Release by Louise J Page A

the same sentence for guys like Dane.
    His brows rise briefly
before drawing together in a frown. “It’s not as cold as that. Yeah, I tell it
how it is from the start, but I’m not a jerk about it. I’m not trying to make
myself sound like I’m all that, but most of the time it isn’t a problem.
    “On Tuesday it was so
obvious you’re not the type of woman I usually hang with, the whole thing
seemed pointless. I have enough platonic female friends already, Brooklyn, I’m
not looking for any others and since I can barely talk to you without getting
hard we’d never make good friends, anyway.”
    I shrug, casually. “Fine, I
don’t think we’d make good friends, either. I have plenty of platonic male
friends as it is as well. At least we’ve cleared things up. I’d like you to
leave now.”
    “I’d like to see you again,”
he says, his gaze burning into mine.
    “This is all starting to
sound like a load of bollocks. Translated; rubbish – or rather, absolute crap!
It’s pointless but you want to see me again.”
    “I said it seemed pointless. Maybe it still is. I’m not all that certain. The one thing I am sure
of is that I want to see you again.”
    I stare at him wordlessly.
He meant that. Or he’s an expert liar.
    I lean back against the wall
and gaze sideways at him. “I didn’t want anything from you, you know? I had no
expectations, Dane. I didn’t rock up on Monday looking for a boyfriend – I
simply wanted to get to know you. The two things I was positive about were that
if you only wanted to get me into bed I wouldn’t be bothering with you
again, and you wouldn’t bother with me if that’s all you were interested
in and you came to realize it wouldn’t be that way.
    “The main reason I came back
on Tuesday was because I thought you’d be honest with me, and I’d always know
where I stand with you. I got you wrong.”
    “No you didn’t. My actions
sure as shit won’t give you reason to believe otherwise, but you didn’t get me
wrong, Brooklyn.
    “I haven’t even had you once
and I already want you again. I knew that from the first night in the bar, just
like I knew you wanted me too. And you know what, on Monday when you told me
you don’t just fuck, it wasn’t even necessary because that was apparent after
you spent almost as much time watching me on Saturday night as I did you, and
you still left without so much as a glance my way. It’s one of the reasons I
didn’t follow you out of the place. If I wasn’t interested in getting to know
you we never would’ve exchanged a single word after I concluded that. I
wouldn’t have approached you at Baker Beach.
    “All the stuff I’ve asked
you, about your family and career, was genuine. I wasn’t faking interest just
to get you into my bed. None of this even makes sense to me, Brooklyn, but I’m
not too interested in trying to figure it out. I just want you to give me
another chance.
    “Look, I need to get back to
work,” he holds his hands up, “no bullshit this time, I really do. Fuck, I
can’t believe I played it like that,” he says to himself, tucking his hands
into his pockets. He sighs. “Will you see me on Saturday, after your show?”
    “I’m going to a club with
Kayla,” I lie. It was of course true, until she finally agreed to go out with
Chase.
    “Let me give you my cell
number, then. I won’t ask you for yours, if you call me then I’ll have it. This
right here is in your hands. Although, I can’t say I won’t pull some weird shit
like showing up in your class or happening to be outside the theater after your
show if you don’t call me.”
    A giggle escapes me before I
can stop it. “Please do not come to my class again. This is the only group
session I do, and as you discovered for yourself, it’s advanced.”
    “Maybe I need some
one-on-one Pilates then.” How someone can look so serious when they’re clearly
teasing I do not know.
    “I don’t have time for extra
clients, not with the