Single, Available, and Completely Attached (15 page)

“Probably.”
 
She agreed, nodding again.
 

“It would help if you gave more-than-one-word responses.”
 
Drew said after a second.

“I…I just don’t really know what to say.”

“Me either.”
 
Drew sighed, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw him take a drink of his hot chocolate.
 
“Okay, I’ll start first…we didn’t use any, ah…”
 

“Oh,
”
 
Anna
was grateful for the cold.
 
Her cheeks were already pink from the chill, so her blush would easily go unnoticed.
 
“Right, well I’ve been on the pill since I was seventeen…and unless you know something about Jeff that I don’t—”

“That’s just—you know
,
that’s not something I usually let slide.”
 
He said, and Anna only nodded.
 
The air around them was so thick with awkward tension, Anna almost felt as if she was suffocating.
 

“I’m not mad at you.”
 
She finally blurted out.
 
“I knew what I was doing.
 
I know I’m the one who started it all—”

“I could have stopped it—”

“Then I probably would be mad at you.”
 
Anna sighed heavily, finally turning to face Drew.
 
“Look, Drew.
 
I’m not…I’m not looking for a relationship or anything like that.”

“Oh, I’m not either—”

“I know you’re not.
 
Jeff always said—
”
 
Anna
broke off, realizing she probably shouldn’t continue that sentence.
 

“What did Jeff say?”
 
Drew pressed.
 
When Anna didn’t answer, he asked again.

“He always said the quickest way to chase you away was to have sex with you.”
 
Anna told him, shrugging.
 
It felt strange to talk about Jeff, especially in the midst of their current conversation.
 
Drew nodded, taking a drink from his cup.
 
Anna decided to continue on.

“I’ve been lonely for a really long time, Drew.
 
Even before Jeff left for Chicago…something was missing there.
 
It wasn’t right, and I wasn’t happy for a long time before I ended things.
 
I didn’t want to hurt him.
 
I just…I couldn’t go on like that, you know?
 
So I ended things.
 
And now I’m just as lonely as I was before, only I feel a little less bitter about it.”

Anna sighed.
 
“All I want is someone to keep me company—and, much to my surprise, I kind of enjoy yours.”

“The feeling is quite mutual,
”
 
he
responded.
 

“So…can we just agree that whatever happened probably shouldn’t have?
 
And maybe just move on?”

“That depends…are you sure you’ll be able to resist all of this?”
 
He offered her that charming grin she was sure he used on every single woman he’d ever met, and she couldn’t help but giggle a little.
 

“I think I’ll manage.
 
It’s you I’m worried about.”
 
Anna told him.

“Me?
 
Hey, I’ve gotten it out of my system.
 
You’re pretty much a guy at this point.”
 
She leaned over and nudged him playfully with her shoulder, and the scent of his cologne mingled with his shampoo wafted over her.
 

She remembered tangling her hands in his hair as he kissed her stomach, trailing lower…

And then she pushed it away, forcing the smile on her lips.
 

“Good, that’s exactly what I want to hear.”
 

Because even though she was lying now, she hadn’t been lying just moments before.
 
She didn’t want to lose him, and if anyone knew Drew—it was Jeff.
 
She wasn’t willing to trade the friendship that was budding between them for something she knew wouldn’t last.

She had come to care about him just a little bit more than she was willing to admit, and the thought of losing that…

No, it wasn’t even worth considering.
 
No matter how incredible he could make her feel.

Because passion was fleeting—wasn’t that what he’d said?
 
Passion was fleeting.

And
Anna
 
had
a feeling that whatever they had outside of passion—that was something worth sacrificing a few moments of pleasure for.

~*~

Despite their best efforts, Anna had to admit that things had remained a little bit on the tense side following their talk.
 
They’d had to ease back into things—and at first, it seemed like she and Drew didn’t see each other at all.
 
She recalled texting each other as they watched
360
in their own respective homes and giving each other a hard time about video games that they hadn’t yet played.
 

Eventually, though, things leveled out again.
 
He
 
took her to a concert he’d been “forced” to attend for work (what a sacrifice, she’d told him), and they’d spent an evening in front of the TV at her house to watch their favorite crime show together, rather than texting about it.
 

And then the lunches had resumed, and then he’d challenged her to another game night…

And everything was normal, just the way it had been before.
 
Except for the occasional memory lapse, when she would slip and allow herself to remember what it had felt like to have his hands on her, or—

But then she would catch herself.

“Hah, take that!”
 
Drew cried excitedly and she shook herself back to the present.
 
He’d just blown her up.

“Oh, that was lucky—I had something in my eye—”

“Yeah, yeah, call it what you want, but I won that one fair and square.”
 
She wasn’t sure exactly how fair it was, considering she’d been distracted by a memory of his talents…but she couldn’t very well admit to that, could she?
 

“Fine, let’s go again.”

“Oh, how I wish we could.”
 
Anna tensed at his comment, turning her head very slowly in his direction, an eyebrow raised.
 
“Sorry,
”
 
his
grin was wicked.
 
“But I’ve got to work in the morning, and I can’t show up late again, or else Dave will be sure to convince the world that I’m practically married by now.”

“Well we can’t have that, can we?”
 
She tossed the remote onto the coffee table in front of them, recalling the show the morning after their last…encounter.
 
