Twice in a Lifetime (Love Found) (4 page)

Jake sucked in his breath and slid his eyelids shut.

Her empty mug hit the table. “It’s almost midnight, folks. Time for my carriage to turn into a pumpkin.” Her smile, though apologetic, had her dimple peeking through.

“So early?” He wanted to beg her to stay. To dance with him. To ditch Ben and –. Crazy. It was all crazy. But so was the pressure in his chest.

Reese sidled up to him, looped her arm through his elbow. Probably kept him from saying something really stupid. “Sure you can’t stay, Allie?”

Allie wrapped her in a quick hug. “Not tonight, thanks. Got church in the morning. I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon.” She turned to face Ben, who stood beside her with his jaw tight, his hands shoved into his pockets. Her smile faltered. “I had a nice time. Thank you.”

The jerk didn’t say a word. No
you’re welcome
. No
later, baby
. No
take a hike
,
I’m just not into you
. Just stood there with his hands stuffed in his jeans and a dumbass look on his face.

Even with Reese hovering beside him, Jake kept his eyes on Allie as she dashed through the crowded restaurant, hugging her sweater with her head held high, glorious curls bobbing across her shoulders. Christ, was she crying? His feet had already moved, taken a step to follow her, and he halted in his tracks. What the hell was he doing? He shot a glance at Ben, whose eyes also followed her as she shot through the exit. Good old fashioned lust and something like—oh, Jesus,
longing
—pouring from his baby blues.

His buddy was a moron.

Allie grabbed her purse and sweater and ran. Stumbled her way back through the crowded restaurant, shoved open the door and escaped into the cool night air. She was embarrassed enough - he didn’t get to witness her tears.

Couldn’t she even recognize when a guy wasn’t interested? God, she was out of practice. Hours of talking, laughing, dancing—it was all for show.

Crossing the dimly lit parking lot, she wrapped her arms around her stomach, let the salty droplets fall. She was such a fool. There she was with her heart in her throat—probably in her eyes, dammit—and all along Ben was counting the minutes until he could cut her loose.

She sniffed as she approached her car. Loosened the death grip on her midsection and dug through her purse for a tissue.

Well, all right then. That settled the matter, even if the hot flash of anger did still simmer. The voice of reason taunted a reminder in the background. She didn’t even want a boyfriend. That’s right. Didn’t have time to date until after graduation, anyway.

She should have listened to it from the beginning.

Unlocking her car, she climbed in. It all washed over her—her stupidity, her irritation, her indecision. Irritated, she buckled her seatbelt and decided she’d just forget the whole night, but… She released a pent up sigh. She really did have a good time.

With a snap of her wrist she turned the key and started the engine. Then slumped back in the idling vehicle. Visions of Ben invaded her musings and she sighed again. Yeah, Adonis in a Henley pullover. And wasn’t it humiliating that his hot looks had her melting like a popsicle on a summer sidewalk. She needed to sit herself down for a stern talking-to if that’s how she acted on a first date.

No, non-date.

Even though he was acting, even though thirty days was probably a long-term relationship in his book, Ben made her laugh. She never met anyone she enjoyed so much, but he didn’t even say goodbye. The evening left her overwhelmed, mortified. And now, even with cold, hard sanity again taking charge, bereft.

His stupid tongue deserted him again. Ben cursed that useless flap of tissue as he sat with his back to the door. He didn’t need words—actually needed only his imagination to remember the feel of her as she pressed against him on the dance floor. The sway of her hips as she strode across the floor in her heels tempted him as no bribe Jake promised ever could. But words, he was certain as he scraped a hand across the back of his head, would have worked better as goodbye than a thick-tongued stare.

No, she wasn’t the blonde A-lister he was usually attracted to. And wasn’t it odd that the idea didn’t bother him at all. He didn’t even need to see her again. The sight of her was tattooed on his brain. Through oregano and stale beer he could still catch the light scent of her perfume. Through the denim of his jeans he could still feel her as she brushed against him, dancing. No, he didn’t need to see her again, but the persistent tug around his heart told him he would. And soon.

Pulling from the parking lot, Allie kicked off her heels as she entered traffic. Her head was clearer now, no longer clouded with what she could only assume were pheromones. She was two months shy of graduation and busy with classes, student teaching, and lining up a job for the next school year. All valid excuses—no, reasons—why she didn’t date.

