Kitabı oku: «Every Woman's Fantasy», sayfa 3

3

ALL HER ADULT LIFE Charlie had dreamed of having a man transfixed by the sight of her cleavage. Yet until tonight, she hadn’t had the nerve to dress to attract that kind of attention.

She hadn’t even had the nerve to ask a guy to take her to fancy restaurants where plunging necklines would be appropriate. She’d been afraid they’d laugh. Her reputation as a tomboy had preceded her, partly because she met men on the hiking trail, for the most part. Because she was so obviously in her element there, they’d all assumed she preferred pizza parlors to five-star dining.

In general, she did, but she’d always longed for this—to appear in the doorway of an elegant room, to make heads turn as she walked to her table, and to be helped into her place by a fabulous-looking man who couldn’t stop looking at her.

Ashley had been very perceptive to bring up Kevin Jasper. Kevin had chosen to go to that dance with someone more glamorous than Charlie, and from that moment on she’d decided her fate was cast. She wasn’t the type of girl who could compete in a sophisticated arena.

Yet this time, she’d worked up the courage to try. Because she’d been able to control Mark’s perception of her through the letters, she’d been able to indulge her secret longing to become a man’s sexual fantasy.

And she’d been able to stage his first impression of her. Instead of meeting him in khaki shorts, T-shirt, hiking boots and backpack, with sweat beading her forehead and no makeup, she could show him this other side of her personality, one that no one understood.

She’d bet her comments about romantic candlelight dinners had prompted him to choose this restaurant. Everything about it thrilled her, from the soft lighting to the strolling violinists. Mark didn’t seem to be paying much attention to the restaurant, though. She’d never made a man forget his surroundings before.

And what a man. His shoulders were broader, his rich brown hair thicker and his smile more devastating than she’d ever imagined by looking at his picture. She could write an entire essay on the cute dimple that appeared whenever he smiled, and the way his eyes crinkled at the corners.

And what fascinating eyes. That deep brown turned her knees to jelly, and when she caught the gleam of appreciation and knew it was all for her, she was ready to drag Mark off to the nearest secluded spot and get it on. The dress made her feel almost daring enough to do it, too.

From his reaction to her, he felt the same. His face was even a little red with embarrassment as he took his seat at the table, because he’d been caught ogling.

She flashed him a smile to let him know he hadn’t offended her in the least with his preoccupation with her breasts. The attention was new and exciting to her. He could be preoccupied with any part of her he wanted, for as long as he liked.

He grinned back and nudged her knee gently under the table.

She nudged back. Wow, this was cool, playing a little footsie under the table. No guy had ever been moved to play footsie with her. Touch football, but never footsie. And every time he looked at her, she could tell he was thinking the same thing she was—that they needed to ditch their chaperones and get naked.

She’d achieved her goal. He was definitely, positively drooling. At last she had a man buggy-eyed over her, and it felt great. She was enjoying every second of this triumph.

Ashley, on the other hand, apparently wasn’t so enthusiastic about it. Charlie could tell that immediately from the worried sound of her voice.

“Charlie, I seem to have something in my eye,” she said. “If you two will excuse us for a minute, I’d like Charlie to come with me to the ladies’ room and see if she can find anything.”

“Of course.” Mark leaped to his feet and grasped Charlie’s chair once again.

“No problem.” Sam followed suit and helped Ashley out of her chair.

Charlie figured Mark would be more careful not to stare at her chest this time, but at least she could use the opportunity to slide out of her chair in such a way that she brushed up against him. “Thank you,” she murmured, turning to give him a subtle wink. “We’ll be right back.”

“Hope so.” He gazed at her with pure relish.

She unhooked her purse from the back of the chair and positioned it over her bare shoulder before following Ashley toward the ladies’ room. She had no doubt that Mark would watch her leave. That was a new and exhilarating feeling, too. She believed he had lust in his heart. Mission accomplished.

What a beautiful evening, she thought as she followed Ashley toward the tasteful sign marking the ladies’ room. Even the bathroom was gorgeous. The door opened onto a sitting room, and the bathroom lay beyond that. A mural of the Italian countryside ran along the walls, and two green velvet love seats were grouped beneath the mural.

Ashley didn’t seem inclined to sit on either one. The minute they were inside the door, she turned to Charlie. “You are scaring me to death!”

“Don’t be scared. I’m a big girl.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of.” Ashley reached over and tried to pull the neckline of Charlie’s dress together more. “I should never have agreed to let you wear this dress.”

