Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7

Riley

I couldn’t remember the last time I felt so nervous about just meeting someone for something as simple as coffee.

Though to be fair, Eric was right. If we were going to go to this wedding together, we should probably at least get to know one another a bit so it wouldn’t be awkward. I’d given him the option to back out, but to my surprise he didn’t.

Still, I felt like I was an awkward teenager all over again, waiting to meet my research partner at the library.

While secretly harboring a crush on said partner.

Which was insane. I barely even knew Eric.

“Hey,” his voice pulled me from my spiraling thoughts, and I turned to see him standing in front of me.

His dark hair fell in his sparkling blue eyes, perfectly pouty lips on display. He was just wearing a tight-fitting pair of jeans and a pumpkin-colored ringed baseball tee, but he looked like he’d literally stepped out of a magazine.

Yeah, I’m definitely out of my fucking league here.

“Hey,” I said, rising from my chair, clearing my throat.

“Thanks for coming on such short notice.” I moved toward the counter, Eric following me.

“Uh... yeah, of course,” He said, his smooth voice like cinnamon butter on a fresh bagel.

“I’ll have a large coffee black, please,” I said to the cashier, nodding at Eric. “What do you want?” I asked.

Eric looked around as if I could be talking to anyone else. “I, uh...”

“It’s the least I can do to make up for yesterday,” I said, my cheeks heating at the very memory of everything that went down yesterday.

The game, the audiobook... the fact I wanted to kiss him on his front porch.

I didn’t go around kissing hot strangers. For God’s sake, I didn’t go around kissing anyone, if I was being honest.

So, the fact that Eric seemed to draw me in, the fact he made me want to do things I didn’t usually do...

Yeah, I guess I had developed a crush.

Fuck me.

Eric smirked. “Well, if you insist, I’ll have a large mocha latte with extra whip cream and sauce.”

I watched as the cashier rang us up, handing the cups off to the barista as I paid.

By the time I was done, Eric had already grabbed our drinks and was waiting for me, looking just as hot as the damn beverages.

“I thought about what you said last night,” I said as we took our seats.

Eric sat across from me, crossing his legs. The motion drew my attention to the definition of his form, the slender curve from thigh to knee, how his ankles tapered out into a larger foot.

I bet he would make a fantastic model to draw.

“You’re going to have to be a little more specific, Cinderella. I said a lot of things,” he teased, taking a sip of his drink. When he pulled back, I could see the faint hint of whip cream on his lip, and before I could say anything, his tongue darted out and swiped at it.

I wished I could say I wasn’t so easy, but the truth of the matter was, I was as easy as pie.

The sight of him, licking any sort of frosted goodness off of those pouty lips was... sexy.

It made me think about him licking other... things...

I crossed my legs immediately as the image flitted through my mind, my cock twitching in agreement. I cleared my throat, burying myself in my own drink.

Pure, bitter, black coffee fixed everything. Especially unruly erections and existential crises.

“About having fun,” I said, straightening my stature. I looked at him, his relaxed state, and I wished I could be like that.

Cool and sexy.

Instead, I was awkward at best where flirting was involved, and my life revolved around my job. Eric’s suggestion that we actually hang out was intriguing to me not just because I wanted to get to know him, but also because I truly wanted to do something that was different. I didn’t want to be a pumpkin anymore.

I wanted to be Cinderella at the ball, where she meets the prince of her dreams.

“Ah, I see. So, you thought you’d call me up and see what kind of trouble we could make together, is that it?” he said, flashing a grin, and I got the feeling trouble to him was much more than staying out late on a school night.

“I mean, unless you have other plans,” I said, biting my bottom lip.

I watched as Eric drank from his cup again, spreading more of that delicious white cream all over his perfect lips.

Now is not the time, Riley!

Eric let out a laugh, the sound just as smooth as hot fudge on a sundae.

“Tell me, Riley, what do you wish you could do? What do you like? And I swear to all that is holy, if you say I don’t know, or it’s up to you, you will eat those words.” His tone was as aloof as it was dark, and I realized as his tongue darted out once more, sliding over his lips, that he was not just being cheeky. He was legit flirting with me.

Which made me even more self conscious.

“I, uh...” I cleared my throat again, trying to find the words. The truth was, I didn’t know what I wanted to do.

Jasper Springs was a small town and there wasn’t much to do there in general, and being as I didn’t really spend my weekends traveling or visiting the city, I wasn’t entirely sure what there was to do.

Or what normal folks did for fun.

My idea of fun involved getting messy with my canvas while I tuned out to my Spotify.

To just let go and... feel.

“Well, normally, I like to stay in and paint, but...”

“Painting, huh? Didn’t peg you for an artist.”

I knew I should have been offended by his comment, after all, artists didn’t have a look . Everyone was an artist, the mediums just differed. Some were more literal, like me and paint with traditional tools, while others painted digitally in Photoshop, or with words when they wrote. Some painted with flour and butter and sweet frosting, and others painted with cotton swabs and microscopes and proteins.

Everyone was an artist, because we all created something.

But something about his words felt less accusatory.

“I am. I teach art, actually.”

I watched Eric’s eyes widen, as if he was genuinely surprised, a flush of scarlet grazing his perfect complexion.

“I, uh... that’s... wow. Can’t say I was expecting that, although I guess that explains some things.”

Before I could ask what the hell he meant, Eric shook his head, that same charming air returning once more.

“Okay, so I’m thinking maybe something a little less... introspective.”

“Like what?” I asked, leaning my hand on my chin as I watched him intently.

“Well, seeing as you owe me a rematch, I was thinking maybe we could play some games...” he said the words smoothly, the corners of his lips turning up in a smirk.

“I would think you would be too wounded to be beaten again,” I teased him, realizing the moment I’d said the words, I hadn’t thought twice about them.

Being around Eric seemed to be bad for my control.

It was like I just couldn’t help myself.

Eric’s gaze darkened. “You got Lucky, Riley. That’s it. Pure and simple. But I wasn’t thinking pool...” he said, flipping his hair out of his eyes.

“Oh yeah, then what kind of game did you want to play with me, Eric?”

Eric grinned. “How about I pick you up tomorrow night at eight o’clock, and you can find out.”

Tomorrow night. Eight o’clock. My insides tightened and I panicked, since eight pm was usually when I started winding down to get ready for bed, but I also knew that was what I wanted.

I wanted to change things, and change started with adding a little more... fun to my life.

But if I was being honest, I would have agreed to anything Eric proposed, even if it was a trip to Antarctica in the middle of January.

I bet he would look spectacular in a big puffy coat.

“Sounds good. I’ll, uh, text you my address. Since I have your number and all,” I said, blinking away the strange feeling that had settled over me, the nerves building in my stomach that screamed, “you’re going to ruin this!”

I only hoped they weren’t right.