Kaleb (4 page)

“
Which makes sense, but...
”

Zoey
was pretty sure Kaleb continued to speak because she saw his lips move, but she
was suddenly flooded with a wave of desire so strong the roaring in her ears
drowned him out. It seemed that whatever this condition was, she was growing
more aware of the man every time they were together. From his adorable, unkempt
hair, those scorching blue gray eyes that every single one of the Walker boys
had inherited, to his sinfully delicious body, the man made her dormant libido
come to life.

Not
a good thing.

Especially not while she was trying to
have a casual, friendly dinner with the man.

“Earth to Zoey.”

Shit.

“Sorry, what?”

“Where’d
you go?” That stunning grin of his damn near blinded her. “Off to fantasy land
again?”

This
time the blush suffused her face, and she was unable to hide her embarrassment.

Good
Lord.

What
the hell was wrong with her?

♂♀

Ok.
Something was seriously off here.

Call
him crazy, but there was a remarkably different feel to this so called casual
dinner with Zoey. Not only was he having a damn hard time focusing, but
apparently he wasn’t the only one. Since the second he walked up on Zoey and
Vanessa having a conversation not meant for him to overhear, he’d been fighting
a mad case of
the
what
the fucks
.

Didn’t
she know that he’d laughed off her comment and was only teasing when he brought
it up? If he thought there was a chance in hell that Zoey had actually
fantasized about him...

Ok,
so his dick knew exactly what to do with that thought, unfortunately, now was
not the time, and this was certainly not the place.

As
much as he wanted to think that Zoey had actually fantasized about him once or
twice – God knows she’d played a starring role in some of his more erotic
thoughts – Kaleb knew she had just been joking.

Hadn’t
she?

For
a second
,  he
wasn’t so sure.

The
woman sitting across from him – the one wringing her hands together, blushing,
and avoiding eye contact – was not the same woman Kaleb had known for so long.
His best friend would be giving him a rash of shit about anything and
everything, going off about Rachel’s incessant flirting no matter when they
came in, or better yet, telling him to dream on as far as fantasies went.
That’s the exact opposite of what was going on between them right now.

They
were no longer acting like best buds. Instead, they were acting like... a man
and a woman.

On a date.

Fuck
.

What
the hell was he supposed to do about this? Truth be told, this was exactly what
he’d hoped for, but not exactly the circumstance in which he envisioned it
happening. Call him a romantic, but he’d thought of a much more appealing place
for them to come to terms with any sort of physical attraction than Mama’s Diner.

On
the other hand, he hadn’t actually expected it to happen at all.

“So,
what did my dad say?” Zoey asked, interrupting his thoughts.

“Same as last time.
He knew what I was talking about, but he wanted me to clarify it for him all
over again.
Still no decision.”

He
hadn’t talked much about their plans with Zoey because quite frankly, she
didn’t seem all that interested.
Supportive?
Yes.
Oddly enough.
She just didn’t care to talk about it, which
was interesting because it had turned into a hot topic for her at the moment.

“Who
knows with him,” Zoey penetrated him with those beautiful blue eyes.

It
was clear they needed to find a much safer topic.

“So,
how’d it go at the Wilson’s? You get Vanessa to work today?”

Zoey
laughed, and her husky voice sent a shiver down his spine. He tried like hell
to ignore it.

“V
always works. She just likes to complain about it when she does.”

Rachel
interrupted them, setting their tea glasses on the table and standing oddly
close to Kaleb which was just a little awkward. Normally, he wouldn’t have
thought much of it, shrugging it off like he usually did. Without ego, Kaleb
was acutely aware of the heads that turned when he and his brothers were in a
room, generally of the female persuasion. Yet, when he was sitting across from
the one woman whose head he didn’t seem to be able to turn, it didn’t do a
whole lot for him.

“Did
you get her to clean the bathrooms?” Without trying to be rude, Kaleb continued
his conversation with Zoey and Rachel finally took the hint.

“One.
I consider that progress.” Zoey laughed again. “There for a while she was
seriously trying to convince me that she was allergic to toilets. Not bleach or
cleaner, but to the actual toilet. She’s nuts.”

“What’s
up with her and my brother?” Until Zane had shown up at Moonshiner’s Kaleb
would’ve never guessed that there might be something going on between his
brother and Zoey’s friend, but even he felt the sexual tension sparking between
the two of them.

“I
was wondering the same thing.” Zoey sipped her tea, sat the glass back on the
coaster before sliding her hands down the glass to wipe the condensation away.
Kaleb had a sudden longing to be that fucking glass.

Maybe
it was in the air, whatever the hell it was.

“So,
have you decided on whether you’re coming to my parent’s fiftieth wedding
anniversary party?” Kaleb asked after a few moments of silence.

“Next weekend, right?”
Zoey asked, still fondling that damn glass and still not looking at him.

“Yes.
And since you owe me, I know you’ll be there, right?”

That
got her attention.

“I
owe you?” A sexy little grin tugged at the corners of Zoey’s mouth and just
like every time he was around her, Kaleb felt a throb begin between his legs.

“You
do.” He confirmed, smiling back. He had no idea what she owed him for, but it
sounded good.

Before
he had to answer, Rachel approached their table with two plates overflowing
with food, setting them down in front of them while smiling at Kaleb. When she
didn’t turn away immediately, Kaleb looked up at her.

“So,
I was wondering...” Rachel let the sentence hang, looking just a tad bit
nervous.

