Enjoying the Chase (7 page)

I sighed and headed out of the bathrooms,
deciding enough was enough. I was going home with a mental image of Rosie and a
box of tissues just like I told her earlier.
 

Tomorrow would be different, tomorrow I was
turning my game back on and heading to Ashton
’
s for dinner whether I was invited or not. Persistence was the key,
and I had never given up on anything in my life.

Chapter Five

I glanced in the mirror, messing with
my hair for another couple of minutes, trying to make myself look the best that
I could before heading over to Ashton’s. I really needed to give it my best
effort tonight. Finally satisfied, I sighed and looked myself over; jeans and a
plain, white T-shirt. I didn’t want to go there dressed to the nines and make
it too obvious that I was desperate for her attention.

“Get your game on, Nate,” I mumbled, as I
slipped on my sneakers and headed to my best friend
’
s apartment to crash their dinner party. Well, ‘crash
’
wasn
’
t exactly right because I
’
d called this morning and managed to talk Anna into inviting me
over; whining that I hadn
’
t eaten
properly for ages and how I
’
d had
a hard week. As always, she fell for it. In reality, she probably knew the
reason I was angling for an invite.

On the way there, I stopped at the gas
station, buying a bunch of flowers for Anna and a bottle of wine. By the time I
pulled up at their apartment, I felt a little sick with nerves. If it didn
’
t work tonight, I
’
d decided to admit defeat. If she loved her guy that much then I had
no right to split them up for one night of passion with her.

After letting myself up to their apartment
using the front door key card they
’
d given me, I knocked on their door. While waiting for an answer, I
quickly straightened my shirt and ran my tongue over my teeth, making sure I
didn
’
t have anything stuck in
there. Ashton answered the door, laughing at something; he waved me in and
walked back into the kitchen, where Anna and Rosie were
giggling
hysterically.

“What did I miss?” I asked, looking between
the three of them.

Rosie smiled and nodded towards Anna. “Just
these two flirting; it
’
s burning
my ears so I
’
m glad you
’
re here, maybe they
’
ll stop now.”

“I
’
ll stop,
” Anna chuckled.  

Ashton stepped to Anna
’
s side.
“I didn
’
t agree to that, Mrs Taylor,” he murmured playfully, as he draped
his arm around her waist. She grinned and gripped the front of his shirt and pulled
him closer to her, looking at him with
that
look;
it
wasn
’
t love; it was something else, almost like he was the centre of her
world. It was embarrassing, and way too much for me to be seeing when I had no
one to look at me like that.

I cleared my throat dramatically, and Anna
sighed, pulling away from her husband. She tore her eyes away from him and
looked at me.

“Nate, I could un-invite you, you know,”
she scolded playfully.

“Well then I
’
ll give these flowers to Rosie if you do.” I shrugged and put them
on the counter, along with the bottle of wine I
’
d brought.

Anna picked them up, smiling gratefully.
“Thanks, Nate, these are beautiful.” She hugged me and headed over to get a
vase to put them in.

My gaze flicked to Rosie who was looking at
me
with an air of surprise
. “What? You didn
’
t think I was a nice guy?” I
guessed
.

An apologetic smile crept onto her lips.  “
No, I just
…
I don’
t know.” She shrugged and turned back to help Anna put the flowers
in the vase.

Ashton looked at me knowingly as he stepped
to my side. “I know why you
’
re
here, so I
’
m just gonna say this;
please, don
’
t hurt her. If this is
just about sex, then be straight with her about it, don
’
t lead her on.” His expression was stern and protective.

I nodded innocently. “Chill, bud, she
’
s not interested anyway. She already told me
she has a man, so I
’
ve got no chance.
”

He frowned and cocked his head to the side.
“She told you that?”

“Yeah, some dude called DJ.” I shrugged,
not really wanting to talk about the lucky bastard that got to go to bed with
her every night. Ashton must know him because he was the one who asked about
him the previous night at the bar.

A
wicked
grin spread across his face as he nodded. “Yeah, she has a man
called DJ, he
’
s-” he looked like
he was about to say more, but Anna turned around and looped her arms around his
waist which, of course, caught his interest immediately.

“Let
’
s eat then, I
’
m
starving,” she suggested. “You pour the wine and I
’
ll get the food. Oh, and before you ask me, Nate, yes, I did make
the lasagne myself.” She stuck her tongue out at me and I grinned happily. Anna
was a really good cook. Hopefully it wouldn
’
t all get eaten tonight, and then I could take the rest home with me
to save me from toasted sandwiches and microwaved dinners like usual.

“
Sweet.
” I slipped my arm around Rosie
’
s waist and guided her to the table. “Muffin, you can sit near me
and we can save each other from all the flirting those two will do over
dinner,” I suggested, pulling her chair out for her, remembering this time how
to behave like a gentleman.

She chuckled and sat down. “And who
’
s going to save me from all the flirting you
’
re going to do over dinner?”

“Hmm, you
’
re right, there
’
s no
hope for you, you
’
re screwed.” I
shrugged and slipped into the chair next to hers.

