Page 26 of Unravel Me

“And the worst is…”

“The worst is you end up making out with him.”

I peek out from under my hands at Pen and we both laugh.

It’s only dinner. And Penny’s right. It beats being alone tonight.

Chapter fifteen

Rhett

Shaking out my arms to rid myself of nerves, I take two steps at a time up to the third floor, adrenaline coursing through my veins. This building is much different than Audrey’s old apartment, with its sleek and modern large glass windows.

Her door came into view. Apartment sixty-four. Suddenly my lace-up leather boots sound loud and squeaky on these shiny concrete floors. I put on clean jeans and a short sleeve button down shirt. Shit, is this the same thing I wore to Bourbon Barrel?

It’s too late now, if it is. I pause in the hallway and pull out my phone to triple check the reservations for the sushi restaurant. It’s only two blocks away and we have fifteen minutes to spare, so at least I have that going for me. Women like men who are punctual, right?

I wasn’t the planning type— hell—I wasn’t the dating type. I couldn’t remember the last time I took a woman out to dinner. My dates in the past started at a bar and usually ended in my date’s bed. But that’s the old me. The new me is shaking in his boots at the idea of eating dinner with someone other than Ky.

Her apartment door opens before my knuckles have the chance to even make contact, and my words are stolen right from my damn tongue.

Audrey has on a long navy skirt that ties around her waist and a top that falls off her shoulders. She said she was exhausted, but it doesn’t show. Her idea of exhaustion must be different from mine because she looks like she just stepped out of the salon.

As her hazel eyes reach mine, she quietly pulls the door shut behind her, stepping into the hallway. She smells sweet, like the star jasmine flowers lining my mom’s garden. At that thought, my stomach does an unexpected routine of somersaults.

“Hey.” I remember how to speak as she flashes me a smirk. “You look beautiful, Audrey.”

Audrey was beautiful. But she pauses in her step when I say it, pink spreading across her lightly freckled cheeks.

“Oh, thank you.” She quickly pinches her brows together, like she doesn’t believe I really mean it. I guess I’ll have to work on showing her how beautiful she is to me. “Shall we?” she asks, but before I can even answer, she waltzes past me, leading the way to the stairwell I just came up from, her hand on the door as I take wide strides to catch up to her. “Hopefully parking wasn’t a pain.” She flashes me a polite smile before taking off down the steps, her skirt balled up in her fist as I try to keep up with her fast pace.

“It was fine,” I reply, feeling like I'm chasing her through the stairwell. Maybe she’s nervous, too. Or she wants to get this over with as fast as she can.

As we approach the lobby, I practically have to jump ahead of her to catch the door and hold it open to the sidewalk.

“If you move any quicker, I won’t be able to get the doors for you,” I half-joke and she scans me up and down quizzically.

“Well, Rhett, I guess you better learn to walk faster then.” She pauses to flip me a real smile this time. One that reaches her eyes, and everything stills for a moment.

Every time she shows me a little piece of what I can only assume is the real Audrey, not the persona she wears like a shield, I have the same feeling I did on the rooftop.

I might be in trouble.

The kind of trouble that makes me feel alive, that makes me want more.

Though inside I might be a fucking mess, I would not let her see anything but a cool, calm and collected man. That’s what she deserved after her fucking mess of an ex.

Gently placing my hand on the small of her back, I guided her to the left, towards the restaurant. I pull my hand away as we start down the sidewalk, not wanting to make her feel uncomfortable.

I get the feeling she is the kind of woman who would want to take things slow. So, I remind myself again—this is a first date. Even if I can’t take my eyes off her.

The city buzzes with its usual noise, but the space between us grows still as we fall into step, side by side, on the sidewalk. Small talk was never my strong suit. I’ve always been the type to cut straight to the point. Not that it’s always worked in my favor.

Maybe that’s why I never could keep someone around long. Certainly not long enough to put a ring on a finger, which is what my mom gets on my case about every Sunday evening.

But right now, I only have one goal in mind. Make sure Audrey smiles tonight more than anything.

“Have you ever been to Sushi Blue?” I asked as we approached a crosswalk.