Johan's Joy (Heroes for Hire #22) - Dale Mayer Page 0,53
meal.”
She smiled and nodded. “I’m always happy to try new restaurants,” Joy said.
They walked in and settled in for what turned out to be two hours of good laughter, good friends, and excellent food. Eventually they headed outside.
“I feel like I’ll have to be rolled to the truck, I ate so much,” Joy said.
“Well, that’s both the good and the bad thing about a buffet,” Tyson said, laughing as his arm found its way around Kai.
Mimicking the same movement, Johan stepped up beside Joy, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and tugging her closer. “Besides, if you have to be rolled to the truck,” he said, “that would look pretty cute.”
“No,” she groaned. “Not cute at all.” She watched as they separated into the same two vehicles again. He held open the truck door and assisted her up. “How come it’s just us two again?”
“Because I arranged it that way,” he said with a wicked grin. And then he shut the door, leaving her alone with her thoughts.
*
Johan opened the driver’s side door, hopped into his truck, and smiled at the confused look on her face.
“Are you flirting with me?” Joy demanded.
He laughed out loud. “I can see you’re a little out of practice with the social scene.”
She rolled her eyes at him. “I know I’m a little slow,” she said, “but, if you’re arranging all this, at least tell me if it’s because you’re keeping me safe or because you’re interested in me.”
“Both, I would say. I really like you. And there are definitely sparks between us.”
“That’s just physical,” she said, as she stared out the window.
“And physical is a great start to a relationship.”
“No,” she said. “It’s a great add-on to a relationship. But a relationship shouldn’t be based on the sparks.”
“No, maybe not,” he said. “But how do you know who to have a relationship with if you can’t feel the sparks from the beginning?”
For that, she didn’t have any answer.
He finally pulled up in front of her apartment and said, “We’ll come up and have coffee before we leave.”
“So how do you stop your bladder from running when you’re on a job like this?”
Her prosaic comment made him laugh out loud. “We’ll be sure to use the bathroom first,” he assured her, as she flashed him a grin.
“That’s all right,” she said. “You stealth types must have all kinds of ways to get around awkward situations.”
“Well, you’d think so,” he said, “but sometimes I wonder.”
“Oh, I see you’re human too, huh?”
“Yeah. Sure I am, and bodily functions are not always the most amiable,” he said with a smile, as he parked and shut off the engine. He came around to her side to help her out.
At that point, she noted he’d parked a block away. “Is there another reason you have for doing this?”
“I don’t want to be too close and don’t necessarily want them to see us directly entering the building. And, if we have to leave, we don’t want people easily watching both vehicles.”
“Got it,” she said. “Is it okay if we walk up to the apartment together?”
“Absolutely,” he said with a smile. He reached out a hand, and she placed hers in it; then together they walked the block back to her place.
“This feels very date-like,” she said, her words echoing her earlier thoughts.
“Good,” he said, “then consider it our first date.”
“Will there be a second one?”
“Yes,” he said smoothly. Not wanting to give her any chance to think that it was anything other than a date, he said, “When this nightmare is over, I’d love to spend more time with you.”
“Kai suggested I move to the suburbs so she and I could be closer and could spend more time together,” she said.
“That would be a great idea,” he said, “but do you want to move?”
“I don’t want to stay where the bugs were found, that’s for sure.” She shrugged. “But moving? I’m not particularly interested in that, but mostly because I don’t want to go through the physical effort again.”
“Did you have a reason for being here in downtown Houston?”
“No, not really. I was looking at Dallas versus Houston and ended up with Houston, though it was pretty arbitrary, if for no other reason than to be closer to Kai.”
“You’d also be closer to me,” he said.
“How long are you staying in the US though? I thought you were from Africa?”
“My stay is open-ended,” he said. “I’m an American citizen, so I can come and go as I want.”