Page 21 of Five Minute Man
Chapter 12
“So ...?” Brandon asked, looking up from his physics book when Adam strolled in. “How did it go?”
“Good, I think.” It had gone well, hadn’t it? She certainly seemed interested, but maybe he had misread the signals.
He wasn’t good at this kind of shit. For all he knew, she just wanted him for his professional expertise. Maybe she thought that, by being friendly, he was good for some contractor discounts and free labor. It wouldn’t be the first time.
No, some part of him said, quickly rising to her defense.Holly’s not like that.
“Are you going to see her again?”
“Yeah, probably.” Hell, if it was solely up to him, he would hop in his truck and go back right then. But that wasn’t smart. There were rules to be followed, and right at the top was:don’t do anything stupid. He needed time to process this and give it some serious thought. He wasn’t a kid anymore, jumping in with both feet without taking a really good look around first.
“When?”
Shit, he didn’t know. “Don’t you have studying to do?”
“Yeah, but this is way more interesting.” Brandon grinned unrepentantly. “So ...?”
“So what?” Adam grunted.
“When are you going to see Holly again?”
Adam popped open a beer and sat down in his favorite chair. As annoying as it was, Brandon was much better at this stuff than he was, just like his father. He might as well take advantage of it. “What’s acceptable these days?”
“You really like her?”
Did he? That would be a great, big hell yes. He nodded.
Brandon sat back, contemplative. “Then you don’t want to wait too long. You want to give her time to think about tonight, but not too much. I’d give it three days, then call her.”
Three days?That sounded like a long time. Especially when the weekend loomed around the corner with no plans, other than working around the house. Alone.
Adam made it twenty-four hours. Less than that, really, considering it had been after eleven when he had finally hauled his sorry ass home and it was barely seven p.m. the next day. He hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her or playing the “what-if” game. What would have happened if he had kissed her? Would he have been able to stop? Would she have wanted him to?
The moment he heard her soft “hello” over the phone, the words rushed out in a jumble.
“Hi, Holly. It’s Adam. Listen, I know it’s short notice, but would you be interested in getting together tonight? If you don’t have other plans, that is.”
* * *
BEFORE ANSWERING, HOLLYheld the phone in her hand and looked at the tub of chocolate marshmallow ice cream she had just bought and the bag of white popcorn kernels. Yeah, she had plans. The same plans she had every Friday night—order a pizza and veg out with Max, watching movies while ingesting empty carbs in massive quantities as a reward for being good all week. Spending time with Adam would trump that easily.
“What did you have in mind?”
He hesitated as if the question was unexpected. “Maybe dinner in town, a movie at the Cineplex?”
Holly frowned. As much as she wanted to see Adam again, the thought of hitting up an overpriced movie theater filled with noisy teenagers and cell phone addicts on a Friday night was daunting. It would be loud and crowded, neither of which she found appealing.
Making a split-second decision, and taking a tremendous leap of faith, she asked, “What about pizza and Netflix instead?”
“Even better.”
“Awesome. Pepperoni, sausage, and extra cheese okay?”
She thought he groaned. “More than. I can pick it up on the way. Can I bring anything else?”
“I don’t think so. I have a six-pack in the fridge, popcorn, and ice cream.”
