Page 114 of Holidating
He lifted a brow, irritated that I’d warn him like that. As if he were a bumbler. (Even if he was.)
I dropped the ball low in front of me, pounding the dribble for four or five strokes. Then I let go. The ball ricocheted up… andstraightinto Dash’s crotch.
Three-pointer!So to speak.
“URMMFFF!” the guy groaned, catching the ball and bending over in the time-honored position of a guy whose eggs had just been scrambled.
It took all my effort not to laugh. “Ouch,” I said.
“Youass,” Dash muttered. And when he straightened up, his face was red with anger.
My heart rate kicked up a couple of points, but I held his gaze. “That hurts, right? When you think you’ve signed up for a simple game of one-on-one, but then it turns out that someone else had different plans for you?”
His face did something interesting then. It locked up tight insurprise. And then guilt crossed his features. His mouth sagged, and his eyes looked away from me. He swallowed uncomfortably.
“You can call me an ass if it makes you feel better,” I said in a low voice. “But you leave Katie alone.”
Dash didn’t acknowledge me. He just set the ridiculous pink basketball down on a wicker chair, and then picked up a sport coat that had been lying over the back of it.
“You get me?” I pressed. That’s when I heard the sound of high heels tapping toward me. “Hey!” Katie said, skidding up to me. “Sorry about that. I got caught up chatting in the bathroom.”
“No problem.” I turned to give her my full attention and was basically walloped all over again by how attractive she was. Her silky hair slid over her bare shoulders as she moved. And those kissable lips gave me a little smile. “Are you ready to head out?” I asked, hoping the answer was yes.
“Sure! We can grab my coat on the way.”
A frat brother nudged Dash, whose face was still red and ornery. “Let’s hit it, bro,” he said.
Dash cleared his throat. “I was waiting for Debbie. She might still be in the bathroom.”
Katie paused, her hand grabbing mine. “She left,” she told Dash.
“What?”
Katie’s grin took on a devilish glint. “She said she had more important places to be. Or something like that. G’night.” She gave my hand a little tug, and we left the room together.
PART TWO
CHAPTER8
ANDY
When Katie had put her coat on, she’d had to drop my hand. Now that we were walking along the sidewalk together, I wanted it back.Your only real problem is confidence, my sister had said. What would a confident guy do in this situation?
As casually as I could, I reached over and took Katie’s smooth hand in mine. She laced her fingers in mine, just like that.
Huh.Thank you, Delia.
“Your game saved me tonight,” Katie said. “But what on earth inspired it?”
“Ah,” I said, as my thumb skimmed her palm. “During the summer, I work at a boys’ sleep-away camp in the White Mountains. And we’re always having to think up games to keep them from fighting with each other before dinnertime.”
“So youcounseledme, like one of your nine-year-old campers?” She was smiling again, which I loved.
“Well, they’re twelve. But, yeah.” Maybe I was a sap, but tonight I felt truly connected to someone for the first time in a long while. Katie might not remember this night except as a blip on her way toward feeling better about the shitty thing that happened to her. But I wasn’t going to forget it any time soon.
“So, you know my tale of woe,” she said. “What’s your story? No girlfriend, I guess?”
“Not at the moment,” I said, because it sounded smoother thanmy dry spell is as vast as the Sahara. “I’ve dated two girls at Harkness. One my frosh year, and one last year. But, um…” I chuckled, because my tale of woe was more funny than sad. “Turns out I wasn’t a good match for either girl.”
