feel like a nervous wreck when I even think about seeing him tonight?
My mind whirls with what could happen, what might go wrong, what it would be like to kiss him again. Pushing all that out of my head, I smooth the paper one final time and press the numbers into my phone before beginning my text.
Hi, this is Hailey. Hope you’re having a great day. If you still want to get together tonight, I’m free.
I stare at the words, reading them over and over and wishing they sounded sexy or even fun, instead of such boring words. Of course I’m free. I’m always free. He probably knows that.
Maybe I should mention our kiss last night. But what am I going to say? Hey, thanks for kissing me? Your lips are soft? You have nice breath?
Definitely not. I’ll just leave the text as it is. He’s already met me. He must know by now I’m not exciting or sexy.
Or the type of woman who belongs in a red Jag.
I send it off, surprised that my anxiety doesn’t abate but only gets worse. He might not reply. He might have decided after last night that he’s not interested. I mean, if he was really into me, he could have come over with Alex this afternoon. Then again, maybe that’s why Alex got so uncomfortable and left so quickly right after I mentioned Cade.
God, I wish I was a red Jag kind of woman.
While I mentally spiral out of control, my phone vibrates against the tabletop. I look down to see his response to my text and smile.
Meet me at CK at eight. See you then.
Chapter Thirteen
Hailey
Absolutely sure I look like an overeager teenage girl, I get to CK ten minutes early. I’d expected traffic to be heavier, but the drive took much less time than I thought it would. I could drive around, but then I might get stuck somewhere and be late.
It’s fine. I can check my makeup in the rearview mirror since I have a few minutes.
I pull into a parking space and turn the car off before turning it back on. Looking down my body, I frown at my pink sundress. It looks so silly. I should have chosen something sexier.
That’s a ridiculous idea. I don’t own anything sexy. That’s sort of the problem, isn’t it?
“You’re going to have to get out of the car for us to have any fun.”
Spinning my head to look out my window, I see Cade standing outside smiling at me. “What? I didn’t think you’d be here so early.”
He looks incredible in jeans and a grey dress shirt. How does he do that? He’s casual but sexy at the same time.
And I’m whatever the opposite of that is.
“Are you ready to go?” he asks before opening my car door.
“I guess,” I say tentatively as I put up the window and turn off the engine. “Where are we going?”
“Are you hungry? We can get something to eat,” he suggests when I step out of the car.
“Not really, but if you are, we can.”
“I’m not, so cross eating off the list.”
I want to ask if he would want to show me his club, but I keep that idea to myself. Something about the way Alex reacted earlier hints at that being an issue of some kind.
“We could go for a ride. Then you’d be able to definitely say you’re a red Jag kind of girl. You already are, but that would make it official.”
He slams my car door shut and guides me to his car on the other side of the parking lot. So now I become a red Jag girl. Not sure how that’s going to look.
“So, other than sitting in a red Jag, what does a red Jag kind of girl have to do? I feel like I should have studied or something. Is there a handbook? Maybe that would be good for me to look at first,” I say, hoping my jokes sound as funny as they do in my head.
But Cade isn’t smiling. In fact, he looks like he’s sizing me up like animals do with their prey. Oh, God. He is an ax murderer!
Just as we reach his car, he stops and leans in to kiss me. “You don’t have to do anything but be you. Whatever that is, that’s what a red Jag girl does as long as you’re in the car. Easy, right?”
When his lips touch mine, I can’t think of anything but how good he kisses.