Page 51 of Rogue Wave

Hank had texted earlier, letting me know to come over whenever I got home.

I loved my job, so normally I didn’t care if I stuck around a little after my shift to chat with coworkers or check on the animals, but tonight, I was out the door as fast as I could when my shift was done.

I raced home to put on makeup, style my hair, and put on my long-sleeved red dress. I texted Hank to let him know I’d be over in a few before taking one last look at myself in the mirror. I’d picked this dress on purpose because it was tight up top to highlight my boobs and narrow waist but flared out at my hips and added a little movement to the fabric. The deep scoop neck showed off a hint of my girls without being too much, and the jersey material made it feel more casual.

I was both nervous and excited while walking over to Hank’s place, willing my heart rate to slow a bit so I didn’t die of a heart attack before I ever got the chance to get more kisses from him.

Shadow’s barks could be heard the moment I knocked on his door. I could see her cute face pressed against the small glass window at the side of the door as she panted in excitement.

The door opened to Hank looking more gorgeous than he’d ever looked before. He had on dark jeans and a black button-down shirt, the sleeves rolled to his elbows. I scanned him from top to bottom, enjoying the way the shirt fit tightly over his chest and accentuated the muscles in his arms.

I was suddenly regretting wearing a long-sleeved dress because I was getting warmer by the second. The feeling only intensified when my gaze met his and I saw the unmistakable interest in his eyes.

He liked what he saw in front of him as much as I did, which sent the butterflies that were already fluttering in my stomach into a frenzy.

“You look nice,” he said to me, the appreciation staring back at me impossible to miss.

“You too.”

Shadow’s whine broke my train of thought, and I looked down at her to see her feet moving frantically in place as she tried to get closer to me. Hank’s outstretched leg was blocking her up to this point, but he shifted to let me inside, which allowed her to get to me and shower me with copious sniffs and licks.

“Hi, sweet girl,” I said, bending over to her eye level and scratching her behind the ears.

I turned my head to look at Hank before standing upright, and I watched as his gaze diverted from my butt to my face.

I smirked, knowing I’d caught him, but I said nothing.

“Come on in. Dinner’s almost ready,” he said, closing the door and turning back to the kitchen.

I followed, with Shadow by my side.

“Would you like something to drink?” he asked, walking to his fridge.

“Just water, please.” I took in the smells of his kitchen, enjoying the aroma of pasta sauce and the buttery scent of breadsticks.

“You made pasta?” I asked.

“No. I was going to cook but then ended up staying late at work to get some stuff done, so I grabbed Luigis’s on the way home and just reheated it.”

I smiled, appreciating both the man in front of me and the delicious meal that awaited me.

He pulled everything out of the oven and gave me a plate.

“Not sure how hungry you are, so take as much as you want.”

We each scooped up what we wanted and then moved into his dining room.

“Other than rogue octopuses and whatever that creature was in your bathroom the other day, do you work with any other animals regularly?” he asked as we sat down at his table.

“Technically, I can work with anything we have there. Usually I just focus on the animals in our main three tanks, but I also handle a lot of the frog species,” I answered as I dug into my food. “Did you know that some female frogs will fake their own death to avoid mating with unattractive males?”

He smiled, amusement dancing in his eyes, like he’d already accepted that conversations with me were never going to be normal.

“You got to meet some of my crazy family, so it’s only fair you tell me about yours,” I said, barely containing the moan from the delicious food.

He looked down at his food and then up at me. “My father died a few years ago, and my mom lives just outside Sacramento.”

“Oh, that’s close. Do you see her often?” I asked and then paused as realization hit me. “Wait… I thought Dougie said you grew up in Arizona. How long have you lived in California?”