by Rose Pressey
He let out a hearty laugh. “I never put that much consideration into it. Although I thought you got it right the first try?”
“Oh, so you read my brochure?” I dabbed at the corners of my mouth, still savoring the tasty morsel of juicy steak fajita. “You’re sneaky. Have you been checking up on me? Or were you looking for a date?”
“I might have looked at your website once. Or twice. But the only date I’m interested in is you. Maybe you’d get more clients if you put your picture in there.” From across the booth, his hand found mine.
I blushed yet again. “That’s what Jennifer said.”
“Jennifer’s a smart woman.” A few strands of hair fell haphazardly over his forehead, and I couldn’t help but want to run my hands through it. Damn, he was fine.
“Tell me, Miss Match, what makes your service different from those online services or the singles classifieds in the paper?” Jack rested his chin in his hand, waiting for my answer.
“Well...I think for several reasons, but number one is I use my instincts. That’s not something other services can boast. I’m not trying to blow my own horn or anything...” I dropped my napkin across my empty plate.
“Of course not.”
“I have a bit of a sixth sense about people. Except for that one little snafu, but we’ll leave that one out of the conversation for now.”
“Intuition, huh? Do you have instincts about me?”
Did I ever. Instincts that he’d look darn good without his clothing.
“Maybe. But anyway, I hate those online sites and the stupid classified ads. A person could sort through those ads for years and never find someone special. Everyone uses words like candidate and domesticated. I’d never want to date anyone who referred to me as a candidate or bragged that they are domesticated. And they all promise that the lucky ladies who respond won’t be disappointed.”
“You have a very good argument. I’m sold.” He leaned back onto the faux leather seat. “Are you ready to let someone else have our table?”
“Sure.” I drained my drink before jumping up. Eyes from the front of the restaurant had been on us for some time. A few people tapped their feet and paced while watching us. They didn’t understand how hard it was ending a date with Jack.
After two plates of food, four margaritas and one embarrassing confrontation, we said our goodbyes to Emilio. I felt bad because he apologized profusely for the incident of the mistaken nakedness no fewer than ten times. Little did he know there had been mucho nudity.
Jack and I made our way onto the sidewalk, my purse still acting as a shield to conceal the damage to my blouse. Darkness had fallen, night settled around us, the partial moon shone in the cloudless sky, and I made a conscious effort to avoid looking at it. Even a little peek made me a tad frisky, and I didn’t need the temptation around Mr. Gorgeous.
Jack slipped his arm around me as we strolled toward his car. A man dressed as a vampire brushed past and watched us out of the corner of one eye. A wannabe vampire--not the real deal. Creepy all the same, though. Jack quickened our step by guiding me along the sidewalk. I wanted to let him know the faux vampire wouldn’t suck our blood, but I remained quiet. As we slipped by yet another doorway, jazz music flowed from inside, intensifying the feelings I had for Jack. I felt alive like never before, and my heart danced in time to the music.
“Tell me, what was the deal with the woman and the sign? Does she do that often?”
“Oh, Lily. She's fastidious and hard to please. I try to ignore her.” I gave an undaunted wave of my hand, although I started to get hives every time I thought of Lily.
Luckily, he didn’t ask for any further details, but a change of subject was in order, just in case he did. “What do you do in your spare time?” I asked.
We inched closer to his car, so I wanted to make the most of the time and ask as many questions about him as I could. Soaking in every last tidbit.
“I’m kind of into photography.”
“No kidding? I often thought I’d like to try that, but I don’t have a steady hand. I have a small camera, but my thumbs always end up in my pictures.”
He laughed.
“You don’t believe me?” I asked.
“They can’t be that bad. I bet your pictures are great.”
“I’ll show you sometime. I’m not making things up. Thumbs in every picture.” I held one up and wiggled it. The sound of his hearty laughter made me tingle all over.
“What do you take pictures of?” I shifted my purse for maximum coverage.
“Anything, really. Nature. People. I’d love to have you as my model,” he said.
“Maybe I’ll consider posing for you. How about like this?” I stopped and propped one hand behind my head.
“Perfect. I wish I had my camera. You’re a natural--beautiful, just like a model.”
“Flattery will get you everywhere.” I laughed. “But I’ll leave modeling to the professionals.”
Jack removed his arm from my shoulders, stepped up his pace and turned in front of me. He backpedaled just a few steps ahead of me.
“Tell me, Miss Match, why haven’t you played matchmaker for yourself? There must be an endless number of men after you. I bet they’re lining up to take you out.” He locked gazes with me and fiddled with his hands. His eyes sparkled under the glow of the streetlight as he awaited my reply. He looked so adorable with his naughty, lopsided grin. My heart rate increased.
“Maybe because I haven’t found what I’m looking for yet.”
“Fair enough. So tell me. What is it you’re looking for?”
I was about to say “you” when he stopped abruptly and I almost ran into his broad, muscular chest. There were far worse things to run into, that was for sure.
He stood in front of me and reached out, fingertips barely touching my skin as he eased his hands along my arms. He put his hand against the side of my face and traced with his finger. Then he tilted his head down and ever so gently pressed his lips to mine.
