Heart-Shaped Hack(10)

“A bit assumptive, don’t you think? I said I’d go out with you, but you are still firmly in the friend zone. And I don’t care what kind of hotshot hacker you are, you won’t find any naked pictures of me online, so don’t even bother searching.”

“Two steps ahead of you, Katie. Already looked and came up empty-handed. It was a sad day for me.”

“Aren’t there things about me you’d like to find out organically?”

“There are certain things I will never be able to find out about you until we’re doing them together. Just think about that. I know I am.”

And now so was Kate.

She took one last look at his naked body. “Okay, you can put your clothes back on now.”

“I don’t know,” he said, taking a few steps toward Kate until he was standing close enough that she could identify the notes of his cologne—something spicy and masculine with a hint of citrus—and feel the warmth radiating off his smooth-looking skin. “I kind of like being naked.”

“Must you always have the upper hand?”

“Always, Katie. Never forget that.”



Kate found it much easier to converse with Ian once she’d finally convinced him to get dressed. “Let’s go,” she said, grabbing her keys and beckoning him to follow her into the hallway.

“Outside again? But it’s nice and warm in here.”

“I’m walking you out because we’ve had enough togetherness for one day.” Kate was actually enjoying Ian’s company, but she was determined to wrest some control back from him and bring their interaction to a close on her terms. She also wanted to take a hot bath and put on something warm and comfortable, preferably made out of flannel. Then she planned to pop some popcorn and spend the evening watching one of those romantic comedies in her Netflix queue.

Ian followed Kate into the elevator and then back outside to the front steps where he called a cab.

“Where’s your car?” Kate was curious why a man who clearly wasn’t hurting for money would drive an older model, but maybe it was his frugality that allowed him to give money to charity.

“I elected to leave it at home in case you decided to challenge me to a drinking contest. I’m not positive I would win. Either way, I’d surely be too impaired to drive.”

“You’re the one who ordered the third round. Believe it or not, I would have stopped at two.”

“Sure you would have.”

“You’re insufferable. I don’t like you.”

He leaned in closer. “Liar,” he whispered.

She pushed him away. “Tell me something deeply personal and embarrassing. Something that’s, let’s say, on par with snooping in someone’s browsing history.”

“So this anecdote? It should be of a sexual nature?”

“If it’s embarrassing, sure.”

“When I was fourteen, there was this girl I really liked. I’d been seeing her for a while, and we’d had some pretty heavy make-out sessions under the bleachers at school and in her bedroom when her parents thought we were studying. We finally reached the point where she said she was ready to go all the way, so I met her at a park by her house. It was dark and we crept up into this covered slide and took off each other’s clothes. I got so overly excited that when I tried to put on the condom, I came all over my hand.”

Kate’s eyes widened. “Fourteen? Seriously?”

“Did you not hear the part where I came on my hand? This is incredibly embarrassing information I’m sharing with you.”

“I’m sure it was quite awkward.”

“It was, but since I was so young I got hard again about three minutes later. I pretty much nailed it on the second attempt. In case you were wondering, I have much more control now.”

“I think there are probably other, more legitimately embarrassing, stories you could share. I’m equally sure you’re not going to tell me any of them.”

“Probably not.” He leaned against the metal railing of the steps. “I gather from the plans you made with Kent that an afternoon get-together is an acceptable option for our first date? It just so happens I have a meeting at one o’clock on Monday at U.S. Bank. I’ll swing by afterward and take you to a late lunch. How does that sound?”

Why not? she thought. Curiosity had become the driving factor in her decision-making process. Ian intrigued her in a way Stuart never had.

“I suppose that will work.”

“Speaking of Kent,” Ian said, shaking his head. “He wasn’t a nice guy. After I got done going through his online dating account, I snooped around on his computer. Found quite a few videos on his hard drive. In the clips he’s having sex with lots of different women. I can’t be sure, but it seemed to me by the way he posed them that they might not have been aware the camera was running.”

Kate’s face fell. She imagined a possible scenario in which she was starring in one of those tapes without her knowledge or consent. Then she thought of those tapes being shared and watched by other men, and her stomach lurched.

The cab pulled up to the curb.

“So I’ll see you on Monday, okay?” Ian said. She didn’t answer. “Katie?”

“Can you make those videos disappear?” Kate thought of the women who had no idea they were being recorded or how many men might someday view the videos.