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  “Well, actually you are the best pick. You’re smart and Lacey said you played sports in elementary school.”

  “Elementary school was years ago!”

  “It still counts. Once an athlete always an athlete.” Jude had previously been a professional soccer player. The only professional thing I’d ever been was a professional student. And I was embarrassingly out of shape now. As in, I didn’t even like parking far from the entrance to grocery stores because I was too lazy to walk.

  “I can barely run a mile without passing out.”

  “I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that. You’re partnering with Magnus. We need this exposure. I’m sure you’ll do a great job representing us.”

  “Jude—”

  “Come on, Lesli. Who else will do it? Lydia? Ha. Don’t think so. And the others are even in worse shape than you are.”

  “Thanks for that, Jude.”

  “I’m serious, I love them but they’re all allergic to working out. We have a company fitness benefit where I actually pay for their gym membership. Only Maya uses it. She’s really into CrossFit. Last year we were all supposed to do a mud run together. You know, one of those grueling races with obstacle challenges every tenth of a mile or so? Well, everyone but Maya skipped most of the obstacles and waited for me at the finish line. And then when I crossed the finish line alone, they handed me a bag of chips to celebrate.”

  I laughed. “Nice.”

  “And let’s be honest. You’re the smartest person I know. You’re a doctor for god’s sake, and you’re barely over twenty.” He shook his head and said mostly to himself. “At twenty, I’m pretty sure I had wasted at least three-quarters of my brain cells. What I’m trying to say is we need you. You’re our only hope.”

  “Why can’t you do it?”

  He shook his head. “It has to be one of the staff. It can’t be an executive.”

  “Jude, I don’t know...” I started, ready to tell him flat out no, but then thought better of it.

  Why was I fighting Jude? Didn’t I move to Florida to try something different? To have an adventure? Well, adventure was knocking at my door and it was time that I answered it.

  “Alright, Jude. You've convinced me. You've twisted my arm. I’ll do it.”

  He jumped up and high-fived me. “Thanks, cuz. You’re my favorite cousin.”

  “I’m pretty sure I’m your only cousin.”

  “Which is why you’re my go-to favorite. Now get to work. I’ll tell Magnus.”

  I smiled tightly in reply, gulped and headed out the room. What the heck did I just agree to?

  Later that day, I sat in the conference room waiting for Magnus. We were going to start training together, so I was given permission to use as much time as I needed during office hours for our training. I didn’t know what we were training for nor did I have any idea what types of challenges waited for us because I’d never seen the show. From what I’d heard of it, it didn’t even seem remotely interesting.

  I hoped Magnus knew more than I did. I sat there nervously scratching at a hole in my jeans when I heard the conference door open. I looked up shyly and watched Magnus walk in.

  He was wearing jeans and a graphic tee as well. In fact, I couldn’t resist a smile when I realized our shirts matched. We were both wearing shirts emblazoned with a picture of the Starship Enterprise.

  “You’re a Next Generation fan?” he said in greeting, coming to sit across from me.

  I nodded. “You have good taste. Nice shirt.”

  “I’m a sucker for science fiction,” he said with a shrug.

  “I wouldn’t have figured you for a science fiction fan.”

  “Oh really? Why not?”

  I tried not to stare at his lips as I studied his face, but I was unsuccessful. I forced myself to look at his eyes, but they were equally enchanting. God, why did he have to be so attractive?

  I found myself wondering what it would feel like to have his lips on mine. I wondered if he was a good kisser. He had to be. He was too good looking not to be. I’d never found myself in a position where I outright fantasized about someone I knew in a sexual way. This was a problem. I don’t know why the thought of kissing Magnus wouldn’t leave my head, but now he had my undivided attention.

  I pulled my thoughts back to his question, which I’d almost forgotten.

  “You just seem, I don’t know, too cool to be into science fiction.”

  He seemed surprised. “I don’t think of myself as cool, but I’m flattered that you do.”