Oh
hell.

Kaleb
liked Rachel; she was a sweet girl, always flirting with him and all of his
brothers when they came into her parents’ restaurant, but that was also the
downside to eating there once a week.

“You
know, Kaleb,” Zoey began, trying to appear serious, yet Kaleb could see a
devilish gleam in her eyes, “I’d really like to go out with you next weekend.”

Kaleb
fought the urge to laugh and choke all at the same time.

“Well!”
Rachel said before stomping off.

Kaleb
watched Zoey while Zoey watched Rachel leave.

“You
know, I get it that you’re a sexy guy, but shit, do they have to swarm all over
you whenever we go out together?” Zoey stated, clearly exasperated as she
picked up her fork and began digging into her food.

Kaleb
mirrored her, grabbing his fork, trying to focus on the food in front of him,
but having a damn hard time. Did she seriously just call him sexy?

He
found himself staring at her, watching while she pushed her food around on her
plate.

“What?”
She asked when she finally acknowledged him.

“I’m
beginning to worry about you, Zoey.” He had to do something to ease the tension
coursing between them because honestly, the throb that had started between his
legs had turned into a full blown ache, and he damn sure wasn’t going to be
able to sit there much longer with a hard on. So he decided to tease her.
“First you tell Vanessa that you fantasize about kissing me and now you call me
sexy.”

“Oh,
get over yourself, Kaleb Walker.” Zoey laughed, but there was another pink
tinge to her cheeks. She was even more beautiful when she blushed.

He’d
always thought of her as being pretty, ever since he’d been in the eighth
grade. But sitting here with her, it was like seeing her for the first time.
She was stunning. Even in her oversized t-shirt and sexy as hell tight jeans,
the woman made him want things.

What
he didn’t understand was what was different now.
Tonight
specifically.

They
had been friends for years, going out at least twice a week, hanging out on the
weekends most of the time with his friends or hers, or both. Ever since he had
taken her to her senior prom, they’d been close friends, but although he’d
always been attracted to her, Kaleb had never considered anything more.
Tonight, looking at her, he couldn’t get his mind off of what she would look
like naked, beneath him...

And
yes, if truth be known, he’d fantasized about that on more than one occasion.
But never had he felt as though something might be reciprocated on her side. It
wasn’t like they had ever hinted around about any possible attraction to one
another.

Kaleb
tried to eat the food in front of him, but he was having
a
damned
hard time thinking, much less eating. Instead, he continued to
steal glances of the beautiful woman across from him.

Thankfully,
neither of them spoke much for the rest of the meal, finishing quickly and not
lingering the way they normally did. Kaleb managed to track down Rachel, having
to go find her just so he could pay the bill, and once that was taken care of
he found Zoey halfway to her truck, not even waiting for him.

“Hey!”
He called out to her when her legs began moving faster.

“Sorry.”
Zoey mumbled. “I need to... get home... to my dad.”

Well,
if that didn’t sound like a lie, Kaleb didn’t know what did. Something was
going on because the Zoey standing before him was not the same woman he’d seen
when he walked into Moonshiner’s earlier.

Reaching
out, he took her hand, and it was then and there that Kaleb knew exactly what was
going on between them. When she flinched like she had been burne
d
, he
was pretty damned sure she felt it, too.
That spark
of
electricity that had nothing to do with static, and everything to do with
something much more intimate.

She
pulled away immediately, and Kaleb let her go.

“Are
you all right?” He asked, taking another step closer.

The
difference in their heights was significant. Since Kaleb topped out at six feet
four inches, and Zoey couldn’t possibly be more than five feet two if that, he
had to look down at her and she up at him. He’d never paid much attention to it
until now. Until he thought of nothing more than kissing her and in order for
that to happen, he was going to have to lean down, or she was going to have to
go up on her toes. Either way, it wasn’t going to happen, and he knew that, but
his brain still entertained the idea.

“So,
if I don’t see you next week, I will see you at my parents’ party, right?”
Kaleb had no doubt he would see Zoey several times before then, but for now he
was going to give her the illusion of space.

Whatever
this was – the shift in the atmosphere – they’d both been affected by it
obviously. Zoey might want to ignore it, or pretend it didn’t happen, but Kaleb
knew this was just the opportunity he’d been looking for.

Zoey
nodded her head in agreement before she bolted for her truck, leaving Kaleb
standing in the parking lot. He watched her tail lights as they disappeared
into the darkness, a smile on his face. This was going to get interesting.

♀♂

Zoey
heard the truck as it pulled up the drive, and she glanced out the window in
her father’s kitchen just in time to see Kaleb’s truck barreling up the long
narrow driveway.

Shit.

She
hadn’t seen him since their awkward as hell dinner, and she had purposely put
him off the last time she talked to him. Not because she didn’t want to see
him, but because she did.

In a bad way.

In
a way that she wasn’t sure he’d be comfortable with. Knowing Kaleb and his
flirting ways, he’d probably think she had lost her mind if she gave in to what
she was suddenly feeling for him. Granted, it wasn’t a foreign feeling by any
means. It’s just that she denied herself that one little desire for so long it
felt a little awkward to be around him at the moment.

“Who’s
out there?” Her dad called from the living room, interrupting Zoey’s wayward
thoughts.

The
man had superhuman hearing apparently, or maybe he just had a sixth sense when
it came to the Walker boys.