Operation Date Escape

hadn’t stood her up like she’d thought he had. Knowing that he was waiting for her on the other side of that door made her knees weak.
    When she reached the door, she paused to take a deep, calming breath in an attempt to compose herself. She refused to appear as desperate as she really was for the sight of him.
    She reached out and unlocked the door and swung it open to greet him. A startled squeak left her mouth at the sight of him. That incredibly sexy grin she’d waited all week to see again had been replaced by what could only be described as Bugs Bunny teeth with a bad case of periodontal disease.
    Without waiting for an invite, Cole stepped past her into the apartment entryway. “Sorry I’m late, doll. I would have called to let you know I was running behind, but only guys who are perfect do that kind of thing.”
    Guys who are perfect? It took a moment for his words to penetrate her stunned mind. Then, she caught on. Cole’s arriving late. The ugly teeth. His barging into her apartment the way he had.
    She crossed her arms and smiled up at him. “Nice try.”
    He looked at her, his expression one of boyish innocence. “What?”
    “You could’ve shown up with your head shaved and your face painted green and still be classified under ‘too perfect’ in my book.” Literally. There was a chapter in Operation: Date Escape entitled - Beware of Perfect Men.
    With a chuckle, Cole popped the fake ‘hillbilly’ teeth out of his mouth. “Can’t blame a guy for trying.” He circled her with an appraising glance. “You look great.”
    “Thanks.” His compliment brought warmth to her cheeks. “So do you.” They had both dressed casual. Her in her newly purchased jeans and comfy, off-the-shoulder style light blue gauzy top.
    Cole had chosen to wear jeans, too, along with a navy blue, button-down, short sleeve shirt worn open at the neck. A single gold chain rested against his tan skin, just above the sprinkling of dark curls that peeked out from the vee of his open shirt. She could tell he had shaved, but a hint of dark stubble was already returning to that firm jaw. And he smelled great, too. Kind of a musk and citrus mix. The man just flat out oozed sexiness and not in the overkill way her last date, Jack the Strip Club Stud, had.
    “Planning on doing some running?” he asked with a grin as his gaze settled on her feet.
    She looked down at the white leather tennis shoes she had chosen to wear for their date instead of heels, her usual footwear of choice.
    “The message you left on my answering machine said to dress casual. These are casual.”
    “I wasn’t complaining. In fact,” he said, his grin widening, “I find them kind of sexy on you.”
    Sexy wasn’t the look she had been going for when she’d slipped them on. Anything but that. Cole’s unexpected reply had her struggling for a response. “I...you...” If someone could just uncurl her tongue for a moment she might be able to get something out.
    “Just what I thought,” he said. “You were trying to play it safe by wearing those, weren’t you?”
    Ooh, he was good. Too good. She had to remember that. She looked up at him with a smile. “A girl never knows when she might have to make a run for it.”
    “That eager to get to my bed, huh?”
    Her pulse skittered wildly at the thought. “Only in your dreams, Fire Boy.”
    He made her apartment seem incredibly small as he towered over her, that firm jaw beckoning her fingers to explore it. She fought the urge to lean into him and inhale his scent even deeper into her lungs.
    “Okay” he said with a grin, “so if they’re not for racing to my bed, you must be preparing for one of your great date escapes?”
    He was so onto her. “Maybe. Besides, these tie on. And they’re tied tight. No chance of you getting them off me to hold hostage for a second date.”
    He gave a husky chuckle. “Is that a challenge?”
    She never would have believed the thought of having her tennis shoes removed by someone else could be so arousing, but Cole made her wish he was slipping them off her feet right then and there.
    “Considering it?” he teased. “Because I’ll be the first to admit I like a challenge.”
    So did she, which meant she knew better than to issue a challenge she wasn’t prepared to see through. Kelsie forced all thoughts of him removing her clothes from her mind and shook her head. “No. Just stating a fact.”
    “Okay, just making sure.” He turned, looking around