Enjoying the Chase (9 page)

I burst out laughing and rolled my eyes.
“If it
’
s really not obvious then I
’
m going to have to bring back the pick-up
lines.”

“You like those lines, huh? Do they work
for you a lot?” she asked, taking a sip of her wine as the waitress set it on
the table.

I nodded in answer. “Usually they never
fail. You
’
re really denting my ego
here, cupcake. Maybe you should cut me a little slack.”

“
Hmm, I don’
t think so. Where would be the fun in that? You know you love me
rejecting you.” She narrowed her eyes at me playfully as she leant back in her
chair and studied her menu.

Damn she
’
s good. How does she know I like it? 

Minutes later the waitress came over to
take our orders. Rosie was chuckling to herself quietly as the lady tried to
flirt with me, but I wasn
’
t in the
mood – well, not unless the little gorgeous brunette sitting opposite me was up
for it.

“So, what does it feel like to be the most
beautiful thing in the room? I
’
ve
always wondered,” I asked, once the waitress disappeared.

Rosie smiled weakly. “Look, Nate, I know
you
’
re trying really hard, and I
honestly appreciate the effort, but this just isn
’
t going to go your way. I don
’
t sleep with guys unless I
’
m in love with them, so you
’
re fighting a losing battle if you
’
re trying to get me into bed. Let
’
s just cut the act, and maybe we could be friends?” she offered
hopefully.

I blinked, taking in her words. She didn
’
t sleep with guys unless she was in love with
them? She had to have been yanking my chain with that. There was no way that
could be true; she was probably just trying to scare me away from her.

I nodded and took a swig of my drink,
trying to be casual. “Okay, that
’
s
cool. So while I
’
m making you fall
for me, you think maybe I could get a little advance?”

“You think I
’
m going to fall for you?”

I nodded confidently. “I think you
’
re already half way there.”

She pursed her lips and let her eyes wander
over me, deliberately slowly. “Hmm, maybe you
’
re right. I mean, you
do
look good in
blue,
” she joked, winking at me.

I grinned. It seemed I had finally met my
match in this girl. She was definitely a challenge
,
which
was making this an interesting chase.

“That
’
s what all the girls say.” I shrugged. My mind wandered back to her
comment about only sleeping with guys she loved. “This is some kind of joke
that I
’
m not understanding, right?
You can
’
t really just sleep with
guys you
’
re in love with.” I
frowned, studying her expression, looking for any signs of trickery. I hated
how serious she looked. If I couldn
’
t charm her into bed then how the hell was I going to get over this
little obsession I was developing?

She shook her head. “Why would I joke about
that?”

“Probably so I
’
ll stop asking you out,” I guessed.

She took another sip of her wine, her eyes
never left mine. “So are you going to stop asking me out?” 

My heart sank. I hated the fact that she
sounded so hopeful when she asked. Did that mean she wasn
’
t having a good time here with me?
No,
I decided,
this has
to be a test of some sort.
I desperately wanted to pass.

“No way, I
’
m not gonna stop asking you out. Out of interest, how long did it
take you to fall in love with your guy DJ?”

Her whole posture changed when I said his
name and she squirmed in her seat. I immediately wished I hadn
’
t brought him up. She frowned, seeming
confused before she gulped and opened her mouth to answer. Before she could
speak though, the waitress arrived with our food.

“There is no way you
’
re going to be able to eat all of that.” I nodded towards her huge
plate of cannelloni, grinning challengingly.

She raised one eyebrow and picked up her
cutlery. “I bet I can. I eat a lot.”

As she cut off a piece and popped it into
her mouth, I couldn
’
t take my eyes
off her. Watching her eat was sexy as sin. I
’
d never really just watched a girl eat before and found it a
turn-on. What made this girl any different to the rest? I didn
’
t know the answer.

I forced my eyes away and dropped them to
my plate instead. I literally wanted to punch myself so I could behave like
normal around her, instead of some obsessed, needy little puppy. As I cut into
my steak, I blew out a big breath. Before Rosie, I thought I knew everything
about girls that I needed to, but she
’
d turned that completely on its head.

“How
’
s your food?” I asked, risking a glance up at her again and praying
her fork wasn
’
t in her mouth.

She smiled. “Good, yours?”

I chuckled, shaking my head at myself. “I
’
ve lost interest in my food now. Watching you
eat is probably one of the sexiest things I
’
ve ever seen in my life.” I leant back in my chair, watching her.

“Wow, aren
’
t you sweet,” she joked.

“That
’
s the second time you
’
ve
called me that. Can
’
t you use
another word other than sweet? Doesn
’
t that make me seem a little camp?”  I replied, trying to look stern
but failing miserably.

“You mean you
’
re actually
not
gay?” She faked shock.

“Ha ha, you
’
re hilarious. That
’
s
it, the pick-up lines are coming back.”

“Oh no, not the pick-up lines,” she cried
with mock horror.

