Anna barely made it in time to catch the three o'clock bus. She'd gotten caught up writing a paper at the library and didn't realize it was getting so late. Fortunately the driver saw her running and stopped to wait for her because the next bus didn't come for another half hour and she was going to be fifteen minutes late as it was.
The whole way home she was kicking herself, knowing she wouldn't have time to shower or get ready. And she really needed a shower, especially after that sprint for the bus. She wished she had Grant's number so she could at least call and let him know. It wasn't until she was five minutes from home that she remembered he'd put his number in her phone for her.
She quickly searched her contacts, pulled him up, and burst out laughing at the picture he'd taken of himself next to his aquarium making a fish face. She pressed the call button and smiled apologetically at the woman sitting next to her, who clearly thought she was crazy.
"Hi there, gorgeous." His voice washed over her making her feel warm all over. "Running a little behind are we?"
"Crap, I guess that means you're already there. I'm sorry, Grant. I'll be home in five minutes."
"No worries. I'll see you when you get here."
"Alright."
Anna's seat mate was relieved when she finally stopped bouncing her legs nervously and pulled the wire to get the bus to stop. She walked across the lawn, scanning the street for Grant. There was no sign of his car and she wondered if he'd decided to leave and come back later. In that case, she decided, she might have time for a shower before he got back so she hurried inside and unlocked her apartment door. By the time she ran to the bathroom, pulled off her jeans and tank top, and started the shower running she heard a knock on the door.
"Shit," she spat out, grabbing a large towel and wrapping it around herself. She looked out the peephole and saw Grant standing there looking positively edible. "Shit, shit, shit," she whispered and he looked up at the peephole with a knowing grin.
"What was that, sweetheart?" he asked with a laugh.
Anna cracked the door and peeked out. "I'm not ready yet."
"That's alright, I don't mind waiting."
She hesitated and then opened the door, clutching the towel closed tightly at her chest. "I'll just be a minute, I need to hop in the shower real quick."
"Take your time."
She turned and headed toward the bathroom, feeling his eyes on her back. After showering in record time, especially impressive given that she shaved, Anna dried off and looked around the bathroom in dismay, realizing she hadn't brought any clothes in with her. Her apartment was the opposite of large and she knew she would have to walk right past Grant to get to her bedroom. Lord, he'd probably think she did it on purpose. Shaking her head, she wrapped the towel around herself again and stepped bravely out into the living room.
Grant was standing just a few feet away, bent over examining some pictures she had sitting on her bookself. He looked up at her, taking in her rosy cheeks, tangled wet hair, and towel clinging to her damp skin; she watched his eyes darken and narrow.
"I'm sorry, I'll just be another minute. I need to change," she said quickly, pointing past him toward her bedroom.
His gaze slid down and back up her body before meeting her eyes. For a brief moment his eyes seized hers in a predatory stare and she instinctively took a step backward, not breaking eye contact. He moved toward her and her heart pounded in her chest, but she wasn't afraid; she wanted this, she wanted him.
Then he smiled and it broke the spell.
"Changing is probably a good idea. Togas are, like, so 3rd century."
"I don't know, I hear they're all the rage in Rome," she quipped, her voice wavering only slightly.
He chuckled and turned back to the pictures as she walked around behind him toward her bedroom. She glanced over her shoulder, catching his eyes on her again. He grinned and winked, but the shadow of that earlier gaze remained in his eyes and she shivered again as she closed the door behind her.
Anna looked at herself in the mirror, wondering what he'd seen that made him stop. After their little tryst on the phone last night, she'd been confident about his interest in her, but once again he had her on edge wondering what he was thinking.
She never really thought much about her appearance, being comfortable in the cute range and not aspiring for anything more, but something about Grant made her suddenly wish she was closer to the beautiful end of the spectrum.
Dropping her towel she turned sideways, evaluating her flat tummy and small, but perky breasts. Her hips were a bit wide, giving her a slightly pear shape, but she was fairly toned so that never bothered her much. Leaning in she looked at her eyes, bright and brown with only a few tiny laugh lines just beginning to appear. Not too shabby, she thought, but maybe he had different standards. After all, he could have almost any woman he wanted.
Anna dressed quickly, thankful she'd laid out an outfit earlier that morning; her favorite flowy blue cotton skirt and a white camisole. She didn't know where they were going or what they were doing, but hopefully she'd be dressed for anything. And he'd been wearing faded jeans and yet another t-shirt, a navy blue v-neck one this time, so she supposed she would do. After a final once over in the mirror she headed back out feeling only slightly self-conscious.
Meanwhile Grant was mentally running through all the presidents in chronological order in an effort to calm himself. He was shaken by his physical response to Anna and was chastising himself for nearly losing control. She'd taken him by surprise suddenly standing there nearly naked and wet and looking at him like she wanted him to just reach out and snatch the towel right off her body so he could drag her to the floor and...
Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Adams, no that wasn't right, he was forgetting someone. He sighed deeply. "Fuck it," he muttered to himself and walked to the window to hopefully find something to distract him.
When she emerged from her room Anna saw Grant standing at the window with his hands in the pockets of his jeans. He turned to look at her and smiled, but it didn't quite reach his eyes and she could tell he was feeling anxious about something.
"You ready?"
"Look, if I took too long and you need to be somewhere, it's ok. I'd understand."
"What? No, absolutely not. I don't have to be at the club until nine so we have the whole evening."
"Okay. So what do you want to do?"
He smirked and shot her another one of those looks that stopped her in her tracks, but said in a lighter tone, "I haven't been down to the riverfront in ages. We could go down there and walk around if you want."
"Sounds good."
Anna slipped on her sandals and grabbed her purse and sweater and they headed out the door.
"Oh wow! You have a convertible." Anna's delighted smile lit her face. "I've never ridden in one before."
"You rode in this one last night."
"I wasn't paying attention to your car last night," she said, rolling her eyes. "I was too busy trying to stay awake long enough to tell you where I lived. Can we ride with the top down?"
"If you like."
Anna's enthusiasm was infectious and Grant couldn't help smiling back at her as she bounced up and down in anticipation. He planned to just open her door, but at the last second had to lean in for a quick kiss before she sat down. She smelled so good he lingered a moment, lifting his hand to feel her still-damp hair. She smiled shyly at him as she sat down, her skirt sliding up her legs, and he closed her door reluctantly.
"Aren't you worried about your hair?" he asked as he climbed in his side and pressed the button to start the top folding back into itself.
"I pretty much never worry about my hair, why?"
