Chapter Six

Julie crossed one leg over the other, frowning at her skirt, and Gavin didn’t have to ask why. She had a habit of putting her feet up on the dash, and she’d obviously realized her outfit made it harder to pull off.

Not that he’d complain over seeing a flash of her thighs.

Gavin gripped the wheel tighter, squeezing so hard he wouldn’t be surprised if it cracked and crumbled underneath his hands. His phone rang from its holster on the dash, and he was grateful for the interruption—with any luck, it’d allow him a minute or two to get his thoughts back on track.

“Ooh, it’s Jason,” Julie said, her chipper tone over seeing his teammate’s name on the screen making him less appreciative. “Should I answer it for you?”

Gavin gritted his teeth to avoid giving away the inexplicable grumpiness he wished he didn’t feel. “I guess.”

Julie tapped the screen to answer. “Hey, Jason.”

“My, my, my,” Holt replied. “Your voice is higher and sexier than I remember, Frost.”

Julie giggled, and Gavin told himself this was a good thing. That a guy who’d flatter her and boost her self-esteem was just what she needed before her date with Kory.

“The better to lure in guys,” she said, and judging by the way she slapped a hand over her mouth, she’d surprised herself with that flirty gem.

Jason’s chuckle carried over the line, and a request to add video popped onscreen.

As Julie reached for the button that’d allow it, Gavin said, “No, don’t—”

“Sorry, too late,” Julie whispered in his direction. Then she turned that killer smile, dimples and all, toward Jason and waved. “Hey. I have you on speaker, and Gavin’s in the truck with me. If you need to have a private convo, though, just let me know.”

“Oh, I’d rather have a private chat with you by far.”

“Thanks, jackass,” Gavin said, and Jason laughed.

“Don’t act like you wouldn’t feel the same in my place. I mean, look at her.” Jason whistled. “Julie, babe, what are you all dolled up for?”

She fiddled with the end of her dangly earring. “I have a date.”

“Ah, so you two are finally going out. Guess I’ll hold back the rest of what I was gonna say so Gavin won’t reach through the phone and strangle me.”

“Not a date with Gavin,” she said, as if the very idea were absurd. “My parents set me up with the single son of one of their couple friends. It’s a thing my mother likes to do.”

“Sounds like I need her number. That way, I can be next on your list.” Out of the corner of his eye, Gavin caught Jason’s eyebrow waggle. Seriously, the guy was so over-the-top. Usually, he found it more amusing. Right now, not so much.

Julie gently patted his shoulder over the brace—he’d left his sling at home, mostly due to vanity reasons, but it made it easier to drive as well. “I roped Gavin into helping me out so I don’t put my foot in my mouth.”

“What I’m hearing is you’re flexible.”

Another titter, and what the hell?

“What I’m hearing is you’re shameless,” Julie fired back, the sassy side formerly reserved just for Gavin coming out.

“It’s one of my best attributes.”

Gavin slowed for an ice patch that had the potential to shoot them right on through the intersection, brakes notwithstanding. “Did you have a point, Holt? We don’t have long.”

“I was gonna update you on a few things that happened at practice, but it sounds like you’ve got a stick up your ass, so maybe I’ll continue my chat with Julie now and call you later.”

Gavin steadied the wheel with his right elbow in order to reach toward the end-call button with his left pointer finger, but Julie aimed a scowl his way before he could tap it. “What?” he asked.

“Jason and I are talking, and you need to use your non-injured arm to steer.” She leaned closer to the phone, and while Gavin had originally thought the phone holster—as Julie called it—was convenient, now he wanted to rip it off the dash. “FYI, I offered to drive so he could rest his shoulder, but he’s being stubborn. He plays football for a living. As if anyone’s going to say he’s not macho enough.”

“I say that very thing to him all the time,” Holt said with a laugh that was definitely at his expense.

Gavin flipped off his teammate, putting his finger nice and close to the screen so Jason wouldn’t miss the message. Then he had an idea, and as much as he hated to give Holt free rein, this night was about Julie and boosting her confidence.

