Free Drummer Boy by Toni Sheridan

was like? That was the worst part of the ordeal. She thought she saw similarities between her and Edward. Although, to her credit, she could honestly say she never spent a whole meal with her gaze fixed on someone’s chest.
    “So,” he finally said, locking his hands behind his head and stretching so his biceps flexed, “what do you want to do next? Dessert, maybe, or some other after dinner treat?” Unbelievably, he waggled his eyebrows suggestively.
    Wow. Just wow . She shook her head. “No dessert for me. I’m kind of impatient to be out of here.”
    “Great, me too,” he said, smiling.
    Their server arrived with the bill.
    “Oh, I’m sorry,” Jane said. “Do you mind separating them?”
    The server nodded wordlessly and disappeared.
    “Ah, a modern woman,” Edward said. “And hot. My favorite.”
    Jane’s revulsion probably showed on her face, but she didn’t care. She hated that there was a time she would’ve giggled and felt a bit flattered by his comment. For the umpteenth time, she wished she’d been cleared to drive. She loathed being dependent on others for transportation.
    She headed for the cashier’s booth, shuffling out of reach when Edward started to drape his arm over her shoulders. She contemplated bugging Candy to pick her up and then remembered Candy and Dean were out on their date night. Maybe she should call Tim, but that might be weird.
    “Hey, Edward, would you mind just taking me home? I know we talked about a movie or something, but I’m not feeling up to it.”
    One of Edward’s eyebrows shot up, and then a slow smile revealed his teeth. “Sure, yeah. I’m good to take you home already. No problem.”
    Something like relief unwound in her stomach and then re-knotted. Why had she agreed to go out with him in the first place? She’d seen through him from the get go. Was her ego so big that she always had to have someone on the line? Was she so pathetically like her mother that she constantly needed to have some man in tow, no matter how much she knew someone wasn’t for her?
    You know full well why you said you’d go out with him. And you know full well it hasn’t made you stop thinking about Tim. This only shines a spotlight on all the things that are different about him, that you like, even more.
    She sighed.
    “That’s a pretty big sigh. Anything I can do to help you relax?” Edward asked.
    She didn’t bother to reply.
    He pulled into her driveway, and she calmed down a bit. The night was almost over. He put the car into park but didn’t turn off the motor, another good sign. Then her nerves ratcheted up again. He was leaning into kiss her. Seriously? Was he completely delusional? How on earth had he gotten any vibes like that from their awkward meal?
    She unlatched her seatbelt and reached to open the door, but like almost every stupid new car on the market these days, the door was locked because the motor was running: date rape door locks her friend Terri called them.
    She glanced up at the dark house. Candy was out, as she already knew, and had, no doubt, dropped Kaylie at a friend’s house. The twins were probably working.
    Jane pressed her right hand firmly against Edward’s chest.
    He pulled back and raised an eyebrow. “Not into kissing in the car?”
    Jane wrinkled her nose. “Yeah, not so much. Sorry.”
    “So you wanna take it inside? I was going to tell you I’m not that kind of guy, but that’d be a lie.” He winked.
    Irritation and disgust heated Jane’s cheeks.
    His lines probably worked on some women.
    “I only wanted to have dinner and get to know you a bit. I think we’re looking for different things in a relationship.”
    “Well, that may be so.” Edward straightened up, stared out the window, and then back at her, rubbing the steering wheel with one thumb. “But I don’t think ending a night with a kiss is too much to ask. And who knows? You might like it.”
    What are we, teenagers? Like peer pressure is going to change my