  “I mean, I don’t really think of you at all. Cool or not.” I grimaced. That had come out totally wrong. Did I really just insult the guy because I was a nervous wreck in his presence?

  He frowned and looked taken aback. I instantly felt terrible. “Sorry, that came out wrong. I wasn’t trying to say that I don’t think of you. I mean, because I do. I mean, not because you’re special to me or anything. I don’t know you, so of course, you can’t be special to me. I’m just trying to say that we’re all special. All human beings... on this planet... so I think of you in a nonspecial way...because you’re human.”

  Oh God. What was I saying? What was wrong with me? And why didn’t I just shut up?

  “Ok. I’m glad you think all humans are special,” he said with uncertainty.

  “Yeah,” I whispered, feeling like an idiot. I knew this was more than I could handle. Well, Magnus was apparently more than I could handle. First I’d choked and he had to save me, and now I couldn’t stop talking nonsense.

  I took a deep breath and decided to try again.

  “So—” we both said simultaneously. Caught off guard, we smiled at each other.

  I broke eye contact and started fidgeting, cracking my knuckles. I looked around the room... just trying to avoid his eyes.

  “So, are you a fan of Brain Pain?”

  I made myself look at him. “No. I’ve actually never seen it.”

  His eyebrows shot up in surprise. “It’s like America’s favorite summer show.”

  I shook my head. “I don’t watch much TV.”

  “Yeah? Why’s that?” he said, leaning lazily back in his chair. He crossed his arms in front of him and I tried not to notice how muscular his arms were. Even his forearms were ripped. Apparently, he was chiseled in all the right places.

  I bet he’d give me heart palpitations if I ever saw him naked. Yum, the idea of a naked Magnus sounded wonderful.

  He gave me a knowing smile. “You plan to answer me or are you just going to stare at me?”

  I could tell from his eyes that he was teasing me. Magnus was surprisingly easy to read. To me, that’s what made him different from most guys I knew in school. Magnus came across as very authentic. There was never any guile. He was like an open book and I liked that about him. He wasn’t a mystery and he didn’t attempt to hide his emotions and pretend to be indifferent or stoic to be “manlier”.

  I answered his question about TV, saying “I just don’t have time for it.”

  He nodded. “I get that. So tell me, what do you have time for? What are your interests? Hobbies?”

  I didn’t want to admit that I was absolutely boring and didn’t have any hobbies besides sleeping and eating. Most of the women he dated probably did yoga, modeled on the side and most likely had excellent calligraphy skills. Or maybe I was just being ridiculous.

  “Just, you know, watching reruns of old sci-fi shows and reading.” I changed the subject. I didn’t want to bore him to tears by telling him that eating and sleeping were what I considered a good time. “So tell me about Brain Pain.”

  “How about I just show you?”

  To my surprise, he got up and came around the conference table and sat next to me.

  We were seated so closely I could smell his aftershave. It had a woodsy scent that I tried not to inhale too deeply. When I was a teenager, I loved reading silly, dirty romance novels. And so many of the romances I read talked about a man smelling intoxicatingly good and I alw
ays considered description to be a writer’s creative license to exaggerate, but Magnus’s smell was intoxicating. I just wanted to lean into him and let him have his way with me.

  Woah, girl, I said to myself, startled by my own thoughts. Where had that thought come from? I wasn’t exactly the type of girl that threw all caution to the wind. But yet, here I was, less than five minutes alone with Magnus, I thought to myself in amusement, and I was already not even thinking like myself.

  I moved a little closer to him, basking in the scent of him and sitting close enough to feel the heat coming from his body. He held his phone in his right hand so I could view it. He laughed easily at the challenges depicted on the screen. I found myself relaxing and letting down my guard.

  It was then that I looked up and caught him staring at me. “You have a really pretty smile, you know.”

  I blushed. “Thanks. You do too.” I immediately clamped my mouth shut. What the heck was I thinking complimenting him? Now he would know that I totally checked him out… which I did.

