Were-Reader

2

"Hope you don't mind. I asked her to make another of whatever it was you were having." He sat down across from her.

Reese smiled at him. "Thanks, I appreciated it." Normally, sweet caffeine was always welcome, but the fact that it was a likely bribe kind of soured the experience.

He smiled again. The expression was dangerous, because it made her want to do whatever it would take to see it again. Even set him up with her beautiful friend.

She really needed to get a hold of herself.

"So, do you come here often?"

"Yes, it's pretty quiet except between classes. It's a good place to study." Or read the latest chapters of the books in her library, but she wasn't going to admit that to him. She wished she was somewhere else, reading right now.

He glanced around, but it seemed more like he was pretending rather than interested in the drab little cafe surrounding them. "I can see why you like it."

"I've never seen you here before," she commented in a feeble attempt at small talk and then inwardly cringed at how awkward it sounded. Why was she so bad at this? The girls in books never had this problem. Or maybe they did, but she just wasn't as emotionally invested in their difficulties. And for that matter, why didn't he just get to the point already?

"I've never been here before. I was just walking by, and something peaked my interest."

"Oh? What was that?" Better to get the truth out and this awkward experience over with.

He just smiled, and she got caught up in the expression all over again, so it almost surprised her when he spoke with a shrug. "Just had a feeling this would be the perfect place to get a coffee. You know how sometimes you just know that you're in the right place at the right time?"

"I guess?" Reese didn't operate much on feelings or intuition, but it sounded really sexy that he did.

Ack! Why was she letting her mind go where it had no business going? She was just going to get herself hurt. It hadn't been flattering when guys had tried to use her to get close to Harley in the past, but when it was someone who really appealed to her, she was pretty sure it would sting that much more.

He took a drink of his coffee and then said, "Well, that's what it was like. This was where I needed to go, and I'm glad I did."

Reese didn't even know why her silly heart was racing so frantically. Sure, what he was saying and the deep gravelly way he was saying it would have been amazing if it was directed at her.

Even if she had originally had some hope to keep her cool, his next words would have ruined it anyway. He maintained steady eye contact. "So, Reese, would you be interested in going out with me?"

She just blinked. "What? Go out with you?"

Nathan's smile faltered, and he straightened his shoulders defensively. "You know, like would you want me to take you out somewhere?"

"Really? Me?" Was he jerking her around? If he thought Harley was the sort to date guys who used and dumped her friends, he was going to be sadly disappointed.

"Of course, who else?"

It was better just to rip the bandage off. "My friend, maybe?"

"Your...friend?"

"Harley?"

"Who's Harley?" He looked legitimately confused, and Reese began to doubt her conclusion, a sinking feeling overtaking all the other rolling emotions.

What if he really had been unbelievably been interested in her, and she had just screwed it up? She suddenly felt like crying. "A friend of mine. She's just... It's just..." There was no explanation that would make her near accusation sound more reasonable.

He let out a single disbelieving chuckle, but there was no trace. "I really don't know who you're talking about. Are you trying to set me up with this friend of yours?"

"No." The thought made her sick, but she didn't want to explain her reasoning.

His brow furrowed and he looked anything but happy. "I want to get to know you better, if that's what you want."

She bit back a bunch more stupid questions. It sounded like she hadn't entirely screwed up this once in a lifetime chance. The whole situation was out of Reese's comfort zone, not that she really minded. She liked how direct she was being. She liked a lot of things about him, and she'd only known him for a few minutes. "I'd like to get to know you better, too."

His smile returned, tentative, but visible. "That's great. Are you free tonight?"

Wow. That was fast, and she didn't even need to consider it. "Yes, I'd love—" The memory of her promise to Harley resurfaced at exactly the wrong moment. Or right moment, she regretfully corrected. She wasn't the sort of person who blew off her promises, even if she'd been hit with a once in a lifetime opportunity. "I mean, I'd really love to see you tonight. But I kind of promised my friend that I'd go with her to a party tonight."

"Oh. Okay." His face fell, and his shoulders dipped slightly, making the strong man in front of her resemble a child who had lost his favourite toy.

Her guilt rose with his disappointment. Was he really so quickly invested in her? Unbelievable. "I could ask if you could come, too?"

He perked up again. "Let's exchange numbers. And if that doesn't work, we could try tomorrow?"

"Yeah, that would be great. Here." She passed her phone over to him, and he added himself to her contacts and texted himself before passing it back.

She glanced down at the text on her screen. This whole situation was blowing her mind. Her gaze flicked up the top corner, where the time shone out at her with silent judgement.

"Oh, shoot! I'm going to be late for class! I'm never late for class!" Reese scrambled, shoving her phone in her purse and grabbing her bag off the seat where she had stashed it when she had first arrived.

He watched her, bemused. "Sorry that I distracted you."

"No, no, it's not your fault. I knew, I just lost track of the time." She paused and met those intense eyes one final time. How could any eyes be that mesmerizing? "Thanks again for the drink." She really meant it now.

"Anytime, Reese."

She dashed away from the most intriguing person she had ever met, barely even able to believe that her whole encounter with Nathan had even happened.