“Oh yeah. I
’
ve got a ton of them, so one of them is bound to work,” I confirmed,
trying to look more confident than I felt; nothing had worked so far and I had
no idea where to go from here.

“Nate, honestly, I don
’
t go for guys like you, so you
’
re wasting your time.” She frowned a little, but other than that
showed no emotions.

I cocked my head to the side, wondering if
this was all part of the weird test that I didn
’
t understand. Was she trying to make me run away from her? I
shrugged. I wasn
’
t running
anywhere tonight so I might as well give it my best shot. “We
’
ll see. I
’
ve never failed before so this will be a first for me. So, did it
hurt?”

“Did what hurt?”

“When you fell from heaven.” I shrugged
casually.

She rolled her eyes but giggled at the same
time. “Jeez, that was bad.”

“I
’
m going for cheesy now. If cheesy doesn
’
t work then I
’
m going
to move on to slutty.” I waggled my eyebrows suggestively.

She chuckled. “Well I can tell you now that
cheesy isn
’
t going to work, so why
don
’
t we skip straight to slutty?”
she suggested, leaning forward and resting her elbows on the table.

I couldn
’
t help but lean in too as I looked into her big brown eyes. I longed
to reach out and brush the hair off her face and trail my fingers along her
cheek. The scent of her sweet perfume floated around me, it made her smell so
edible that all I could think about was dragging her to the bathrooms and
having my way with her until I could barely breathe.

“The slutty ones never work. Girls don
’
t like them.” I waved my hand dismissively not
taking my eyes from hers.

The corner of her lips twitched with a
smile. “I told you before, I
’
m not
a normal girl.”

I sighed and shook my head, admitting
defeat. I could throw in a couple of slutty lines, I knew they wouldn
’
t work, they hardly ever did.

“You
’
re so selfish, pumpkin, you
’
re going to have that body for the rest of your life and I just want
it for one night.”

“Now that
’
s more like what I would expect from a guy like you; cocky and
overconfident, heavy on the sex references. I like it, keep going.”

I was spurred on by her smile. “All those
curves and me with no brakes.”

“Nice, got any
more?” she asked, blushing slightly. Surprisingly, the pink on her
cheeks actually made her look even better to me, I didn
’
t usually like it when girls blushed but she totally pulled it off.

“
You can
’
t be my first but you can be my next,” I said
immediately. Moving on to the next one without waiting for her to prompt me, I
fished a half-melted ice cube out of my drink. I set it on the table and
smashed my fist down onto it, ignoring the looks that were directed from other
tables. “So, muffin, now that I
’
ve
broken the ice, will you sleep with me?” I asked, trying to look serious. She burst
out laughing, and I had to grin proudly. “See, told you the slutty ones don
’
t work.”

The conversation after that was easy and
flowing. We chatted about her work, mine, Cameron, her moving to LA, what we
both like to do in our spare time. It was nice, and was easily the best date I
’
d ever been on. It didn
’
t even feel like a date, more like two old friends laughing and
chatting. There wasn
’
t a single
awkward silence. I actually found myself getting lost in what she was saying.
She interested me as a person and the more time I spent getting to know her,
the more I liked her. I already knew I was in some serious trouble with this
girl.

After dessert and coffee, I reluctantly
drove her home. With each passing second, the disappointment built inside me. I
wasn’t ready for this night to end. I knew that I hadn’t done enough to win her
over, I’d tried my hardest, but it wasn’t good enough. As I pulled up outside
her apartment, I smiled over at her, silently hoping that her boyfriend knew
what a good thing he had going with her. Jealousy was eating me up inside.

I climbed out of the car. “I
’
ll walk you up,” I stated, closing her car
door for her. She smiled gratefully and walked to the door, entering her
passcode. I followed silently behind her, debating whether I could kiss her
goodbye and what her reaction would be.

After she unlocked her door, she stepped
over the threshold, holding the door open and eyeing me curiously. “Not coming
in for the
or something
?” she asked,
smirking
at me.

My easy smile slid off my face as my heart
sped up with excitement. Was she offering me sex? Had I impressed her? My mouth
watered at the thought of peeling her out of that hot little dress.

I nodded eagerly, stepping forward quickly.
Just as I was about to cross the threshold, she put her
hand out
, halting me.
“I was kidding. Glad to see you
’
re so eager, but one night stands just don
’
t cut it for me, sorry.”

I swallowed my disappointment.
So damn
close but yet so far!
“How about a two
-
night
stand?” I offered. She laughed and shook her head slowly. “
Three? Four? A week?
” I asked, hating the
desperation I felt inside.

“Sorry. If you want to come in for a coffee
then feel free, but that
’
s all
that
’
s on offer.” She leant
against the doorframe, crossing one long leg over the other.

I sighed deeply and walked into her place,
throwing my hands up dramatically. “This had better be one great cup of
coffee.”