Summer Fling (Players of Marycliff University Book 1) (7 page)

Abby squirmed. "Stop it, that tickles."

Lance rested his hand just above her knee again. "Better?"

She shrugged. "I guess."
 

He'd take it. He left his hand on her leg for the rest of the drive, only removing it when he needed to shift.
 

It was progress. Slow and steady wins the race.

* * *

Abby tilted her head back to admire the carved vaulted ceiling of the Davenport's lobby. Carved pillars created natural aisles, dividing up comfortable seating areas of over stuffed couches and chairs, groupings of tables, and large potted plants around the room. Her awe at the space made her momentarily forget how unsettled and jittery Lance made her.

His hand at the small of her back, guiding her toward the restaurant entrance situated in the far corner, brought her back to herself.
 

He'd started touching her the moment she'd walked out her door. His hand on her arm, the kiss, touching her leg in the car, and now touching her back. He was more forward today than he had been the last two days. Well, he'd been forward the first night, but he hadn't invaded her space much. Maybe since this was a date, at least their second if yesterday's shopping and movie counted as a date, he felt like he could touch her more. Or maybe he'd seen their kiss yesterday as permission to touch more. If what Megan had told her was true, then Lance might be trying to get into her pants by the end of their date. Maybe to him all the touching was just a warm up.
 

That was the problem, though. Even though she was flattered by Lance's attention and obvious interest, she was being truthful when she'd told Megan that she didn't do casual sex. And with Lance that was all it could be. Even without his history as a player, he would be leaving at the end of the summer to go back to Texas. She still had two more years left of school before completing her degree. There couldn't be anything long term between them.

Abby shook off her wandering thoughts as she followed the hostess to their table. At the very least she could enjoy a nice meal with Lance. He made her unaccountably nervous, but she also enjoyed spending time with him. She liked the way his hand felt against her skin, the warmth of his body close to hers. If this was going to be their last date, she at least wanted to have a nice time.

The hostess pulled out Abby's chair for her at a table covered in a white tablecloth, with a black cloth napkin folded at each place. "Blake will be your server today. He'll be with you in a moment." She handed them their menus and left.
 

Abby opened her menu, eyes widening slightly at the prices. "Have you eaten here before?"

Lance looked up from his menu. "Once or twice. The food is good and I figured it wouldn't have the normal Sunday lunch crowds like the more casual places. Is this okay?"

Abby nodded. "It's fine. I just didn't expect something so fancy for a lunch date."

"Well, you wouldn't let me take you out to dinner, so I had to impress you with a fancy lunch date." He smiled and wiggled his eyebrows at her. "Are you impressed?"

Abby laughed. "Oh, very. You're very impressive."

"That's what she said." His delivery was so deadpan it was perfect.

Abby threw back her head and laughed long and hard. She wiped tears from the corners of her eyes, feeling more relaxed. "I can't believe you just made a 'that's what she said' joke in the middle of a date in an expensive restaurant." He just grinned, no remorse in his expression.

Their waiter walked up and filled their water goblets, smiling at the hilarity written on their faces, but obviously having missed the joke. "Would you like to hear our specials?"

At their nods, he rattled off the soup of the day as well as two entrée specials. Abby held back her grimace of distaste when he listed the seafood special, but thought the steak option sounded good. It was probably expensive, though. The waiter took their drink orders and left.
 

Abby scanned the menu, trying to pick something.
Maybe I should just get a salad
. Her eyes went wide when she saw the cost of a salad. She could only guess how much the steak special cost if they charged that much for a salad.

"Abby." Lance's voice was low, reclaiming her attention.
 

She looked up. "Hmm?"

"Relax. Pick something you think sounds good. Don't worry about the price, okay?"

Abby's cheeks grew warm. How did he know what she was thinking? "Okay." She let her gaze drift back to the menu, still trying to pick something that wouldn't cost a complete fortune, but feeling like she could get more than soup or a salad.

