“That was before I knew he wanted to take you out. As far as I’m concerned, anyone half normal who wants to take you on a date is in my good books. Please, please, please say yes.”
“Let me guess. If I don’t, I’m not only not going to hear the end of it from him, I’m also not going to hear the end of it from you.”
Chantara grinned. She picked up another piece of burned pizza and ate it like she hadn’t eaten in a week. “Yeah, that’s pretty much right,” she said around a full mouth.
Callie let out a frustrated sigh and stomped out of the kitchen. She left her pizza sitting on the table. She had no appetite anyway. She only agreed to have some because Chantara said she was starved and couldn’t eat the whole thing.
The worst part about it all, she thought as she slammed her bedroom door and locked it behind her, was that she didn’t want to curl up in bed with the book on her nightstand. She didn’t want to get lost in a world of someone else’s romance and happy endings. She didn’t want to take a bath or light a damn candle or go shopping or watch a movie. She didn’t want to be by herself.
What she wanted was that date with Matt Hilbert.
She just didn’t want to let her guard down. She didn’t want to let anyone in. She was scared and she wasn’t afraid to admit it to herself. It wasn’t just Ben who had done a number on her. Her entire life had taught her that it wasn’t okay to trust people. Trust was always misplaced, and she only ended up hurt in the end.
One date though… would it really kill her? A year and a half was a very long time. Would it be alright, like Chantara said, for just one night, to have a little bit of fun? Even if it wasn’t appropriate, her best friend really was right. She didn’t have a lot of other options.
CHAPTER 8
Matt
Matt couldn’t have been more shocked if an actual hurricane blew through his office. It was just after eight on Monday morning. Callie opened the door and as casually as if she was telling him the copier was jammed again or that she’d booked him a flight for his upcoming business trip, she stated that she’d go out with him exactly once.
Those were the words she used. Exactly one time.
Matt struggled to get a hold of himself. It wasn’t easy to keep his face composed when she’d just dropped a massive bombshell on him.
“Uh- right. Okay. One time. I get it.”
She glared at him like the date was something she was being forced on. “Chantara said that because I said no, you’d only pursue me harder.”
“That’s not exactly true.” His insides tightened.
“Well, I think she’s right. She said other stuff too, but the thing is, you can take me out once. Just one time.”
“I got that.”
“It’s not a euphemism for more times.”
“I understand.”
“And no one can know about it.”
“Right.” His throat was so dry he doubted he could force anything down, but somehow, he choked back a sip of coffee. He nearly choked on the bitter liquid as he swallowed it the wrong way of course.
“And nothing funny goes on.”
Matt nearly spat out his attempt to wash down the first swig of coffee. “Uh- yeah. Right. Of course.”
“I’ll tell you straight up that I don’t get out enough. I can’t remember the last time I did something truly fun or enjoyable. I’m using that as an excuse to justify this. So, if you could come up with something that will be a good time, I would appreciate it.” Callie rolled her eyes and muttered something under her breath. When she saw he didn’t catch it, she composed herself and spoke louder. “Although, at this point, just dinner at a one-star restaurant would probably qualify.”
“Right.” Matt swallowed hard. Certainly, it was the most unconventional yes he’d ever heard. It was grudging, like she thought that by saying yes, she was weakening herself somehow. “Can I pick you up at least?”
“Uh- no. No, I’d prefer not. I’ll meet you here. In the parking lot. Friday night at seven. I checked your calendar. I already know it’s free.”
He nodded slowly. God, could he make a promise that ‘nothing funny’ as she termed it, would go down? Normally, yes. Normally he’d have no problem controlling himself. But then again, he didn’t normally have a memory of a searing kiss. He wasn’t normally burning up from the inside out, day after day, sitting at his desk, staring at his damn sexy secretary through a glass office. Well, yes, he normally was, but after that kiss, everything was different. After he noticed her, he couldn’t unnoticed her. There was something about the way she said that she’d checked his calendar already too- god. It was hot. Real hot. As in, he was glad he was behind the desk again because his cock refused to obey commands and not rise to the occasion hot. What the fuck is wrong with me?