The Do Over (12 page)

Caressing her face gently, I said, "Sweet dreams, baby."

I closed the blinds and then left her to sleep. I really had to get the hell out of here before I did something stupid.

My phone chirped, bringing me out of my thoughts.

Chris: Dude, did you hook up with that hot chick?

Liam: You're such a douche. Don't talk about her like that.

Chris: Shit, you have it bad.

Liam: Go to hell.

Chris: Magic pussy.

Liam: I'm going to kick your ass the next time I see you.

I looked at my watch to see if an hour had passed. I was becoming a girl and a desperate one at that. I dialed her number.
Damn, I'm nervous.
As I waited for her to pick up, I paced around the room.

I jumped when my phone rang, and Macy hovered over me as I answered. I really hated the fact that my friends didn't respect my personal space. I needed to have an intervention with them about this.

When I answered, I tried to contain my excitement and sound calm. I didn't want him to know that I was checking the phone every so often to make sure it was turned on and had enough charge. I even set the volume on high, so I was sure to hear it.

Macy and Candace were really annoying me, so I went into my room and locked the door to talk in
private.
I hadn't been on the phone with a man in so long that I was sure I sounded like a silly schoolgirl.

"I know it's really short notice, but I was wondering if you've eaten yet. I'd really like to see you again, so maybe we could grab a bite," he said.

Falling back on my bed, I started kicking my feet in giddy delight. I had to get it all out before I answered and made a fool of myself.

"You know, I haven't eaten, and I'm starving," I said, trying with all my power to sound confident and not like I was going to explode with juvenile excitement.

For some odd reason, I suggested eating burgers. It's not that there was anything wrong with eating burgers. I wasn't a vegetarian. I just never thought that burgers and first dates go hand in hand. Then, the absolutely most insane part was when he asked me when I'd be ready, and I told him
thirty
minutes.

When I opened my bedroom door, Macy and Candace practically fell on me. I was beyond thrilled and told them I had thirty minutes to get ready. That was when reality set in.
Abuela Concha's
potion was powerful, but it wasn't a miracle worker. I realized it would take me more than thirty minutes to shower, find a decent outfit, tame my wild locks, put on makeup, and then take a few cleansing moments to get me in the zone.
What on earth was I thinking?

Panic set in. I jumped in the shower and worked as fast as I could to detangle my hair.

Macy called out, "Don't forget to shave your legs."

Showering in record time, I rushed and threw things from my closet to my bed.
Oh no, I have nothing to wear
! Candace put together an outfit, but when I tried it on, I thought my butt looked too big. After trying on five pairs of jeans, I found a pair that made my butt look good. Then, I discovered that I hated all my tops. I had absolutely
nothing
in my closet. I didn't care that Candace and Macy kept pulling things out. I had nothing.

I had less than ten minutes, and I was half-dressed. Finally, Macy pulled out a top that must have been hiding in some corner of my closet because I swore I had never seen it. I put it on and kicked them out.

I applied some mascara and dabbed on a little lip gloss. Looking in the mirror, I was satisfied with the end result. I took a cleansing breath. I think I pulled it off, which was actually great, considering I did this in less than thirty minutes.

As I check myself in the mirror one last time, the doorbell rang. Liam was right on time. I looked through my peephole and did the happy dance. He stood outside my door with his hands in the pockets of his jeans. His light blue polo shirt brought out the color in his eyes and showed off a set of nicely defined arms. His head was angled down, but his eyes were looking straight at the door.

I took a deep breath and opened the door. The awkwardness lasted for about two seconds as we both smiled.

"You look beautiful," he said with a sexy-as-sin smile.

I melted. He took a step toward me, held both my hands, and placed a kiss on my forehead. Then, I died. He smelled good, and being this close to him was doing crazy things to my body.

"Hungry?" he asked.

"Worse. I'm starved. I haven't eaten all day," I answered.

He tucked my hair behind my ear. "We can't have that. Let's go."

Shake Shack became my new favorite place. I'd asked for burgers, so he took me to the best burger place in town. We laughed, and he listened to me go on and on about my books.

He asked, "What were you reading during training? You looked like you were in anguish."

I blushed as I remembered not only being busted but also the effect he had on me when our eyes first locked together. "Well," I started, "it's a love triangle, and whenever there's a triangle, there's angst. And that's where I was at—Angst Central. It was intense. I haven't been able to read lately, so I don't know what happens, and it's driving me nuts."

I couldn't help it. I loved talking about my books. I had to laugh. When I talked about all my different books, I got excited. I didn't go into the tiny detail of my fictional boyfriend love affairs. It was our first date after all.

He sat there, looking at me intently.

With the way I talked about my books, most people thought I was nuts. I wondered if he'd want to see me again.

Then, he laughed. It wasn't a loud laugh, but I couldn't tell what it meant.

I was still a little neurotic from my attempted intervention. "Are you laughing at me?" I asked defensively.

He smiled. "No, not at you."

"Are you sure? Because it sounds like you're laughing at me," I accused, narrowing my eyes.

"I promise you that I'm not laughing at you," he assured with a smile.

I pouted. "Hmmm, I'm not convinced."