After a few moments they'd both closed their menus and laid them on the table. Lance reached for his water and took a drink. "We've done the obligatory questions about majors and origins already. Let's move on to family. Sound good?"

Abby wasn't thrilled to talk about her family, but nodded anyway. "Sure. Do you have any siblings?" She figured if she asked first, maybe she could keep the attention on him long enough that they'd run out of time before talking about her family.

He nodded. "Two sisters, one older and one younger." He sat slightly forward, one arm braced in front of him. The other was laid casually across the table in her direction. His gaze was focused intently on her face.

"What are their names?" Abby felt unaccountably shy under his close scrutiny. She reached for her water to hide her discomfort and shield herself from his intensity.

"Marissa is the oldest, she's twenty-five. Gabby, Gabrielle, is the youngest. She's seventeen and will be a senior in the fall."

"And are you the protective older brother?"
 

Lance smiled. "I didn't get much chance to be too protective with Gabby. I've been gone for most of the last four years up here. She was only thirteen when I left and hadn't started dating yet. Marissa got annoyed by me trying to size up her boyfriends, though."
 

Abby laughed. "I bet. She probably didn't want her little brother trying to intimidate or run off her dates."

"I never tried to run them off." His face was serious. "I just let them know there'd be consequences if they hurt her."

Abby laughed harder. "I just bet they were really intimidated by a scrawny kid three years younger."

Lance pulled an offended look. "Hey, now. I wasn't that scrawny." His face relaxed and he smiled again at Abby's skeptical look. "No, really, I wasn't. I was already over six feet tall by the end of seventh
grade and I've played football my whole life."
 

"Your whole life?"

Lance shrugged. "More or less. Pee wee football starts in Kindergarten."

Abby's mouth dropped open. "Kindergarten? What, like flag football?"

Lance's eyebrows drew together and he shook his head. "No. Full tackle with pads and everything. They don't do that here?"

"No. My brother didn't play football until sixth
grade, and that was only flag football. Tackle football leagues don't start until seventh grade around here."

It was Lance's turn to be surprised. "Seventh
grade? Wow, that's late. A kid that didn't start football until seventh grade would be seriously behind in Texas." The waiter brought their drinks and took their order. Lance ordered the steak special and Abby got Parmesan crusted chicken. "Anyway, so you have a brother?" Lance asked, bringing the conversation back.

Abby tried to hold back her wince. "Yeah."
 

Lance looked at her expectantly. She sighed. "His name is Aaron. He's two years older than me. So is your older sister married?"

Lance leaned back in his chair, studying her. "No, not yet. She's been dating a guy for a while and my mom thinks they might be pretty serious. Are you close with your brother?"

Abby shook her head. "Are you close with your sisters?"

Lance tilted his head back and forth. "I talk to Gabby more than Marissa since Gabby still lives with Mom and Dad. She keeps me updated on her life when I call on Sundays. I don't talk to Marissa quite as often, but we catch up every couple months or so."
 

Abby's hand kept drifting to her mouth to play with her lower lip. Every time she realized she did it, she tried to stop herself. "So your parents are still together? That's cool."
 

Lance narrowed his eyes and reached for his soda. "I take it yours aren't?"

Abby shook her head, pinching her lip with her thumb and finger.
 

Lance reached across the table and pulled her hand away from her face, holding it in his. "What happened?"

Abby shrugged. "He bailed when I was a little kid. I don't even remember him, I was that little when he left. It's always just been my mom, my brother, and me. And since Aaron took off, it's just Mom and me."

"That sounds like it was hard." Lance's thumb stroked across her palm.
 

"Yeah, I guess. I don't know anything different, though, so it is what it is. Can we talk about something else? I don't like talking about my parents." She tried to pull her hand back, but Lance wouldn't let go.
 

He studied her face before nodding. "Sure. We can talk about something else. What's your favorite color?"

"Brown."

Lance's eyebrows climbed his forehead. "Brown?"

