First

Chapter Nine

I picked a coffee shop right down the block from the hotel. I went generic, just wanting a quiet place to sit and talk for a while. She was still bummed about her friend leaving, and I needed to change that. We’d start with coffee and then take things from there.

I led her over to an empty table. “What can I get you?”

“Oh. Just a coffee.”

“Room for cream?” She didn’t strike me as a black coffee kind of girl, but then again, she didn’t strike me as one who read romance books either.

“Nope. I like Splenda in it though.”

“Okay.” I smiled before going over to the counter to get our drinks. I returned to the table with the coffees. I’d already stirred a sweetener packet in hers. She took a sip before reaching over to grab a second packet of sweetener from the plastic dish.

I watched her carefully stir the hot coffee. “Two?”

“I like things sweet.”

I bet she did. The words “do you like things hard too?” swirled through my head, but I wisely kept them to myself. She might like my flirting, but that kind of comment would probably get me a slap in the face.

“What really brought you down here this summer?” I’d been trying to figure it out all week. Something wasn’t adding up.

“What do you mean? Working at the hotel…”

“That’s what you say, but couldn’t you have gotten a job back home?” Was it all about that Toby guy? Was she running from him?

“What does it matter?”

“I’m just trying to figure you out.”

“Figure me out?” She leaned forward slightly.

“You have to be the hardest girl to read.”

She laughed. “I can’t be that hard to read.”

I laid it all out there. “We have a girl with a few months before leaving for college and instead of staying home to enjoy time with her friends, either bumming around or working some silly part time job, you drive across the country to work at a hotel for a dad who has been here all of one day since you arrived.”

“Get to the point.” She eyed me suspiciously.

“Either this is all an elaborate effort to get away from your ex, or you’re running from something else.”

She crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m not running from anything.”

Defensive mannerism. I was getting close. “So it’s all Toby?”

“No, it’s not.”

“Okay, so what is it?” Something in me needed to know. I needed to know what made this beautiful, infuriating woman tick.

“Can’t there be a third choice? I wanted to try something new.”

“Isn’t college trying something new already?” It was definitely a big change from high school, especially if you went away from home.

“Yes, but that’s different.”

“Different?” I sipped my coffee.

“Yeah, I don’t know, it just seemed like an adventure.”

“An adventure? You’re looking for an adventure, huh? Where do I sign up?” I wriggled an eyebrow at her. Now we were talking. If she wanted adventure, she’d come to the right place. Owen’s warning words flooded my head, but I ignored them. This felt right. I was showing her my true self. If she wanted to run, she might as well get it over with before I fell harder. Was that possible? Was it possible to want a girl more than I already wanted her?

She laughed. “Stop. I just mean no one would ever expect me to spend a summer in New Orleans. It’s different and it was so last minute. I actually quit another job at the last second so I could come here.”

I feigned shock. “What? How could you?”

“Well, I guess it wasn’t quitting because I didn’t quite start, but I was supposed to be a lifeguard at a local beach. I changed my mind when my dad called to invite me down.”

“Then I propose a toast.” I lifted my cup.

“A toast? With coffee?”

“You can toast with any beverage.”

“Sure, why not?” She raised her cup. “But what are we toasting?”

“To Allie’s great adventure.”

She laughed again as our cups touched and her eyes finally got that twinkle back. I put my cup to my lips and drank the last of my coffee like I was taking a shot. That got her smiling.

Her phone rang. I hoped it wasn’t that Toby kid again.

“It’s Jess. Do you mind if I get this?”

“No, not a problem.” Jess I could handle. Besides, maybe if they talked, Allie would feel better about things. I wanted her in a good mood for the rest of the night.

She answered. “Hey, are you home?”

I listened in to the other end of the conversation. I couldn’t catch every word, but I caught enough. “Yeah, I got in about ten minutes ago. I wanted to apologize.”

“It’s okay. I completely understand.”

Allie glanced at the door. Another group of customers poured in. They were a rowdy bunch of tourists wearing beads they must have purchased at a store. Why people would spend money on those crappy pieces of plastic I’d never understood.

“Hey, where are you?” Jess must have heard the crowd.

“Out getting coffee.” Allie smiled.

“With who?”

“Umm, can I call you later?” She looked down at the table.

Allie pushed the phone tighter against her ear. I tried to hear but the only thing I caught was my name.

She played with her coffee cup. “Maybe.”

I stopped trying to listen. I’d heard what I needed to. She disconnected and sat up enough to slide her phone in her back pocket. I realized she hadn’t brought a purse with her that night.

“Jess made it back?” I decided to pretend I hadn’t heard the conversation for myself.

“Yeah, she just got home.”

“Anything else going on?”

“Nope.”

“Exciting.”

She flipped her hair back. “Isn’t it?”

“How’s the coffee?” I made conversation but really I was planning things out in my head. If I was ready to reveal myself, I had to show her. Telling her would probably just leave her thinking I was crazy or just making it up as a joke. Showing her would be easy enough, but how was I going to handle the fall out if she didn’t take it well? Should I give her some space to think about it, or force her to face it head on? I’d be willing to give her space, although I really hoped she’d shock me and accept what I was without a problem. It was a delusional thought, but I clung to it.