Dragon in the System

Chapter 4

Eric was still in shock minutes later, as they walked together through the fluffy falling snow toward the faculty parking lot. It had grown dark while he'd been inside the Life Sciences building and turned even colder. Lori had shrugged on a lightweight pink denim jacket that matched her above-the-knee skirt, but bare pink-tipped toes peeked out from the straps of her flat-heeled, white sandals. Obviously, she hadn't been prepared for the change in weather, either. She had great legs, he thought, glancing down at them in the gleam of the overhead safety lights. Of course the rest of the package was pretty nice, too.

Even though it was none of his business, it bugged Eric a little to think of Lori walking to her car by herself at night. Sure, it was usually safe here at Southern Michigan University, better known as SMU. Kilkenny was a quiet little town nestled snugly in the quaintly beautiful Irish Hills, where the crime rate was pretty much limited to petty theft, bar fights and underage drinking. Still more serious crimes, including the occasional s****l assault, still happened from time to time.

"Where's your car?" she asked, jolting Eric out of his funk.

"Oops," he muttered, smacking the side of his head with the heel of his hand. "I walked in. I just live over on Sunrise." It was the nearest residential street to campus, so he hoped she'd understand.

"Okay," Lori shrugged, obviously unfazed by his forgetfulness. "I'll drive." She led the way down the mostly empty aisles, finally coming to a stop beside a tiny red Ford. Eric cringed at the thought of trying to cram his six foot three inches into the dinky front seat, but he wasn't about to let her escape without him after agreeing to dinner. While he stood there, probably looking like an i***t, she clambered into the driver's seat and motioned him in. "It's not locked."

"Why not?" he asked rather more sharply than he'd intended. After he folded himself into the passenger seat, he added, "You should be more careful."

She glanced over at him with a twisted grin, but didn't speak. Eric winced, realizing he'd said something stupid again. Lori was a big girl, he reminded himself. Heck, she probably had some bodybuilder boyfriend to take care of her. She didn't need him telling her how to live her life. He kept his mouth shut as they drove across campus, while the windshield wipers slapped loudly.

It was late enough when they arrived at the pizzeria that the worst of the student dinner crowd had thinned and it was still too early for the pre-nightclub rush. A few stragglers, including a couple of fellow faculty members, were scattered about the dining room and a couple even called hello as they made their way to a corner booth. Eric grimaced at the speculative glances. Great. Now he'd given them grist for the gossip mill. Oh well. Being seen with a pretty, single colleague certainly couldn't hurt his image.

He glanced at the menu, relaxing a little when he spotted the icon that told him they did, indeed, accept credit cards. "Want a beer?" he asked. Maybe his questions would seem less insane if she'd consumed a little alcohol.

Lori shook her head and another long strand of her dark, silky hair slipped free from a heart-shaped pink barrette. "No thanks. I really can't stand the stuff. A glass of wine, maybe?" Her voice was soft and he could barely hear her above the blaring jukebox. It amazed him that anyone over the age of fourteen actually paid money to listen to Kelly Clarkson, but, hey, to each his own.

"Sure, anything you want," he assured her eagerly. "What do you like on your pizza?"

"Anything but olives or anchovies," she replied, sticking out her pointed little tongue. A bolt of pure lust shot straight to Eric's groin. God, even though he'd just met her, he desperately wanted to feel that tongue on him - right now. "I can't stand little salt pellets," she continued. She was clearly oblivious to the direction of his thoughts, thank goodness. "Whether they're animal or vegetable."

He forced himself to focus on her words. Fortunately, they sounded reasonable enough to him. His stomach growled again. "How about the extra-meat, extra-cheese special?"

Lori smiled and it transformed her from cute to stunning. "Sounds great."

God, he was sunk. She was sexy, she was smart and she liked her pizza loaded. Too bad that in half an hour, she'd know he was nuts. Eric debated the possibility of not telling her the truth and just asking her out for a real date. Unfortunately, he honestly did need her professional expertise.