The rest of the night went like that.
It was fun, as it usually was hanging out with Ashton and Anna, but Rosie just
seemed to add something extra. We were laughing all night, and she was
definitely warming to me. I kept the flirting to a minimum and tried to keep my
conversation intelligent and interesting. Surprisingly, we actually had a lot
in common. The more we talked, the more I noticed it – movies, music, hell,
even her favourite book was the same as mine. Rosie was getting scarier and
scarier by the second.

As the night wound down and it got later, I
decided it was time to leave the new parents in peace. I smiled hopefully over
at Rosie. We
’
d had a really great
night and we got on really well. I silently wondered what would happen if I
asked her out again. Would she still say no and go home to her man? One last
try, I decided, and then I was calling it quits.

“Want a ride home?” I offered, standing up.

She smiled gratefully. “Really? You don
’
t mind?”

“Sure, it
’
s no problem.
”

She grinned happily and pushed herself up,
saying goodbye to Anna and Ashton before following me to the door. I
purposefully stopped next to the mirror in the hallway and waited for her to
catch up to me. She slipped on her shoes and smiled.

“Come here a second.” I gripped her hand,
pulling her closer to me, showing her where to stand. I stepped closer to her
side and pulled her arm around my waist while I draped my arm around her
shoulder and nodded towards the mirror. “You definitely look good on me,” I
teased. Actually, it wasn
’
t really
a joke, we certainly made a hot couple, even if I did say so myself.

She gasped and pushed me away. “Your
flirting is going to give me a nose bleed if you don
’
t stop soon,
” she joked, putting her hands on
my back and pushing me out of the apartment. 

Anna shouted me quickly just as we were
about to walk away, and held out a dish filled with half a leftover lasagne.

“I want my dish back, and please wash it
this time,” she begged, grimacing slightly.

I hugged her, kissing her cheek and as
thanks. “You
’
re the best.”

“Thanks for dinner, guys, it was great.”
Rosie smiled.

“Good luck at work tomorrow. Call me and
let me know how it went,” Anna instructed, hugging her quickly.

As we walked down to my car, I stole little
glances at Rosie. “So, how are you finding LA so far?” I probed, trying to get
her talking.

She shrugged. “It
’
s alright. Too big for me really, but I think once I get used to it,
it
’
ll be better. The people are
rude here sometimes; I accidentally bumped into a woman earlier when I was at
the store, and I swear she was going to kill me,” she answered, shuddering.

Barstow was a far cry from LA, that was for
sure. She
’
d have to get used to
that kind of thing compared to what she classed as ‘normal
’
.

“You
’
ll get used to it. Just learn to stay away from the weirdos, or
become one, that way people will stay away from you,”
I
suggested.

When we got to my car I made a point of
opening her door. She grinned. “My, we really are being a gentleman today,
Nate; pulling out my chair, opening a door. What
’
s next? Will
I
be getting flowers?” she teased.

“If you agreed to come out with me, you
would.” I winked at her as I closed her door and walked round to my side of the
car with a hopeful smile on my face. This was going well, and I was on my best
behaviour; plus, she
’
d had a
little to drink, so maybe my luck was changing.

She directed me to her apartment, and I
looked at her sideways as we drove down her road. It wasn
’
t exactly the nicest street in LA that she
’
d chosen to relocate to.

“This one
’
s me.” She pointed to a really crappy looking building that was
covered in graffiti. The only thing it appeared to have going for it was that
there was no one hanging around outside it. I pulled in and cut the engine, deciding
to walk her to her door, just in case.

“I
’
ll walk you in.” I got out before she could protest.

She met me on the other side of the car,
smiling gratefully as she dug around in her purse for her keys. “You don
’
t have to; I
’
ll be fine,” she assured me, heading to the door and punching in a
code for the external door to unlock.

“I want to, pumpkin.” I shrugged. She
rolled her eyes and pushed the door open, and I was pleased to see it was a lot
nicer inside than it was out. The inner hall looked fairly clean and no
graffiti covered the walls.

I followed her up to the second floor, and
she stopped outside her door.

“Want to come in for a coffee or something?”
she asked.

I felt like doing a victory dance just
because she didn
’
t actually want
rid of me yet which was a step in the right direction. “Or something would be
nice.” I looked at her suggestively and she groaned.

“I walked right into that one, huh?”

I threw my arm around her shoulder and
nodded sadly. “Yep, sweetness, you did.”

Laughing, she pushed the door open, holding
it open for me to go in after her. I followed her in eagerly, looking around.
The apartment was basic, and half unpacked boxes were stacked all over the
place.

“Coffee?” she offered, as she headed
towards her poky little kitchen. 

“Sure.” I followed her in, watching as she
made it. I couldn
’
t keep my eyes
away from her ass. Every time she turned around, my hands were itching to grab
her, so I shoved them in my pockets to remove the temptation.

“So, it looks like you
’
re almost done moving in,” I observed, trying to distract myself
from staring at her body.

Rosie
sighed and nodded, frowning at the
two boxes in the corner, labelled kitchen non-essentials. “Yeah, jeez, I hate
moving. It
’
s such a pain. You don
’
t realise how much crap you hoard until you
’
re boxing it all up,” she muttered, handing me
a mug of coffee and nodding towards the sugar pot for me to help myself.