“Ashley, if you hadn’t been willing to sell me this dress, I would have gone to another dress shop and bought the closest thing to it. I wanted to knock his socks off, and by God, I’m doing it.”

“I’m afraid more than his socks are due to come off if you parade around much longer in that dress.” She snapped open her small evening purse and began to rummage through it. “I wonder if I brought any safety pins. Maybe we could—”

“I’m not going back out there with my dress pinned together, if that’s what you’re planning. Please relax. Mark is not like that Jason guy who was so cruel to you. He’s the sort of person who cares about people. He cares about Sam, for instance.”

Ashley stopped rummaging through her purse looking for safety pins. “Did you hear how he introduced Sam, by the way? At first he called him his best man. Then he corrected himself and said he was his best friend. What’s up with that?”

Charlie smiled. “I’d say he’s a guy with marriage on his mind, that’s what I’d say. That can’t be bad, can it?”

Ashley seemed to be turning that over in her mind. “I guess not.” She gazed at Charlie. “I would love it if he turned out to be the guy for you. I really would. But I still don’t like the idea of you two rushing into a physical relationship.”

“That’s not very likely, is it, with our two chaperones in attendance?”

“Good point. Now that you mention that, I’m glad Sam and I are here.”

Charlie had been mesmerized by Mark, but she hadn’t been totally oblivious to the instant attraction between her sister and Sam. Still she wanted to play it close to the vest. “What do you think of Sam, by the way?”

“Well, he’s very good-looking, if that’s what you mean. But I can tell he’s nervous in this situation.”

“I’m not surprised. He doesn’t know whether you used to be my brother Adam who turned into my sister Ashley. But eventually he’ll probably relax.”

“Doesn’t really matter.” Ashley glanced in an oval mirror hanging over an antique cherry vanity and fluffed her hair. “I doubt I’ll see him again.”

“Really? Why not?”

“He’s got this whole psychological hang-up going on.” Ashley pursed her lips, then opened her purse again and took out a tube of lipstick. “I’m really not interested in dealing with that.”

Charlie couldn’t resist. “Then why are you bothering to redo your lipstick?”

Ashley finished gliding the mocha lipstick over her mouth and twisted it back into its tube. “Habit,” she said, dropping the tube back into her purse.

“If you say so.”

“And even if I did find him attractive, I wouldn’t get so involved that I’d forget why I’m here.” Ashley fixed Charlie with a determined gaze. “Now promise me that you won’t let that man get you alone tonight. I’ve been watching him, and his tongue is dragging on the floor. If you give him an opening, he’s going to take it.”

Charlie thought that sounded pretty darned thrilling.

“It’s that gleam in your eye that has me so worried!” Ashley said. “Now please tell me you’ll exercise some caution.”

“Okay, I’ll exercise some caution.” She wondered if the condoms in her purse counted. “But you’re the one who mentioned his slip of the tongue. If you ask me, Mark and I are practically engaged.”

“Oh, then I guess that was a big diamond ring I saw in his pocket.”

Charlie laughed. “Ashley, you don’t know how long I’ve waited to get this reaction from a man. No man has ever had an erection just looking at me fully dressed, unless you count Donny Smoggles back in tenth grade, which I don’t, considering every girl in school made Donny’s little circus tent go up.”

Ashley’s stern expression dissolved into laughter. “I do remember Donny.”

“Is it so wrong to want to make a man totally lose his mind?” She sent her sister a pleading glance.

Ashley studied her for a long moment. “No, I guess not.” She sighed. “It’s not his mind that concerns me.”

“I know,” Charlie said with a grin.

“And besides the obvious, I don’t want him to break your heart, either.”

“He won’t. I know he won’t.”

“I hope you’re right. Here. Let me adjust that neckline again.”

ONCE THE WOMEN were out of earshot, Sam leaned across the table. “It’s a damned good thing I came along, buddy boy, or you would be toast. Now, here’s the plan. Under no circumstances are you to continue looking at her cleavage. Otherwise you are so dead.”

Mark laughed in disbelief. “Not look? Are you insane? Why not tell me to do a few gymnastics while hanging from the chandelier? That would be a hell of a lot easier.”

Sam blew out a breath and leaned back in his chair. “I get your point, but we’ve got to neutralize the effect of that dress.”

