Chronicles of a Serial Dater - Book 2: A New Adult Romantic Comedy (7 page)

His tone was jarring and I instantly realized we’d crossed a line. We’d gone from discussing his work in a professional way to sharing some truly intimate things. I sat up straight, realizing I’d spent hours acting like this. Like a tsunami, my anxiety crashed against me.

Clint noticed the awkward lull in the conversation and cleared his throat. “I didn’t realize how late it’d gotten. I have an early flight tomorrow and…”

I folded the napkin up and pulled out my purse to pay. “Right, yeah, of course.”

He reached across the small table and touched my hand. “It’s fine, I’ve got this.” My heart thudded at the contact. His fingers were soft yet firm. “I’ll settle the bill and meet you out front?”

As I waited for him outside, I lifted the long hair off my neck and closed my eyes. The breeze cooled the sweat on my skin and I tried to collect myself.
It wasn’t a date. He’s just the most charming guy than you’ve ever met. Don’t go making an ass out of yourself because you’re misinterpreting things.

Clint appeared at my side, his hand touching my elbow to alert me of his presence. “All set. Let me grab you a taxi,” he said as he thrust his hand into the air, getting the attention of one down the street.

With a steely determination to end the night on a professional tone, I straightened my back. “I’m glad we were able to resolve these issues.”

The corner of his mouth curled, a dimple appearing in the scruff of beard. “I had a good time tonight. I’m more excited about this book than I was when I first started writing it. I think we work well together, don’t you?” He unslung the tan suit jacket from his arm and slipped it on.

My first response caught in my throat, quickly replaced with another serious comment. “I’ll take the weekend to list out all the things we talked about and we can address them early next week.”

He gave me a knowing broad smile but didn’t comment on my sudden formality. He stooped and opened the door to the cab but blocked my way. “Have a good weekend, Talia.”

Clint leaned forward and I panicked. He slipped a hand onto my hip and took a step forward.
Oh shit, oh shit, he’s going in for a kiss!
Of course, I’d completely forgotten it was customary for people from the UK and Europe to kiss each other on the cheek. Instead, I made an epic mistake and misinterpreted the gesture.
Am I doing this? Is he really doing this?

At the last second, I turned my head. The corners of our mouths met in a brushing half-kiss and it was only then I realized what he was trying to do. Clint pulled back and paused. I wanted to melt into the ground, be washed down into the sewers and float away from the most embarrassing moment of my life. But ever the charmer, he covered my little slip up by kissing my other cheek, politely pretending it was his fault.

Only I knew. He knew. And I knew he knew. I felt like a 12-year-old trying to pass as 18 and failing miserably.

“Have a good night,” he said again before letting me into the cab.

I stepped inside and sat down, my face practically throbbing with embarrassment. I gave him a thin smile and shut the door, telling the driver to leave quickly. The cab slowly edged out into traffic. I felt and heard a little rapping on the top of the car, but figured it was probably Clint just tapping goodbye. A gap opened up and the car accelerated.

We’d only traveled a few car lengths before people on the sidewalk started shouting and pointing at us. Before I could lower my window to hear what they were saying, there was another knock on my window. Horrified, I looked out to see Clint comfortably jogging alongside the car. He pointed to the corner of my door and then his jacket. It took far too long for me to put it together, but his coat was caught in the door!

“Stop!” I screamed.

The driver slammed on the brakes. I barely caught myself from flying head first into the seat. Clint didn’t get a warning and was still jogging along when the car abruptly stopped. With the grace of a dancer, he managed to roll along the side, slipping from the jacket and freeing himself.

I opened the door and half climbed out when I realized a small crowd was applauding. Clint took a few bows before collecting his jacket from the ground.

“Oh my God, oh my God! Are you okay?”

“I think we can add stunt man to my resume, don’t you think?” he replied a little breathlessly.

“Holy shit. I’m so glad you’re okay! You could’ve killed him!” I snapped at the driver.

“What? You told me to go fast. I went fast,” the guy replied, totally unfazed by nearly killing someone.

Clint leaned down into the open door and laughed. “And to think. I survived everything just to be killed by a pretty girl in a yellow cab.”

The last thing I expected from him was a stealth compliment. I giggled nervously and reconfirmed he was actually okay.

“I’m good. No worries. Have a good night.”

He made a big show of taking a few steps back from the cab before I shut the door. He gave me a little wave and the driver sped off as if nothing happened.

As the car whisked me uptown to my apartment, I ran through the night, carefully picking out places I’d let my guard slip and attraction come through. I couldn’t be the sort of person who allowed my personal feelings get in the way of my work. So what if he was literally the most gorgeous man I’d ever see in my life? And who cares if he was smart, funny, charming, and had an accent I could listen to for the rest of my life? I couldn’t allow myself to be so easily manipulated by my hormones and lack of sex, especially when it was my career at stake.
Ugh, stupid hormones!