Dave had certainly been playing detective.
 

“What about Saturday night?”

“I can’t,
”
 
she
felt her cheeks burn.

“You can’t?
 
Something at the center?”

“No…”
 
Anna rose to her feet and turned her back, acting as if she was looking around for something.
 
“I have a date.”

“Oh, really?
 
A date?”
 
She nodded her head as she picked up her coat, finally turning around to face him.

“One of the accountants from City Hall asked me to dinner.”

“So this is a real date?”
 
Though his voice betrayed nothing, she couldn’t help but sense something had shifted.
 
He rose to his feet, almost as if to distract himself.

“He’s picking me up and everything.”
 

“Well, isn’t that fancy.”
 

Anna shrugged her shoulder.
 
“I figured I should maybe start dating.
 
A girl has needs, you know.”
 
She couldn’t help but take the shot, even though she knew it was wrong.
 

“Oh, I’m fully aware.”
 
He held her eyes just long enough to make her blush and she turned back around, heading toward the door.
 
“Hold on, I’ll walk you out.”

“You don’t have to.”
 
But even as she said the words, he was already tying his shoes.
 
They walked in silence until they reached Anna’s car.
 

“Well, I hope your date goes well.”
 
He finally told her.

“Should I text you outfit pictures?”

“I would appreciate that on several different levels, Annabelle.”
 
She grinned at him before opening the car door.
 

“Good night, Drew.”

“Good night.”
 
She climbed in the car and started it up, listening to it complain for a moment before finally putting it into drive.
 
She waved at Drew, who stood where she’d left him, and he waved back.

As she climbed into bed that night, she remembered the wicked grin he’d flashed at her, and in spite of herself, she felt her heart beat quicken ever-so-faintly.
 

This date she was going on—it was a good idea.
 
She needed to distract herself from those
kind
of thoughts, because if she didn’t…

An image of Drew standing just in front of her, jeans undone, perfectly formed chest bare and exposed…

She really wasn’t sure how much longer she was going to be able to hold out.

~*~

It was Saturday night, and Drew had already had a few drinks.
 
He was back to his usual Saturday night, before Anna had been forced into his world.

But it felt different.

There was a girl sitting at the bar a few seats down from him, and he did what he normally did and bought her a drink.
 
She sidled up alongside him after a few minutes, and he tried to focus on her, but he kept getting distracted every time he saw a blonde-haired girl in the crowd.

He ordered a shot for himself, and another drink for the girl, determined to make this work exactly like it used to.
 
He needed this much more than he was willing to admit.

Anna had followed through with her word.
 
She’d sent him a picture, before she went out.
 
Though the girl beside him was still talking, he couldn’t help but pull his phone out and glance at the picture.

She was wearing a dress—blue, from what he remembered.
 
She had a funny little smile on her face—like she was feeling silly, and nervous, and maybe just a little embarrassed.

Drew really liked that smile.

Until he remembered that it wasn’t really for him, and then he decided that he definitely
didn’t
like that smile.
 

The pretty girl stirred the ice in her empty glass and Drew, recognizing the cue, ordered another drink and another shot.
 

He was planning to get good and drunk.

His phone vibrated and he should have been embarrassed by how quickly he retrieved it, his hopes soaring right alongside his fears.

But it was nothing—some breaking news alert from ESPN.
 
He sighed, shoving the phone back in his pocket.
 

Time seemed to be going very slowly—and all Drew wanted was for it to be over.
 

Finally, though, he just couldn’t stand it any longer.
 
He tossed several bills on the counter without so much as uttering a word to the girl he’d just spent a ridiculous amount of money on drinks for, his mind on one thing and one thing only.

But as soon as he sat down behind the wheel of his SUV, he knew it was a terrible idea to even try to drive.
 
He sighed, dropping his head against the headrest.

The way he saw it, he had two options.
 
He could call a taxi, which was not only the responsible thing to do, but the wisest thing as well.

Or…

Drew pulled his phone from his pocket and stared at it for a long moment, weighing the pros and cons.
 

Calling Anna
was
responsible.
 
So he might be interrupting her date…

Then again, if it was still going on at this point, maybe he
should
be interrupting.
 
He didn’t like the thought of some
accountant
putting his hands all over Anna.
 

He wasn’t all that fond of thinking about
anyone
putting their hands on Anna, now that he was thinking about it.

He much preferred remembering how wonderful it had been for him.

Before he could stop himself, he had unlocked his phone and swiped his thumb across the screen, already dialing her.
 
It rang a number of times before going to voicemail and Drew sighed.

“
Heeelllloo
, Annabelle.
 
Drew here.
 
Your friend.
 
You know the one.
 
Anyway, I was only calling
because,
if you couldn’t tell already…I am
drunk
.
 
And I mean drunk.”
 
He paused.
 
“So I was trying to be responsible and call a friend, which is you, because Jeff is in Chicago, and that’s too far.”
 
He sighed again.
 
“Anyway, I’m probably interrupting, so—”

A beep sounded and he pulled the phone away.
 
Her name showed up on the screen.
 
“Oh, well, you’re calling me.
 
So I’ll just talk to you now.”
 
He ended the current call and switched lines.
 
“Good evening, Miss Annabelle.”