What the devil was he doing, trailing her on her date with Dirk? Did it have anything to do with what happened last night? Had the kiss meant as much to him as it had her? His presence here seemed to suggest it and hope lifted her up far higher than was prudent, but she couldn’t seem to help herself. She’d lain awake far into the night, thinking about his mind-bending kiss.
“Much as I would like to ignore him,” Dirk said. “He’s making himself comfortable in our seating area.”
Jude groaned. “Fine. I’ll deal with him.”
Dirk looked amused and made a sweeping gesture with his arm that said go for it.
“No.” Jude shook her head. “I’ve changed my mind. I’m not playing into whatever scheme he’s got up his sleeve.” She gave Dirk the most charming smile she could muster. “It’s your turn.”
“You sure you don’t want to go talk to him?”
“Absolutely.”
“It’s all right if you do.”
“I don’t.”
“Okay. Your call.” Dirk chuckled and picked up his ball.
But despite her declarations to the contrary, as Dirk sized up his shot, Jude couldn’t stop herself from striding over to where Tom sat spread out, taking up more than his allotment of space on the bench.
“What are you doing here?” she demanded.
That aw-shucks, lopsided grin crossed his face.
“You’re here to mess with Dirk, aren’t you?” she accused. “Throw him off his game. Embarrass him.”
“Not at all,” Tom said with a devastating smile. “I came to tell you something important.”
Ooh, that took her breath away, but she didn’t want him to know how much he could affect her. “While I’m on my date?”
“Jude, there’s something you must know about—”
“We’ve already covered this last night.” She snorted and curled her hands on her hips. “You’ve already warned me. Dirk’s a player. I know. I don’t care. I’m not going to let you sabotage my evening. You’ve got to get over this ridiculous jealousy. It’s not a good look.”
“That’s not why I’m here.”
“No?”
“This is about me.” He gulped visibly. “About you. About us.”
“Us?”
Dirk came up to stand behind Jude and put a hand at her waist.
She didn’t like that and gave him a “step-off” stare.
Looking sheepish, Dirk dropped his hand and backed up.
Well, will you look at that? She was making her wishes known. Raising her chin a little higher, Jude turned back to Tom and caught him shooting Dirk a gloaty smile. Exasperated, she snapped her fingers in front of his face.
“You,” she said. “May I speak to you in private?” To Dirk, she said, “I’ll just be a sec.”
“Hurry back. It’s boring without you.” Dirk waved and didn’t look at all perturbed. She wasn’t quite sure what to make of this whole thing.
They left the lane area, and Jude marched to an alcove near the restrooms and waited for Tom to join her. She felt amped up, as if a low-level hum of electricity were running through her entire body, but she had no idea why.
Beyond Tom’s unique scent jumbling up her mind.
“Look,” he said, raising his hands and then pushing his palms downward simultaneously. “Please let me explain before you go off on me.”
She prided herself on being a rational person who was willing to give anyone the benefit of the doubt. Jude folded her arms across her chest, tilted her head, and said, “I’m listening.”
He seemed surprised by that. Inhaling deeply, he exhaled the breath in a rush. “See, there’s this bet…”
“A bet? What kind of bet?”
Tom winced. “There were four of us initially. Frat brothers from college. Dirk and I are the last two left.”
“Left?”
“In the competition.”
“What kind of competition?” she repeated, stringing Tom along.
On the way to the bowling alley after their dinner, Dirk had told Jude about the bet and the real reason he’d asked her out, but Tom didn’t need to know what she knew. Let him sweat it out.
Ooh, that wasn’t something a “nice” woman would say. Take that, Jaxon!
“A no-sex bet,” Tom mumbled.
Enjoying his embarrassment maybe a little too much, Jude cupped a palm around her ear. “I’m sorry, it’s so noisy in here. What did you say?”
Meeting her gaze, he said a bit louder, “A no-sex bet.”
“What’s that?” Jude asked, pretending to be clueless. It was fun watching him squirm.
“Ever seen the movie 40 Days and 40 Nights?”
“I might have heard about it. An old flick with Josh Hartnett not having sex for forty days and forty nights.”
“Actually, our bet is really more along the lines of a Seinfeld episode. ‘The Contest.’”
“Really?” She struggled not to laugh. She wanted him to think she was put off by such immature behavior. “You’re competing to be the master of your domain?”
“Yes, well, except with our bet, it’s no sex of any kind.” Tom cleared his throat and had the good grace to look embarrassed. “That’s why Dirk asked you out. He’s just trying to get me jealous, so I’ll want you all the more, and he’s hoping we’ll get together and I’ll be out of the contest, leaving him to walk away with twelve hundred dollars.”
“Oh, really?” Now she was a bit irked. “Let me unpack this. You’re saying that in order to get turned on, you have to have someone else chasing after the woman you’re interested in?”
“No!” He snorted, a little too fast and a little loud, his cheeks flushing red.
“Are you sure?”
“Dirk has nothing to do with how much you turn me on.” His voice turned husky.
“I’m beginning to think your mom and aunts are right and your competitive streak is a sickness.”
“It’s not like that.” He sounded almost desperate now, as if he realized far too late what a miscalculation he’d made.
“Then why are you here? We’re merely acquaintances who shared a kiss last night. We have no claims on each other.” This was the same thing she’d been telling herself all day. “Why did you feel compelled to follow me on my date and confess about the bet? You could have just stayed away and kept your mouth shut. Or if you had to tell me, you could have waited until our date tomorrow.”
“Are you still going out with me tomorrow?” he asked.
In that moment, he looked so freaking vulnerable, it was all she could do to hold on to her pique. “That all depends on you.”
Tom hung his head and glanced down. “Your shoe is untied.”
“What?” Jude asked, trying to puzzle out what was truly going on. Dirk had told her one thing, Tom another.
Without answering, Tom sank to his knees in front of her.
“What are you doing?” Confused, she blinked down at the loose flapping laces of her bowling shoes.
The man was tying her shoes!
It was a simple act, but it felt far too intimate. The considerate gesture placed him firmly at her feet, almost as if he were groveling. She felt, in the moment, like a revered goddess. It was a heady feeling and a deep yearning swept through her.