Page 40 of Pour Decisions
“You flatter me too much.” I look at the photo. He does look nice. I don’t feel that deep, carnal pull I feel when I look at JD, but I think he’s good-looking in a clean cut kind of way. “Yeah, he’s cute.”
“Okay, great. I showed him your picture already and thinks you’re hot, so it all works out.” She grins.
“What if I said no?”
“Then I wouldn’t have mentioned what he thought of you at all.” She shrugs and shoots off a text. “He lives over near Crescent Hill but he’ll definitely come to Jepsen for a date.”
My stomach twists in knots, even though I know this is probably the right move. Just because JD and I have chemistry and like each other doesn’t mean that we belong together. Maybe this brush with my past is showing me the path toward this guy is the right way forward. Like I have to feel the contrast between what isn’t good for me in the long run and what could be.
My phone buzzes again with a text from an unknown number.
Unknown: Hey, this is Perrie’s friend. Do you want to skip the awkward texting and have dinner with me?
“He texted me already,” I say. “And he got straight to the point and asked me out.”
I can appreciate that, at least. My coworkers sometimes talk about how dating these days is a minefield of wishy-washy men.
“Good for him! You’re going, right?”
I bite my bottom lip, ignoring the sinking feeling in my chest. When I moved to Jepsen, I wanted to try dating around a bit, just so I didn’t slip into a rut with my vibrator. But now that the opportunity is here, my stomach is in complete knots.
“Yeah. I might as well.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
JD
I haveto psych myself up for going to this business dinner with the owners of the liquor store chain all damn day. To make matters more annoying, the sales rep chose Mable’s, which is one of the fanciest restaurants in Jepsen. “Upscale Southern” would work if the food was as good as the Southern place selling the same foods for a fraction of the cost out of the back of some old building.
But as much as I disagree with Dad’s feelings on the direction the company should go, they’re still important clients. I have to suck it up.
I get dressed in a nice button-down and slacks, brushing my hair out of my face. Bubba is stretched out on the cool tile next to me, sighing. He can always sense when I’ll be leaving without him. He’ll be fine once he remembers he can sprawl across the whole couch without being forced to move.
“Yeah, I know. Sorry, bud,” I say. Bubba yawns. “Hopefully this’ll be a short night.”
I leave the bathroom and realize I’ve forgotten my dress socks in my bedroom. Kat is playing some music inside, but the door is shut.
“Kat?” I knock on the door. “Can I come in? I forgot to grab some dress socks from my dresser,” I say.
“Just a sec!” I hear her struggling behind the door before she finally opens it.
Her hair is pinned up and she’s holding onto a partially unzipped dress. My eyes rake over her before I can stop myself. She’s put something shimmery on her skin, making me yearn to touch it. She looks pretty with or without makeup, but whatever she’s in the middle of doing already looks good.
“You look beautiful,” I say, even though that doesn’t even cover it.
“Oh, god, I’m not even fully dressed.” She steps back and waves me off, heading back into the bedroom.
I follow her. Usually I just have one or two things out on top of my dresser, like my beard stuff or my watch, but she’s put her makeup on top of it. I’ve only used the mirror there to take a glance at myself, so I’m glad she’s getting good use out of it.
“Can you zip me up?” she asks, turning her back to me.
I do as she says, trying my best to ignore the tiny strip of her panties I can spot underneath her dress. She’s not wearing a bra. I tug up the zipper and put a little distance between us, even though I stay in the bathroom. She doesn’t seem to mind.
“Where are you going?” I ask.
“A date.” She shrugs and grabs a small jewelry box, popping it open to reveal some earrings.
“A date.”
