He let me hang for only a second, before flashing me a sparkling smile.
“Let me take you out tomorrow...on a date.”
My eyebrows shot up into my hair. We had been on dates before. The other night at the boxing exhibition was technically a date. But dates were for public viewing. They weren’t a random thing the two of us would decide to do. So...was that supposed to be my cue?
“Okay...um...” I pushed back my hair, trying my very best to snap back into business mode. “Where did you want to go? If it’s still within the city limits, I could tip off the press—”
“No press.” He pushed my hands away, and pulled me a step closer. There was just an inch or two of space between us now. I could see every fleck of green in those blue eyes. “No cameras or other people. Just you and me. A date.”
I shook my head blankly, still trying to understand.
“Like...a date, date?”
He grinned, but held back a laugh at my grade-school terminology.
“Yeah, Abby. Like a date, date.”
A date. Go out on a date with Nicholas Hunter.
He watched as I considered, waiting patiently as I turned the phrase over in my mind. No matter which way I looked at it, something didn’t add up.
“You don’t date.”
It was true. Nick went out with girls—but not ever with any sort of romantic designs. He went out because he liked to be out. Liked to see shows, go to clubs, eat fancy dinners. They weren’t designed to impress, they weren’t designed to create any added amount of intimacy. To be honest, he knew he didn’t have to. No matter what happened, by the end of the night, they always ended up sleeping with him anyway.
Hence my confusion.
He hesitated for a second, acknowledging the awkward truth. But when he looked down into my eyes, there was an honesty and a vulnerability there I had never seen before.
“I would date you.”
My heartbeat quickened, as my lips fell open just a hair. It was the very last thing I ever expected him to say. And while I might not exactly understand his reasons, I couldn’t help but feel a little overwhelmed by the whole thing.
“Come on,” he coaxed, dipping his head to catch my eye. “I won’t even bring Max.”
I let out a laugh, before gazing back up into his eyes.
Was he actually serious? Could this actually be happening?
“Do you even know how to date?” I stalled, leaning back with a coy grin. “What exactly might this date consist of?”
“Easy,” he said without missing a beat, “dinner and a movie.”
I laughed again. No doubt he had googled ‘normal person date’ right before asking, and was thoroughly pleased with himself. Then my smile faded, as I looked up at him once more.
A date with Nicholas Hunter?
Yeah...I could do that.
“Pick me up at seven?”
His eyes twinkled.
“Seven it is.”
And with those words, our normal day came to a close.
The two of us bid each other a hasty goodnight, and disappeared to separate corners of the house. Our heads spinning from the last twelve hours. Our bodies bracing for the next twelve.