Impulsive (Reach out to Me) (8 page)

              “Now you’re getting the hang of it!” she exclaimed loudly as she moved closer.

              The feel of her skin brushing his gave him a better sense of rhythm and soon he didn’t need to glance at Hayes to know he was doing the right thing. He was much more aware of her body than he was strictly comfortable with in such a crowded room. He kept picturing her as she had been last night. He wanted to have her that way again in spite of the fact that he’d told himself that this had to be a date that didn’t end in asking her to come back with him. He had to focus on his degree and his job. He found that he had to repeat that to himself over and over as the evening wore on.

              He couldn’t deny that he was happy when they finally left the smoky, close atmosphere of the club for the quiet, fresh, spring air of the town streets. Maybe it would clear his head and help quell his ringing ears.

              “Whew,” Michelle said as they walked up the quiet sidewalk. “My eardrums are so mad at me right now. Am I yelling? I feel like I’m yelling.”

              “You’re fine,” Hayes said as he gave her a squeeze.

              “You just sound a little old before your time,” Kara teased and then ducked behind Thomas as Michelle made a mocking swing for her. “Also,” she continued when her friends had walked a little ahead of them once more. “I might have happened to bring a small overnight bag with me if you were considering inviting me back with you.”

              What Thomas had actually been forcing himself to think about was catching up on his homework from the class he’d missed. He knew that he should tell her that he really didn’t have time, but when he glanced down at her to say the words, all he could think about was how pretty she was. She was sexy actually, and she was fun and smart and she wanted to spend time with him. It had been a long time since he’d been in a relationship and he hadn’t realized until now how isolated he’d become.

              “I’d love it if you’d come back with me,” he said sincerely.  Maybe he could get up early in the morning and do the homework or bring it to work with him and catch up on his lunch break.

              But the next morning he and Kara were nearly late because she hopped into the shower with him and it took a lot longer for both of them to actually get clean. Then she surprised him with a few slices of pizza on his lunch break and before he knew it, he was getting his first zero on a homework assignment. He sighed and promised himself that he’d manage his time better. He knew he’d have to talk to Kara about it, but he dreaded doing it. He really didn’t want to take the chance of losing her.

             
“Hi!” Kara said, poking her head around the door to his office about a week later. “Want to have lunch today?”

              Thomas gave her a smile and set aside his paperwork.

              “I really can’t,” he said to her surprise.

              “What? You’re not seriously going to work through lunch are you?”

              “This isn’t work,” he said. “This is homework. I’m a little bit behind in some of my classes.”

              Even though it had been a little more than a week, he still hadn’t found a way to talk to her about managing his time better. He enjoyed being with her and the things they did together were always fun. She always had a new restaurant in mind, or a pretty place to show him, or something new to try in bed.

              He swallowed hard when he remembered last night. He’d been trying to study when she’d knocked on his door. He’d opened it determined to finally talk with her and found her wearing a trench coat. In fact, she had been wearing only a trench coat. Thomas still couldn’t get the mental picture out of his head of the wicked grin she’d sent his way as she flashed him right in the hallway of the building.

              “Classes?” Kara waved that away with a flick of her hand. “Can’t you catch up on that tonight?”

              “I’m really far behind,” Thomas repeated. “I’m going to have to work on it tonight as well actually.”

              “Come on,” she wheedled. “My craving for Indian food will not be abated.”

              “You can have all the Indian food you want,” he said absently as he shuffled through his papers.

              “It’s not fun to eat alone,” she argued as she twirled her hair around her finger.

              He made a noncommittal noise and she sighed. He glanced up when she leaned over the desk and gave him her most convincing smile.

              “Please, Thomas? How much can you get done in one little hour anyway?”

              “Not much,” he said wryly. “Fine, let’s go get Indian food.”

              She linked her arm with his and they walked out to lunch. When their food came Thomas took a deep breath.

              “Kara,” he said seriously. “We need to talk.”

              “What’s wrong?” she asked with her naan bread halfway to her lips.

              “Nothing is wrong,” he hurried to reassure her. “It’s just that I’ve got a really big project coming up at work.”

              “You don’t need my help or anything, right?” she asked, wondering where on earth he was going with this.

              “No,” he replied with a small laugh. “It’s just that it’s very important and, on top of that, I’ve got my final exams coming up.”

              “Okay,” Kara said slowly, still not exactly sure why Thomas was taking the time to explain all of this to her.

              “I need time to study,” he explained finally, not sure how to cushion his words further.

              “Sure,” she said, as if it was obvious.

              “I might not be able to spend a whole lot of my free time with you for a few weeks,” he went on, relieved that she was taking it so well.