“Unless you plan to make her wear your sport coat and put it on backward, I don’t know how you’re gonna neutralize anything. I think we’ll just have to live with the situation.” Mark wasn’t particularly upset with that prospect. He thought it would be a crime to cover Charlie, sort of like throwing a blanket over one of those nude statues outside the door.

“Man, I never expected an outdoor adventure guide to show up in an outfit like that.”

Mark decided not to tell Sam that he’d known about the dress all along. He also knew the color of her panties. Charlie’s last letter to him had been filled with spicy little details like that. They’d been taunting each other with increasingly erotic messages. No, he’d better not tell Sam about that.

He decided to ease around to a different topic. “Don’t forget that she is an outdoor adventure guide. Don’t forget all the reasons why you advised me to write to her. She’s everything I hoped for, and then some. To find out how beautiful and sexy she is in person is icing on the cake, because I was already convinced she was perfect for me.”

“I do have a good feeling about this one,” Sam admitted. “Still, I’d feel a hell of a lot better if you put off the proposal for as long as possible.”

The waiter arrived with leather-bound menus, but Mark left his closed. He didn’t really care about the food, anyway. “Tell you what. I’ll do my best to ignore her cleavage,” he said by way of trying to pacify Sam.

“Like you said, easier said than done.” Sam opened his menu.

“I’ll do my best. So, what did you think of Ashley?”

Immediately Sam glanced up from his perusal of the menu. Then he tried to look casual and nonchalant, the way he always did when he was intensely interested in a woman. “She’s okay.” He looked down at the menu again.

“Okay? Just okay? I don’t think there’s a woman you’ve dated in the past five years that compares to her. And how about those eyes? Are those the greenest eyes you’ve ever seen, or what?”

Sam shrugged and continued to examine the menu. “I guess. But what difference does it make? She’s not breaking out in a rash, so she must not find me attractive.”

Mark thought fast. Sam had a very tender ego, and whenever he thought a woman wasn’t returning his interest, he bailed. If a woman played hard to get, then Sam didn’t pursue her. He hoped Ashley wasn’t into those kinds of games. “Um, I think Charlie said the rash appears on her…cheeks,” he said.

“There was no rash on her cheeks.”

“Her other cheeks.”

Sam looked up. “Oh.” He gazed at Mark for a couple of seconds. “That’s kind of weird, don’t you think?”

“Stress affects everybody differently. She might have dragged Charlie into the ladies’ room because her rash was starting to bother her.”

Sam closed the menu and laid it beside his plate. “No, she dragged Charlie into the ladies’ room because you were starting to bother her. She’s protective of her little sister, and I don’t blame her.”

“There, see? That’s a point scored by Ashley right off the bat. She’s protective of her family members. You’re protective of your family members. I remember when that kid tried to beat up your little brother and you got all over—”

“Let’s get back to the subject at hand—which is her rash problem. You told me this rash of hers is a social embarrassment. If it only shows up on her backside, I don’t understand how that would be an embarrassment, because nobody except her would even know about it.”

“Of course it would be a problem.” It was a good thing he was used to dealing with Sam’s lawyerly logic. “If she’s attracted to someone, that means that eventually she’d want to get physical with them, and yet she couldn’t allow that to happen, because then the guy would see her rash.”

“Oh.” Sam frowned. “I still think there’s something fishy about all of this. But in some stupid way, it makes sense. I can’t imagine any other reason why a woman who looks like Ashley would agree to a blind date. She should have guys coming out of the woodwork.”

“Aha! So you do think she’s gorgeous.”

“From what I can see. Of course I’m picturing this rash, and that’s not exactly a turn-on, if you get my drift.”

Mark was working hard not to laugh. He thought this whole thing was hilarious, and he hoped someday Sam would enjoy the joke as much as Mark did right now. “Maybe she’s got the rash situation under control,” he said. “Maybe she’s very attracted to you, and yet she’s not breaking out. If that’s the case, you would want to continue to help her along with her recovery, wouldn’t you?”

Sam rubbed his chin. “You’re up to something, O’Grady. I figure it’s based on fixing me up with Ashley so you can sneak off with Charlie and do the nasty.”

“Not the nasty.” Mark held up both hands when Sam lifted his eyebrows as if he didn’t believe a word. “Really. I’m not going to do the nasty. But I’d like to kiss her, at least, which could be difficult if you and Ashley are watching us every damned minute. I wouldn’t mind having the two of you talk among yourselves sometime during the evening.”

