of Tara, and made his way to her. It was as if his body was moving of its own accord, without his permission.
As he got closer to her, he noticed that her face had paled and she was fidgeting. He also felt the presence of someone to his left. He turned his head and noticed a man wearing black-framed glasses staring at his woman. He looked back at Jessica, who was glancing back and forth between him and the other man. Suddenly it hit him: She was on a date.
What the fuck?
Both men reached Jessica at the same time: Slade hyperaware of the situation, and the other guy completely oblivious.
“Jessica. You look…wow. Just…wow,” the man said as he reached for Jessica’s hand.
Just as Jessica reached out her hand to her date, her eyes went to Slade. With that momentary lapse of attention, she caught her heel on the carpet and went pitching forward.
Slade, who had been deliberating whether to go back to his date, punch the other guy, or grip Jessica by her shoulders and shake her, instead was left with no choice but to catch her before she fell.
Her hands gripped his arms tightly and her eyes widened to meet his gaze. He could see her swallow and feel her breath catch. He helped her straighten up. Not a word was exchanged. The electricity between them was enough.
“Thank you, sir,” the other man said to Slade. He reached for Jessica’s hand. “Are you okay, Jessica?”
Jessica looked over at Slade. She opened her mouth, tried to say something, and then shut it again.
“Jess?” Slade spoke.
For the first time, the oblivious guy looked to his right at Slade. Then he looked back at Jessica. “Oh. You two know each other?”
“Uh…,” Jessica croaked. She cleared her throat and tried again. “Uh…yeah. Yes.” She shook her head, as if trying to clear her thoughts. “Yes. Jeffrey, this is Slade. Slade, this is Jeffrey.” Slade was still holding one of her hands, and now Jeffrey held the other. It was beyond awkward, especially since Slade’s eyes never left hers.
“I think I know you,” the guy said, trying to be friendly. “You come into my parents’ diner. You’re Chrissy’s brother.”
“Yeah. That’s me.” His eyes were still locked on Jessica. It was a small town, and he knew who Jeffrey was. He’d seen him around. His mother was always trying to set him up on dates.
“Thank you for helping my girl here,” Jeffrey went on. “She could’ve really hurt herself.”
When Jeffrey said “my girl,” Slade’s grip around Jessica’s arm tightened. Her eyes widened even more.
At last Slade released her. “No problem, man,” he told Jeffrey. “Hold on tight to this one. Your girl here, she’s slippery.” His eyes burned a hole in her, and his nostrils flared. Then Slade turned and walked back to Tara.
—
Jeffrey led her to their table, but her eyes drifted to Slade, who was sitting across from a beautiful blonde. At first she had felt somewhat guilty about being there to meet Jeffrey, but now, seeing him on a date, she felt the guilt slide right off. What did she have to feel guilty about? The man was on a date with his usual type: blond, busty, and probably dumb.
She turned her attention to Jeffrey, who had on black slacks and a white button-down shirt and looked very handsome. He took the liberty of ordering her a drink: a Cosmopolitan. She hated Cosmos, but she said nothing and politely accepted the drink. He ordered himself a pasta dish, which she found odd since they were at a steakhouse, but feeling unsure of herself, she ordered the same thing. She didn’t want to look like some sort of uncouth carnivorous woman ordering a steak, medium rare, with extra fries, which was what she really wanted. Jeffrey, who she quickly found out preferred to be called Jeff, talked about his job, and asked her questions about her life. Jessica was surprised that he didn’t know she had dated Slade. It was a small town and everyone knew one another’s business. Just went to show how oblivious men could be.
Every few minutes Jessica would discreetly glance over at Slade’s table, and more than once she could have sworn that she caught Slade looking over at her. She also noticed that his chair was a little closer to the blond tart’s. So Jessica leaned a little closer when she spoke to Jeff, laughed a little louder, and flirted a little more obviously. By the time dessert