“Yeah. It’s policy, I’m afraid.”
“In that case I’d better get it over with.” She turned in her seat and ran a finger along the neckline of her dress. Then she moistened her lips and gave me a suggestive look. “Do we need to go somewhere private?”
“Okay,
She broke into laughter. “What gave it away?”
“It sounded like a porn movie.”
“Oh my God, Paul! You wouldn’t
I blinked at the change of subject. “Seriously?”
“Yes! Sometimes it seems like everyone in LA is in the porn business.
They’re all over the Valley. And I see flyers on campus all the time for
‘Models Wanted’ or ‘Movie Auditions.’ You can’t wear a bikini on the beach without some guy telling you how beautiful you are and saying you should do a ‘photo test.’ It’s ridiculous.”
“So you never thought about doing it?”
“Thought about it? Sure. But I never would. Too many people would find out. And it’d ruin any chance I have to become a doctor.” She looked at me.
“Wait. Are you asking…?”
“No. I was just curious if you’d ever—”
“Paul, it’s one thing to take off my clothes at camp, or for a special person. But do you really think I’d do it for
“Not really. I guess…”
“What?”
“I guess I was thinking about it and got a little carried away.”
“Thinking about what, exactly?”
“Not you doing porn. Mostly…” I shot her a grin. “Well, you know what I was thinking.”
Her eyebrows rose.
“Hey, you can’t blame a guy for trying.”
“No, I guess not,” she said at last.
“Sorry.”
She looked at me from under long, dark lashes. “I didn’t say I was upset.”
I almost missed the turn for the restaurant.
She laughed. “God, I’ve missed you.”
“Keep thinking that. Especially if I kill us both.”
“Don’t. Kara would never forgive me.”
“Or me.” I pulled into a parking space and turned off the engine. “Gimme a sec,” I said, and hopped out. I went around and opened Gina’s door for her.
She lowered a foot to the ground. Her dress wasn’t particularly short, but I still had a tantalizing view from ankle to mid-thigh.
I took her hand and met her eyes.
She grinned. “Still wondering…?”
“About what?”
“My tan lines.”
“Sort of.”
She arched an eyebrow.
I stepped close. I could feel her body mere inches away, could smell her flowery scent. I brought my lips to her ear.
“I was thinking,” I whispered, “about how beautiful you are.”
She held very still.
“And how much I want to…”
She swallowed. “To what?”
I waited a moment and then pulled back.
Her dark eyes searched mine.
I let a slow grin spread across my face.
“You aren’t going to tell me?”
“We’d better head inside.”
She looked at me with a mixture of disbelief and surprise.
I put a hand on the small of her back and gently propelled her toward the restaurant. I walked beside her and slid my palm down.
She jumped but didn’t pull away.
I grinned to myself and patted her bottom.
Dinner passed in the blink of an eye. We were
I told her about the backyard at the rancher and the other houses in
Atlanta. She told me about smog and traffic and life in Los Angeles. I talked about the beautiful houses in Fort Sanders and the project for Professor Joska.
She talked about her friends in the sorority and how she volunteered at a women’s clinic. We laughed about several awful dates Regan had been on. I told her about Wren’s matchmaking antics.
“You didn’t sleep with
“Nope. Not one.” I ventured a rueful grin. “Dumbest thing I’ve ever done.”
She laughed. “
“What about you? You haven’t mentioned a boyfriend…”
“I don’t have one.”
My eyebrows shot up.
“I broke up with Brock back in April.”
“April?”
“Mmm hmm. And I’ve been single ever since. Not really looking for anyone either.”
“For real?”
“For real. Although…”
“Yes…?”
“Well, I came to camp in July. I was hoping to see a certain someone…”
“Me?”
She rolled her eyes. “You’re such a goof. Who else?”
“You mean…?”
“Mmm hmm. But you missed your chance.”
“What’d you do instead?”
“Wouldn’t
“Just think,” I said. “Instead of spending time with you, I was digging up a septic tank. By hand.”
“Wow. You really got the better end of
“No kidding!” I did my best Richard Dawson voice: “A hundred people surveyed, top five answers are on the board. Name something you’d rather do besides sex. Backbreaking manual labor? Ding, ding, ding!”
Her eyes sparkled with laughter. “Who said anything about sex?”
“Oh, please!”
“So what about you?” she said. “Has Wren found you a girlfriend yet?”
“No. But not for lack of trying!”
“So… you and Leah?” Her tone carried more than a simple question.
“Leah and Mark,” I said firmly.
“There isn’t…?”
“Between Leah and me? Yeah, of course there is. But it’s hard to describe. She’s…”
“You really care about her.”