“Here’s the deal. Julie’s a bit nervous, so I’m going to allow you to give her three”—Gavin held up his fingers to the camera, as if Holt were a kindergartener, and sometimes his maturity level landed about there—“genuine compliments. But not about her body. Her face is okay.”

“Wow, what a compliment,” Julie deadpanned.

“I didn’t mean your face is only okay. I meant it’s okay to compliment it.”

“Bro, just let me handle this,” Jason said. “You’re botching it all to hell, and suddenly I’m seeing why you never have a woman on the sidelines waiting for you. Julie, scoot closer to the camera so I can get a better look at you.”

As she started to comply, Gavin stuck out his arm, stopping her progress. It caused a wrenching pinch in his shoulder that had him gritting his teeth, but he’d done it without thinking. “No chance in hell will there be any moving closer. Jules, he’s just trying to peek down your dress.”

“Dude, you’re the one with your hand on her chest.”

At the realization that Holt had a point, Gavin quickly dropped his hand. Not that he’d been copping a feel. It was more of a protective-soccer-mom move. He gestured between Julie and Jason. “This can’t happen.”

Julie twisted to face him, her ruby red lips pursed in challenge. “Oh, now you’re telling me who I can or can’t…do stuff with.”

Gavin pulled into the parking lot, but the quick glance at his phone showed far too much interest over the “do stuff” in Jason’s expression. “I meant you two can’t team up to mock me. I can only deal with one of you at a time.”

“Sorry, his ego’s feeling a bit fragile.” Julie ran her fingers through the ends of his hair, and despite his annoyance over how the situation was going down, he practically purred, just like her cat. “Maybe you should give him the compliments.”

“This conversation proves that you’re actually the worst,” Gavin said, softening his voice so she’d know he was kidding.

“This conversation is just revenge for eating my M&M.”

“How about I buy you a whole giant bag? Then will you be nice?”

Julie batted her eyes and twisted one of her long curls around her finger. “No promises, but it’s worth a try.”

Gavin bit back his grin.

Jason cleared his throat. “Still here, and now I’m starting to feel like a voyeur.”

Across the cab of the truck, they shared a smile. Gavin’s hand twitched with the foolish urge to settle on her knee as he asked if she’d rather get out of there for a while.

Seriously, what was wrong with him today?

Gavin cleared his throat and forced his attention to the phone. “That’s what you get for calling to flirt with Julie. But we’re at the restaurant now, and she and I have to do some recon before her date shows up, so I’m afraid it’s time for us to go.”

“Recon?” Jason asked, instead of hanging up, because of course he did.

“It’s a long story,” Julie said, the frantic edge and widening of her eyes conveying she didn’t want Jason to get the full scoop about tonight’s plan. Not that Gavin had been planning on telling him the entire story anyway.

A tiny grunt escaped as Gavin reached for the phone, so he quickly transferred it to his left hand. “I’ll call you later.”

“Okay, but first let me wish Julie good luck.”

Reluctantly, Gavin pivoted the camera to face her once again.

“You look ridiculously hot, and I just want you to know that if the date goes badly or the guy ends up being a tool, feel free to come cry on my shoulder anytime.”

A stupid pinch went through his gut, and Gavin clenched his jaw. It was one thing to lose Julie to some dude he didn’t know, who lived in the same state she did. But she and Holt? Not. Happening.

“Thank you, Jason.” Julie kissed her fingertips and blew him a kiss, and that pinch turned more to a gut punch. “Good night.”

Before Holt could deliver another cheesy line, Gavin hung up the phone. Being cranky wasn’t an emotional state he often experienced, but as hard as he tried to deny and stifle it, everything inside him felt inordinately agitated.

“All right.” Julie’s voice trembled slightly, but he did the honorable thing and pretended not to notice. “Time for Step One in the Great Fling Experiment.”

…

Julie put her finger up to her ear, where her right ear pod was in but hidden by her hair. “Testing, testing, one, two, three.”

“You don’t have to put your finger on it,” Gavin said in her ear, and she frowned.

