Free The Shooting by Chris Taylor Page A

and was pleased David was home to break the ice. He’d made her promise to tell him all about her date when she got home later that night.
    With a deep breath, she squared her shoulders and then eased the air out on a gentle sigh. For better or worse, she was ready—ready to give him a chance.
    * * *
    Tom stared at the woman who came toward him, a vision in a short crimson dress. It was made from some kind of flimsy material that floated around her slim thighs. The top of it was secured around her neck and left her shoulders bare. Her skin glowed golden in the soft light of the living room.
    She leaned over and pecked him on the cheek and his nose was filled with her scent—something sweet and feminine and floral. Her nearness sent blood surging straight to his groin. He swallowed a groan and wondered how the hell he was going to get through the next few hours. He’d arranged for them to go to dinner at one of the city’s most exclusive restaurants and was thinking they’d hit a nightclub afterwards, but right at that moment, he wasn’t sure he could withstand the pressure of being so close to her and not being allowed to touch.
    He wished they were over that awkward first-or-second-date stage when neither of them knew the rules. Did she want him to kiss her or just hold her hand? Maybe she didn’t want either. It was a minefield of possible hits and misses and it made him nervous just thinking about it. He wished he could go back to being drunk, when he hadn’t felt quite so inhibited—not drunk enough to fall asleep and then disgrace himself in the bathroom—just a slight buzz to take the edge off.
    His throat was suddenly parched and he longed for an ice cold beer: Just a glass or two to settle his nerves. The polite chitchat he’d engaged in with Lily’s roommate wasn’t nearly enough. Suddenly, he couldn’t get to the restaurant and its promise of alcoholic relief quick enough.
    He glanced around the living room and noted the tidy, but mismatched furniture. Colorful cushions added interest to a brown sofa that had seen better days. A small kitchen that was also neat and tidy, stood off to the left. Behind him, a corridor led to what he assumed were the bathroom and bedrooms. At least, he hoped there were two bedrooms.
    “You look beautiful, Lily. Are you ready to go?”
    She blinked and he realized he’d spoken a little fast. Wiping his sweaty palms against his dark dress pants, he tried again.
    “It’s lovely to meet you again and thank you for accepting my invitation. We didn’t really get a chance to talk at Charlie’s party.”
    “Well, if you hadn’t been getting up close and personal with the porcelain, you might have,” David quipped with a cheeky grin.
    Tom’s cheeks exploded with heat and he cursed David silently beneath his breath, but there was nothing he could do but accept the jibe with as much grace as he could manage. After all, the man was only speaking the truth. Tom offered a wry grin and nodded.
    “Yep, you’re right about that. It’ll teach me to drink half a bottle of rum on an empty stomach. My dad would be appalled. I can hear him even now telling me I’m old enough to know better.”
    David laughed, but Lily’s smile was strained and Tom wondered briefly about its cause. He could only imagine she found the topic a little distasteful. He could hardly blame her. Most people found the thought of someone vomiting a little distasteful, let alone resurrecting memories of the sound. Keen to get their date back on a proper footing, he turned back to her.
    “So, how do you two know each other?”
    David threw an arm around Lily’s shoulders and pulled her close to his side. “We met at college,” he said. “We’re both studying teaching and we have a number of classes together. I’m hopeless at reading a map. I was trying to find the English Literature lecture theater, but was on the wrong side of the campus. Lily came across me wandering around lost and confused and