Stella grinned. “No, you stay here. Trick is going home with me tonight.”
Drew liked Stella. Very straightforward. Nothing coy about this woman.
He stood and held out his hand. “Great meeting you, Stella.”
“You too, Drew. I trust you’re going to take care of my girl and see that she gets home okay?”
“You can count on it.”
Carolina hugged Stella. “Call me tomorrow?”
“Of course. You two have fun and be safe.”
“You, too.”
Stella laughed. “Honey, I’m always safe.”
“Later, Trick,” Drew said.
Trick dipped his head and smiled. “Later.”
Trick threw an arm around Stella and they headed out the door.
“Surprised?” Drew asked.
“About what?”
“Stella hooking up with Trick.”
She took a sip of her club soda. “Not in the least. Stella knows what she wants and goes after it with a vengeance.”
“Jealous, then?”
She laughed. “No. Well, maybe a little. She’s very confident and always has been.”
“You’re always confident. It’s one of the things I like most about you.”
She took another drink. “I wasn’t always that way.”
“Yeah? When were you ever not confident?”
“Like . . . always.”
“You were bold enough to come after me in college. I liked that so much about you. So many girls back then . . . I mean they were bold, but not in the way you were.”
She leaned back against the stool and swiveled around to face him. “Care to elaborate on that one?”
“Yeah. They flirted, but they expected me to be the one to do the chasing, to ask them out, to coax them into bed. It had to be my idea, you know? It was nothing more than a game. But with you, it was so different.”
“Don’t remind me.”
He laughed. “No. It wasn’t like that. At least not for me. You were like the only drop of water in a desert. You stood out to me because you were so fresh and so beautiful. There was no pretense with you.”
“You do realize I was drunk off my ass that night.”
“So? You were honest. You didn’t slide up to me and rub your br**sts against me, and then act all innocent. You boldly asked if I’d take you to bed.”
He saw her grimace, knew that memories of that night made her uncomfortable. But he wanted her to have good memories, not bad ones. “Carolina, I loved everything about that night. I still remember every minute of it.”
She lifted her gaze to his. “So do I.”
“But how do you remember it?”
“What do you mean?”
“I remember it as a hot, sweet night where this beautiful young woman propositioned me and gave me a gift I’ll never forget. She was so sweet, so innocent, and yet oh, so sexy. And we spent an amazing night together, a night I’ve thought about a lot over the years.”
She took a deep breath, looked away for a few seconds, then met his gaze again. “For a while I tried not to think about it at all. I felt like I’d made a mistake. I was so heartbroken. But that was youth, and fantasies. After a while I got past it. And yes, I do think about that night.”
“I’m sorry I hurt you.”
“I know you are.”
He signaled to the waiter, who brought the tab for him to sign. He grabbed her jacket and held it for her while she slid her arms in. They headed outside and he hailed a taxi.
“Your place or mine?” he asked.
“Isn’t yours closer? I’d like to see it.”
He nodded and gave the driver his address. It was a short ride to his brownstone, especially this late at night with less traffic on the streets. He paid the driver and they got out.
“This is nice, Drew.”
“Well, it’s not your place, so don’t expect much.”
She laced her arm in his. “I’m not expecting anything.”
He could tell she was buzzed and a lot more relaxed than the last few times they’d been together.
Which he liked. He wanted her to have a good time. He just hoped he’d remembered to pick up the place before he left for his game.
They walked up to the second floor. Drew took his time. He liked Carolina leaning against him. He pulled out his keys and unlocked the door, then flipped on the light, exhaling as he saw the place. That’s right. He’d just had it cleaned yesterday, so it wasn’t its normal disaster.
She slid out of her coat and hung it on the rack by the door. “This is nice, Drew.”
“Thanks. Just a one-bedroom. Kind of small. Like I said, nothing fancy like your place.”
And it wasn’t. It was a simple, one-bedroom apartment. He had some basic furniture, a sofa and a couple chairs. He had a killer TV and gaming system, of course, but this wasn’t home to him. It was where he stayed during the season.
“You want something to drink? I have water, pop, and . . . beer. No wine. Sorry.”
“Water would be great, thanks.”
Drew grabbed two bottles of water from his refrigerator, opened the tops and handed one to her.
“Thank you,” she said.
Carolina walked around his living room, then down the hall, opening the door to his bedroom.
Okay, they were going there. He was going to ease into it, maybe turn on the television or play some music.
She stared at his king-size bed. There wasn’t room for much else in the small apartment, but there was no way in hell he was sleeping on some cramped, tiny bed, so he’d opted for the bed and a nightstand and shoved the dresser in the closet.
“Big bed.”
“I’m a big guy.”
She glanced at the bare walls before turning to face him. “And I love how you’ve decorated the place.”
“Thanks. It’s my specialty.” He took a long swallow of water, then leaned against the doorway. “I don’t spend a lot of time here. Just sleeping, mainly.”
“This place isn’t home to you.”
She was observant. “No.”
She was also holding back, hesitant. He wanted to go to her, touch her, pull her into his arms and kiss her. Oh, man, he really wanted to kiss her. But he wanted her to come to him, to feel comfortable about being here with him.
This had to be her call. He knew how resistant she had been to him, and her sudden turnaround had surprised the hell out of him. If she had any reservations, the last thing he’d do was push her into doing something she really didn’t want to do.