Read Little Tease for Free Online Page B

“We’ll see.”
    “ You have a pen and paper?” Alex asked.
    It took a second for me to process the request; I couldn’t contextualise it. “Sure.” Reaching into the glove box, I handed her the notebook I kept there, which was already turned to a fresh page.
    She scribbled something down, then held it out to me. “Lena’s digits. Don’t call her tonight… but don’t leave it too long. She’s got an overactive imagination. If you give her too much time to think…” Ending the sentence with a shrug, she kissed my cheek. “Thanks for the scene, Josh. I had a blast. Well, before all this.”
    “ Call if the drop gets bad,” I told her, and she smiled a little.
    “ Looks like my roomie’s still awake. Don’t worry about me.”
    “ Alex…”
    “ I’ll call,” she agreed, if only to shut me up. “Goodnight.”
    As she left the car and walked up the path to her front door, I stared down at the numbers scrawled across the page. Lena’s phone number. This hadn’t been the way I’d planned on getting it.
    I just hoped I could come up with the right words when I called her.
     
    * * * *
     
    Lena
     
    I spent all night picking through the confused tangle of thoughts in my brain, but I didn’t get anywhere, and by the time dawn broke I was just really pissed off. At myself, at Ben, at Mel, at Josh… I knew I wasn’t thinking clearly, but I couldn’t help it.
    At around nine in the morning, I finally managed to fall asleep.
    My cell phone woke me at a little past one in the afternoon, and I scowled at the caller ID. Mel. I didn’t want to talk to her.
    A while later Izzy called, and by five p.m., so had Smurfette. I knew they were just worried about me, but in the back of my mind I couldn’t help but wonder if they’d placed bets on me. I needed a couple of days to calm down before I got into it with them.
    It was just beginning to get dark outside when my cell phone rang again—a number I didn’t recognise. A few seconds after it quieted I got a voicemail alert, and curiosity got the better of me.
    “ It’s Josh.”
    I almost dropped the phone. Of all the things I’d been expecting, a call from Josh wasn’t even on the list.
    The message continued, “Heard what happened last night. I guess we have some talking to do. Call me back.”
    I bit my lip, torn. I wanted to know why he hadn’t told me about the betting, but could I really face him right then?
    I listened to the message a couple more times, smiling despite myself at the sound of his voice. The man turned me to mush… which so wasn’t good. Though at the same time, it was very, very good.
    Oh, what the hell. What’s the worst that can happen?
    I called him back.
     
    * * * *
     
    Josh
     
    Lena had told me to meet her at a quiet late-night café downtown, and when I got there she was already curled into the corner of a booth, reading a book.
    “ Good story?”
    She looked up, her eyes wide and startled. “You’re early.”
    I shrugged and sat down, keeping my distance, unsure of where I stood. “A little.”
    Lena flashed the cover of her book in my direction. It wasn’t by an author I recognised, and it seemed to be about dragons. “Any good?”
    “ Not really.” The waitress approached, and I ordered a coffee. Lena requested tea, and then we were alone again.
    “ How did you get my number?” she asked.
    “ Alex.” She rolled her eyes, and I elaborated, “She’s worried about you.”
    “ Did she bet?” Lena said, fiddling with her spoon.
    “ No.” I held her gaze, pausing for a few seconds before telling her, “Neither did I.”
    “ That’s what I heard,” she murmured.
    “ It’s the truth.” Before I could elaborate, the waitress returned with our drinks. I waited until she left to continue. “You wanna ask me something, Lena?”
    She seemed torn between anger and hurt. “How long have you known?”
    “’ Bout a month.” I waited for her next question rather than trying to pre-empt her. Now, more than