"I know. You're thinking brown is such a boring color. And I admit it can be, but there are some things that are brown that are just rich and beautiful."

He smiled. "Like what?" His voice was curious, not challenging.

"Leather, eyes, dirt."

"Dirt?"

"You don't think dirt is beautiful?"

Lance tilted his head to one side and studied her face. His thumb was still stroking across her palm. "I've never really thought about it before. I usually just try to get the dirt off of things."

Abby smiled. "You've never worked in a garden or spent time barefoot in a forest? The dirt there is beautiful."

The waiter arrived then and placed their food in front of them. Lance released her hand, breaking the strange intimacy of the moment.

Once the waiter left, Abby picked up the conversation by returning Lance's question. They did that throughout their meal, trading questions and little stories. Abby successfully steered conversation away from uncomfortable topics like her mother, and she noticed that Lance avoided talking about going back to Texas at the end of the summer.

The waiter returned to clear their plates. "Would you like to see the dessert menu?"

Lance arched an eyebrow at Abby. She shook her head. "I'm stuffed." The waiter placed a small vinyl folder on the table. Lance slipped his card inside and the waiter took it away.
 

After their lunch was paid for, Abby was very conscious of Lance walking close beside her, one hand on the small of her back as they walked out of the restaurant. Once in the lobby, he ran his hand down her arm and threaded his fingers through hers. Abby glanced up at him, and he just smiled back at her, continuing to hold her hand until they arrived at his car.

Lance turned her to face him and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. His hand traveled to the nape of her neck, drew her close, and his mouth came down on hers. Abby gasped at the unexpected contact of his lips, and he took the opportunity to slide his tongue along her lips and into her mouth. He tasted her, savored her, then broke off. He unlocked her door and held it open for her while Abby was still reeling from the kiss.
 

After closing her door, Lance slid into the driver's seat and kissed her once more. "What would you like to do now?"

Abby took a deep breath, acutely aware that Lance's hand was still cupping the back of her head. "Go home?"

Lance smiled, a wicked gleam in his eyes. "Are you asking me? Because if you are then I say no."

Abby grasped his wrist, pulling his hand away from her head. "No, I need to go home."

"Why? Let's hang out some more. I like hanging out with you."

It was Abby's turn to smile now. "Thank you. I like hanging out with you, too, but I need to go home."

Lance frowned at her insistence that he take her home, and that she'd taken his hand away from her and placed it on the seat between them. "Why do you need to go home?"

"I need to do laundry, remember?"

"It's only two. Can't laundry wait a little longer?"

Abby shook her head. "No. I need to get it done tonight, and I have to work tomorrow so I don't want to stay up late to do it."

Lance's eyes roamed her face, studying her. Abby felt like he was trying to see inside her. "You really need to do laundry that bad?"

"Yeah, I do. I need clean clothes for work."

Lance sighed and turned toward the steering wheel. "Alright. Home it is."

The drive back to Abby's apartment went by in charged silence. Lance rested his hand on her leg, just above her knee, except for when he needed to shift. Abby didn't object, realizing this would likely be the last time she saw him. His fingers and thumb would caress her skin, causing her to shiver.
 

At her apartment complex, Lance pulled into a spot across from her door. He killed the engine and turned to face her, his hand starting to travel up her thigh.
 

"Thanks for lunch. I had a nice time." She blurted out the words.

Abby knew Lance was going to kiss her again and try to change her mind, and she started talking to try to forestall the inevitable.
 

His head leaned towards hers. "I had a nice time, too." Then his lips brushed against hers once, and then again. He pulled back, and Abby was at once relieved and disappointed.
 

"Can we make plans for tomorrow, then?"

Abby jerked back in shock. "What?"

Lance stared at her. "Tomorrow. Can we do something tomorrow?" He spoke like she was slow and needed help catching on.

"Why?" He wasn't supposed to ask her out again. Megan said he never went out with someone more than twice. Abby wasn't counting pie that first night, but he'd said yesterday and today were dates. That meant this should be over.