Taming Alec(6)

“I bet he is. At least now I know why you were up so late last night,” I joked. “If you don’t mind me asking, how old are you?”

“I’ll be twenty-eight in a few months. How old are you?”

“Twenty-three,” I said, surprised that he was about five years older than me.

“You’re still just a baby,” he said. “But you’ve already got your life figured out. You’re doing better than most people your age.”

I shrugged. “I know what I want out of life.”

He sipped his beer as he watched me. I fidgeted uncomfortably under his scrutiny.

“Are you always like this?” he asked.

“Like what?”

“Nervous. I don’t think you’ve stopped moving since you sat down.”

I looked away. “You make me nervous. I can’t help it.”

He leaned back in his chair. “Why do I make you nervous?”

I shrugged. “No idea. I’m not good with people, but I’m not usually this bad either.”

“Maybe it’s because of all this sexual tension between us,” he said.

I would have assumed he was joking, but for once, he wasn’t smiling.

“You’re really full of yourself, aren’t you?” I asked.

“Not at all. I just like to point out the obvious.”

I shook my head. “You’re impossible.”

He tilted his head to the side, still studying me. “Maybe so, but at least I’m upfront about things.”

I dropped my eyes to the soda can in my hand. I ran my fingers around the rim, trying to think of something to say. If Arie were here, she’d know just what to say and do to put him in his place. Me? Not so much. I had no idea what I was doing. Alec made me feel like a preteen—shy and overrun with hormones. One look at him was enough to send my heart racing.

“I should probably go,” I said finally.

He watched as I stood and pushed my chair in.

“Thank you for the soda and the talk. I’m glad we’re okay now.”

He frowned. “You’re really leaving, aren’t you?”

I gave him a questioning look. “Well, yeah. What did you think I’d do? Ask to have a slumber party with you?”

The corner of his mouth lifted. “Maybe I was hoping.”

I grinned. “Sorry to disappoint you.”

He stayed silent as I walked to the front door and opened it.

As I stepped into the hallway, he called out, “Rebecca?”

I turned to look at him. “Yeah?”

“What are you doing on Friday night?”

I planned to do the same thing I did every Friday night—stay home and read. I wasn’t about to tell him that though. He already thought I was saintly. If he knew I rarely went out, that would only solidify my good girl status in his mind.

I shrugged. “Not sure yet.”

“Why don’t you come to my bar?”

I opened my mouth to politely decline, but I stopped myself. Maybe I should go. I would be lying to myself if I said I wasn’t curious to know more about Alec. It would be entertaining to watch him as he worked. Also, I doubted if I’d be as nervous with him if there were other people around us. Then, a thought occurred to me. I could bring Arie with me. Either she would help me flirt with Alec, or if I were lucky, she could do all the flirting for me, and I’d be off the hook. I had no doubt that someone like Arie could handle Alec.

“Can I bring someone with me?” I asked.

He tensed. I could see it from across the room.

“Who?”

“My friend Arie,” I said, giving him a questioning look.

He visibly relaxed. “Sure. Why don’t you have her come to our apartment building, and we can all drive over together?”

“Won’t you be working?” I asked.

“Yeah. Why?”

“I’d rather drive myself. That way, I could leave whenever I want.”

“That’s fine—as long as you don’t leave right after you get there.”

I grinned. “I won’t. Have a little faith, my friend.”

“Fair enough. It’s a date.”

I didn’t realize he’d used the D word until I made it back to my apartment.





“Please tell me you aren’t planning to wear that out tonight,” Arie said the moment I opened my apartment door to let her in.

I glanced down at my plain blue fitted T-shirt and jeans. “Yeah, I was. Is that a problem?”

She shook her head. “I knew you’d pull something like this, which is why I brought this.” She held up a gym bag.

“What are you talking about?” I stared at the bag. I was terrified of what was inside.

“You’re supposed to make this dude go crazy for you. He won’t even notice you if you go like that. Chicks go to bars to pick up guys, Rebecca. You’ll look like a nun compared to the rest of us.”

I looked her over. She had a point. Compared to her micro mini and tube top, I did look like a nun. Even Alec had teased me about being saintly the other night.

“So, what’s in the bag?”

“Clothes and makeup. There’s no way I’m letting you go to a bar looking like that.” She breezed by me and dropped her bag on my couch.