“You plan to start making out with Charlie right here at the table?”

“Of course not! I thought later we might go dancing.”

“Dancing? With her in that dress? Or sort of in that dress? I don’t think so, Mark, old boy. You would—”

“Whoops, here they come. Now if you want to know if Ashley’s attracted to you or not, look at her lipstick. If she globbed some more on while she was in the bathroom, then that means she wants you.”

“You’ve said that before when we were out with women, and I think you’re making it up. Women put on lipstick for no reason. They put on lipstick to go to the grocery store, for crying out loud. I never understood that.”

“Because they might meet a hot prospect at the grocery store, that’s why,” Mark said. “Lipstick is part of that whole mating thing. Remember, we saw that on the Discovery Channel. Look at the lipstick.”

“How do I know if she put it on for me? Maybe she wants the waiter really bad. Or the maître d’, although personally I think he’s a little old for—”

“Oh, for God’s sake, Sam. I swear you’d make a sow’s ear out of a silk purse.” Then he got out of his chair so he could help his fabulous Lady in Red into her seat. And his vow not to look at her cleavage didn’t last even for a second. But he rationalized that she’d worn the dress on purpose to make him notice, so if he didn’t, she’d be disappointed.

He didn’t want to disappoint this woman. Not ever. And that was why he would be a good boy tonight and just enjoy the view from a distance.

“Did you get whatever it was out of your eye?” Sam asked Ashley, peering intently at her face.

Mark looked, too, and saw the fresh shine of new lipstick. Way to go, Ashley. Then he glanced over at Charlie and was gratified to see that she’d added more of that tomato-red color to her mouth. He’d ten times rather spend the next hour kissing that plump little mouth than eating pasta.

“My eye’s fine,” Ashley said. “Probably an eyelash or something.”

“I can see how that would happen. Your eyelashes are pretty long,” Sam said.

Good, Mark thought. Sam liked long eyelashes. Charlie’s eyelashes were long, too, and she had mascara on them. Blondes usually used the stuff, he knew, because without mascara their eyelashes didn’t stand out so much.

He’d like to see Charlie without her mascara, though. No doubt she’d look perfectly fine. He’d like to see her without her clothes, too. She’d look more than perfectly fine without her clothes.

But he wouldn’t be doing that this weekend. No sir. So he’d content himself with simply sitting and watching Charlie. Somehow he managed to order his meal and make a wine decision, but he couldn’t remember his choices thirty seconds after he’d made them.

Charlie totally absorbed his attention. He made small talk. So did she. But the conversation was unimportant. All that mattered was being here together, his knee touching hers, his hand resting on the tablecloth where he could accidentally brush her little finger with his.

Now she was picking up her water goblet. Now she was putting it up to those red lips. Now she was taking a sip. Now she was giving him that coy look that made his pulse hammer. He was vaguely aware that Ashley and Sam were talking to each other, but he wasn’t aware of anything they said.

Charlie-watching was becoming his favorite activity. The only problem was that the more he watched, the more aroused he became. Well, too bad. Tonight he would be strong. For her sake.

4

CHARLIE BARELY TASTED HER DINNER. Somehow she had to come up with a way to get her sister and Sam out of the picture so she could be alone with Mark. He was everything she’d hoped and she could hardly wait to get her hands on him.

After all the sexy things they’d said to each other in their letters recently, she was ready for more than heated glances and knees touching under the table. The single rose looked lovely resting beside her plate, and the strolling violinists were romantic, but by the end of the meal she needed more than that.

She wanted to be held, to be kissed, to be caressed. In the process, she’d find out what it was like to touch the dimple on Mark’s cheek and feel the texture of his hair beneath her fingers. She might even find out what he looked like without his sport coat, without his tie, or even without…everything. Her body throbbed just thinking about that possibility.

But he’d brought Sam along, and that was the fly in the ointment.

She couldn’t really blame him. It had been a decent and kind thing to do, and Sam seemed like a terrific guy, but it sure did make for an awkward situation having him and Ashley hanging around. The meal was drawing to a close and she didn’t know what to suggest that would allow her an intimate encounter with Mark.

By the time they were standing outside the restaurant waiting for the valet to bring the cars, she still hadn’t thought of a good solution for extending the evening. Inviting them all back to her apartment wasn’t a very romantic thought, and they were overdressed for the movies.

