Page 57 of Lance

But then I see her face in my mind, the way she smiled at his compliment, and I know that my libido is only half theproblem.

Inviting her to this party was a really, really badidea.

You’re just going to have to deal with it, I tell myself as I wash my hair.Be a fucking grown-up for once in yourlife.

I’m feeling pretty grumpy by the time I make my way back to the living room. Nia has packed all the makeup away from the dining table and the three of them are sitting on the couch, watching some movie with spaceships.

“It’s boring,” Simon groans. “Where are thelightsabers?”

“There aren’t any lightsabers,” Nia says. “They have phasers insteadand—”

“Ugh,” Simon says loudly, and Willa laughs. Then she looks up and sees me and the smile seems to die on her face. “Oh, hey,” she says, sounding uncertain. “Nia and Simon are just debating the supremacy ofStar WarsversusStarTrek.”

“A rite of passage for any sci-fi nerd,” Nia tells Simon, offering her hand for him to highfive.

“You ready to go?” I ask, and Willa flinches a little. Damn it. I try to soften my tone a little. “The car is here but we could hang out for a while if you’drather.”

“No, that’s okay,” Willa says, standing and looking like she’d give anything to stay on that couch watchingStar Trekfor the rest of the night. “We shouldn’t keep the driverwaiting.”

I shrug. “He gets paid eitherway.”

She looks down at Simon. “Bed in onehour.”

He looks over at Nia, who winks at him, and he smiles back at Willa. “Sure.”

She laughs. “Just be good for Nia,okay?”

“I will,” he says, sliding off the couch and wrapping his arms around her middle. She hugs him back and something catches in my chest, like some part of me that I wasn’t aware existed is suddenly inpain.

“I’ll see you in the morning, buddy.” She looks to Nia. “You can crash in the guest room if you gettired.”

“Thanks,” she says, but her eyes are on mine and she doesn’t look veryhappy.

And she’s completely right to be skeptical, I think as I lead Willa out of the house to the waiting black car. I’m being an asshole. I wait while Willa slides into the car, trying not to look at her legs, before going around to the other side to climb in. She’s put as much space between us on the bench as possible in the tight quarters. I sigh. I’m screwing thisup.

I stare out the window, trying to figure out how to apologize without having to explain exactly why I’m so out of sorts. But then, to my surprise, she speaksup.

“Why did you invite me to come with you tonight?” she asks, her voice soft in the dim light of thecar.

“Because I thought you deserved a fun nightout.”

“It’s not very fun when you’re acting like a jerk.” I turn to look at her and am surprised to see that she’s staring straight back, no hint of nervousness on her face. She’s getting better at confrontation. For some reason, that makes me feel better abouteverything.

“You’re right,” I say. “I’m being a jerk. I’m sorry.” I slide my hand across the seat to take hers. “You look really nice tonight.” She looks down at our joined fingers, something like skepticism on her face. I think about the way she reacted to Simon’s compliment and shake my head. Kid has better game than I do. But I want to see her smile like that again so I squeeze her hand, waiting until she looks up at me. “Nice doesn’t cover it,” I say, my voice slightly hoarse. “You look so good I’m actually incredibly nervous right now. That’s why I was being a jerk. I’m reallysorry.”

Her eyebrows come together in confusion. “Why are younervous?”

I shake my head, laughing a little. “I think anyone would get nervous when they’re this close toperfection.”

Okay, so it’s a line. And a pretty cheesy one at that. But she smiles even as she rolls her eyes, looking pretty damn pleased, a slight blush coming to her cheeks. Maybe cheesy isn’t sobad.

Be careful, I think, as she turns to look out the window, still smiling. There’s a fine line between cheering her up andflirting.

But sitting there with her in the quiet, the car filled with the scent of her perfume, her hand still pressed against mine, it’s really, really hard tocare.