Stronghold (Stronghold 1) (36 page)

"I have very basic insurance
through the college that I teach classes at."

Adam actually growled.
 "Then why are you torturing me?"

"Because it's fun?  And
you're so cute when you're grouchy?"  She batted her eyelashes at
him.  The man wanted to smile, she could tell, but he didn't.  Very
impressive self-control.  Instead he leaned forward, his eyes looking
directly into hers.

"You, sweetheart, are going
the right way for a -"

"Dessert?"  Julia
asked brightly, appearing at their table.  "Or are you ready for the
check?"

"I'm stuffed," Angel
said, glancing at Adam.  "But I could share something if you
wanted..."

"No, if you're full then I'm
not going to push more food on you," he said, a little blandly for someone
who, she was pretty sure, had been about to threaten to spank her.  Heck,
she heard those words from Mike often enough, and they always gave her a little
thrill when she could tell that he meant it, but that wasn't anything like the
shiver of excited apprehension that had trickled down her spine when Adam had
pinned her in place with those bright blue eyes and started in with that deep,
threatening tone.

It wasn't threatening in a way
that made her feel frightened though.  Well maybe a little.  But that
only added to the excitement it aroused.  

Her response to him was actually
a little unnerving.  Sometimes initial attraction could fade, especially
in the face of easy going camaraderie, and she couldn't imagine any other guy
saying something like that without her laughing at them.  With Adam, she
had absolutely no urge to laugh and she could actually feel her nipples
hardening inside her bra.  Fortunately she tended to wear bras with a
lining so there was no way he could know that, but it still unsettled
her. 

"Okay then, here you
go," Julia said, setting the check down on the table and clearing away the
last of the dishes in front of them.

"Thanks, Jules," Angel
said, automatically reaching for the little black book. 

It disappeared from underneath
her fingertips.  Angel looked up and scowled at Adam to absolutely no
effect.  

"Just in case it was
unclear, this is a date," he said, a little dryly, tucking a credit card
into the book's pocket.

"I usually go Dutch on first
dates," she replied stubbornly, resting her elbow on the table as she held
out her hand. 

"Usually, meaning not
always, and this is one of those times."

She sighed, recognizing that
there was no way Adam was going to give in on this one.  "Well, thank
you for the lovely dinner."

"You're welcome," he
said, looking pleased that she wasn't going to argue even though his voice was
firm.  Arguing wouldn't have done her any good anyway.  And now she
knew that she'd have to be sneakier if she wanted to pay for things in the
future.  

Of course she liked the whole
being paid for thing, it made her feel all warm and fuzzy inside and taken care
of... but she also didn't think the guy should have to pay every time.
 She knew very well from her friendships that guys could get kind of fed
up with that, especially if the girl they were dating had expensive tastes or
just took the gesture for granted.  It was something to be appreciated,
not expected. 

“I brought you something,” he
said after Julia had picked up his card to run it.  He reached into his pocket
and set it down on the table.  Angel blinked and picked the book up, studying
the gorgeously illustrated cover.

“Robin Hobb… the author you were
telling me about.”

“I thought you might like to
borrow it.  And if you like it, you can borrow the other two afterwards.”

Strangely, her eyes ached a
little bit, the way they did when she wanted to cry.  Probably because this was
one of the most insightful things a guy had ever done for her.  Most of them
understood that she loved to read, but even if they shared her love they
wouldn’t have thought to bring by a book that they thought she’d like.  It was
better than flowers or candy or… well… anything that he could have brought
her. 

“Thank you… I… thank you.”

Angel felt a little twinge of
regret.  Maybe she should have said she wanted dessert, even though she
really hadn't been hungry... just because she didn't want tonight to end.  But
Julia was already returning with the check and then Adam was helping her into
her coat.  As he captured her hand in his, she thought that this was one
of the nicest first dates she'd ever been on.

"What are you doing
tomorrow?" he asked, once they were comfortably settled in his car with
the heat blasting on them.  They'd gotten a good parking space, near the
entrance to the restaurant, but now that the sun had gone down there was even
more of a bite to the air than usual. 

"I usually spend Sunday
hanging around the house, trying out recipes.  I like to bake."

"A little domestic goddess, aren't
you?  Baking, sewing... do you crochet too?"

"Knit.  Sort of."
 At his questioning look, Angel shrugged.  "I can only do
scarves, I haven't figured out how to do anything else yet."

He smiled at her as they pulled
out of the parking lot.  "My friends are coming over tomorrow if
you'd like to join us.  The girls should be there too."

"On Valentine's Day
weekend?"

"Well this is the first year
it's effected anyone other than Jared," he explained.  "Normally
we get together and hide out.  This year it'll be a little bit more like a
party - but without Lexie's decorations."

"Yeah, I'd love to
come," Angel said, enjoying the warm fluttering feeling in her stomach.
 She liked his friends, and it was always a good sign when a guy wanted to
hang out with you right away, right?

Not that they hadn't been getting
to know each other for a couple weeks now, even if things had gotten a little
backwards and sideways since they'd gotten naked together before ever going out
on a date.  She took it as a good sign that he wanted her there.

"Good."

When they got back to her house,
Adam walked her up to the door even though she told him that she didn't have
to.  He just gave her another one of those looks that made her feel all
hot and bothered inside and her knees get a little wobbly and she decided not
to argue with him.  

"Do you want to come
inside?" she asked, feeling a little nervous despite the fact that he'd
already been in her house earlier in the day.  She wasn't sure how he
would take the invitation, all things considering.