Dancing would work, but she wasn’t up on the dancing scene in Austin, even though she was a decent dancer. Her other dates hadn’t thought she’d be into that, so she hadn’t spent much time nightclubbing.

She glanced at Mark in silent appeal. The evening couldn’t end now. It just couldn’t.

He met her gaze and his eyes were filled with the same longing. Then he looked over at Sam. “I hate to call it a night so soon, don’t you? Our hotel has a lounge with a live band and a small dance floor, so we could—”

“Great idea,” Charlie said. At last a man had pictured her as an inviting dance partner. And she’d get to put her arms around him, at least while the music played. That was a beginning. “Isn’t it a great idea, Ashley?”

“No!” said Ashley and Sam together.

Charlie seized the moment. “Then I have the perfect solution. We have two cars here. Mark and I can take one of them and go dancing, and Sam and Ashley can take the other one and do…whatever they want.”

“On the other hand, dancing might be a good idea,” Ashley said quickly.

“Sure,” Sam added. “I could tag along for some dancing for a little while. Then Mark and I should probably turn in. Big day tomorrow.”

“On Sunday?” Charlie asked.

“Oh, yeah. We’re both behind at work, right, buddy?”

“Uh, right, Sam.”

“Right.” Sam sent a meaningful glance in Mark’s direction. “So you and I can lead and the women can follow us over.”

“Oh, for God’s sake.” Mark faced his friend. “This is getting ridiculous. I don’t care how we divvy up the car situation, except that I plan to ride over with Charlie.”

Charlie wanted to punch the air in victory.

“We only have a little time together,” Mark continued, “and I don’t want to waste it going in separate cars.”

Sam considered that for a minute. “Okay, Ashley and I will take your Lexus.”

“Fine.” He started toward Charlie’s little red Miata and paused. “How come?”

Ashley gestured to the two cars lined up in front of the restaurant. “Even I know why. Here we have your car, a luxury sedan, a make-out car if I ever saw one, with plush seats in front and back. Over here we have Charlie’s car, a two-seater sports car. Try to make out in that and you’d need a chiropractor.” She glanced at Sam. “Nice to know we’re both on the same page.”

Sam grinned at her. “Yeah, isn’t it?”

“You guys are worse than parents!” Charlie said, hardly able to believe they were having this conversation. “Listen, Ashley, I have to agree with Mark on this one. The heavy-duty chaperone routine is getting ridiculous. Mark and I are adults. We don’t have to be protected from each other, right, Mark?”

To her surprise, instead of backing her up, Mark hesitated. Then his face reddened. “Uh—of course not, but I’m sure Sam and Ashley have good intentions.”

“I’m sure they do, too. Just misguided.”

Sam looked amused. “Well, Ashley, let’s take our misguided intentions and drive to the hotel in Mark’s Lexus. You can keep an eye on the rearview mirror.” He opened the passenger door for her.

“You’re a man after my own heart.” She smiled and got into the car.

“Whatever.” Charlie threw up her hands and looked at Mark. He was still gorgeous, but she was a little put out with him. He hadn’t supported her bid to be alone. “Shall I drive or do you want to?”

“Let him drive,” Sam called out before he climbed into the Lexus. “It’ll keep his hands busy.”

Mark gave her a sheepish grin. “You know, he’s probably right. That dress really is tempting.”

Charlie thought about that and was somewhat mollified. In a way, she liked knowing that Mark was worried about controlling himself with her, even on the short drive to the hotel. She’d never caused a man to be that wild and crazy. That everyone was so concerned about his ability to restrain himself was a boost to her ego, come to think of it.

She headed for the passenger side of her little Miata. “Okay,” she said. “You can drive.” When Mark helped her in, she gave his hand a squeeze and gazed up at him. His attention was firmly fastened on her breasts. “Thanks,” she murmured.

He glanced at her and swallowed. “You’re welcome.”

Excitement curled in her tummy. She wanted to kiss him so much she could barely stand it. “We could always ditch our watchdogs.”

“I—no, we’d better not. Sam would get worried and call the police. We’ll just…go dancing.”

She decided to settle for that, but she hoped he meant slow dancing. Very slow.

Mark rounded the car and climbed in, although his knees nearly hit the dashboard of the small car. “Tight fit.”

“The seat moves back a little.”

“Good.” He adjusted the seat, and even so he looked a little cramped in her tiny car.

Personally Charlie liked the close quarters. Mark was within easy reach. She gazed at his profile and could barely believe that he was here. The scent of his aftershave teased her with possibilities.

