Page 30 of The Girlfriend Game
Fourteen
Kendall
Indecision and weakness battle it out in my head as I sit in the parking lot at the lake. I mentally kick myself for getting stuck in this untenable situation.
A situation, I might add, my sister got me into when she signed me up for that stupid dating app in the first place.
Rationally, I know I shouldn’t pin the blame on my sister because I made the choice to continue the conversation with Mountain Man.
Zeke.
Irrationally, though, I’m angry over being put into a position where I have to make a choice between my career and my love life.
My heart twists as I stare through my windshield at the couples milling about, one couple lying on a blanket laughing as they share a story together. Another couple with a baby in a stroller, and a dog on a leash, as they meander hand-in-hand around the lake on this beautiful summer day.
Why can’t that be me?
My hope and expectation of where this day would lead have been smashed to smithereens the moment I found out my date was Zeke Forester. Instead of being out here on a fun first date with potentially the man of my dreams, I’m stuck dealing with this highly unusual, complex, and extremely unethical situation with my client.
Why couldn’t Zeke have turned out to be a completely different hot, single, and extremely good-looking man instead of the one who is my patient? And why do I have to be so attracted to him?
When he flashes that gorgeous grin at me, my knees nearly buckle.Damn him.
Ithwapmy palms against the steering wheel hard and drop my forehead on it in frustration. All these years I’ve put my love life on hold for the sake of my career and now the moment I’m ready to explore a personal relationship with a guy I’ve sparked a connection with, it happens to be Zeke Forester?
Can it get any more unfair?
A knock on my window startles the hell out of me and I throw my head back with a shriek. “Jesus! You scared me.”
Zeke crouches down next to my window, his muscular arms stretched above his head, palms on the roof of the car. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you, but I called your name a few times and you didn’t answer. I was worried you were overthinking this and would speed off at any moment.”
“I am overthinking this and I probably should,” I grumble under my breath. My grip remains tight around my steering wheel.
Noticing my indecision, Zeke exhales and reaches in to remove the keys out of the engine and dangles them in front of me, dropping them into my lap.
“Let me ask you something, Kendall.” He folds his arms, leaning his head through the window, plopping his chin onto the platform of his hands. “If I wasn’t wasn’t me—your patient—and just a random dude…would you have a problem being with me today?”
I slide my gaze to his, pinning him with my eyes. “Of course not.”
As if that settles everything, he pats the window frame and stands, opening the door to allow me to exit.
“Okay then. For the sake of argument, today I’m not your patient. I’m simply Ezekiel Roland Forester. The man you met online who is completely enamored with you and wants to take a walk around the lake with a beautiful woman.”
He produces that charming smile of his and steps to the side, waiting for me to stand.
When I finally do unfold my legs and stand up, he offers me a hand to help me up. It’s warm and inviting.
“I might even buy you an ice cream cone,” he teases with a smirk. I can’t resist letting out the giggle that sneaks up my throat.
Standing next to him, our proximity so close I have to dip my head back between my shoulders just to look into his face, I realize how tall and built Zeke is. The Mountain Man handle is entirely accurate and fits him perfectly. Zeke Forester is built like a mountain. Tall, imposing, and clearly immovable.
I turn back to lock my door, and when I spin around again, my breath catches when I suddenly slam straight into the hard male mountain. Zeke had taken an unexpected step forward.
“Umph,” I groan, my hands flattening against his T-shirt covered abs that flex underneath my palms. I push away, but it only serves to give me a better indication of what’s under the shirt. Hard, sculpted flesh that ripples with movement.
Zeke takes a quick step backwards, leaving my hands to fall from the wall of steel as he hooks a thumb behind him. “Sorry about that. I was trying to avoid being run down and flattened by speedy over there.”
I peer around his shoulder to see a kid on a skateboard whizzing around pedestrians as he takes the path with excessive speed.
