Operation Date Escape

out. She had. So there, Nanci had pulled the mother-hen routine for nothing.
    Nanci had shut her off after the third drink and then stressed how lucky she was to have had her there to drive her home. Then she’d had to listen to her friend’s praises of Cole the ‘perfect one’ all the way home. Then came the final insult. Nanci called her a chicken shit!
    Turning, she wavered slightly and then moved down the hall toward her bedroom, undressing as she went. She wasn’t a chicken shit, no matter what Nanci thought.
    The walls seemed to slant in towards her as she walked, slowing her progress. Okay, so maybe her friend had a point. She’d overdone the alcohol just a bit in hopes of gathering up the nerve to call Cole. It was her way of preparing for the anger she knew was certain to come. Not that she could blame him. She had pretty much run out on him on their last date.
    She closed her bedroom door behind her with a sigh. Ready or not, she was calling Cole tonight. She needed to make him understand that she wasn’t ready for a relationship with him or any man.
    She stripped down to her bra and panties and then stumbled over to the bed where she reached for the cordless phone. She had Cole’s number memorized from the umpteen times she’d dialed him and then hung up before he could answer.
    The phone rang once...twice, and just as she was about to hang up out of habit he answered.
    “Hello?”
    Damn.
    “Hi.”
    “Kelsie?”
    His husky voice oozed over her and she closed her eyes. She had to stay strong. Be firm. Only not in the way she knew he could be.
    “Stop thinking about that,” she immediately scolded herself.
    “Thinking about what?”
    She tugged at her bra, fumbling with its clasp to unhook it, but her fingers were being about as uncooperative as her tongue. At least her thinking process was still in tact.
    “Have you ever tried to take a bra off yourself before?”
    He chuckled. “Can’t say that I have.”
    “Well, let me tell you, men should have to wear these damn things everyday and then we’d find out just how much you all appreciate them.”
    “Are you all right?”
    She dropped into a sitting position at the edge of her bed. “Oh, no you don’t. I’m not going to fall for that one.”
    “What one?”
    “You want me to say that I’m not alright. That I think about you all the time. That─”
    “Do you?”
    “What?” What had she been saying?
    “Think about me. Have you been thinking about me, Kelsie?”
    “Wouldn’t you?” she asked. “I mean if I were you and you were me wearing my bra, wouldn’t you think of me?”
    “I’m going to take a wild guess here, but have you been drinking?”
    She fell back onto the mattress with a soft sigh. “Just a little. Nanci and I went out after work. She had to buy my drinks because she tricked me into calling you tonight. And you really need to stop changing the subject.”
    He gave a husky chuckle. “And that subject would be?”
    She stretched her arms out above her head, twirling a curl between her fingers. “Sex.”
    “Sex?”
    “Just because you’re hot in the sack...no make that really hot in the sack and a nice guy to boot doesn’t mean I should go out with you again. In fact, it’s all the more reason I shouldn’t.”
    “I see. So you’re looking for a not-so-nice guy to spend the rest of your life having really bad sex with.”
    “Exactly. Then I won’t have to worry about falling for him.”
    “Like you are for me?”
    “Yes.” She scooted up the mattress to rest her head on her pillow. “You’re really good at this breaking up stuff.”
    “Not as good as you think. I still intend to get you to go out with me again.”
    “Maybe we could just meet up for some really great sex and leave the relationship part at the door,” she suggested with a yawn.
    “Afraid I can’t do that,” he replied. “I’m in a little too deep at this point to do that.”
    She sighed sleepily. “I was afraid you’d say that. It looks like I’m just going to have to...” What was she going to do? She had no experience in breaking guys’ hearts and she certainly didn’t want to start now. Even if she did, she was just so tired. Her eyes drifted close.
    “Kelsie? You still there?”
    “Mmm hmmm,” she mumbled.
    “Get some sleep, doll. We’ll talk again later.”
    “Night, Cole,” she whispered with a nod then curled up on her bed and drifted off to sleep.
    * * *
    Joe opened the door with a smile. “ Hey