Zach was coming down the front steps of our building just as I rounded the corner. He was dressed to go out, his messy hair styled, sloppy clothes swapped for a stylish button-up.

“Hey!” I called out wearily.

He turned and smiled when he recognized me. “Hey yourself. Long day?”

“You have no idea,” I sighed, slumping against the stone steps.

“Do you wanna go out? I can wait for you to get ready,” he said as he sat beside me.

I briefly entertained the idea but the thought of even showering sounded like too much hassle. “No, it’s cool. Don’t you have a date tonight, anyway?”

“No one special,” he shrugged. I was so tired, I didn’t really have anything to say. I just liked sitting with him for a minute, the stress of the day draining away simply by being near a friend. “You wanna go grab a slice? You probably haven’t eaten.”

“I did, actually,” I sighed.

“Iced coffee doesn’t count as a meal.” Zach scooted closer to make room for one of our neighbors as she jogged up the stairs, our knees brushing.

I laughed, realizing I’d done that more than once. “I swear, it was real food that came out on a plate and required a knife and fork to eat. I didn’t even have to pay for it.”

He stiffened slightly beside me. “Ah, another date?”

“No. Yes. I don’t know. It’s complicated,” I whined. The whole evening had been a bundle of confusion. I was ready to hate Clint, despite my obvious attraction to him. But I’d found him so annoyingly charming and disarming… and that kiss on my cheek had made me tingle in all the right places.

“It’s fine,” Zach comforted, rubbing my back. “You’ll find a good guy soon.”

I sat up and turned toward him. “But that’s just it. I don’t even know what I want. I don’t want random sex with a stranger but the idea of jumping into a relationship again is terrifying too. I know I’m oversharing here, but it’s been so long since I’ve been with someone, I’m afraid I’ll end up screwing a real loser just because I’m horny.”

Zach’s brown eyes shifted in a way I couldn’t read. He gave my shoulder a little bump with his own and laughed. “I get it, I totally get it. You don’t want to stick your dick in crazy, figuratively speaking.”

“Open my pussy to insanity?” I snorted.

“At the very least, no guys who harbor secret feelings and deeply involved fantasies about you, right?”

My voice wavered between shrill and whiny. “I don’t understand why this is such a hard thing to find. You’d think in a city filled with millions of people, I could find
one
person who wanted the same thing.”

“Right. You just want to have fun with someone you get along with, but nothing serious or relationshippy.”

“Exactly!”

“Maybe you aren’t looking in the right places,” he added with a smirk.

“Don’t tell me there’s another app I have to learn,” I groaned dramatically.

“Nope. But there is a name for it. Friends with benefits…” He held my gaze for a few moments. My heart thumped against my chest and my core inexplicably tightened.

“Zach, I…”

He held his hands up defensively and stood. “I’m just saying. If it’s no-strings-attached sex you’re after, it’s not like you have to go very far to find it.” I’m pretty sure my mouth was hanging open as he leaned down, balancing his weight on the railing beside me. “I haven’t checked my reviews on Yelp lately, but I get plenty of repeat customers. I must be doing something right. Think about it.”

Without another word, he turned and walked away. I watched his back in shock as he disappeared down the sidewalk. As if my life hadn’t become complicated enough, Zach had to go throwing that idea in my head. Even worse, I didn’t automatically balk like I thought I would at such a proposal.

“Ah, the life of a celibate nun sounds nice right about now,” I typed without looking at the screen. My eyes drifted to the side, the scenes from the last few weeks playing out in my mind.

“I hope these guys have all been a fluke of statistics. I accept the varied scope of human personality, but why am I being bombarded with one specific end of the freaky-ass spectrum? And just as I’m about to call for a moratorium on men altogether, maybe let my roommate talk me into a little Lesbi-love action, I’m slapped across the face with two amazing men.

“And I can’t touch either of them.”

I tapped my fingernail on the edge of the keyboard as I tried to come up with a pair of nicknames for Clint and Zach, smiling when the first one came to me.

“One is a delicious English muffin and I’ve gone gluten-free, while the other…”

I couldn’t think of a good name for Zach. Every attempt pinned him into a name I thought was too narrow. He was more than a friend, more than a hot guy, more than a lot of things… he was…

“The other is complicated.”

I hope you enjoyed the second installment of the
Chronicles of a Serial Dater
series! If you have a second, it’d be awesome
if you could leave a review!
And while you’re there, make sure to check out the next installments!