I forced myself to say something. “You think you learned anything about the stars?”
There was no response, which was probably a good thing, because that was lame. So I went to what I really wanted to know. “Have you ever been on a date?”
Still no response.
My lips curved up. “Are you listening to me?”
Shortcake blinked like she was coming out of a daze. “Huh? Yes! Yes. Totally.”
There was no mistaking she was feeling what I was feeling. Not when she had stared at me that long. “Yeah . . . so, you haven’t been on a date?”
“What?”
I chuckled. “You really haven’t been listening to me at all. You’ve been too busy staring at me.”
“I have not!”
“Yes, you were.” I nudged her shoulder.
The expression she made was like she tasted something bad. “You are so beyond the acceptable level of arrogance.”
“Arrogant? I’m just stating the truth.” I tossed my notebook aside and leaned back on my arms, watching her. I couldn’t resist teasing her. It was like finding a new hobby. “There’s nothing wrong with staring at me. I like it.”
She gaped at me. “I wasn’t staring at you. Not really. I sort of . . . dazed out. That’s how thrilling talking to you is.”
“Everything about me is thrilling.”
“About as thrilling as watching your tortoise cross a road.”
“Uh-huh. Keep telling yourself that, sweetheart.”
“Keep calling me sweetheart and you’re going to be limping.”
Ah, I liked that. “Oh, listen to you.”
“Whatever.”
“We should do it.”
Her lips puckered. “Do what? Go home? I’m all about going home, like right now.”
I smiled. “Go on a date.”
Six
Shortcake stared at me like I’d just suggested that we strip naked and run through the cornstalks. She snapped her notebook closed and grabbed her bag. “I’m not sure I’m following this conversation.”
“It’s really not that complicated.” I laughed at her hateful look. “We should go out on a date.”
She stared at me a moment and then shoved her notebook into the bag with lethal force. “I don’t understand.”
Why wasn’t I surprised that she didn’t understand? Lying back, I stretched my arms above my head, feeling the bones pop. I watched her gaze sweep down the length of me, getting hung up on the skin exposed between my shirt and belt.
My smile spread. “Typically going on a date is when two people go out for the evening or sometimes during the day. Really, it can be any time of the day or night. It usually involves dinner. Sometimes a movie or a walk in the park. Though, I don’t do walks in the park. Maybe on a beach, but since there aren’t any—”
“I know what a date is.” She jumped to her feet, eyes like chips of black ice in the darkness.
“You said you didn’t understand. So I’m explaining what a date means.”
Her lips twitched as she crossed her arms. “That’s not the part I don’t understand and you know that.”
“I was just making sure we were on the same page.”
“We’re not.”
Grinning shamelessly, I lowered my arms, but didn’t tug down my shirt. “So now that we both know what a date entails, we should go out on one.”
“Uh . . .”
I laughed as I sat up. The confusion on her face was adorable in a weird way. “That’s not really a response, Avery.”
“I . . .” Shaking her head, she took a step back. “Don’t you have a girlfriend?”
Where in the hell did Shortcake get that idea? “A girlfriend? No.”
“Then who was that brunette stumbling out of your apartment Wednesday night?” she demanded.
As her words sunk in, I smiled from ear to fucking ear. “Have you been watching me, Avery?”
“No. No!” Her face blanched. “What? I wasn’t watching you. I do have a life.”
I arched a brow. “Then how do you know about Stephanie?”
Shortcake shifted her weight. “That’s her name?”
“Well, yes, she has a name and no, she’s not my girlfriend. And she wasn’t stumbling. Maybe shuffling.”
She rolled her eyes.
“So how did you see her if you weren’t watching me?” I crossed my ankles. “And I don’t mind the idea of you watching me. Remember, I like that.”
Her chest rose in a deep breath, and I could tell her patience was running thin. “I wasn’t watching you. I couldn’t sleep and I was staring out my living-room window. I just happened to see you walking her out to her car.”
I didn’t believe her. Hell to the no. Who just happens to be staring out the window at that time of night? As much as I’d love to tease her, it looked like she was about to punt kick my head, but I was a gambling sort of man. “Well, that makes sense. Not nearly as entertaining as you standing by your window hoping to catch a glimpse of me.”
She stared at me.
I winked. “Steph’s not my girlfriend by the way. We aren’t like that.”
Her hand went to the bracelet on her left wrist. “I’m not like that.”
“Like what?”
Turning her stare to the many stars, she raised her hands. “I’m not like her.”
“Do you know her?”
“I don’t just hook up with guys for fun, okay? I don’t see anything wrong with it. Totally not judging here, but that’s not me. So I’m not interested. Sorry.”
“Wait a sec. I’m confused. You’re not judging her, but you’ve made the assumption that she’s into random hookups? That she’s my fuck buddy? Isn’t that kind of making a rash judgment based on assumptions?”
Her forehead wrinkled. “You’re right. I don’t know if that’s what you guys are about. Maybe you’re just childhood buddies or something.”
“We’re not.” I grinned. “We hook up every once in a while.”
Shortcake’s jaw hit the ground. “I was right! Then why did you accuse me of being judgmental?”
“I was just pointing it out.” I couldn’t stop teasing her. The array of emotions that crossed her face was fascinating to me. “And for the record, we didn’t hook up Wednesday night. Not for the lack of trying on her part, but I wasn’t feeling it.”
“Whatever. This is a stupid conversation.”
“I like this conversation.”
She reached for the bag, but I was faster, grabbing her bag as I stood. A deep, annoyed sigh radiated from her. “Give it to me.”
Ducking my chin, I said, “I’m trying to.” I laid the strap over her shoulder, brushing the side of her neck with my fingers. It wasn’t on purpose that time and when she jumped, so did my heart. Backing away, I picked up the flashlight. “See? I was just being a gentleman.”
“I don’t think you’re a gentleman, but thank you.”
Her words were an odd mix of sincerity and frustration, and she didn’t say anything else as we started back with only the narrow swath of light from the flashlight.
“This place is kind of creepy at night, don’t you think?”
She nodded as she looked over at the dark, looming shadows of the monuments. “Well, I guess, if there’s going to be any place in the world haunted, it would be a place like this.”
“You believe in ghosts?”
Shortcake shrugged. “I don’t know. Never seen one.”
“Me neither.”
One side of her lips curved up. “That’s a good thing I suppose.”
I stopped at the passenger side of the truck. “Milady.”
“Thank you.”
Since there was a little less frustration in her voice, I decided to test my luck. I leaned against the open door, watching the interior light caress the edges of her face. “So, what about it?”
“What about what?”
I tilted my head to the side. “Go out on a date with me.”
She stiffened. “Why?”
“Why not?”
“That’s not an answer.” She grabbed the seatbelt, whipping it around her.