“I know, and I’m not going to do it once he gets here, but it makes me feel like a spy.” Julie glanced toward the booth where Gavin had set up. He had in his own ear pods, along with a baseball cap, the brim pulled low so people wouldn’t recognize him as easily. In a perfect world, no one would notice him, but in a town as small as theirs, that was overly hopeful.

“He just walked in the door,” Gavin said, and Julie sat up straighter. “You ready?”

“Does it really matter?”

“Good point. Just remember that I’m here, and I’ve got you.”

Releasing a long exhale didn’t extinguish her anxiety but it did loosen the knot in her chest. If anything, having Gavin in her ear should make this the best date ever. She stood, scanned the dining room, and waved so Kory would spot her.

The moment they made eye contact, her stomach thought it’d be the perfect time to churn as if all the butter-making in the world depended on it. While it was more nerves than butterflies, that didn’t mean it couldn’t eventually transition. People longed for that instant connection and sizzling chemistry like in books and movies, but she wasn’t sure it truly existed. For one thing, it was probably fueled by lust, and why was she getting all analytical? This date was about lust, and she needed to remember it.

“Breathe,” Gavin said. “No passing out, or I’ll be made, and the entire plan will fall apart.”

“Right. Breathing is awesome. Gonna do that—hey, Kory.”

He sat opposite her, not bothering with a greeting or to wait for her to sit, which was fine. She slid across the bench, cursing the way the vinyl stuck to her thighs, and should she tell him that sound was the seat and not her?

No, because if he hadn’t heard, that would be a mood ruiner, and it wasn’t that loud, and man, did she want to start waxing poetic about how the small and large intestines worked together. Fun fact: the large intestines were actually shorter than the small intestines, but they called it “large” due to it being wider.

Just keep your anatomical fun facts to yourself, and no one will end up bolting before dinner. She wasn’t sure why people got so icked out about it. What would make them feel super sick was if intestines didn’t exist.

“…good here?”

“Yeah, here’s good.”

A crooked smile lifted the right side of his mouth. “I asked what’s good here—I assume you’ve been before.”

“Tons of times. Well, not tons. I’d say maybe…” She ticked off memories of prom, that one bougie date with the richest kid in school. He came out of the closet the next month, and a few of her classmates had teased her, as if she were the reason. She’d seen him check out the waiter’s ass enough times to realize that he wanted an off-menu item far more than he wanted her, but they’d still had fun.

“It doesn’t matter how many times you’ve been here,” Gavin said in her ear, and she jumped—she’d momentarily forgotten that he was there. “Just tell him the steak or the lobster.”

“Not that how many times matters. The steak here’s the best in town, and a ton of people order the lobster. Did you know that lobsters’ teeth aren’t in their mouths? They actually have them in their stomach. It’s called a gastric mill, which is like three molars, so I’ve never quite been comfortable eating lobster. It’s like, am I eating him or is he eating me?”

Kory blinked.

Gavin half sighed and half groaned in her ear. “Jules, keep it simple. Just say what I tell you to without elaborating.”

She frowned. Yes, she’d asked for help, like a friendship version of Cyrano de Bergerac, without the catfishing part. This way, she could get assistance on what to say until she reached the next level. Win-win, all around. “I still want to be me,” she said through her clamped jaw, doing her best not to move her mouth.

“Uh, yeah. Be you,” Kory said.

Well, that was some flawed logic right there. Whether or not she moved her mouth, naturally he was going to hear the words. This was trickier than she thought it’d be. She picked up her menu, and when the waiter came, Kory didn’t check him out, so bonus. Even though the waiter pushed the lobster, they both ordered the steak.

“Do not, under any circumstances, give any more lobster facts,” Gavin said, and she frowned because she hadn’t been going to. Mostly because she’d already considered it but then immediately vetoed it. Jeez. The guy could give her a little credit.

“Okay,” Gavin said in her ear. “Prop your elbow on the table—and yes, I know I’m teaching you improper etiquette. Then place your cheek on your fist and flash him a smile. Julie did as instructed. “Good. Now, repeat after me… ‘You look a lot like this guy I’m going to hook up with later.’”

“Don’t tell me that seriously works,” she said, and Kory lowered his eyebrows.

