long.”

“Oh.” A crack in the sidewalk suddenly looked quite interesting. “I didn’t think of that.”

“Frankly, I’m a bit concerned you think I’d think that way of you.”

“Well, no. I didn’t mean that… I don’t know what I thought.”

“I also find it quite amusing that Ms. Melody Ashford, Queen of Sarcastic Wit and Self-Confidence, has somehow turned into a puddle of goo.”

“I’m not goo. Maybe pudding, but not goo.” I smiled.

“Good thing I like pudding.” He placed a hand on either side of my face.

“Good thing.”

The feel of his lips on mine made every nerve in my body sing.

My eyes were still closed when he stepped back. “You ready for that ice cream?”

“What?” My eyes flicked open. “Right. Ice cream. Onward.”

I gripped his hand and side glanced at him, my heart swelling at the sight of his sexy smirk.

The line at the small ice cream shop snaked outside and across the street.

“Why is the line so long?”

He smiled. “Because it’s the best ice cream on the planet.”

“Seriously?”

“Seriously.” He suddenly looked concerned. “Do you not want to wait?”

“No no! Of course I do! I’ve just never seen a line this long for anything other than the Cronut.”

“Well, the sweet cream ice cream here puts the Cronut to shame.”

“Big words, my friend. Some would say fighting words.”

“It’s a fight I’d be willing to participate in.”

By the time we made it in the door, we’d had fun checking ourselves out in the funhouse mirror outside the shop.

“Oh my God! Look how short I look!”

Jared stepped into view of the reflection. “We look like we have huge asses!”

I turned to check out the view. “It’s like a hundred years of squats in one rectangular reflection.”

He stepped back and snapped a photo of the mirrored scene. “I love this pic.”

“Let me see.” I leaned over and checked out the shot. “Send that to me.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. I want to send it to my dad.”

“I can send it.”

“You have my dad’s number?”

“Yeah. He gave it to me in case I had any trouble satisfying an Ashford woman.” He laughed.

I smacked him on the arm. “Shut up! He did not!”

“He really, really did.” He swiped and scrolled through his phone. “See?”

Jared held up his phone and sure enough, my dad had recently sent him a text message:
“just checking in.”

“I can’t even.” I held my arms out wide. “That’s my dad.”

“I think it’s great.” He attached the photo and sent it off. “All he wants is for you to be happy.”

“Well, you make me happy.” I stared at the menu, trying to decide if I wanted a cone or a cup, peanuts or sprinkles.

“You make me happy, too.” His hand squeezed mine and a smile crept across his face as he joined me in looking at the menu. It was as if we were a couple of awkward teenagers.

*  *  *

“I had a great time.” We stood outside my building.

“So did I.”

“I can’t believe this was our first date.”

“I know, right?” His laugh was easy.

“Do you, uh”—I pointed my thumb toward the door—“want to come up? For coffee or something?”

Jared stepped forward and kissed me, hard.

“I would love to.” He finally said as he stepped back and took my hands in his. “But I won’t. Not today.”

“Oh.”

“I want to remember this as our first date. Not as anything else.” He smiled. “I mean, if you asked me, it was a pretty perfect first date.”

“It
was
a pretty perfect date. But now that I think about it, cheeseburgers counted.”

“Cheeseburgers counted, huh?”

“Yeah.”

“And you agreed to come anyway?”

“Yep.”

“So you’d be willing to go on a third date?”

“I’d be willing to think about it.” I teased.

“I’ll take it.” He walked me up the stairs to the door.

I pulled my keys from my purse and passed them from hand to hand. I didn’t want the evening to end, but I more than understood the need to preserve the evening as it was. Innocent. Amazing. Memorable.

“So, call me?”

“Absolutely.” He kissed me softly on the lips. “Good night, Melody.”

I opened the door to the building and stepped inside. “Good night, Jared.”

He was standing at the bottom of the steps when I closed the door. I took off my shoes and headed toward the stairs. The walk back to my apartment was slow; I wanted to rewind the evening.

I was at my door when my phone rang. Jared.

“Miss me already?” I smiled and pushed the key in the lock.

“Miss you always. So, how ’bout that next date?”

“You don’t waste any time.” I tossed my purse and keys on the table.

“So is that a yes?”

“Yes.” I grabbed the vase with the flowers he gave me earlier and carried it to my room, placing it on my dresser.

“Sunday?”

“Let me check my calendar.” I giggled as I placed my shoes in my closet.

“I’ll wait.” He hummed the
Jeopardy!
tune.

“Oh, look at that! I
am
free.”

“Good! I was worried. I’ll call you.”

“I’ll answer.” I sat on my bed.

“Perfect. And Mel?”

“Yeah?” I slid my hand under my pillow and pulled out his White Castle T-shirt. I’d worn it every night since he left and had yet to wash it.

“I had a really great time tonight.”

“So did I. Thank you.”

“Good night, sweetheart.”

“Good night.”

I fell back on my bed, arms outstretched and a perma grin on my face. I’d just had the best night I could remember with the most amazing guy. And for once, I didn’t think of sex once the entire night.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

S
aturday night, Sarah and Caroline came over for some much needed girl time.

“How long has it been since we’ve done this?” Sarah asked as she placed a plate of cheese and crackers on the coffee table and sat down on the floor.

