“That’s a lot. When do you have time for anything else?”
“I don’t,” she says with a shake of her head.
“That bother you?” I ask, wondering if she does anything besides school.
“No . . . Why?”
“I don’t know. When do you ever get down time?”
“I don’t. But I love dance, so I consider that my down time. It relaxes me.”
“So school and work, huh?”
She grins and responds, “Pretty much.”
“That doesn’t sound like very much fun,” I joke.
Shifting her eyes down to her hands, she doesn’t respond. She’s difficult to read, so I back pedal, and say, “I didn’t mean for that to come out like it did.”
Her eyes catch mine when she looks up. “I just like to stay busy.”
I back off the questions and offer her another tea, but she says she has to get going.
“I’ll walk you out,” I tell her. We slip on our coats, and she gathers her things before we head out into the rain. She nods her head to a sporty, white Acura, and we start walking that way.
“Thanks for the tea,” she tells me as she opens her door and slides into her seat.
Gripping the frame of her car, I lean in slightly and say, “Think about Rainier.”
“I will,” she tells me with fake intent, but I laugh it off and shut her door before she pulls away.
I hop into my car and head to the bar. When I get there, I go upstairs to my office and run into Max in the hall.
“Hey, boss. I didn’t know you were coming in today.”
“Yeah, I need to get a few things done. I’m not staying tonight though.” I had made plans with Mark and Jase to go shoot pool, so when I leave here I’m gonna hang out with Jase at his place before we head out.
“You seem upbeat,” he remarks as he follows me into my office.
Shutting the door, I walk over to my desk and take a seat. “So you know that girl from the coffee shop I told you about the other week?”
“Yeah.”
“I had coffee with her this morning,” I tell him.
“What? Why?”
“Turns out, she’s friends with Jase and Mark. I ran into them a few nights ago, and she was with them.”
He looks at me with a curious tilt of his head, and I admit, “It’s weird.”
“What’s weird?”
“Her. I mean . . .” I can’t seem to find the words to explain what I’m trying to say, but he jumps in and asks, “You like her?”
“I don’t know her,” I immediately defend, knowing that the first word that came to my mind was yes.
“You don’t have to know her.”
Sitting back in my chair, I tell him, “There’s this pull she has that no one has ever had on me before. But she’s not like any of the girls I’ve ever been with.”
He laughs at me and says, “That’s probably a good thing.”
I laugh with him for a second. “She’s a ballerina.”
“No shit? So why is she hanging out with you?” he teases.
“That’s the thing . . . I don’t know. She’s really standoffish, and I can’t figure out why.”
“Maybe she’s just not into you. That is possible, you know?” he jokes with a knowing grin on his face.
“Yeah, man. I know,” I give him right back. “But it isn’t that obvious. More like she’s got thick boundaries. I dunno.”
“You gonna see her again?”
“I have no idea. She’s very evasive.”
“I think I like this one,” he says with a cocky smile.
“Oh yeah. Why’s that?”
“She doesn’t stroke your ego like most chicks do. She’s gotten under your skin.”
“She’s not under my skin,” I refute. But is she? Maybe he’s right.
“Whatever you say,” he sighs as he stands up and starts walking to the door.
Taking a swig of beer, I mindlessly watch Mark and Jase finish up their round of pool. My head is back at Jase’s apartment where she is. She stopped by unexpectedly while Jase and I were hanging out. Flustered. Something had upset her from the time I saw her earlier today at the coffee shop. She didn’t say anything, but I overheard her asking Mark if she could stay the night with Jase, which I find a little odd.
“So when did you see Candace?” Jase asks me, knocking me out of my thoughts.
“What?” I say as I grab my cue and chalk it.
“When you mentioned our hike.”
“This morning. She left her scarf at the concert. I stopped by her work to drop it off,” I explain right before I break.
Jase is protective over her. I see how he acts with her; I saw it the night of the concert. Holding her hand, touching her back—almost assuring her. Of what? I don’t know. But I see it with Mark too. These guys care deeply for her, there’s no question about that.
When I look up at Jase, he’s staring at me, almost zoned out. “You’re up,” I say.
He moves to make his shot, sinking his ball into the side pocket.
“You guys want another bucket of beers?” Mark asks.
“Yeah,” Jase tells him before Mark heads over to the bar.
I take this time to try and get a little more info on this girl, so when he lines up his next shot, I ask, “So, what’s her story?”