Page 2 of Extracurricular with Mr. Abbot
I shake my head. “Nope, I’m going home and watching a movie.”
His grin makes my panties wet. It’s not fair that a man can look this damn good. “My daughter is with my parents for the weekend. Would you like to have dinner with me?”
He has a daughter? He doesn’t look old enough.
“Okay, but we’ll go back to my place,” I say, a little too breathy. God, I want him.
“You’re on,” he says. “Let’s get the pizza and go.”
My heart starts to pound, what the hell am I doing? I’ve never been with a guy before, and I’m not really sure that I should be bringing a man I don’t know home with me. I really do want him, but I shouldn’t. It’s clear that he wants me.
He takes my hand once he has the pizzas, and we walk out of the store. “You’re not from around here, are you?” he asks.
I shake my head. “That obvious, huh?”
He grins that sexy grin. “No,” he replies a little too easily. “But I’ve not seen you around before.”
I shrug. “What about you, are you from here?”
He nods. “Born and raised. I left for college and then came back with Megan. My daughter’s four going on fourteen.”
I laugh. “Aren’t all girls like that?” I can remember my mom saying that I was full of sass the moment I could talk. I think us girls come into our own at an early age, and we grow stronger with who we are.
“Probably,” he says. “But yeah, Brightmore is home for me.”
“But you didn’t go to college here?” I ask, glad that we’re talking, it’s putting me at ease.
He shakes his head. “No, I wanted to get away, see what the world had to offer me.”
“A daughter,” I quip.
His laughter is throaty. “That’s what it had to offer, and I couldn’t have asked for more.”
My heart melts at the love he has for his daughter. It’s amazing to see. I want to ask about Megan’s mom, but I don’t have the courage.
“What about you?” he asks. “Why Brightmore of all places?”
“I needed a fresh start. My mom died two years ago and living in our small town was a constant memory. I needed someplace new.”
His grip on my hand tightens. “I’m sorry about your mom,” he says softly.
I smile at him. “Thanks, it’s hard sometimes. But I’m getting there.”
We reach my apartment complex, and I see that he’s glancing around, taking everything in. “You’ve got good security,” he comments.
“Yeah, my brother chose the apartment for that reason alone.” I know that Gary was worried that something could happen to me so he did a lot of research into the safest place that I could stay, and this was one of two complexes that he could choose from.
“It’s just you and your brother?”
I nod. “Yeah, my dad was long gone. But Gary’s my best friend and my rock. I don’t know what I’d do without him.”
His hand moves to my lower back as we enter the complex. Heat runs through my blood. God. Why am I reacting this way to him? Especially when I’ve never had this much of a reaction to anyone before him. I pray that I don’t get attached, the last thing I need is a distraction when I should be focusing.
* * *
My heart is racing,we’ve spent the night getting to know one another, it’s been amazing, and I really like Jared. But his hand is currently on my thigh and slowly moving up. My breathing is ragged. God, I want him.
Everything in my body is screaming to let him in and do this, but my head is telling me to be wary. That this is too fast. He moves in closer to me, and I throw caution to the wind.