              “I understand,” she said lightly. “There’s an 80’s film festival this Friday. Do you want to go?”

              “Kara,” he said. “I just told you I might not be able to spend very much time with you.”

              “I didn’t know that meant no time at all,” she said as the realization of his intentions began to seep in.

              “It doesn’t,” he protested. “It’s just that the festival is almost an hour away, and they’re showing three movies and I’d have to miss class to even get us there on time.”

              “You haven’t missed a lot of class, have you?” she asked.

              “No,” he answered, aware that this argument wasn’t going in his favor. “I’d like to keep it that way too.”

              “They’re showing such great movies though,” Kara argued. “I know we’d have a really good time!”

              “Fine.” he said giving in with a sigh. “We’ll do the film festival, but I really will have to buckle down to get caught up on everything else before then, do you understand?”

              “Sure thing!” Kara chirped.

              As a result of that conversation, Thomas was legitimately shocked when she showed up at his apartment at around 8 that night.

              “Kara? What are you doing here?”

              “I started thinking about it,” she answered as she stood on tiptoe to press a kiss to his cheek. “You’re probably one of those guys that won’t take a break once he gets going and that’s not a healthy thing to do. So in the spirit of keeping you healthy, I’ve brought nourishment.”

              Thomas didn’t know how to explain that, yes, he was one of those guys that didn’t stop when he got started but it was because stopping totally derailed his train of thought. He glanced almost desperately at his homework before turning to his brand-new, very sexy girlfriend.

              “Thank you,” he said. “It looks delicious.”

              It really did. She had gone to a sub shop that he’d enjoyed earlier in the week and she’d even remembered to get his favorite, a buffalo chicken wrap with ranch instead of blue cheese. He sat down at the table with her and listened to her talk about Michelle’s wedding plans.

              “So, she still hasn’t figured out this cake thing,” she said, taking a bite of her own wrap. “And I think that I’m more worried about it than she is. She’s usually so meticulous about everything, but she’s also really laidback so the wedding planning has been really hard on my nerves,” Kara said with a laugh. “I know if it was my wedding I would either do something crazy like run to Vegas so I didn’t have to plan anything, or I’d obsess over every detail. I guess I shouldn’t be telling you all that,” she went on with another laugh. “You’ll call me tomorrow and say we shouldn’t see each other anymore or something now, won’t you?”

              “Of course not,” he said with a smile. “Just so you know, Vegas would be my pick.”

              “Really?” Kara didn’t bother to try to hide her surprise. “I wouldn’t have pictured that at all.”

              “I’m an accountant,” he said dryly. “Do you really think I’d pick the more expensive option?”

              “Vegas can get pretty expensive,” Kara argued. “You’ve never done Vegas with me.”

              “That’s true,” he acknowledged. “I bet it’s quite an experience.”

              “Oh, it is,” she said, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

              Before Thomas really knew what was happening, dinner was over, his homework was abandoned on the desk in the living room and he and Kara were in bed. It was hard to regret not being buried in numbers when her fingers were buried in his hair and her mouth was sweet on his, but he knew that in the morning he’d be worried again.

              “So,” she said as they cuddled up afterward. “I think it’s time for me to get serious about moving out of Michelle’s place.”

              “Have you talked to her?” Thomas asked.

              “No. I’d rather talk to her when I’ve got a better idea of what I can afford and some leads on apartments.”

              “I’m your man,” Thomas said eagerly.

              “I know you are,” she teased.

              He tickled her and then said, “Seriously. If you do a budget tomorrow on the forms that I’ll email you, I can help you get your finances straightened out well enough to move out on your own. You should also check out some apartment listings, close to work and further away, just in case the budget allows you to fix up your car. Be sure to map your expenditures very carefully on the sheets I send you, otherwise your whole budget can go up in smoke. I—“

              “Thomas!” she cut in.

              “Yes?” he asked in surprise.

              “You’re killing my cuddly mood.”

              “Well, I’m sorry, but this is important,” he said firmly.

              “So is this.  I promise I’ll do it,” she said. “Now, can we get back to being all romantic?”

              He put his arms around her more tightly as he said, “I suppose that would be fine.”

              The next evening at his place, Kara found herself so bored she was nearly falling asleep at the kitchen table as Thomas slowly looked over the papers she’d printed out with apartment listings.

              “There’s an all western movie marathon on right now,” she pointed out. She knew Thomas loved Westerns; maybe she could appeal to his interests to get him to be a little more interesting.

              “That’s nice,” Thomas said distractedly. “But this is serious. Come on; show me the apartments you’re considering. Did you get the estimates like I asked?”