Page 38 of Cakewalk
I didn’t want to stop what we had going on. I felt more connected with him than ever before. “Want to have lunch?”
“A… professional work lunch?” His eyes looked so weary.
“A date.” I winked.
“But I thought—”
“Who cares? Anyway, if people are going to judge us regardless, then what difference does it make? You said so yourself, earlier.”
He let out a huff, and for a moment I wasn’t sure if I had convinced him. Finally, he said, “How about we grab some takeout, eat at my place. It’s just down the sidewalk, and I really don’t want to deal with any more confrontations today.”
Eat at his place? That was a lot more intimate than I thought we’d get again. “Okay,” I said. “I’ll grab something from the sandwich shop, and I could meet you back at the apartment. If that sounds good…”
He smiled. “It does.”
“What kind of sandwich?”
“Club is fine. I have drinks covered at home.”
I gulped and nodded, though maybe I was being silly thinking this would be some full-on drinks-at-his-place thing. Maybe he just meant he had a nice variety of sodas to choose from. It wasn’t even late yet, or dark enough for our inhibitions to go out the window like that one night.
“You’re blushing,” Griffin noted.
I spun away. “No, I’m not.Youare! I’ll see you at your place.” I stomped off before he could read into things any further.
Chapter 15
Jade
Yeah,Griffin hadn’t been talking about soda when he mentioned drinks. I entered the apartment and set down the paper bag with our sandwiches, seeing he had set out a bottle of wine on the counter.
I tried to forget about that for a moment as I looked over the wide open apartment. Though I had offered to help him move in, it seemed he managed quite well by himself, and didn’t have a bad sense of style either. A large bed sat along the back wall, and a comfy sofa stood in front of a TV. He had a full bookshelf and a nice reading spot right beside it too.
Hell, I wanted to move in.
“Nice place,” I commented, then chuckled nervously.
“Thanks. I pay an exorbitant price for the rent, but it’s right above this cute little cake shop, so I guess that makes up for it.”
I laughed, then pulled the sandwiches out of the bag. “Hey, you’re the one who offered to pay quadruple the original price. I sure hope you’re a better negotiator in your other pursuits.”
“I couldn’t help it. The woman I’m renting from made me all mushy-brained at the sight of her.”
I rolled my eyes, though I couldn’t help but smile. “Please.”
He lifted the wine bottle. “You seemed to like the red wine at the restaurant. I have beer too. Or, you know, soda.”
“How about a beer? That would pair better with our sandwiches.”
“Ooh, it ‘pairs’ better? Very fancy.” He put the wine bottle back and grabbed some beers out of the fridge. After popping the cap off mine, he sat beside me on the bar stools at the counter. “I appreciate you sticking up for me, by the way. Even if it’s your job and everything.”
“I’d do it even if it wasn’t my job, now that I know the facts. Really puts us in a pickle, though, that we can’t tell other people what really happened.”
“It’s fine. As long as I have one true believer, with any luck, I can build from there.” He took a bite of his sandwich and followed it up with a swig of beer. “But that’s enough work talk. You’re so focused on me and everyone else that I’m worried you’re neglecting yourself. So, how areyoudoing?”
“Uh. Fine, I guess. I mean, I’m sorta making bank working for you, so I’m saving it all up for when I need to move out of the Davidson’s place.”
“Going to get a little place of your own?”
