his hair beneath her exploring fingers. Then she’d unbuckled his belt…
“I like to think so. You pulled me through chemistry.”
She’d developed a huge crush on him in chemistry class. Her crush had been mostly about his gorgeous body, but to her surprise, she’d discovered his mind wasn’t too bad, either. Apparently he hadn’t been accustomed to using it. He’d scored higher on the final than she had, which had annoyed her, but she’d been secretly thrilled to find out he could match her intellectually.
“You didn’t need me to get through chemistry, and you know it,” she said.
“But I did. I discovered you’re a good influence on me.” His slow smile took her breath away.
If his goal was to charm her, he was doing a hell of a job. “I thought boys liked girls who were a bad influence on them.”
“Boys do. Men know better.”
Oh, baby. Keeping him at arm’s length would take some doing. They had serious automobile history, and the combined scent of aftershave and leather upholstery was stirring up memories in color with surround sound.
If anything, this experience was even more erotic, because the deep timbre of his voice reminded her that he was older and more experienced now. So was she. If they started something in the back seat of this truck, it wouldn’t be over in a few minutes.
At eighteen she’d had no yardstick, so to speak, for measuring Dustin’s attributes. Now, combining her own experiences with her girlfriends’ tales, she realized that he was really well-endowed. Fortunately she’d been very excited that night, or he could have done serious damage. Instead she’d felt a moment of slight discomfort and then some wonderful sensations that had been over way too soon.
“I’ve missed you,” he said simply.
She wasn’t sure how to respond. You missed someone you felt emotionally close to. Dustin had rocketed through her life and changed her forever, but she’d always recognized the distance between them. He’d been a fantasy then, and he was a fantasy now.
“But obviously you haven’t missed me.” His voice registered disappointment.
She turned more fully toward him. “I’m not sure what you want from me, Dustin.”
He gazed at her for a long moment. “Just what we said. A fresh start.”
“Okay. A fresh start, then.” She had a feeling the situation was more complicated than that, but she decided not to press the matter.
“We’ll talk more about it during lunch.” He reached across her to adjust the air-conditioning vents and brushed her breast with his elbow. “Sorry.”
“No problem.” Ha. No problem, indeed. Her nipples had gone on instant alert.
Apparently satisfied with the outcome of the conversation, Dustin eased the truck out of the parking space. She was aware of his every move. He wanted a fresh start, and she couldn’t help wondering if he meant a fresh sexual start. If so, she’d be a much better lover now. But that was adolescent, to think she had to prove something sexually to this guy.
Even if she wanted to do that, she didn’t have the time. As it was she’d have to burn the midnight oil putting together the newsletter. Over lunch she’d find out what kind of company Ramsey Enterprises was these days and get a better handle on why Dustin intrigued her so much.
Maybe his choice of vehicle figured into it. The Mustang had been a souped-up muscle car, and this truck oozed testosterone, too. She preferred fuel-efficient cars, but she couldn’t pretend they were as sexy.
She hadn’t ridden in a truck for a long time, not since her days in Midland. The deep rumble of the engine exuded macho power. Watching Dustin at the wheel of this truck was a completely different experience from riding with her other male friends in their import sedans.
She’d thought she was beyond this sort of obvious symbolism. Then again, maybe not. She’d put herself on the library waiting list so she could borrow the Georgia O’Keefe flower print. Dustin had placed himself in a powerful truck that thrust into traffic with masculine authority.
Maybe her Midland roots were showing. During puberty she’d been exposed to truck-driving cowboy types, so perhaps they’d imprinted on her budding womanhood. What a shame if she couldn’t get excited without throbbing engines, considering how much she disapproved of eight-cylinder gas-guzzlers like this monster.
But facts were facts, and she was turned on by watching Dustin at the wheel of his truck. She sincerely hoped he couldn’t tell that the longer they were together, the more she wanted to strip him naked and jump his bones. While giving him directions to the Fairmont, she kept her voice steady and her eyes on the road. She’d never known men to be good mind readers, so her desperate longing for his virile body could be her little secret.
He navigated the heavy city traffic with ease, handling the truck almost like a sports car as he gunned the engine to switch lanes. She was thrilled down to her painted toe-nails with every aggressive tactic.
The radio station started broadcasting the headlines and he switched it off. “How did you happen to get the idea for the newsletter?”
“From my girlfriends at the Dallas Morning News.” Talking about her work might take her mind off sex. “We were sitting around the break room one day wishing out loud that there could be a singles magazine along the lines of Cosmo that was specifically geared to the Dallas area. I claimed that I could desktop-publish a singles newsletter, and my friends dared me to try.”
“Can’t resist a dare, huh?”
“Depends upon the dare.”
“See, that’s what I’m talking about. You’re not the type to lose your head and do dumb things.”
I wouldn’t say that. I had my first sexual experience with you. “You make me sound dull and uninteresting.”
“Are you kidding? You were about the most interesting girl in the senior class. Granted, your ideas were sort of strange, but—”
“Not so strange! Time is proving me right, you know. If we don’t wake up, this planet will be ruined.” She was glad he’d slipped and called her ideas strange. Maybe she’d get over her sexual attraction to him, after all.
“Hey, I care about the environment.”
Now she was in familiar territory. “Excuse me if I don’t believe that. You’ve spent years polluting the air with exhaust fumes, just for the fun of it. Of course, with your parents in the oil business, why not? Who cares about air quality when more oil consumption lines your pockets?”
“Do you know what would happen to the economy of this country if everybody thought like you?”
“Dustin, that argument is full of holes. We could switch this economy to alternate fuel and keep it humming along nicely. But that would mean shaking up your comfortable little world, giving up your favorite toys.”
He was silent for so long she was sure she’d offended him. Well, so be it. They were completely different, and they might as well acknowledge that up front.
“Maybe I’m ready to shake up my world,” he said at last.
She glanced at him in surprise.
He shrugged. “As I said, you’re a good influence on me.”
Well, now. This cast a new light on things. He was hinting that she might make a convert of him. To take the son of an oil baron and turn him into a liberal conservationist might be a job worth tackling.
“What’s your position with Ramsey Enterprises, now?” she asked.
“Looks like I’m running the show. My dad had a stroke right after the first of the year and can’t handle the job anymore.”
“Oh, Dustin.” Remorse washed over her. Now wasn’t