“Wine. Never beer, it tastes like piss.”
Luke shook his head, his usual sign of annoyance. “Wine for you, piss for me.” He sat opposite her at the table and poured her a glass of wine.
“I use beer to drown out the world. Haven’t had it in years. So if you see me drinking beer think of it as an SOS.”
Luke popped the cap off his beer. “I drink wine when I’m trying to impress a woman I really like. So if you see me sipping a glass of Pinot, then try to avoid embarrassing me.” He raised his bottle of Heineken. “To you not needing to drown out the world.”
Jessica grinned and tapped his bottle with her glass. “To you not trying to impress me.” She took a sip of wine. “So if you were having a glass of Pinot tonight, what would you be sharing about yourself that would sound impressive?”
Luke tapped the mouth of his bottle against his bottom lip, once again contemplating his response. “I’d say I shouldn’t really be drinking wine or eating thick crust pizza tonight because my best friend, Gabe, has talked me into training for a triathlon with him and his girlfriend.”
“They asked you?” Jessica’s voice squeaked as her back straightened.
“Gabe did.”
“Huh … Kelly didn’t say anything. Long Beach?”
“Yes.”
“I’m signed up too.”
“I know, that’s why I suggested thin crust.”
She laughed. “Triathlons for me are like a 10K to a marathoner. I ‘train’ so Kelly has a partner. I overdress so she sees me sweat, I fake labored breathing, and I stay three steps behind her when we jog so she thinks she’s setting the pace. Then she heads home and I put in five more miles at double the pace, an hour of sparring with my brother, and an hour of abs. I swim three times a week and bike on Saturdays. But don’t tell her any of that, please.”
Luke set his beer down on the table. “And you call me OCD?”
“I’m disciplined, not obsessed.”
“Okay, I’ve failed to impress you with my piss beer or triathlon training. What do you have?”
Jessica’s eyes grew wide. “You want me to try and impress you?”
“Yes.”
“And what I just said didn’t do it?”
“It only explained why you have too much muscle, too little fat, and a personality stuck in overdrive.”
“Overdrive? Hmm … I’ll take that as a compliment.”
Luke shrugged while smothering his smirk that confirmed it was not a compliment.
“Fine, let’s see … when I’m not wearing a skirt or dress, I’m wearing jeans, black boots, a helmet, and riding around town on my motorcycle.”
Jessica had learned that Luke wasn’t easily surprised and rarely impressed, but she had captured his attention.
“Surprised? Impressed?”
The doorbell rang. “Yes and a little. I’ll be right back.”
He returned with the pizza and plates. “A motorcycle girl, huh?” The glimmer of curiosity in his eyes compounded everything else she already found irresistibly sexy about him.
“Anything with a motor really. My dad likes to work on cars and motorcycles in his rare moments of free time. He says it’s de-stressing and therapeutic. So at a young age I learned that if I wanted to spend time with my dad, it was going to be under the hood or beneath a car, handing him greasy tools.”
“Your brother too?”
“Jude? No way. Jude didn’t even care to get his driver’s license at sixteen. He’s a computer geek or ‘genius’ in his words. The first car he bought himself was a Jetta … a Jetta! Can you believe that?”
“I hear they’re reliable cars.” Luke took a bite of pizza.
“Oh my gosh! You have one, don’t you?”
He shook his head, dabbing his mouth with a napkin. “No, I’m just making an observation.”
“Well, don’t.” Jessica rolled her eyes at her brother, knowing that he was somewhere sensing her disapproval.
After a dinner that felt a galaxy away from their doctor-patient relationship, Jessica looked at her watch that read a quarter to eleven.
“Oh crap! I’ve kept you up way too late.” She stood, grabbing her plate and wine glass.
“I’ve got it.” Luke took them from her. “And it’s fine. I’ve …” His face tensed into his signature contemplative look that Jessica had come to recognize.
“You’ve?”
He smiled, but it was almost painful looking. “I’ve had a nice evening … with you.”
Jessica opened the balcony door for him and risked a quick glance. “Me too. Thanks for dinner and everything.”
“You’re welcome.” He set the plates on the counter and walked her to the door.
“I’ll see you in a few days.”
Luke nodded, shoving his hands into his back pockets. “Good night, Jessica.”
She stopped before shutting the door. “I gotta know … the socks … that was a game or lesson right? You don’t really iron your socks do you?”
He smirked, but just barely. Leaning down next to her ear until his lips gently brushed it, he whispered, “Good night.” Then he pushed the door the rest of the way closed.