Into The Fire - E. L. Todd Page 0,22
interesting life made me more drawn to him. He did three tours in Afghanistan and was overseas for fifteen months. I couldn’t even imagine having that kind of experience. He saw so many terrible things I couldn’t even dream of, but he was still upbeat and friendly. His parents were terrible to him, but he had nothing but nice things to say about them. Sometimes he was a complete paradox.
But I couldn’t stop thinking about him.
Hearing him play his guitar and sing so confidently was a turn on, I’ll admit that. His fingers moved across the strings with ease, and his voice never shook like he was nervous. He was comfortable in his own skin, probably because he understood just how beautiful he was.
Everyone knew how beautiful he was.
It’s funny to think I was irritated with him when we first met. He talked too much, primarily about himself. And he just didn’t know when to shut up. But his annoyances were balanced out by his thoughtfulness. And when he complimented my appearance, I didn’t hate it. I loved it, actually.
I was at work when Shelly took a phone call. “Yes, she’s right here. Let me put you on hold.” She put the phone on the receiver. “That hunky man is trying to call you.”
“Thanks.” It was probably for the dinner with his parents that weekend. “Hello?”
“Can’t stop thinking about me, huh?” His cockiness had returned in full force.
“You called me, idiot.”
“But I bet you were thinking about me.”
“Actually, I was.”
“See?”
“I was thinking how I wish I had this weekend off instead of going to dinner with you.” That was totally bogus but he didn’t need to know that.
“You think I’m going to buy that crap?” he asked. “You conveniently lost your keys so you could sleep over? You think girls haven’t pulled that number on me before?”
“What?” I said defensively. “I didn’t—”
“Kidding.” He chuckled. “Chill, baby.”
“You chill.” My heart was beating fast because I assumed he really thought I was that desperate for his attention.
He chuckled again. “Someone’s wound tight today…”
“I wasn’t until you called.”
“Ouch.” He said it in an amused way. “So, are we still on for Saturday?”
“You tell me.”
“Dinner is at seven. Can I actually pick you up this time? Or do you still think I’m crazy?”
“I do think you’re crazy. But you can pick me up.”
“Good. I felt like a chick when you picked me up last time.”
“Well, you’re paying me for a service and I’m delivering.”
“That’s the part of the service I don’t need.”
“Do you want me to bring something? Make something?”
“Make something?” he asked. “Can you cook?”
“Yes.” Why was it surprising? All people could cook.
“Hmm…what kind of things can you cook?”
“A lot of different things.”
“Well, my mom is super picky so let’s go through a test run. Come over here and cook me dinner and—”
“Only if you pay me.”
“Ooh…someone knows how to play hardball.”
“Naturally.”
“Well, you can’t blame a guy for trying, right?”
“Nope.”
“So, I’ll pick you up on Saturday at seven? We’re good?”
“Yeah.”
“Sweet,” he said. “I’ll see you then.”
I didn’t know what possessed me to do it but I decided to do something reckless and stupid. “Come over for dinner tonight.”
“What?” he asked. “Seriously?”
I wasn’t thinking. I just blurted it out like an idiot. Why did I even think it at all? But now that I said it, I couldn’t take it back. “Sure. Why not?”
“Free food? Hell yeah. Beautiful woman cooking in slutty lingerie? Fuck yeah.”
“Whoa…who said anything about slutty lingerie?”
“Dammit,” he said into the phone. “I was hoping you’d just go along with it.”
“I’m not a whore.”
“You’re an escort, aren’t you?”
He did not just go there. Just when I thought he was sweet and sensitive, he said something to piss me off. I slammed the phone down and hung up on him. I was too angry to yell—which meant I was really pissed.
Shelly looked up from her computer. “That was abrupt.”
“He pissed me off.”
“You just invited him to dinner. What could he have possibly said?”
“You don’t want to know.”
The phone rang and we both stared at it.
Shelly shrugged awkwardly. “I have to get that…”
I wish I could pull the cord from the wall.
“Beautiful Entourage,” she said when she answered. “Yeah, she’s right here…” She looked to me for direction.
“Tell him I’m busy and not to call back,” I ordered.
“Uh…” Shelly repeated everything into the phone. “Okay.” She hung up.
That went over better than I expected. I didn’t want to argue with him in the office while Shelly listened to every word we said.
“For what