  “What do you think of the challenges?” I asked.

  He looked like he wanted to say something else, but thought better of it. “The challenges are ridiculous, but they look like fun.”

  “Really? That looks like fun? Hanging from a bridge, suspended twenty feet up by our ankles over a body of water looks like fun to you?”

  He nodded.

  “If that’s your idea of fun, you need to get out more.”

  He looked down at me with an amused look. “Yeah, you’re right.” I returned his smile and he caught me off guard saying, “If you think I need to get out more, maybe you should consider going out with me.”

  I quickly backtracked. “I meant going out more and experiencing new things. That doesn’t have to include me...”

  He smiled. “I think it would be more interesting if I did include you. What’s the point of new experiences if you don’t have anyone to share them with? Have dinner with me tonight. We can try somewhere exotic. This city has lots of restaurants. We can try a little bit of everything if you want.”

  I shook my head, but I was tempted to just say yes and see where it led me. Unfortunately, I wasn’t that bold yet. “No... I’m busy. With stuff. With things.”

  “What things?”

  “Important things and stuff.”

  I was an intelligent woman but couldn’t even figure out a good excuse to escape having dinner with a beautiful man. There were so many things wrong with this scenario, I knew a therapist would love to hear about it. Too bad I didn’t believe in therapy. Talking about emotions just wasn’t my thing.

  “Well, I’m going to keep asking until you say yes.”

  “Sounds obsessive.”

  “More determined than anything.”

  “Nope... obsessive.”

  He shifted a little closer to me. “Maybe I’m obsessed with you... but can you blame me?”

  I laughed nervously and pushed my chair back to put a little room between us. His presence didn’t creep me out. It turned me on and I did not want him to notice my nipples getting hard under my thin shirt.

  “You don’t even know me enough to be obsessed with me.”

  “Let’s change that and get better acquainted tonight.” I was in the middle of shaking my head when he said, “Strictly professional then. I just want to be able to get to know you better.”

  I opened my mouth to protest and then said, “Why not?”

  He looked surprised for a moment. “Great. Tomorrow then? After all, it’s the weekend.”

  I was going to come up with a different day, but I figured why delay the inevitable? “Tomorrow’s fine.”

  He looked surprised that I’d agreed and stood up as I stood up. He was quite a bit taller than me which was nice. I hadn’t dated many men who were taller than me. Who was I kidding? I hadn’t dated many men at all.

  I awkwardly tried to figure out what to do next and gave up and said, “See you later, Magnus.”

  He nodded and held the door open for me. I passed by, aware of his eyes on me as I headed back to my office.

  Chapter Five

  “So explain to me again how this isn’t a date?”

  I sighed and shot Lacey an annoyed look. “I already explained to you, we’re just trying to get to know each other.”

  “Uh huh”

  “For the show...”

  “Ok.”

  “It’s true,” I said, more forcefully than I should have.

  Lacey glanced at me from the corner of her eyes. “Whatever, kid. If it weren’t such a big deal then why are you protesting so much?”

  I considered her question but didn’t have an answer.

  “I’m his partner. If we have any chance of winning, we need to know everything about each other. I noticed that some of those challenges are based on how well you know your partner.”

  “Well, maybe when you’re done discussing that, you can stick your tongue down his mouth. “

  My eyes grew wide and I shook my head at my cousin’s bold words. “Lacey, you’re insufferable.”

  She nodded. “I know.”

  The baby was home with Jude and even though I wanted to take an Uber to meet up with Magnus, Lacey insisted on dropping me off at the park where we’d arranged to meet. I’m pretty sure she was just being nosey.

  As we pulled up, we spotted Magnus casually leaning against the entrance gate to the park, directly across from the sparsely populated parking lot. I was surprised by how empty most of the parks were in South Florida, at least in the parts where I’d visited. People seemed to so used to the beauty around them that they almost took it for granted, while people like me who hadn’t ever experienced a tropical climate thought it was paradise.

