listened to Chris talk about growing up in Germany, South Africa and England. He was fascinating to her: funny, sweet and unassuming. And as the candle on the table flickered shadows onto his face, she couldn’t help thinking about how attractive he was, too. The waves of his dark blond hair were combed back, but a lock that had escaped hung over his forehead.
“What’s that look for?” he asked, grinning. “You look like you know a secret.”
“I was just looking at your hair,” Abby said, her cheeks flushing.
He smiled and she warmed, feeling more happy and carefree than she had in a long time. The conversation was so easy with him. Dinner flew by quickly, and she was disappointed that the night would be over soon as they walked back to his car.
“Are you up for a movie?” he asked as the cool night breeze hit their faces when they left the restaurant.
“Sure. It’s been a while since I’ve had a friend to go to the movies with.”
The sweet, powdery scent of Abby’s perfume mingled with a hint of … was it peppermint? Whatever it was, Chris found it highly arousing. He wanted to press his face into the crook of her neck and breathe it in straight from her perfectly smooth skin.
“Are you sure you don’t mind seeing such a girly movie?” Abby asked, smiling.
“No, this sounds good.”
“Well, the least I can do is pay,” she said, reaching into her purse.
“Too late,” Chris said, sliding money across the counter.
“No, seriously.”
“It’s no big deal. You want popcorn or anything?”
“No.” She pulled her dark gray sweater wrap around herself tightly, and Chris fought the urge to put his arm around her waist and pull her close. What was it about her? He still didn’t know, but he felt a constant, physical pull toward her when they were together. She was a hell of a bad choice for a strictly platonic relationship.
He hadn’t been out to the movies in a long time. When he took a woman out, it was usually for dinner followed by a night of sex. Sitting in a darkened theater battling his urge to reach for Abby’s hand made Chris feel like a teenager again. He had never found peppermint remotely erotic before now, but it was driving him crazy.
He thought of all the ways he could make contact with her right then: hold her hand, lay a hand on her thigh, put his arm around her shoulder. Would she say anything if he did? Chris reminded himself that they were only friends, and since he didn’t want more, it wasn’t right to send Abby mixed signals.
To get his mind off wanting to touch her, he decided to pretend she was married to one of his friends. He would pretend she was Charlotte, Reed’s wife. Charlotte was a waify blond who Chris thought of in a sisterly way.
He pressed his hands between his thighs, thought of Charlotte, and focused on the movie.
“Well?” he asked Abby as the closing credits rolled by.
“I thought it was a fun movie,” she said.
“Good.”
“Next time we can see an action movie. I mean, if you want to go to the movies again,” she said.
“I do.”
The conversation on the drive back to her house was easy, and Chris had a strange realization that they really were becoming friends. It was new to him. Usually, when he went out with a woman, the conversation was a pretense centered on getting them into bed. But he genuinely liked listening to Abby talk about her sisters, her love of dancing and her disdain for peanut butter.
Part of him was grateful the night was nearly over as he walked her to the door. He didn’t think he could stop himself from blurting out something foolish about how beautiful she was for much longer.
The breeze blew small strands of her long, light brown hair across her face as they stood at the front door. Chris clenched his hand against his leg to keep from reaching up to brush it away.
“This was fun, thank you,” Abby said, fishing in her purse for her keys.
“It was fun. Can we have lunch soon?”
“Sure. Call me.”
Chris took a small stop forward, his eyes holding Abby’s. He felt the moment clearly; this was the exact second to lean down a little so she could tilt her face up toward him. But would she? He realized he had never wondered that, in all his years of kissing women. He wanted to feel her lips against