She always considered there would be time for dating when she was done with the craziness of college. Too many of her girlfriends lost focus on school once a boyfriend was in the picture. No, thank you very much. She was patient. First things first. But the events of the night were stuck in her mind—the four of them talking, laughing, wolfing down pizza. Telling stories on each other like they were all old friends. And like quicksand, the harder she tried to escape them, the more the memories sucked her in.

Allie dropped her books on the sofa and yelled through the apartment. “Hey, Reese, you cooked? It actually smells good.” The growling of her stomach punctuated the lateness of the hour.

A quick toss landed her purse on the kitchen counter and she opened the oven. Knowing Reese, it was only marginally edible, but it mostly resembled a bubbling lasagna so she pulled it out anyway. Because her shoes pinched her toes she peeled them off, dropped them near her purse. A scrap of paper in Reese’s neat block writing rested nearby. Reaching out a hand, she –.

“Ben called yesterday.”

The palm that slapped against her chest would have knocked the breath from her if she hadn’t just let it all out in a scream.

Reese had barely cleared the entrance to the kitchen when she threw back her head and laughed. “Jeez, anybody ever tell you, you shriek like a girl?”

“And I’ll cuss like a sailor if you scare me like that again.” Her heart was ready to jump out of her chest. From the fright—probably.

And just how long did Reese plan to chortle?

Holding her midsection with one hand, Reese waved the note with the other. “I forgot to tell you about this. He said he’d call back.”

“I told you I wasn’t interested. And quit chuckling”

To her credit, she toned it down to a grin. “That was when you missed his call on Tuesday. Today’s Thursday. I thought maybe you’d reconsidered.” Reese waved a dismissing hand. “You know what they say about absence and the heart and all that.”

With deliberate motions, Allie shook her head no, and hoped it was true. Her eye caught the flashing green light of the answering machine. “Who called while I was at the library?”

“Dunno.” In no hurry, Reese pressed the button to check the message. “Maybe it was Jake. I was studying.”

Ben again. Call you later
.

Reese smirked. “He’s either in love or he wants in your pants.”

Trust Reese to call a spade a spade. “I told you a blind date was a bad idea.” And yet, laughing blue eyes had invaded her dreams for the past several nights. She dropped into a chair.

Monday morning she awoke to the insistent clamoring of the telephone. Through bleary eyes she checked the time before dragging the receiver to her ear.

“It’s six o’clock in the freaking morning. What do you want?”

“Oh, I’ll hear that raspy voice in my dreams tonight.”

Like a rocket Allie shot out of bed, untangling herself from the sheet, tripping over her slippers in the dark. She slapped at the switch and the room flooded with light. “Ben?” Oh, God, that loud squeak was
not
her voice.

“You’ve been hard to get hold of.”

Oh, she remembered that voice—low and throaty. Sexy Ben. The mattress caught her when she sat. She was fully awake now. And curious. “How
did
you get me? You didn’t ask for my number.” And where have you been since Thursday, by the way?

“From Jake, who got it from Reese.”

A regular Sherlock Holmes, wasn’t he?

“Sorry about the weekend. We played a double header in Texas.”

“Oh?” Did he mention they’d be out of town? Did Reese? With her brain so fuddled, it was all she could think to say. Hopefully he didn’t notice.

“We got in late last night—early this morning, actually.”

She opened her mouth, but he cut her off.

“Let’s do something.”

“Now? It’s the middle of the night.”

“Not quite. What’s your schedule?”

She needed to shower, do her hair, iron a blouse…
Stop!
Her shoulders slumped as reality set in. “My first class is at nine twenty. Then I have student teaching this afternoon. I don’t get home until after four, but I need to study.” Her schedule was a killer—hence, the no-dating policy. And if she needed another reminder why, here it was.

“Okay then, get dressed. I’ll pick you up. We’ll have breakfast. You’ve got ten minutes.”

And the line went dead.

The phone was heavy in her hand. What just happened? A call. Ben. She replaced the handset. Did she want this? Meet the hot guy for eggs. Maybe she could get him out of her head. She raced for the closet.

“Oh, hell, why not?”

With books and notes strewn from one end of the couch to the other Allie groaned beneath the weight a half-finished research paper. With a glass of wine at her lips she let her eyelids drift shut as she sipped. She missed sleep. She missed her girlfriends. She missed… Ben.

“They’re in Oregon? It’s probably snowing in Oregon, for crying out loud.” And she should kick herself for caring. The remainder of his birthday cake from yesterday mocked her from the kitchen counter. “Do you know I dreamed about him last night? Disgusting!”

“You say something?” Reese had a mess of her own scattered across the living room floor.