  And paradise was the perfect backdrop for Magnus. He was wearing a pair of loose fitting shorts and a white shirt. He looked cool and sexy. In fact, he looked like a leading male role in a 1990s commercial, I thought with a smile to myself.

  “Wow, Jude’s lucky I didn’t meet Magnus first or else Jude would have had some serious competition.”

  I punched her in her arm. “I’m going to tell Jude that next time I see him.”

  “I dare you.”

  “You win. I’m a chicken.”

  “Yep, I know. Get out. Go have fun.”

  “I’m not too sure how to have fun.”

  “That’s bull crap. You know how to have fun. You were always fun as a kid.”

  “Really?”

  She sighed and sat back. “Don’t you think you need to let go of this “Lesli is a just a geek or nerd idea”? It’s like you’re putting yourself in a box.”

  I knew she had a point, but I wasn’t willing to let her tell me something I already knew and get credit for it. “For the record, I am a nerd... maybe even a geek.”

  “Maybe, but people’s expectations for nerds or geeks shouldn’t affect how you view yourself.”

  “Fine. I’m fun. I’m great... blah blah blah.”

  Lacey laughed. “Get out of my car. Have fun.”

  I came across a few joggers as I made my way to him. I scanned the area and there were some kids playing as well. It was a sunny day, but the temperature was in the seventies. A rare cold front for South Florida.

  “Hey, you’re early,” he said in greeting.

  “I’m on time.”

  “That’s my idea of early.”

  He started walking toward a path and extended his elbow to me. In his other hand, he held a bag. I assumed it was croissants or something similar for us to eat while people watching and getting to know each other. With a second of hesitation, I hooked my elbow in the crook of his own. I thought it was old-fashioned, but for some reason, I found it charming. And I had to admit, I liked touching him, more than I imagined I would, no matter how innocent the touch was.

  To keep myself from thinking about his body being near mine, I kept my eyes on the path and started talking. “Funny. I would have thought you would be the “if you’re no
t early, you’re late” type of person.”

  “You mean a stick in the mud?”

  “Well... kind of...”

  “I’m not sure what gave you that impression.”

  “I don’t know. You just seem the type to plan everything.”

  “I’m not like that at all.”

  “Really?”

  “Really. In fact, my personal assistant does all my planning so that I don’t have to.”

  I chuckled. “Figures.”

  He laughed and I realized he’d been teasing me. “Actually, I don’t have a personal assistant. I’m too controlling to let someone else handle my personal affairs.”

  “Ha. I knew it,” I said with too much enthusiasm. I loved to be right.

  “No, you were wrong. I’m a bit controlling, but I’m not inflexible. I don’t mind the occasional surprise… And I think I’m pretty open to change.”

  “As long as you’re controlling it, right?”

  He gave a guilty shrug. “I won’t dignify that question with a response.”

  I gave a self-assured nod. “Which means I’m right.”

  “So let me guess,” he said, studying me. “You’re the type of person who has to be right all the time?”

  “What? No.” I scoffed. I was lying of course. As a child, I’d had trouble making friends because I had been a bit of a know-it-all. I think I’d improved since then, but probably not by much.

  “I believe you. But not really.”

  “Hey!”

  “Let’s just both agree to be flawed individuals and call it even. How does that sound?”

  “Sounds like something I can agree to...”

  “Good. Grab some bread.”

  I had guessed correctly, I thought smugly, as I reached into the bag. I took out a bread roll and promptly took a bite. It was a bit hard and dry, but whatever, I never turned down free food.

  “Don’t order me around,” I said testily as I chewed on the bread.

  “It wasn’t an order. It was an offer.”

  “An offer?”

  “Yeah, I thought maybe you would like to feed the ducks with me.” It was then that I noticed that he had led me to a large pond where several ducks were starting to congregate, obviously aware that Magnus was providing their next meal.