Page 76 of The Jerk in Apartment 1B

“It is. I just meant I’m used to seeing you in sweats. It’s nice to see you in a dress.”

“Thanks!” She looks down at it. “I got this one really cheap at a sample sale, but I never have anywhere to wear it.”

My eyes drop to her black heels, which are at least three inches high. “You okay walking in those?”

“I’m an expert at walking in heels. I wore them every day at my old job.”

I’m a sucker for heels. The higher the better. And dresses with straps? Also a weakness of mine. I’m already imagining tugging those straps loose. And that slit in her dress? I can practically feel my hand going past that slit, sliding up her thigh.

This is bad. Really bad. The night just started. I can’t be having these thoughts.

“You look good,” Trina says. “I like the jacket.”

“Thanks.” I look past her and see the mattress I got her, which makes me think of her in bed, and… okay, I need to stop. “So are you ready to go?”

“Just let me lock up.” She steps out to the hall and I get a whiff of her perfume. It’s a light floral scent with a hint of citrus. It’s just what I imagined she’d wear. It’s also what I like. I’m not a fan of heavy scents.

“I’ve got a car waiting out front,” I tell her as we go down the hall.

“Scott.” She grips my arm, stopping me. “Before we go, I really want to thank you for doing this. I thought I’d feel sad going out so soon after ending it with Asher, or like it was wrong, but it actually feels really good.” She smiles. “Getting to dress up. Put on makeup. Do my hair. Go out with a hot older man. I needed this. It’s so much better then spending the night in my room.”

“Older man?” I laugh a little. “You make it sound like I’m 50.”

“I’m just saying you’re older than me.”

“Not by much. And what’s this about me being hot?”

“Forget that part,” she says, walking off. “Your ego’s big enough.”

Too late. She already said it. She admitted she’s attracted to me. I’m attracted to her too, which I’m sure she already knows. Whenever we’re together, you can feel the attraction we have to each other. Or maybe that’s just me, but I’m guessing Trina feels it too.

I’m starting to think this fake date is going to feel more like a real one, which means it’s possible it’ll end with something happening. I’m not planning on it. In fact, I’ll do whatever I can to make sure tonight is as innocent as it can be, although I’m not sure how I’ll do that with her wearing that hot dress and those sexy high heels.

“Where to?” the driver asks.

I give him the address and he pulls onto the street. Traffic’s bad. It’s going to take forever to get there.

“Callie couldn’t believe it when I told her I was going out,” Trina says.

“Callie’s your friend from Chicago, right?”

“Yeah.” Trina turns to me, smiling. “You remembered. I didn’t think you would. I only mentioned her once.”

“You’ve mentioned her a couple of times, and I have a good memory.” I really don’t, unless it’s something—or someone—I care about. “She’s the one married to the construction guy. And they have a baby. Am I right?”

Trina’s eyes widen. “Yes! You really do have a good memory. It took Asher a year just to remember Callie’s name.”

That’s because Asher’s a self-centered asshole who was using you and probably never loved you. I’m glad she finally realized that and dumped him.

“So you told your friend about me?”

“Yeah, and she thinks it’s really nice of you to take me out.”

She acts like I’m doing her a favor, when really, I wanted to do this. I like spending time with her, and I thought it’d be fun for us to do something other than clean out my storage room.

“Callie couldn’t believe you bought me a bed,” Trina says. “I can’t either. That was really generous of you.”

“It’s not a big deal, and I had to do it. I couldn’t have you falling asleep on the job.”

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