Page 43 of Welcome to Forever
Chapter 11
His plan was to go into Kat’s office and avoid discussing the kiss. Pretend like it never happened because that’s the way it needed to be.
Micah’s mind knew that, but his heart shredded the idea to pieces as soon as she walked into the room, looking all flustered and flushed. A rush of testosterone shot through him and all he could think of suddenly was locking that door, pushing her up against the wall, and pressing his mouth against hers.
“Hi.” Her voice was soft and sweet. He wanted to turn it to a raspy pant.Damn.He’d been celibate for too long. Maybe Lawson was right and all he needed was a good lay, but definitely not with Kat. Sleeping with her could only mean falling deeper under her spell.
“Did you need me for something?” she asked, stepping closer. She was wearing a floral dress that flirted with her legs, brushing up against them with every step she took.
Yep.He definitely needed her for something. Clearing his throat, he ran a quick hand through his hair. “Yes.” He nodded, but for the life of him, he couldn’t remember what he’d come here to ask her. Something about the after-school program maybe? Or Ben?
He focused on her rose-colored lips that tasted like honey. He loved honey, and he could think of a lot of places he’d like to taste it at the moment.
A smile crossed her mouth as if she knew exactly what he was thinking. “We can’t talk about that here. This is where I work,” she said, lowering her voice.
He shook his head. “No. No, I didn’t come here to talk about that.” A nervous laugh escaped his lips. That’s what he’d come herenotto talk about. “I, uh…I came here to talk about the Friendship Club.”
“Oh. Okay.” Taking a seat behind her desk, she motioned for him to sit at the chair in front of her. The idea of doing so made him feel like that bully being called to the principal’s office all those years ago. Except he’d never wanted to clear his principal’s desk and have his way with her. For one, his principals had all been about a hundred years old when he was growing up. So that ruled that out.
She stared at him expectantly. “What’s on your mind, Micah?”
He swallowed and took a step toward her desk. “You,” he said, doing his best not to tell her exactly what he was thinking.
Her eyes widened.
“I want to go out with you again,” he said, surprising himself, too. He’d made a conscious decisionnotto date Kat. Only, he’d been fantasizing about another date since they’d hugged goodbye at the gardens this weekend. He’d been fantasizing about a hell of a lot more than that.
A beautiful smile crossed those delicious honey lips.
“Except this time I want it to be real. I want to pick you up at your house, bring you flowers, and get you home by a reasonable hour.”Then follow you inside.He leaned forward, bracing his hands on her desk. “Will you go on a date with me, Kat? This Friday night?”
Suddenly, her smile dropped. “I, um. I can’t.” She held up her hands. “Not that I don’t want to. I do. But I kind of have this obligation.”
“Obligation?” he repeated, stunned that he was being turned down. He didn’t ask women out often, but when he did, he didn’t get turned down. He never should’ve asked her out in the first place. “What kind of obligation?” he asked.
Color rose through her neck and trickled into her cheeks. “I volunteer at the Veterans’ Center once a month, in honor of the men and women who’ve fallen. This Friday is the one I’m scheduled for. I help serve dinner. Then we play bingo. On Saturdays, there’s a dance and I sometimes help out with that, too. Only bingo this month, though. No dancing.”
He straightened, keeping his gaze on her. “Good. You can save your dancing feet for me next weekend.” He winked at her, feeling a little less rejected by the thought of her spending her night with a bunch of older men. At least that’s who he always imagined hung out at a place like that. Younger vets usually occupied the local bar or could be found playing a game of pool or taking up water sports at the nearby beach.
“You can help me serve on Friday night if you want,” she said then. “The Veterans’ Center is always looking volunteers.”
He shook his head ruefully. There was enough on his to-do plate already. Adding another volunteer job to his long list was definitely pushing his limits, and he hadn’t meant to ask her out anyway. It’d been a moment of insanity. “I should probably hang out with Ben,” he said, even though he’d spent nearly every night for the last two weeks with his son. Aunt Clara had been urging him to take time for himself lately. “He’s having a tough time these days with his mother’s deployment.”And the fact that Jessica hasn’t called even once.
“Well, you can bring him, too. I’ll put him to work calling out bingo numbers.”
Micah scratched his chin, considering this. “Ben would probably like that. He’s really happy to be helping out after school.”
“Good.” She smiled, meeting his eyes head-on, and holding his gaze for a long, sizzling beat.
If he brought Ben, he definitely wouldn’t be following Kat inside her home at the end of the night, which both relieved and disappointed him.
“Will you still bring me flowers and get me home at a reasonable hour?” she asked, leaning forward on her desk, making her blouse lower just enough for the disappointment to outweigh the relief. He wanted this woman in every way he’d never wanted anyone else before. He wanted to hold her, kiss her. Take that little whimper she did when he kissed her and turn it into a moan.
“I have this thing about flowers. I never cut the stem, and I talk to them when no one’s looking,” he said. “My son taught me that. I would only bring flowers to a woman that I trusted to continue spoiling them as much as I do.”
“Oh, I can be trusted.” Her green eyes danced as she looked at him. “I’ve never liked the idea of cutting the flower stems, either, actually. It seems kind of sad and barbaric, but…they are pretty.”
Micah gave his head a quick shake. “I’ve never had a woman say that to me. Kat Chandler, you might just be the perfect woman,” he teased, cutting himself off before he finished his thought.For me. You might just be the perfect woman for me.
