Veer (Clayton Falls) (17 page)

He glanced over at me. “That’s definitely true.”

“So who’d you play for?” Short lived or not,
it
was still exciting.

“The Durham Bulls.”

“Oh cool. Were you hoping to play for the Rays?”

“You
know
their major affiliation?”
He raised an eyebrow, taking his eyes off the road for a moment to look at me
.

“I told you I was a baseball fan.”

“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean you’d know that.”

I shrugged “I’m a baseball nerd
. W
hat do you want?”

He laughed. “I like you, Becca. But to answer your question
,
yeah
,
I was hoping to play for them.
Well, it was m
ore
than that. I had the contract. I just got hurt before I could start.”

“Oh, how awful.” Without thinking
,
I put a hand o
n
his arm.

“It’s all right
. L
ike I said, it’s the past.”

“Do you still like to watch, or does it depress you or something?”

He looked over. “Yeah, I still watch. Why
,
you want to catch a game sometime or something
?
”

“Where would we go?”

“Answer me first.” He got a funny smile on his face. “Do you want to catch a game?”

“Yeah, unless you’re talking
little league
or something. That can be pretty painful to watch unless you know the kids.”

He laughed. “No, I’m not talking
little league
.”

“Then, s
ure.” Was I really agreeing to spend more time
with him? I needed help. The guy humiliated me, and now I was going to play nice. No way. “Wait.”

“What?”

“But only as friends.”

“I thi
nk we’re past the
‘
friends
’
stage.
”

“Then forget it. I agreed to have lunch, but I was serious when I said we needed to forget what happened.”
I looked out the window.

“And that kiss earlier canceled that out. We are not doing anything as friends. I’ve played that game before
,
and it’s not going to work.”

“And what if I don’t want to be anything more
than friends
?”

“
L
et’s not worry about a label right now
.
I’d just like to get to know you
. I should have done th
at
before taking you home, but I can’t change that now. So let’s just enjoy it, okay?”

I found myself nodding without meaning to. Part of me needed to make something more of our hook up—to make it worth it. Maybe we’d end up fri
ends
by
the end of the summer
.

Gavin pulled into
a busy lot.
It looked like we weren’t the only ones in the mood for sushi.
He led me into the restaurant
.

We were seated at a window table. Gavin pulled out my chair before
seating
himself. Yet another point for him
. C
all me old fashioned
,
but I liked a man who treated a woman nicely.

“Do you usual
ly
get rolls, sushi
,
or sashimi?” Gavin hadn’t even given me a chance to look over the menu.

“Ah, usually rolls, but I’m open to anything.” I glanced down at the menu. “Oh, I definitely have to try their seaweed salad.
”

“Okay rolls, and you
’
r
e
open to anything. Does that mean you’ll let me order for both of us?”

He looked at me
as if
he expected an argument.

“Is that a challenge?”

“Maybe.”

“Order away.” I waved my arm out to my side in a
“
the sky’s the limit
”
kind of gesture.

The waiter came ov
er, and I listened closely as Gavin
ordered us hot tea and enough rolls to feed at least four people. I was happy to hear that he remembered the seaweed salad.

“You don’t really think we’re going to eat that much, do you?”

He grinned. “You’ve never seen me eat before
,
have you?”

I looked at him. He was a big guy, but I knew for a fact he had no fat on him. He was built like a rock.
“I guess not.
So
you have a big appetite?”

“Yeah, I have a big appetite.” He looked right at me as he said it, and I know I detected something suggestive in his comment. I could practically feel my cheeks burning
,
so I’m sure I blushed. He was getting good at embarrassing me.

“
Y
ou never told me
, where did you grow up?”

“Augusta, Georgia,” he said as the waiter arrived to pour our tea.

“Really? So were you into golf?”

He smiled. “
Y
ou know golf
trivia too?”

“Knowing where the Masters are played every year
doesn’t count as golf trivia. It’s common knowledge.”

He laughed. I loved its deep sound. “You’d be surprised. I’ve dated plenty of girls who’ve never even heard of the Masters.”

“Maybe that’s more a statement on the type of girls you date…”

“Is that your way of asking about my dating history?”

“No. It was just a statement.” Maybe I was a little curious.

“I’ve dated enough, but I’ve only really had one serious relationship.”

“Recent?” I took a sip of tea, enjoying the warmth in the overly air conditioned room.

“It’s been three
years.”

I did the math. “Oh
,
you were together when you played.”

He nodded.

“But not after?” I bit my tongue
.
I was being nosy. He tensed
,
and I tried to back pedal. “Sorry, that’s none of my business.”

