Taking Shots (Assassins, #1)(8)
“Wavier was a good captain.”
“He was. I miss his crazy ass,” Shea said with a big smile “So you follow hockey?”
“Oh, yes, I love it. I have glass seats right beside the penalty box. I go to every home game.”
“Do you now?”
“Yup, I’m a big fan.”
“That’s awesome. Is that how you got into sports photography?”
“Yeah, I always bring my camera with me to all the games and take pictures, but when I got the opportunity to shoot for y’all, I jumped on it.”
“You did a great job. I saw my pictures this morning actually.”
“Oh, thank you.”
He already saw them? She just sent them in yesterday!
“Have you lived in Tennessee your whole life?”
“Um, yeah, why?”
“Your accent is really thick.”
She blushed a little as she smiled, “I’m a Southern belle. What can I say?” he laughed and of course Elli continued to blush. “And you are a Yankee through and through?”
“Oh, yes, guilty as charged. My mother always teases me, saying one day I’ll be saying y’all instead of you guys.” Elli let out a giggle and Shea just grinned at her, so she bit her lip, looking away.
“So, um-“
“What kind of camera do you use?” he asked looking down at the camera that was hanging around her neck.
“A Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III”
“Cool, I just bought a Cannon Rebel. Maybe you could show me how to use it? I bought it to take pictures of things when I’m on the road and of Amelia and Ryan, my sister’s son.”
“Oh, okay, sure.”
“Awesome. So how about tomorrow afternoon? We could meet for coffee and go to the park; the park is beautiful right now.”
What? Wait? Huh?!?
“Oh, tomorrow?”
“Yeah, are you busy?”
“No, not at all, Sunday’s are my off day.”
“Okay, so spend it with me”
Elli just looked up at him. He was so blunt, so direct. Holy shit! Was Shea Adler asking her out on a date?
“I don’t know,” she said, looking around for something to pull her from this conversation. She was getting butterflies and it was making her nauseous.
“Come on, it’s coffee and taking pictures. You like coffee, right?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Okay, and you love to take pictures, right?”
“Yes,” she said with a smile.
“So do them with me.”
Elli couldn’t speak, so she just nodded, which made Shea grin bigger. “Awesome. I’ll meet you at the park at one. What kind of coffee do you like?”
“Starbucks’ caramel mocha.”
He smiled big and she couldn’t help herself. She smiled right back at him.
“That’s my drink, too, so I’ll see you tomorrow in front of the Parthenon?”
“Sure,” she answered
“Alright, Ms. Fisher, I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He leaned over, kissing her cheek softly, causing all the air to rush out of Elli. He smiled at her before walking away, leaving her standing there looking like an idiot.
What the hell just happened!?
When Elli got home that night, after letting Adler out the back, she called Harper.
“Hey, how’d it go?”
“Good, the party was beautiful. How was the wedding?”
“Great, did you see Shea?”
“Yeah, did you check on the studio?”
“I did, its good, did you talk to him?” Harper asked. Elli was about to bust, so she took a deep breath then basically screamed out the news.
“He asked me out for coffee and to teach him to use his camera and I said yes!”
“What?”
“I know! I can’t believe it either!”
“No! It ain’t that I don’t believe it; it’s that you said yes! I’m so proud!”
“I know, I don’t think it’s a date, but it’s going to be just me and him!”
“That’s a date, babe! Coffee, too? Oh yeah, total date!”
“He kissed my cheek!”
“OH MY GOD!”
“I know!”
“This is huge!”
“I don’t know. I’m not really his type.”
“What do you mean?”
“He dates skinny blondes.”
“Maybe he’s moved on to curvy brunettes! Now you listen to me Eleanor Fisher, do not go freaking yourself out or talking yourself down. You are beautiful! He asked you out! You can do this!”
“I can do this,” Elli repeated, but didn’t believe the words at all.
“You can. Now, what are you going to wear?”
“I don’t know. What if it’s not a date and I dress up and he comes in shorts and tee?”
“He probably will, but still I’m thinking the khaki shorts you have, the ones that tie, and that really bright Kelly green shirt you have, you know the one that shows off the girls.”
“I wear that to the club!”
“Oh, yeah, true, okay what about-“