His mouth felt soft, the kiss the most tender I had ever experienced, yet the most powerful at the same time. It might sound corny, but it was true--his touch felt nothing short of passionate as he traced the curves of my lips with his tongue. The feel of his skin mesmerized me and I wanted to savor every moment of his sweet kiss.
He pulled his lips away and I wanted to tell him not to stop.
“I couldn’t resist you. The moon shining across your face like that, I don’t know what it is, but I had to kiss you.”
He slid his arms around my waist as we stood there, and in one fluid motion, drew me into his hard chest. I pressed my body closer to him and became entranced by his wickedly delicious scent. He placed his lips against mine again and slid his tongue into my mouth. Jack’s body was warm, and I was completely lost in the moment. Well, as much as I could be with my handbag poking me in my stomach.
Until...
The sensation of being watched came over me. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a faint glimmer of something gold. Then a quick whiff of unknown origin that, quite frankly, wasn’t pleasant. It overpowered the fabulicious fragrance of Jack and made me want to upchuck.
I glanced in the direction of the shiny object and found the source of the foul odor. I saw overbite. Fan-flippin’-tastic. And his partner in crime stood beside him.
Both sported matted hair and devilish grins. Damn them. I didn’t know who they were, but they messed with the best date I’d ever had, which made me less than happy. One thing was for sure, I had to get Jack out of there before he saw them.
How these characters could slink around as their furry selves without people noticing, I had no idea. If I did that, I would have been in the dog pound faster than I could utter “put to sleep.” I refused to let their antics ruin my evening.
“I’m a little chilly,” I whispered into Jack’s ear. I shivered for emphasis.
Even though the night air was still warm, he didn’t question me. He smiled and ushered me the f
ew remaining steps to his car. As he closed the door and walked around to the driver’s side, I stuck my tongue out at the hairy scoundrels peeking out from the alley. Thank goodness Jack didn’t spot anything out of the ordinary. The one who had torn my shirt exposed his fangs and pumped his paw in disgust as the car zoomed away from the curb. Sucker.
A few minutes later, we drove up in front of the building we called our home. It felt strange saying that. Living in the same building as my date was a little odd for me. Jack jumped out and ran over to hold the door open as I stepped outside.
The coast was clear, as far as I could tell. The sleazebags hadn’t followed us. I wondered if they knew where I lived. Since they appeared to be stalking me at the restaurant, anything was possible. We moved inside the building, climbed the stairs and came to a stop in front of my door.
“I had a wonderful time.”
“Me too,” I said, still clutching my handbag in front of me--it had to look as if I took a somewhat guarded stance with him.
I gazed into his eyes. I wanted to invite him in and rip his clothes off, but it was too soon. I couldn’t jump into bed with him without a chance for a relationship. And he must have felt the same way, because he didn’t ask me to come to his place, either. Moistening my lips, I waited for the goodnight kiss I hoped would soon come. I’d had a taste of how delectable Jack was, and I wanted another sampling.
“Thank you for tonight. For picking out such a terrific place. The food was great.”
“Thanks for dinner.” How long could we stand like that, staring and offering cordial exchanges? Finally, he leaned in and fixed his lips on mine, giving me another taste of his sweet mouth. He wrapped his arms around me, rubbing the small of my back, tracing tiny circles over my skin. My entire body relaxed against his as I ran my hand through his hair. It would be hard to fall asleep after tasting him and feeling his body pressed to mine.
After he moved away, I bit my lip to keep my excitement at bay. His kisses could quickly become addictive.
On the other side of my door, Jennifer talked to the television. At least, I guessed the TV. Whatever she watched must have been good, because her voice became louder by the second. Unfortunately, Jack took her conversation antics as a cue to let me go.
“I’ll see you tomorrow, neighbor.” He leaned in and gave me one last delicious kiss. The tingle from his lips lingered.
A besotted giggle escaped me in spite of my efforts to hold it in.
“I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Did that mean another rendezvous? He watched as I stepped into the apartment and closed the door. Maybe I should have invited him in and shown Jennifer I didn’t sabotage dates. Only two more left. Bummer.
Chapter 6
How to Date a Werewolf Rule # 6:
“On the prowl” isn’t a good way to describe looking for a date.
“Oh, oh. Come here quick. You gotta see this.” Jennifer waved me over to the spot next to her on the sofa and patted the cushion.
“What is it? A natural disaster? A fire? A terrorist attack?” I hurried over.
“Look how cute Jason is. He’s adorable. Isn’t he the best? I love him.”
“What?” I plopped down beside her and curled my legs up under me.
“You have to see the ghost footage they captured too. It’s amazing. Anyone who says there is no such thing as ghosts needs to watch this. They caught an apparition on their infrared camera. What more proof does anyone need?”
“What? I thought you had something serious to tell me.”
“It is serious. It’s a flippin’ ghost, is what it is. This is important stuff.” She poked me with her elbow. “Ghost Hunters is on, you know… Ghost Hunters with Jason and Grant. Jay is so cute with his bald head. Makes me just want to rub it for good luck, or something.”
“Or something? I hope you mean rub his bald head.” I snorted.