“It feels like forever,” Caroline said while she carried a bottle of sparkling water and three wineglasses to the table.

“I know, right? This summer is already flying by and I feel like so much is changing.” I poured Sarah a glass of Prosecco and topped it off with a few ounces of grapefruit shandy. “You”—I pointed to Caroline—“are pregnant and you”—I nodded toward Sarah—“are contemplating moving in with Drew.”

“Don’t remind me! It’s bad enough he brings it up all the time.” She took a sip of her drink. “This is good! Where’d you get the recipe?”

“I was surfing around on social media after my date last night and came across it.”

“Speaking of dates, how’d your first date with Jared go last night?” Caroline smiled. “And I want all the details.”

“I’d rather you spare the details, thanks.” Sarah crinkled her nose. “But with the way my brother was floating around the apartment last night, I can kind of guess you two threw the challenge out the window.”

“Actually”—I spread fig jam on a cracker and topped it with a slice of Brie—“it was our second date—”

“When was the first? Why didn’t we know about it?” Caroline interrupted.

“Cheeseburgers in Wildwood. And I didn’t think it
was
a date. Not then anyway.”

“That’s cute.” Caroline popped a grape in her mouth.

“Thanks. And for the record, Sarah, we haven’t thrown away the challenge.”

“Then why was he all swoony and weird?”

“He was swoony and weird?” My heart grew five sizes.

“Yeah. I don’t know what you did”—she pointed a slice of cheddar at me—“and normally I’d blame it on the magic of your vagina, but that boy is bananas over you.”

“Well, I know for a fact she is bananas over him, too.”

“I know. I can tell. Eh”—Sarah shrugged—“she could do worse.”

I smacked her with a pillow. “Hey!”

“I’m kidding. I haven’t seen him this happy in a long time. If you’re what makes him act like a love-struck loon, then by all means, you have my blessing.”

“Thanks, that means a lot.”

“Still doesn’t mean I want to hear all the sordid details.”

“I do.” Caroline raised her hand.

“You got it. You and Berk get the details on the bumping and grinding, and Sarah, you get to live with a boy. Cheers!”

“I don’t like cheersing with sparkling water.” Caroline frowned.

“Don’t cheers to that!” Sarah yelled.

“Why not? I live with Brian and it’s great.”

“You have a bun in the oven.”

“So?”

“So it’s different. You’re getting all familied up and stuff. My living with Drew would just be—”

“We weren’t familied up, as you say, until recently.”

“When Jared lived here, it wasn’t so bad.”

“Are you kidding, you two bickered the entire time he stayed with you.”

“That wasn’t bickering,” Caroline added, “that was sexual tension.”

“No it wasn’t!” I laughed.

“Oh, hell yes, it was. You two wanted each other from the moment you saw each other on the stairs the day he moved into Sarah’s place.”

“I’d have to agree with her.” Sarah nodded.

“Shut up. Now way.”

“Oh yes. Honestly, I think his moving here gave you a little push to end it with Zac.”

“Jared had nothing to do with that.”

Sarah held up her hands. “I’m just saying.”

“I’m just saying, too,” Caroline added.

I rolled my eyes. “You two are always just saying.”

*  *  *

It was nearly midnight by the time I finished putting the last of the dishes in the dishwasher. I grabbed a blanket and clicked on the TV. I wasn’t yet tired and figured I was due for some nineties sitcoms.

I was nearly passed out on the couch, a few episodes in, when my phone rang. I blindly searched around me and found it under my arm.

“Hello?” I hadn’t bothered to check the caller ID.

“Hey beautiful.” Jared’s voice stirred me awake.

“Hey yourself. What time is it?” I couldn’t make out the time on my watch in the dim light.

“Almost one.”

“That’s it?” I sat up. “I feel like I’ve been asleep for hours.”

“I can let you go. You can go back to sleep.”

“No. No. It’s good. I want to talk to you.” I pulled a pillow off the back of the couch and put it behind my head.

“I want to talk to you, too.”

“I’m assuming that’s why you called?”

His laugh was soft. “You’d assume correctly. Are you in bed?”

“On the couch. I fell asleep watching
Friends
.” I muted the TV after pulling the remote from between the cushions. “Are you in bed?”

“Yeah. Early night. Drew and I went to a Yankees game then came back here.”

“I know. Did they win?”

“Nah. It’s okay though. I’m more of a Mets fan.”

“I’m going to have to break you of that habit.”

“Take it up with my dad.”

“I might have to.”

“So”—I could hear him shuffle the covers—“how was your night with the girls?”

“It was good. Great, actually. I found out an interesting tidbit about my friend’s smokin’ hot brother.”

“Yeah? What did you learn?”

“I hear he’s got himself a girl and this girl has him all swoony. Apparently he’s bananas over her.”

“Is that so?”

“I mean, I can’t be sure, since I heard it form a third party but”—I stretched—“that’s what I hear.”

“Well, if the sister is to be believed and a girl has him all— What was it?”

“Swoony.”

“Right, swoony. If he really is all swoony over a girl then he’s a goner.”

“A goner, huh?”

“Yeah. Hard to come back once you’ve gone swoony.”

“Good to hear.”

“So did your friend tell you anything about how this girl feels about the smokin’ hot brother?”

“As a matter of fact she did.” I was smiling so big, my cheeks hurt. “She digs him, too.”