That Dating Thing by Mackenzie Crowne Page B

the crap out of her, just as her increasing emotions did, she told herself not having sex in more years than she cared to count was part of the problem. Probably…possibly…okay, maybe.
    So she wasn’t tempted with any of the other men she had dated since Marcus to accidentally trip them and rip their clothes off in the process, but that didn’t prove anything. Not one of them pressed her buttons the way Coop could with just a look. Cooper Reed brought out her inner slut and she couldn’t bring herself to care. Women had needs, just like a man, and faced with a limited number of opportunities to make use of his magnificent body, she couldn’t afford to waste any more time.
    “I like your friends,” she said, crossing the courtyard to her door.
    “I like them too,” he replied dryly. “Most of the time.”
    “I liked Lilly especially.” She tossed him a grin over her shoulder while sliding the key into the lock. “We’re having lunch next week.”
    “Good God.”
    She laughed, pushing open the door and entering her condo. He didn’t follow and she paused, spinning around. “Would you like to come in?”
    Please, say yes. Oh, God, please, say yes!
    “Unfortunately, I can’t. I have a brief due in the morning.”
    Stomping her foot in frustration or bawling like a baby would be bad form. Nor could she screech at him like a fishwife, though any of the three were bound to make her feel better. She settled for a grumbled, “I see.”
    “I have a full docket tomorrow so I won’t be able to see you, but I’d like to see you Friday if you’re free. Dinner?”
    She considered telling him to go to hell and slamming the door in his face. She also considered doing some of that tripping. “Friday is fine.”
    He leaned toward her and she clenched her teeth against yet another disappointing goodnight kiss. As if changing his mind at the last moment, he straightened and brushed a fingertip over her lips.
    “Goodnight, Rylee. Sweet dreams.”
    The jerk had the gall to whistle as he walked away.

Chapter Nine
    “I just don’t get guys.”
    “Food, sports, sex,” Brian replied. “What’s not to get?”
    Rylee perched on the lone stool at the counter of his tiny, galley kitchen, legs crossed, rhythmically slapping an open-backed sandal against the heel of her bouncing foot. Belle lay in the corner while Pippin slurped water from an oversized cereal bowl. Across the room, Brian selected a shirt from the mound of clothes piled on a chair in his studio apartment. He pressed the garment to his nose before tossing it aside to select another.
    “I get the food and sports part,” she said. “The sex part is where I’m having trouble.”
    He paused in his sniffing. “It’s like riding a bike. You were engaged, Rye Bread. Are you saying you and the mama’s boy never went for a spin?”
    She narrowed her eyes at the teasing gleam in his baby blues. “I’m not discussing the mama’s boy or what he and I did or didn’t do together, with you. And I wasn’t talking about the rudiments of the act. I was talking about the concept of sexual attraction.”
    “What about it?” He buried his nose in another shirt.
    “Why would a guy kiss the bejeezus out of a woman one minute, then treat her like a…a sister the next?”
    His arm dropped to his side and he faced her. “Is that a rhetorical question or a personal inquiry?”
    “Personal. I’ve decided to give Coop a shot.”
    “I knew it!” He pointed at her, gripping the dangling garment. “Your eyes go all girly when you look at him.”
    “Shut up,” she grumbled. “In case you haven’t noticed, I am a girl.”
    “Not to me, you aren’t.”
    She stuck out her tongue and he chuckled.
    “As for deciding to give Coop a chance, good for you. It’s about time you put the mama’s boy behind you.” He tossed the shirt aside and bent for another.
    “What are you doing?” she demanded.
    “I have a date.” He straightened, sniffed, and with a nod pulled the