“What works?”

“Um, nothing. Well, our entire body does. When you think about all the moving parts, it’s amaz—”

“Abort, abort. Jules, you and I need to huddle up real quick. Excuse yourself to go to the bathroom,” Gavin said.

Julie popped to her feet. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to use the restroom.”

“Now meet me there.”

She flipped her hair and gave Kory another flirty smile. “Meet me there.” With that, she quickly strode around the corner, her sights set on the wooden doors of the restroom. Right before she reached them, a hand whipped out from behind a vase tall enough for her to sleep inside, and then she was jerked behind the ceramic monstrosity.

“Do you want to get it on in the bathroom with Kory?” Gavin asked, an odd amount of exasperation in his voice. All the while, she gripped his forearms, doing her best to recover from the whiplash sensation.

“Ew, no. You don’t think he thinks I want that, do you?”

“You just told him to meet you there.”

“I thought that was weird, but you told me to say it, so I did.”

“I meant for you”—he gestured to her, and then himself—“to meet me. Honestly, I’m afraid this plan is going down in flames. Feeding you lines isn’t helping. If anything, having both of us on this date with that dude is making it worse.”

Julie’s shoulders deflated. “Maybe I should cut my losses and forget this whole ridiculous plan.”

Gavin’s eyes softened. “I’m not saying that. We just have to reassess.”

She nodded and nodded some more, her mind whirring. Then her gut sank. “Does it make me boring? Not wanting to do it in the bathroom?” She crinkled her nose. “It’s just all the germs, and people might walk in on us, and surely if the sex is good, both of us would be making too much noise for that.”

She glanced up to get a read on Gavin, afraid she’d find him discounting her as too timid to pull this off.

Instead he cleared his throat. Scrubbed a hand over his face. Glanced in the direction of Kory. “Come on. We can say we ran into each other, and I’ll do a quick drop by. Hopefully, that’ll help you loosen up and we can go from there.”

He slipped his grip from her wrist to her hand, clamping on as he started in the direction she’d come from. She set her feet, putting up resistance, and he cast a confused look over his shoulder.

She did a jig she wasn’t remotely proud of. “Now that we kept talking about the bathroom, I actually need to pee.” Gavin sighed, and she let out a huff. “Don’t make me go into bodily functions and how not answering nature’s call—”

“Okay, go,” Gavin said. “I’ll make sure lover boy doesn’t follow you in.”

“You’re the best.” Julie tipped to her toes, pecked Gavin on the cheek, and then rushed toward the bathroom to take care of business. With any luck, she’d also find the much-needed reset button for her already shaky date.

…

Gavin hesitated a few booths away. Playing spy wasn’t going so well, but he slowed his pace anyway, taking a moment to watch Kory.

He wasn’t making a move for the bathroom. He was furiously texting someone, his entire focus on his phone.

That asshole. If he’s texting another woman, or telling his buddies he needs an out, I’m going to rearrange his preppy features.

In a hazy trance, Gavin lifted his palm to his cheek, placing it over the spot where Julie had dropped a quick kiss.

Right after her comment about good sex and making a lot of noise. It was one thing to help his best friend get laid. It was another to have the constant reminder that the end to his dry spell was nowhere in sight.

And exactly how loud did Julie get?

Undo, undo. Let’s pretend I didn’t ask that question.

Kory did glance back now, and Gavin rubbed at his cheek in case there was any lipstick. Then he went to lift his right hand before remembering that side of his body wasn’t functioning properly at the moment, so waving meant using his left arm instead.

“Hey, fancy seeing you here. Kory, right?” Without waiting for an answer, Gavin popped a squat across from him.

“Oh. Yeah. I’m here with Julie actually.”

“Right. You guys made plans last night. I came to grab some dinner myself.”

Kory’s phone buzzed on the table, and he flipped it over suspiciously fast. Right then and there, Gavin decided he wasn’t a fan. If a fling was Julie’s goal, he supposed it wouldn’t much matter in the long run, but he hated the idea of her having sex with anyone who might not take care of her needs. Anyone who might not take care of her in general.