“I guess you think Sam’s concern is a little over the top,” he said as he pulled out and followed the Lexus down the road. “But he means well.”

Charlie sighed. “So does Ashley. She said writing to each other for three months isn’t the same as dating for three months.”

“Sam said the same thing.”

Wow, this was cozy. Charlie wished the drive would take a while, but she knew they weren’t far away from the hotel. “Is there any chance Sam is letting his own little problem get in the way of your dating life?”

“Problem?”

“You know. Maybe he thinks I’ll suddenly turn out to be a man, too.” She focused on Mark’s lips. They were so tempting. No doubt he was a good kisser. You could tell those things by the look of a man’s mouth.

“Oh, that problem. No, I don’t think he believes that about you or Ashley. In fact, from the way he’s acting with Ashley, I think he’s getting over his phobia.”

“Good. Then maybe he’ll leave us alone.” So I can start kissing you.

Mark laughed. “Don’t count on it. But I can’t get too upset with him. He’s always been there for me.”

“Yeah, exactly.” Charlie grinned. “And that’s where he is right now. There.” She loved watching Mark’s hands on the steering wheel and imagining them elsewhere….

“He doesn’t want either of us to get hurt, that’s all. And he’s invested in making this work out for us. I’ve been through a few…experiences with women who were all wrong for me. He’s the one who first suggested the Texas Men thing.”

“Is he?” Charlie was feeling more mellow toward Sam already, knowing that. Now if only he’d go away. “Then I’ll have to thank him.”

“I’ve thanked him on a regular basis ever since you and I started writing to each other. I really do owe the guy, and it’s true that he’s worried that I’ll move too fast with you. I’ve sort of promised him that I won’t…I mean, that this first night, you and I won’t…”

She reached over and slid her hand down his thigh. Her heart hammered as she felt the muscles tighten. “That we won’t make love?”

He groaned. “Yep, and I’m in big trouble already. I thought I could manage just a dinner and maybe some dancing, maybe even a nightcap, and then let you go home. But I’m about to combust.”

“I’m glad.” She squeezed his thigh and took her hand away. “That was my intention.”

“Seriously?”

“Seriously.” And now was as good a time as any to state her case. She took a deep breath. “You never asked why I wrote to you in the first place—why I decided to answer an ad in Texas Men.”

“No, I guess I never did.” He glanced at her. “So tell me.”

“All my other relationships with men have been so…predictable. We’d meet on the trail or through friends, have a coffee date, have a lunch date, go on a few hikes, maybe, or play tennis once or twice. Then we’d do dinner a few times. Then finally we’d consider the matter of spending the night together. Often by that time I’d be so bored out of my tree I’d say to heck with the whole business.”

His voice was husky. “I’m glad to hear it. I’m overjoyed to hear it. I don’t like to think of you with anybody else.”

“Mark, don’t get me wrong. I’m not a virgin.”

“That’s okay. I just don’t want anybody else to count.”

She took satisfaction in the tense set of his jaw. He was already getting possessive about her. She liked that. “They don’t count. Because there was no real excitement. I thought, by teasing you a bit in the letters, that when we finally met it would be dynamite.”

“Well, that sure worked, especially with that dress to cap it off.”

“But don’t you see?” She had to make him understand. “If we do the dancing thing, and the nightcap thing, and then you go up to your hotel room and I go back to my apartment, it’ll be like somebody threw water on the fuse!”

“No, it won’t,” he said with feeling. “I don’t know about your fuse, but mine isn’t about to go out. I think my fuse is permanently lit.”

“Mark, listen to me. I want wild. I want reckless. I want unrestrained. Just once in my life.”

“Couldn’t you have all that next weekend? We could go camping, and then—”

She groaned. No way could she be a femme fatale when they went camping. “If we wait until next weekend, this will be like my other experiences with men.”

“I beg to differ!”

“Well, it would feel like it, anyway. Sensible. Cautious. Boring.” She slid her hand over his thigh again. “You don’t want us to be boring, do you, Mark?”

His breathing rasped in the confines of the small car. “Oh, Lord. Oh, Lord, Lord, Lord.”

“Just go with the flow.”

“Charlie, it’s kind of like a point of honor with me.” He sounded desperate. “I’ve been known to rush into a physical relationship.”

“I don’t call this rushing, do you?”

“Well, maybe not, but I still think it would be good for me to get through this first date without—”