"Now, don't get that way. Please. I just loved watching you talk about your book. You looked so happy and excited. Your face lit up, and you looked so adorable," he said in a very sincere voice with soft eyes.

I gave him a shy smile. I liked how I felt when he looked at me and said those things.

Wanting to change the subject, I thought about how I owed it to Macy to do a little recon work. "So, have you and Chris been friends for long?" Dangling a crinkled fry in my hand, I noticed his eyes were watching me as I put it in my mouth.
This could be fun.

"For as long as I can remember. Do you really want to talk about Chris?"

I batted my eyelashes as I sipped on my diet soda. "Birds of a feather flock together."

"That's not accurate. That would be more Chris and my brother, Wyatt. See, Chris and I actually started off as arch-enemies, probably like the things written in those books you love so much." His eyes sparkled as his lips curled into a delicious smile.

"Now you have to tell me the story. Did it involve a love triangle?"

"It was brutal. We were both madly in love with the same woman." His eyes shifted as he sat back in his seat.

I felt a twinge of jealousy. "Go on," I encouraged. "You can't say that and then leave me hanging." I was literally on the edge of my seat, staring into his eyes.

"We were five years old. My mom was his kindergarten teacher. Now, you have to understand that my brother, Wyatt, is a mama's boy, but I was always her little man. Imagine my horror when Chris, along with nine other little boys in the class, fell in love with her golden blonde hair and bright blue eyes." He shook his head and tightened his lips into a straight line.

I'd never been more attracted to a man in my life. "Well, what happened?" I prompted him, waving my hands for more.

"At the playground, Chris would hang around my mom like a lovesick puppy. It was pathetic. Even at that age, he flirted. He told her how pretty she was, and he always needed to hold her hand in line. It drove me nuts. My mom reassured me of her unconditional and undying love, but the thought of Chris giving her little gifts irked the crap out of me. He was teetering on a fine line, and then he crossed it."

"The suspense is killing me. Tell me what happened."

"He came up to me on the playground one day and told me that he was going to marry my mom when he got older." He laced his fingers together and stretched his arms.

I'd never seen this side of a man, and I found it to be the most heartwarming experience.

"So, I punched him in the face and put an end to that nonsense." He shrugged his shoulders. "We've been best friends ever since."

I laughed. "So, you've been a jealous fool all your life."

"I don't share." His eyes were tender, but he was making a very clear point.

"Good. Neither do I." I shifted in my chair. "Okay, you have some explaining to do, don't you?"

He scrunched his face and nodded.

"Uh-oh," I said, smiling.

He really did look tortured, but if it was possible, it was cute at the same time.

Straightening up, he nervously said, "I'm man enough to tell you the truth."

With that opening line, my eyes opened wide. I was at war with what I should feel—apprehension—versus what I did feel. I felt at ease.

I had to admit that it was strange listening to this man tell me how he went through my purse, found my address, took me home, changed me, and tucked me in. I'd only known him for about twenty-four hours.
Damn those Cosmos!
If it had been anyone else, I would've been in an uproar about the violation of my boundaries.

Then again, I had to give him credit. He did try to get my cooperation, but he should've tried harder.
How many Cosmos did I drink?
Although I had a thing with boundaries and personal space, as he told me what happened, I could tell from the expression on his face and the tone of his voice that he took care of me.

"So, next time, do you want me to try harder to wake you up?" he asked with a smirk.

I smiled at him. "What makes you think there will be a next time?"

"Oh, I don't think there will be," he said.

My stomach dropped.

He winked. "I
know
there will be."

Knowing I could play his little game, I felt the urge to tease him. I couldn't help myself. I asked, "So, did you cop a feel?"

I didn't know what I wanted his answer to be. Even though I was being playful, I needed to know if he had taken advantage of me. I was all over the place. I wanted him to be different from the other men I'd dated.

His blues eyes looked straight into mine. With all seriousness, he said, "I won't lie to you. I wanted to."

His tone was so damn sexy and commanding that I couldn't help but hold my breath as he spoke.

"But, no, I didn't." He leaned in closer toward me. "Let's just say that you'll remember when I do."

I felt a heat rise within me. Hiding the blush behind my glass, I sipped my diet soda. "Confident, aren't you?" I flirted back.

He looked to the side and then straight back at me and smiled.

I couldn't control the smile that broke across my face. I was doomed to stroke his ego at every turn.
Maybe that's not a bad thing
.

After we finished eating, he extended his hand to me and we walked out to his car. Liam was a complete gentleman at dinner. I was a little disappointed that our evening was coming to an end. I had a great time with him, and I enjoyed his company. As we approached my front door, I fumbled for my keys. I was nervous. Even though I already knew how his soft lips felt against mine from our kisses before, this actually felt like our first kiss. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that I wasn't under the influence of my Cosmos. The truth was that I really wanted to kiss him.

When we were saying our good-byes, he leaned in and pulled me into an embrace. I held on to him for dear life. His arms felt warm and inviting as they wrapped around me. My heart pounded in my chest. He pulled back ever so slightly and tipped up my chin with his hand. Leaning down, he pressed his lips against mine. When his tongue teased my lower lip, I opened my mouth for him.