Page 104 of Just for the Plot

“Hey, sweetheart,” he says as he leans in and presses a kiss to my cheek.

“Sweetheart?” Bennett asks. “Who is that?”

“Oh, meeting Cougar for a quick lunch.”

“You are?”

“Yup, so I should go. I’ll check the email and we can discuss later.”

“Okay, yeah.”

“Bye, Benny Boo Boo,” I coo into the phone as he says bye. I hang up and set my phone down, bringing my attention to Cougar, who has commandeered the chair across from me, slouching his large body and manspreading for the entire restaurant. “You’re two minutes late.”

He smirks. “Couldn’t find parking. Were you pining to see me?”

Actually…no.

But then again, we’re trying here, so I say, “Of course.”

His smile lights up his face just as the waitress takes our order, something Cougar already prepared for when he knew we were coming here.

When she takes off, Cougar studies me for a moment before he says, “Think you’ll come to a game this season?”

That feels like it came out of nowhere.

“Do you want me to come to a game?” I ask.

“Of course, I’d want my girl there.”

“Your girl?” I ask with a raise of my brow. “How many girls are you calling your girl?”

He looks to the side. “Honestly?”

“Yeah, honestly.”

“Only you,” he answers, and for some reason, I don’t believe him.

“How could you say that? We’ve only been on a few dates. We’re not committed to each other. You’re seeing other people, so how can I be your girl?” I say it in a teasing way, but I actually mean it, because he can’t assume that when there hasn’t been one part of our relationship where we’ve committed to each other.

“But you’re not like the other girls I see,” he says.

“I know! You already told me that. But how do you mean?”

“You’re grounded,” he says, his expression turning serious. “You don’t play into my bullshit and haven’t attempted to take my pants off.”

I chuckle. “Imagine the gasps we’d hear if I did try to take your pants off right here in the restaurant. There would be pearl-clutching all over the place.”

“Yeah.” He picks up his fork and starts flipping it through his fingers. “You’re girlfriend material, Bower.”

And the way he says that, with the tilt of his head and the sincerity in his voice, it should get me excited. It should tell me that I’m headed in the direction I want to go, where Gabby and Ryland are, but…I just…I’m not convinced.

“I think that’s the first time someone has called me that,” I say.

“Maybe you’ve been going out with the wrong people.”

Seems like I might still be making poor choices, but then again, I’m not being fair. He has good qualities. Our last date, we made progress. I felt like I got to know him a little better. I just feel like…like there’s something holding me back and I can’t quite pinpoint what that is.

Clearing my throat, I say, “Uh, your first game is Sunday?”