“Yeah, catch you later,” I tell him and then hold my hand out to Candace. “I’m glad I ran into you again.”
Hesitantly, she slips her hand into mine, and I like the way it feels.
“Yeah, it was nice,” she says, quickly pulling her hand back and turning to leave.
Interactions with this girl are weird. Jase told me, when I gave him the tickets, that the friend he wanted to bring didn’t do well with crowds. Maybe the small space was making her uncomfortable.
Looking over, I spot her leopard scarf still lying on the table. I go over and pick it up. The greedy man in me is happy that she left this behind, giving me an excuse to see her again. The pull of this girl has me confounded, and I know I should make the smart move and stay away.
Chapter Ten
Coming back from the gym, I finally make the decision to just go and see her. I could just as easily give the scarf she left behind the other day to Mark, but I keep holding on to it. I’ve never chased a girl. It’s always been the opposite. But I’m curious to get to know her and that curiosity surprises me, but I decide to go with it.
I take my time getting cleaned up. I’m not even sure if she’s gonna be at work, but I’ll take the chance and stop by before I head into the bar for a few hours. When I walk downstairs, I look out the large windows to see that it’s another rainy day. Grey and cold.
Shrugging on my jacket, I walk over to the coffee table to grab her scarf. Her scent is encased in the fabric. Light and floral. I laugh at myself for being so shot with this girl that I actually smelled it the other night.
When I pull up to the coffee shop, I park my jeep and pick up the scarf. Why am I nervous? Walking through the door, I immediately spot her and happiness swarms, thankful that she’s here and I didn’t miss an opportunity to see her again.
She’s talking to a chick with crazy hair and wiping down the counter. She doesn’t see me, but her friend does and gives me a smirk as she continues to talk to Candace. Finally, looking over her shoulder, she spots me as I make my way to the counter.
“You’re gonna get an ulcer,” she teases, and it’s cute as hell.
I laugh and say, “I didn’t come for coffee,” as I hold out the scarf.
“Oh, I thought I had lost this,” she says as she takes it from my hand. “Thank you.”
“No, you left it on the table, but you rushed out so fast, I didn’t have a chance to catch you.”
Her head lowers, embarrassed I’m guessing, before quietly saying, “Sorry.”
“No need to apologize.”
She takes her apron and sets it on the counter when I ask, “Are you taking a break?”
“Um, no. My shift is over.”
“Perfect timing.” I smile and take this opportunity to spend a little time with her. “Want to have a quick drink?”
“She’d love to,” her friend says over Candace’s shoulder, and when Candace shoots her an irritated look, she starts to stumble over her words.
“Actually, I . . .” she starts, but never catches her sentence when she finally gives up. “Sure,” she resolves. “Let me go grab my bag.”
I watch as she walks away, and her friend steps up with her tattoo-covered arms and asks, “What can I get you?”
“Coffee. Black.”
She gives me a wink as she turns to get my drink, and when she returns to me, she sets down two cups. “Candace likes hot tea,” she says with a smirk, and I wonder why she’s so eager.
When I pull out my wallet, she tells me it’s on the house, and I go to find an empty table by the front window. Sitting down, I look up to see Candace walking towards me. She eyes the drink that’s on the table, and I tell her, “Your co-worker said you like hot tea.”
“Oh, thanks,” she says as she takes a seat. “She’s actually my boss. Roxy.” She seems nervous, just like the other night. She takes a sip of her tea and focuses her attention out the window.
“Did Mark tell you we are heading down to Mount Rainier on Saturday?” I ask to try and draw her attention back to me.
“Yeah, Jase mentioned something like that to me.”
“You should come with us.”
“I don’t know . . . I have a lot of studying I need to get done.”
I can tell she’s avoiding me. I’m not used to girls not being interested in me, but this one . . . she hardly seems to notice me.
“Well, if you change your mind, we are heading out in the morning around eight.”
“How did you know I would be here today?” she asks, changing the subject on me.
“I didn’t,” I say, trying not to be too transparent. “I just thought I would stop by, and if you weren’t here, I was just going to leave your scarf with whoever was working,” I tell her, not needing her to know that I’d been hanging on to that scarf for days, hoping when I did stop by that she would be here.
“I didn’t mean for that to come out rude.”
“It didn’t.”
Watching her small hands clutch her cup of tea, I shift my eyes up and ask, “So, what are your plans for the rest of the day?”
“I have class in a couple hours, then I go to studio until five o’clock.”
“Studio?”
“It’s dance class.”
Nodding, I question, “You do that every day?”
“Yep. Two hours a day except for Tuesdays and Thursdays, which are three hours. But I tend to go in on the weekends as well for extra practice.”