"No, I've got to get home
and make sure everything's ready for tomorrow."

"Oh, right," she said,
smiling brightly.  Her emotions felt a little jumbled, the weirdest mix of
relief and disappointment flickering through her.

Before she could put her key in
the lock, he put his hand over hers, stopping her.  His other hand slid
along her neck and cradled the back of her head, his skin a little cold but
quickly heating as his fingers buried in her hair. 

"Because I have a feeling
that your housemates are going to be right inside..."

Then his lips covered hers, and
the faint sounds of a congregation of video-game-playing-males melted away.
 By god the man could kiss.  He held her head, gently but firmly, as
his tongue probed her mouth, gently but insistently.  It was an extremely
thorough kiss that made her feel like she was boiling from the inside out,
barely aware of the freezing air around her.  

When he finally pulled away she
realized that her back was now pressed up against the door and that she was
practically panting.  

"I'll see you
tomorrow," he said, looking extremely satisfied as she stared up at him.
 Another light pass of his lips over hers and then he was heading back to
his car. 

"Um... yes... see you
tomorrow..." she called after him, awkwardly fumbling for words.
 "Thank you for dinner!"

He gave her a grin and a little
wave as he got in his car.  Although he started it up right away, she
realized that he was still looking at her, patiently waiting for her to go
inside before he left.  Now as a self-defense teacher, that was definitely
a sweet gesture that she could approve of for more than one reason.  She
just wished it didn't mean he got to watch her drop her keys as she fumbled to
get them in the doorknob. 

Twice.

“Crap… crap… crap… why is everything I have
to wear crap?” Angel half-wailed, yanking off yet another shirt that had looked
perfectly fine on the hanger and yet wasn’t at all what she wanted once she put
it on.  The v-neck of her purple sweater seemed too low, the black jeans
were too tight with her pink shirt, the blue cardigan made her look like she
had ten extra pounds on her stomach, and it was too damn cold out to wear a
skirt or dress.  Which would probably be too fancy anyway.

When the phone rang it was a welcome relief,
even though it was playing Wyclef Jean's "Take Me As I Am," which
meant that Leigh was finally calling her.  Angel  might not be super
thrilled about Leigh and Michael getting back together, even if she'd basically
expected it, but even listening to Leigh gush happily (like she always did when
she and Michael worked something out) was preferable to trying on yet another
fail outfit.

"Hey baby."

"Hey baby!"  The happy,
lilting note in Leigh's voice was always good to hear, even though Angel no longer
trusted in Michael's ability to make it last.  "How are you?"

"I'm good, although I think the more
pertinent question is, how are you?"

"Good.  Wonderful.  Michael
and I had a really long talk and I think it really helped.  He's just
worried about being able to provide for me and provide for a family and I think
he realizes now that a lot of his anxieties are in his head."

"Does this mean you're engaged?"

Leigh laughed.  "No.  Not yet.
 But we talked about it and he says that when he proposes he wants it to
be absolutely perfect."

The warm wistful tone made Angel want to
smack Leigh on the back of the head.  She knew very well that all Leigh
wanted was to be engaged and married, she wouldn't care if Michael did some
broad, sweeping gesture when he proposed.  Which meant that, once again,
Leigh was setting aside what she really wanted in favor of letting Michael put
off proposing for even longer.  Angel wondered how much time he'd be able
to wring out of "putting together the perfect proposal."
 Months, probably.  Leigh was too patient and understanding for her
own good sometimes.

"So what's your idea of a perfect
proposal?"

"Oh, just something small and
sweet..." The wistfulness was back in full force.  "I'd love it
if he did it this spring during the cherry blossom festival.  He knows how
much I love cherry blossoms.  Or, maybe at the restaurant when he first
told me he loved me."

Yeah, Michael knew how much Leigh loved
cherry blossoms, but it was Angel who went with her to see them every year.
 For Leigh, a perfect proposal would include Michael actually going to the
festival with her.  He'd been once, the entire time they were together,
back when he and Leigh were in college.  Since then he'd always found a
reason not to go. 

But she wasn't going to voice her theories.
 Maybe he would prove her wrong and Leigh's optimism would be proven
right.  Either way, Angel had learned from experience that being negative
would only make Leigh defensive.  

"That would be sweet."

"Yeah... so what have you been up to this
weekend?  How was Stronghold and Master Adam?"

Although she was a little suspicious about
Leigh's abrupt change of subject, Angel told her friend all about the
tumultuous events of the past forty eight hours.  It felt good to vent
about her jealousy and her uncertainties, even though Adam had reassured her on
that measure.  Talking it through with a friend was always helpful.
 Especially when said friend was pretty sure that the guy in question was
wild for you.

Angel wasn't sure she completely believed that
- or maybe that was just her underlying cynicism coming through - but it was
nice to hear.  It was funny, she wasn't cynical about much except her love
life... but she didn't really consider it cynical.  Just cautious.
 Assuming things about a guy's feelings was always dangerous.  Of
course, she'd proved that this weekend when she'd made an assumption to protect
herself from future hurt. 

"So now I have no idea what to wear.
 I'm looking for casual but sexy but not like I'm trying too hard... and
everything I have is just wrong."

"What about the purple sweater?"

"You don't think it's too low cut?"

"I mean, it's low cut but no I don't
think it's
too
 low cut.  I think it's just low cut enough.
 If you're that worried about it wear your teal scarf with the purple
embroidery."

She nibbled on her thumbnail as she separated
the two articles in question from the pile on her bed.  "That looks
good... see, I should have called you in the first place."