Down Too Deep (Dirty Deeds, #4)(67)

I began to consider that possibility. I turned it over in my mind. It became an obsession. What if Jenna never went through with this date?

Reaching out with a text would be an easy way to get the answer I was suddenly desperate for. And we were friends…I could simply be checking in.

At the next red light, I palmed my phone and typed out the message.

How’s the date going?



My thumb hovered over the screen. What the fuck am I doing? I deleted the text and tossed my phone on the passenger seat.

Any way I tried to spin this, sending that text made me a douche bag. I wouldn’t be checking in for friendly reasons. Fuck that. There was nothing friendly about what I wanted with Jenna. I needed to leave her alone tonight.

The light turned green, and I sped through the intersection.





Chapter Seventeen





JENNA




I don’t know how you do it,” I said, looking over at Travis as he drove. “I can barely handle it when my children get a scrape. I can’t imagine operating on someone.”

“Well, these aren’t my kids I’m operating on. Besides, I started pretty young. I used to cut animals open when I was little.”

“What?”

He smiled over at me. “Tell me you don’t believe that…”

“I thought you were serious!” I laughed, dropping my head against the seat. “Our family dog went missing when I was seven. I was beginning to panic.”

Travis chuckled as he pulled off the main road and into the parking lot surrounding my apartment complex. It was nearly eleven, though it didn’t feel that late. I’d had a nice evening with Travis. He was easy to talk to, we got along well, and the restaurant had great food and an incredible view of the bay. Our evening flew by.

“Thanks again for tonight. I had a nice time,” I said as he pulled into a space in front of my building.

“Yeah, me too. It was fun.” He shifted into park and peered through the windshield. The corner of his eye crinkled. “Unless men typically sit out here waiting for you, I’m assuming that’s the guy?”

“Huh?” I looked away from Travis and followed his gaze. My back straightened away from the seat.

Oh my God.

Nathan was seated on the steps leading to my apartment, hunched forward with his elbows resting on his knees and his hands clasped together. He was staring directly at us.

My breaths grew quicker. What was he doing here? I thought, but immediately wondered if I already knew the answer. In my heart I hoped I did.

“Um, yeah, that’s him,” I said, offering Travis a gentle smile he returned without hesitation.

He knew. I’d shared everything with Travis during the phone call when I accepted his invitation out tonight. It was one thing to take him up on an offer to hang out, but it was another thing entirely to lead him on.

Even though I’d originally wanted to go out with him, my heart wasn’t in dating other people right now. Going out on the actual date hadn’t changed my feelings either. I really did like Travis, but I knew I couldn’t give him anything more. We’d agreed to go out as friends.

“I can still walk you to your door,” he offered.

God, what a great guy. Some lucky woman was going to land herself a freaking catch with this one.

“That’s okay. Thank you though.” I reached out and squeezed his arm. “Good night.”

“Good night, Jenna.”

I opened the car door and stepped out, walking toward my building. My heels clicked against the pavement.

Nathan remained seated on the step, watching Travis’s car as it pulled out of the parking lot. Then he turned his head and looked at me.

His dark eyes were serious and studied me as I approached, but his brows were relaxed. He wasn’t clenching his jaw. His mouth wasn’t tight. His shoulders weren’t tense. I was anticipating one version of Nathan and staring at another. He looked almost embarrassed to be here, and in the same breath, relieved to see me.

I stopped right in front of him.

“I didn’t know if you’d come home or not,” he said.

“How long would you have waited here if I didn’t?”

Nathan sat up a little and shook his head. The corner of his mouth twitched. Maybe he didn’t want me knowing that answer. Maybe he didn’t want to admit it to himself.

I reached for his hand as I climbed the steps. “Come on.”

Nathan pushed to his feet. Our palms slid together, and we held on with equal pressure as we walked side by side up the five flights of stairs.

“How was your date?” he asked while I unlocked the door.

I pushed it open, stepped inside, and secured it behind us. I turned to him after I flicked on the lights and dropped my purse on the small table along the wall.

“Did you really come over here to ask me about my date, Nathan?”

Instead of answering, he slowly trailed his eyes down my body and back up, as if he were just now noticing what I was wearing. The baby-blue dress I’d chosen for tonight cinched at my waist and flared out around my thighs. It was strapless and light. The perfect summer dress.

“You’re taller,” Nathan observed.

I glanced down at my four-inch sandals. “Well, this guy I know likes to joke about how short I am. He even gave me a nickname for it.” I peered up at him. “Because of that, I’m a little self-conscious about my height.”