In his ear, he heard the flush of the toilet, the rush of water, and then Julie’s voice, quiet with a slight echo. “Okay, no more shop talk. My fun facts aren’t fun for most people,” she said, and Gavin stifled a laugh, sure she’d forgotten he was still on the other end of the call. “You can do this.”

Unlike Julie, Gavin understood responding to her aloud would blow his cover, so he didn’t verbally assure her that she could. He’d have to make do with body language once she returned to the table.

Out of the corner of his eyes, he spotted her heading back this way.

An elderly couple he couldn’t quite place stopped her, and she lit up. Her eyes sparkled; her dimples popped. Then she resumed her walk, her hips swaying with each step.

The instant their gazes locked, her smile spread, leaving everything inside of him fuzzy and light. He wished there weren’t so many shallow guys out there. If they would give Julie a chance, they’d be blown away by how smart and sexy she was. Not to mention hilarious. Maybe a bit TMI sometimes, but he’d take that any day over cryptic and complicated.

“Hello, boys.”

Kory beamed, and Gavin fought the urge to kick him under the table. Perhaps he should eat something—his grumpy mood likely stemmed from hunger.

That was his theory and he was sticking to it.

Thanks to his “revelation,” he didn’t immediately notice that the two of them were gaping at him like he was the third wheel on this bicycle meant for two. “Right.” He tapped the top of the table with his hand and then pushed to his feet. “I’ll let you two finish your date.”

As he started into the aisle to switch places with Julie, the Serranos, one of the prominent families in town, happened to be walking by. Add in the hostess showing them to their table, and they suddenly found themselves in a bit of a traffic jam.

“Why, if it isn’t our famous football star.” Mrs. Serrano hugged him before turning to Julie to embrace her, while Mr. Serrano shook Gavin’s hand. Mrs. Serrano stepped back and hooked her arm through her husband’s. “It’s so nice to see you two together. We always knew you’d end up together, didn’t we, Bob?”

“Oh,” Julie said, casting a glance at Kory. “Gavin and I are just friends.”

Mrs. Serrano winked, making it clear she didn’t believe them, and awkwardness settled over the table as the Serranos moved on to have their dinner.

“That happens a lot,” Julie said with a nervous laugh. “No one in this town believes us.”

Kory’s expression remained unchanged, no flicker of emotion over her statement. Before Gavin could figure out what—if anything—that meant, their food arrived, providing the perfect excuse for him to leave. He whispered in Julie’s ear that she had this, squeezed her hand, and then guided her into her seat. With that settled, he headed to the bar.

Once there, he advised Julie, “Just be flirty, smile a lot, touch his hand here and there, and let him meet you in the middle. The guy’s gotta at least do some of the work. All you have to do is give him a strong signal that you’d be into it—but remember, hints don’t always work on dudes.”

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her repeat the move he’d instructed her to do earlier. Elbow on the table, cheek on the fist, and when she opened her mouth, Gavin held his breath.

“Just thought you should know that you look a lot like this guy I’m going to hook up with later.”

Kory choked on the water he’d been sipping—in hindsight, Gavin probably should’ve mentioned a line like that shouldn’t be used while someone was eating or drinking. It was far too powerful.

After the guy recovered, he cast her a goofy smile that left no doubt he was into the idea of getting in her pants. And Gavin ran a hand across his jaw and reminded himself it was what she wanted. Fling or one-night stand or what-the-hell-ever, Kory had better treat her with respect or he’d be getting a follow-up visit.

With her well on her way, and his irritation growing fangs that longed to be used, it was time to sign off. “Great job. You’ve hooked him, and I’m going to leave the rest to you. Over and out—don’t respond verbally. A nod will do.”

Part of him didn’t want Julie to bob her head, yet the idea of eavesdropping on the entire date also seemed akin to torture. But as Kory began to tell her about his job, and she laughed at all the right places, Gavin went ahead and turned off his ear pod and slipped it into his pocket.

He ordered a drink and considered it a win that he glanced at Julie only a handful of times.

And only two of those times did he experience that weird pinch of jealousy.