The Rules of Dating(25)

“Did you forget the drinks?” Billie asked.

I grinned and lifted a finger. “Actually, I didn’t. I brought them.” My gym bag from earlier had been lying on the bottom shelf underneath the cart since we walked in. Taking it out, I unzipped and started to unpack. “Wine, madame?” I held a bottle of merlot over one arm, showing the label like a ma?tre d’.

Billie cracked up. “You brought wine with you? I thought it was strange when you took your duffle bag into the store. But I figured maybe your wallet was in it and stuff.”

I shrugged. “What choice did I have? You won’t go out with me, so I have to make the best out of our undate at IKEA.” I unloaded two plastic wine glasses, white cloth napkins, and a candleholder with a red candle.

Billie picked up the candle and examined it before raising a brow. “A winter village scene?”

I shrugged. “They’re Christmas candles. I only had an hour to get out of the house with a four-year-old. Don’t judge.”

The looks we got from the people around us as we ate meatballs by candlelight were pretty comical. I was also pretty sure it was against the rules to have an open flame in IKEA, let alone an open bottle of wine, but evidently the people behind the counter hadn’t read the employee rule book to be certain. Either way, the smile on Billie’s face made it all worthwhile. After we were done eating, I blew out the candle and started to pack up.

“You know…” Billie shook her head. “I think you just snuck a date into our undate.”

I shoved the cork back into the top of the wine bottle and zippered it into my duffle. “I did not.”

She squinted at me. “I’m pretty sure you did. What’s the difference between what we just did and a date? We shared a candlelight meal with wine and cloth napkins.”

I leaned down and whispered in her ear. “The difference is, you don’t get to come at the end.”

When I pulled back, Billie’s jaw was hanging open. I freaking loved that she looked so affected. She swallowed. “Is that the way all your dates end?”

I shook my head back and forth slowly. “No, but it’s damn straight the way ours would.”

***

“Do you want me to drop you off at home?” I asked as we stopped at the first light.

Billie shook her head. “I have an appointment at the shop tonight. I don’t usually work Saturday evenings—that’s why I was off today—but one of my regulars moved to Florida and is only in town for the weekend. He asked if I could add something to the sleeve I did for him a while back. So if you’re going to your apartment, that works out great. If not, no biggie. You can leave me wherever. I’m sure you have to pick up Saylor.”

“I’m actually going to unload everything we bought at the apartment it’s going into before I pick her up. She’ll probably fall asleep on the drive back from my parents’, and I don’t want to have to wake her to do it later.”

She smiled. “So thoughtful. I don’t know too many men who put that much effort into planning ahead, and not just with Saylor—even today, for example. Our undate was really cute.”

I leaned toward her a little. “Any chance it earned me a real date?”

I’d been teasing, at least half teasing, but Billie’s face fell. “I’m sorry, Colby. Maybe doing this undate thing wasn’t a good idea. I’m laughing and having a good time with you while drinking wine and sharing a meal. It’s not fair of me to lead you on.”

I panicked. “I was joking, Billie.”

She didn’t look like she believed me. “Are you sure?”

“Positive. If my choices are being friends with you or nothing, I’ll take friends. You don’t have to worry about leading me on. I’m a big boy.” Though inside I felt pretty crushed. I guess all the fun today had gotten my hopes up a little. But I wasn’t about to let her know that because I didn’t want her to cut me off altogether. “You know what?” I said. “I don’t think I even want to go out with you anymore.”

“Oh really?”

I shrugged. “I mean, you can’t throw for shit, and I noticed those little drops of brown sauce from the meatballs you dribbled onto your shirt. You’re kinda not my type anyway.”

Billie smiled. “Yeah? So what exactly is your type?”

I looked over at her before returning my eyes to the road. “I like blondes. Really tall ones, at least six feet. And flat-chested, too. I can’t forget that.”

Billie chuckled. “Flat-chested, huh?”

I nodded. “Yup. The flatter the better. Give me a girl who looks like an ironing board any day of the week.”

“Well, I guess I’m really not your type then…”

“Nope.” I drummed my fingers on the steering wheel. “So you don’t have to worry about leading me on one bit. Actually, when you come too close, I kind of feel like I might catch the cooties.”

The ear-to-ear smile on Billie’s face made it worth lying through my teeth.

Too soon, we pulled up at the apartment. I double parked, and my platonic, not flat-chested friend helped me take all of the bags to the empty unit. After the last trip, Billie looked at the time on her phone. “I need to go get ready for my appointment, but I had a lot of fun today.”