JAKE
Gabi strode along beside me, her hips swaying with every step, heels clicking on the sidewalk. I kept my stare trained straight ahead on the red patio umbrellas at our destination and resisted the urge to look at her cleavage, bouncing at the neckline of her dress. Perhaps it had been unwise of me to purchase her such form-fitting, sexy clothes to wear to work. She looked too good in them, if that was even possible.
She adjusted her purse strap, which went right between her breasts. “Is it that place up ahead?” She pointed to the red umbrellas, and I nodded. “Sometimes me and the other employees go there for drinks. Hopefully none of them are there tonight. I don’t want them to think…” She trailed off.
“That their boss is playing favorites?”
“Exactly.”
“Maybe I am,” I said.
She turned her blushing smile to me and shielded her eyes from the early evening sun. “Even after I was so mean this morning?”
“You were honest, not mean.”
She pursed her lips and let out a thoughtful hum. “I think I was a little mean.”
“I deserved it.”
“True.”
We chuckled, skirted around the wrought-iron patio fence, and greeted the hostess at the entrance. She led us to a small corner table on the patio under a tilted red umbrella. I opted for a seat fully in the shade, while Gabi sat down across from me, draped her purse over the back of her chair, and kicked her feet up onto an empty chair to let the sun kiss her bare legs.
She looked around as she drew her hair up into a ponytail. “It looks like nobody from the office is here. We’re in the clear.”
Our server took our drink orders, and a few short minutes later, I had my rum and coke, and Gabi had her mojito. She crushed the mint leaves with her straw and pulverized the lime wedges before taking a sip. She leaned back contently, eyes closing as she sipped again. “So refreshing.”
This girl had no idea how gorgeous she was. Every time I saw her, I became more and more convinced that I’d never seen someone as stunning as her, and she was a rather simple woman. She didn’t wear a lot of makeup. She didn’t behave like she knew everyone was looking at her. She wore the same necklace and tiny hoop earrings every day. There was no way she didn’t know she was attractive, but it was obvious to me that her looks were not her top priority.
I didn’t know why I cared. Perhaps I didn’t. Perhaps I’d just gotten so caught up in the ever-turning work gears that I’d forgotten what real people were like. That was what Gabi was. Real.
She eyed me from across the table while she stirred her drink. “You have that look again.”
“What look?”
“The dark and stormy look you get when your mind is somewhere else.”
Well fuck me.
She set her drink down and leaned forward to rest her elbows on the table. She placed her chin on her knuckles and regarded me with that same all-seeing way she’d looked at me earlier this morning before lighting me up. But this time, I saw compassion in her gaze, not anger. “Are you thinking about taking back your offer and kicking me to the curb?”
“What? No!”
She giggled. “Okay, what are you thinking about then?”
I rubbed the back of my neck. Women did not make me flustered, but this woman had a serious knack for ruffling my feathers. “I was trying to figure you out.”
Her eyebrow arched. “Oh? Do tell.”
“I think we should refrain from trying to explain each other. I’d rather hear about you from, well, you.”
She smiled earnestly. “What do you want to know?”
I felt like she’d forgiven everything that had happened between us, and she really was here to give this another shot with a clean slate, as agreed. It felt good to know she wasn’t going to hold all the things I’d done over my head.
“Anything you care to share,” I said.
“Vague.”