“No, it’s okay. It’s a fair question. She broke it off when she realized my career was over.”

Ouch. That was cold. In a knee jerk reaction
,
I reached across the table and grabbed his hand.

He looked down at my hand on his like he was surprised. I started to pull mine away, when he wrapped his around mine. He glanced up and smiled. “Tough times tend to bring out
people’s
true nature
s
.”

“Yeah, that’s true. But I’m sorry. I can’t imagine how hard it would have been to have all of that happen at once.” I should have kept my mouth shut
. H
e probably didn’t care what I had to say about it.

“It wasn’t fun. But what about you?”

“What about me?”

“I told you about my dating past
. W
hat’s your story?”

My chest tightened. I so wasn’t going there. “There’s nothing
much
to talk about.”

“There has to be something. You must have dated. I doubt Ronny and I were the first two men to show
an
interest in you.”

“I’ve been on dates, but nothing of consequence. You already know
how nonexistent my sex life is—or was
.”
I took another sip of tea.

He rubbed his thumb over my hand and just smiled at me for a second. “All right, I’ll buy it, but I still find it hard to believe.
I
f I find some irate ex-boyfriend chasing me down, I’m going to be mad you didn’t warn me.”

I tried to force a laugh. “
No
, no irate ex-boyfriends, I promise.”

“Good.”

Our food arrived
,
and Gavin
dug in
.
I wasn’t positive what everything was, but I decided to be adventurous. I understood why Gavin liked the
e
el rolls: they were some of the best I’d had. My
favorite had to be the Dragon Roll. It had enough spice to leave me reaching for my tea after each piece.

“
Y
ou do eat a lot.”

“And you don’t eat enough. I hope you aren’t holding back on my account.”

“Nope, I’ve had plenty.” I’d eaten more than I usually would. Contrary to
how
he usually made me feel,
at that moment,
I
was
comfortable with him.

“Okay, goo
d
.
I’ve figured it out.”

“What?” I asked.

“What your flaw is. You seemed t
o
o perfect. Beautiful, athletic, into
watching
sports, smart, funny—there had to be a catch. Now I found it.”

“And what’s the catch?
Aside from my accent of course.
”

He smiled.
“You’re a health freak. But don’t worry
. Y
ou won’t be when I’m done with you.”

When he was done with me? I knew it was a saying
,
but it upset me somewhere in the pit of my stomach.

“Are you okay
?
I was only joking
.
”

I guess my reaction showed.
“I’m fine.”

“Okay, good.” We finished eating
,
and Gavin insisted on getting the check. I let him
.
I could tell he liked to do things traditionally. Maybe our hook up really was out of character for him.

“You ready?” He
accepted
his credit card back
from the server
.

“Sure. Thanks for lunch.”

“Anytime.” He leaned across the table a little. “And I mean anytime.”

“Thanks.” I smiled before pushing out my chair.

We drove back to town chatting about baseball mostly until we were almost back at my house.

“Are you doin
g anything
fun
tonight?” h
e asked.

“I’m hanging out with Molly.
I kind of owe it to her. I blew her off all week.”

“You had every reason to. And that’s my fault. I really am sorry.”

He hesitated with his hand on the gear shift.
“Can we hang out
next weekend
?
We can keep it simple
. M
aybe just coffee?
”

I had to think it over. I wasn’t sure if spending
more time
with him
would be pushing it
, but
I’d survived lunch and even kind of enjoyed it.
S
urely I could handle coffee. “Okay.”

He drove me the rest of the way home. “Have a good week, Becca.” He leaned over and kissed me on the cheek.

“Thanks
. Y
ou too.”

I was a little surprised
when
he didn’t try anything else, but I knew it was for the best. “See ya, thanks for lunch.”

“Oh wait, one question?” h
e asked as I opened the door.

“Yeah?”

“What’s your favorite kind of flower?”

“Lilies, yellow lilies. Why?”

“No reason. Bye.”

“Bye.” I didn’t know what to think as I walked back inside, but I definitely had a smile on my face.

Chapter
Eighteen

Becca

My desk
was completely covered in yellow
lilies
Monday morning. I had to move a few vases just to turn on my computer.

“Do you know who they’re all from? I didn’t find a card
.
”

I turned
to
see
Matt in the doorway.

“Would you have opened the card if you’d found
one?
”

“No, of course not,” he said quickly.

I wasn’t so sure. “I know who they’re from.”

Matt stood waiting for me to tell him
. H
e was out of luck. “I’m going to finish up that research
you
had me start last week.”