“Of course. Get your mind out of the gutter. He’s married.” She shot me a dirty look.
“You have a little pet name for the guy on TV? You really need to get out more. He’s not your type. I thought you said you liked short guys. Jason is not short.”
“I like tall, bald guys too.”
“So what you’re saying is all men are your type.” I snickered.
She stuck out her tongue. “No, that’s not what I’m saying. Be quiet, I’m missing the show. Oh, oh. Look.” Popcorn spewed from her hands and scattered about as she flailed. “That is a ghost. Did you see that? There’s no way they could fake that footage.” She pointed to the television.
“Technically they could fake it. I’m just sayin’. I saw something like a blob. Was that it?”
Another dirty look from her. “They would never fake evidence. No, not Jason and Grant.” More popcorn landed on the floor. If that show was on for much longer, she would need a drop cloth.
“Do you know those guys personally? Unless you do, they could fake it.” I knew that would get her goat. She was fun to mess with sometimes. Of course I believed in ghosts too, but I enjoyed teasing her on occasion. Especially when her favorite show was involved.
“Well, no, I don’t know them, but I know they wouldn’t do that.” She smirked.
The “Viva Viagra” commercial appeared, breaking her attention from the show.
“So how was the date? I want to know everything. Did you kiss? Give me details. Is he a good kisser?”
The television show looked better than ever to me now. At least when it was on I didn’t have to go into the details about my evening. I wasn’t looking forward to telling her about the incident at the restaurant.
“I don’t kiss and tell,” I said.
“Since when? I’m waiting...”
I might as well get it over with, I thought. It didn’t appear she would drop the subject anytime soon. “I was caught unclothed in the women’s restroom at Emilio’s.”
Jennifer started choking, and I pounded her on the back. Those darn popcorn kernels can be a real pain.
Jennifer’s eyes brightened with a curiosity like I’d never seen before. “Did you say you weren’t wearing clothing? As in nude? Because I think you said unclothed, as in bare with no clothing on.”
“Yes, last time I checked that was the definition.” I popped one of the kernels in my mouth. It needed more butter.
“I don’t know what to say. Where do I start?”
“I’ll save you the energy. Our date moved along perfectly fine until I decided to check on my hair and makeup. You know how frizzy I get in this humidity, not to mention my makeup glides right off my face as soon as I step outside. I looked like hell.”
She gestured for me to get on with it. “I don’t care about your frizzies. Get to the good stuff.”
“Okay. Okay, I am. Anyway, I went to the ladies’ room and two werewolves were waiting for me. They were hunkered down behind a couple of trash cans next to the door that led into the alley.”
“How do you know they were waiting for you? Maybe they just needed to use the restroom.”
I raised an eyebrow and gave her an “oh, please” look. “Trust me--I knew they were waiting for me. Why would they be hiding if they weren’t waiting for me? They were hiding behind a trash can, and not doing a very good job of it, I might add.”
“So one of them was Lily, right? I told you she would follow you. I warned you.” She propelled more popcorn into her mouth.
“See, that’s the thing. Neither one was Lily. I don’t know who they were, just some repulsive-looking weirdos.”
“Eeeks. They don’t sound nice. Why would someone do such a thing?”
“I’m sure Lily is involved somehow.”
“What did they look like? Well, besides hairy and such.”
“Dirty.” I grimaced. “They had matted fur and were kind of stinky.”
“Yuck. So then what happened?”
At that moment, she glanced down at my shirt and noticed the claw marks. Her eyes grew wider, even though I didn’t think that was pos
sible.
“They wanted to fight, of course. I didn’t want to mess up my clothes, so I ducked into the restroom. When I was undressed and ready to rumble, I opened the door. I was half-werewolf at that point, mind you. A little old lady stood there, right in front of the door, and I almost gave her a heart attack. What are the odds she’d show up just when I opened the door? She almost got me kicked out of the restaurant.”
“Almost? I can’t believe you weren’t kicked out on your naked butt. I’m surprised you weren’t arrested. Maybe you should be more careful with your so-called werewolf activities.”
So-called? What was that supposed to mean? It’s not as if I did it for fun.
Before I had a chance to ask what she’d meant by the comment, she shushed me the second the show returned. Apparently my playtime with werewolves was far less interesting than Ghost Hunters. Oh well.
We watched in silence until the next commercial. Jennifer was mesmerized, and I knew better than to speak until another break.
“By the way, did you talk to your mom?” I asked.
She swallowed her bite and then said, “I did. She’s still in remission.”
“Oh, Jen, that’s great. I’m so glad. I can’t imagine the relief she must feel. And you too. Did you tell her I said hi?”
“I did. She wants us to come to dinner soon.”
“I’d love to. Did you talk to Todd?”
“I talked to him, but not about our relationship. I’m working up to it. I will, though, I promise.”
“You’ll work things out. I know you will.” The show returned and I lost her focus again. “I’m going to bed. It’s been a long day.” I stood and yawned.
“Goodnight.” She mumbled my sendoff with a mouth full of buttery treat and eyes intent on the program. At least the show distracted her from extracting details of a goodnight kiss. I glided into my favorite gown and slipped into bed with thoughts of Jack racing through my mind.
