Page 4 of A SEAL for the Weekend
She nods once, and a nervous giggle escapes her lips. “I guess I am.”
Sitting back on my stool, I regard her carefully. Her gaze is cool and confident, but her thumb worries her ring. My guess is she doesn’t pick up strangers at bars often. But for whatever reason, tonight she wants company.
“You don’t even know my name?”
She tilts her head and keeps her gaze on me. “What should I call you?”
I note she didn’t ask me my name. She doesn’t want to know. If we’re going to do this, then she wants to keep it incognito.
“Call me Sergeant Gray.”
Her eyebrows raise. “All right, Sergeant.”
The word on her lips sends a bolt of heat through my body, and I feel myself lengthen. Another reminder that it’s been too long since I’ve been with a woman.
I glance around at the bar, seeing the men swaying on the dance floor and the group by the pool table doing another round of shots. If I turn her down, will she end up with one of these drunks who’ll likely be too wasted to give her what she needs?
Besides, I like Rose; she’s attractive, and there’s a connection between us. A strong one, which surprises me. Maybe it’s what I need, too—to forget the last few weeks for a while. To lose myself in somebody.
But I want to get to know her first and give her the opportunity to make a different choice if this isn’t what she wants.
“There’s a pizza place down the road. Let’s get food there.”
Something flashes across her face, and I can’t tell if it’s relief or disappointment. She glances down quickly before sliding off her bar stool.
I take her coat from where its dropped over the back of the stool and hold it out for her. She glances over her shoulder at me before slipping it over her bare shoulders. “Thank you.”
3
RYAN
Iput a hand on the small of Rose’s back as I guide her through the swinging doors and into Fast Joe’s.
The place is quiet since it’s not yet late enough to get the rush of drunk people leaving the surrounding bars. The tables are scattered in front of a counter lit by fluorescent lights; it’s not the type of place that encourages customers to stick around for long.
After we take a seat in the corner at a small table, Rose studies her menu in silence while I study her.
She’s pretty in an unconventional way, with youthful skin and round cheeks. Her forehead pinches together as she reads the menu. If she’s nervous being here with me, a stranger, she doesn’t show it.
“What’s your favorite pizza?” I ask as I pick up my menu.
“Hawaiian,” she says without hesitation.
“Me, too.”
She looks up and smiles. It’s maybe her first genuine smile of the night, and I already crave more. I want to make her smile like that as much as I can tonight. “I would’ve had you down as a meat lover’s guy.” Her gaze flicks to my arms resting on the table, the muscles of my forearms clearly visible. She’s checking me out, and I like it.
“Hawaiian all the way for me and with the pineapple, thanks.”
She shrugs her shoulders. “Of course, it’s got to have pineapple. Otherwise, it’s just a ham and cheese pizza.”
“So, you’re definitely in the pineapple belongs on pizza camp?”
“Oh yeah. The sweetness offsets the saltiness of the ham. It’s…” She does a chef’s kiss.
I like this playful side of Rose. She caught my attention at the bar with her looks and attitude, but now that we’ve left it, she’s lowered her guard a little and become more relaxed. I find myself enjoying our time together more than I even expected.
My lips quirk up. “It’s nice to meet a woman who appreciates the symbiotic relationship between ham and pineapple.”
