Monday (Timeless Teaser)(5)

“But this guy is hot.”

“All my dates are hot.”

“But Hawke is a whole new category.” She turned me around and looked me up and down. “You look great. He’s going to be drooling all over you.”

“He is hot and he seems really nice. But he’s a regular person like you and me.”

It didn’t seem like Marie heard a word I said. “I’ll be out until past midnight so you guys can have some privacy.” She gave me a dramatic wink.

“I’m not going to sleep with him.”

“Why the hell not?”

“I don’t know him.”

“What do you need to know?” she asked. “He’s hot. End of story.”

Marie and I operated our love lives in very different ways. Sometimes her approach was better and sometimes mine was. “We’ll see how it goes.”

“I put some condoms in your nightstand just in case.”

“Marie!”

“What?” she asked innocently. “You never know. Maybe he’ll forget to bring some.”

“You’re so—”

There was a knock on the door.

Marie clapped her hands excitedly. “He’s here!”

“Oh my god, you sound like a mom.”

“I’m your best friend so I am kind of like a mom.”

“No, your best friend is supposed to be cool,” I argued. “And a mom is supposed to be annoying.”

“Whatever.” She waved my comment away. “Answer the door. I want to see the look on his face when he sees you.”

It took all my strength not to roll my eyes. I wore denim jeans with a black tube top. I figured we would go somewhere low key so there was no reason to dress up. I liked this top because it made me look skinnier than I really was. Plus, I had nice shoulders. I wasn’t a fan of my legs so that’s why I wore jeans.

I opened the door and saw Hawke on the doorstep. It was the first time I’d seen him in jeans. They hung low on his hips, and he wore Vans on his feet. His gray t-shirt fit him nicely. It showed the strength of his chest and the tightness of his stomach. And naturally, his face was beautiful. “Hi.” I tried not to make it obvious I was checking him out so thoroughly.

Hawke wasn’t discreet about it. He looked me up and down with obvious approval in his eyes. He stared at my shoulders then moved down my waist. His eyes moved to my face last, and once they were there, they didn’t leave. “You look beautiful.”

“Thanks. You look good in regular clothes.”

Hawke gave me that partial smile. “I look good in pretty much anything.” He had a playful look in his eyes that told me he wasn’t as arrogant as he sounded. “Are you ready?”

“Let me grab my clutch.” I stepped inside and grabbed it from the table.

Marie was standing there like a nosey schoolgirl.

Hawke spotted her from the doorway. “I recognize you. From the coffee shop, right?”

“Yep.” She walked to the door and shook his hand. “Frankie and I are roommates.”

“Very cool.” Hawke dropped his hand. “Seems like a fun place to work.”

“If you like people who get grouchy over coffee,” Marie said with a laugh.

“And getting fat from all the pastries,” I added.

Hawke smiled. “It doesn’t look like either of you girls struggle with that.”

Marie leaned toward me and whispered, “I like him more.”

I needed to get out of there before Marie embarrassed me. “Good night.” I grabbed Hawke’s arm and pulled him with me.

“Night.” Marie waved from the front door like an annoying parent.

Hawke chuckled as he walked beside me. “You guys are close, huh?”

“Unfortunately.”

We reached his truck and he opened the passenger door for me. “Good friends are hard to find. It’s a good thing you two have each other.” He shut the door once I was inside then got behind the wheel.

“Yeah, she’s great. I do love her…even right now.” I looked at the house and saw her peeking through the window like a creeper.

He started the engine. “Hungry?”

“Always.”

“Good. You like Italian?”

“Always.”

He gave me a smile full of amusement. “You’re an easy date.”

I just hoped I wouldn’t be too easy.

***

Hawke stared at his menu across the table. His shoulders looked nice in his t-shirt. But I had a feeling they would look nice in anything he wore—and if he wore nothing at all. “I hate to ask this…” He looked up from his menu and his eyes met mine.

I tensed slightly as I waited for whatever he was going to say.

“Are you twenty-one? I was going to order a bottle of wine.”

The air left my lungs as I relaxed. “Yes. I’m twenty-two.”

Relief moved across his face. “Just wanted to make sure.”

How old was he?

When the waiter came, Hawke ordered the wine as well as his dinner. I did the same and handed my menu over.

Once we had nothing to look at, we stared at each other. I could make eye contact with anyone without feeling uncomfortable, but prolonged contact was awkward. However, Hawke didn’t struggle with it. He stared at me openly, but not intrusively.