She slowly looked at him and then at her outfit. “What’s wrong with it?” she asked with warning.
He shrugged. “I liked what you wore last night.” The little black dress had been out of her comfort zone. She had shown a side of herself she wasn’t confident about. But she had given him a glimpse and he thought it meant something.
“You made that obvious,” she said. “But don’t read anything into it. It wasn’t like I was dressing for a date. I wore it so I would blend in at the strip club.”
“And what is this?” He reached out and flipped the lapel. The fabric was surprisingly soft.
She straightened the jacket lapel. “This is what I wear when I’m hanging out with the guys.” Angie glared at him. “Why the sudden interest in my outfit?”
“Why the sudden interest in hiding behind several layers of clothes?” he countered. “You weren’t last night.”
“I’m not hiding. You are,” she accused. “We made love last night and then you turn around and say ‘Hey, thanks for comforting me. Let’s stay friends. No hard feelings.’”
Made love? Her choice of words intrigued him. “I was doing you a favor. My past is my burden, not yours. I knew you would see me differently and I was giving you an out.”
“You weren’t giving me a choice. You’re pushing me away. Again,” Angie stressed. “Only this time you’re not walking away. No, this time you’re putting me in the friend zone where you know I don’t want to be.”
“How am I supposed to act? You were the one calling it quits last night. I tried to do better. And suddenly we’re having sex because you felt sorry for me. Excuse me if I don’t jump up and down with joy for getting pity sex from you.”
“Pity sex?” she hissed, her eyes wide. “Cole, that wasn’t pity. That was...”
“What?” he asked when she stopped and pressed her lips together. “See? This is what I get when I tell you stuff. I don’t want your pity. I’m not a charity case. I’d rather have your anger than have you feel sorry for me.”
“That’s not how I see you,” she said. “I see a man who struggled and made something of himself without the support of a family. I see a guy who tracks down the forgotten because he had once been left behind. That’s not pity, Cole.”
Cole stared in her eyes. She was sincere, but there was something else. Respect? Love? He couldn’t be sure. His heart started to pound. “Then what—”
“Angie,” Robin said as she approached them. Her cloud of perfume enveloped them when she stopped at Angie’s side. She gave them both a cautious look. “Am I interrupting something?”
Angie was the first to break eye contact. “No, Robin. Not at all,” she said with a polite smile. “What’s up?”
How could she do that? Cole wondered. She had him off balance and desperate for answers. He wanted to drag Angie away from this party and find out if he still had a chance with her. Instead, he clenched his hands and tried to find the last of his patience.
“Did you notice that you’re in every picture and video with Patrick?” Robin asked, gesturing at the television screen set up in the corner, causing her martini to slosh in the glass. “I didn’t realize you two were that close.”
“They’ve been best friends since kindergarten,” Cole said. Friendships were important to Angie. Her circle of friends was small but long-lasting. She’d break up with a boyfriend but her friends were forever.
“And you never went on a date?” Robin asked as she took a sip of her drink. “Not even once?”
“What can I say?” Angie said with a shrug. “I’m always in the friend zone.”
Cole stiffened. He knew that was aimed at him. “That’s not true,” he said as he grasped the end of her ponytail. “Becoming your basketball buddy was the last thing on my mind when I met you.”
“That’s because I’m better at basketball,” Angie said before she turned away and faced Robin. “I’ve never dated those guys but they’ve given me lots of dating advice.”
“And none of their tips worked,” Cole pointed out as he gave her hair a tug, demanding her attention. Her friends had tried to make her into the kind of woman they’d date. He had wanted the real Angie. A woman who could challenge him on the field and who could bring him to his knees with a simple touch.