Reed didn't care about my mood disorder; he just started pumping me for information. "Tell me about your classes?" he asked after we placed our orders.

Someday I'd get the unsociable girl attitude down properly. I gave in with a small puff of air, which moved a few flighty strands of hair from my face. "There are only two this semestermath and English. At the rate I'm going, I'll graduate from college in ten years."

"You're taking an advanced math course."

"I tested out of basic, took two math courses last semester, and decided to push myself a little this time. I know it's weird, but I like anything to do with numbers. "

"Do you ever play Sudoku?"

I rolled my eyes. "Not anymore. They're too easy."

"Prove it." He stood up and walked to the diner's front counter, grabbing a newspaper.

I used to play the puzzles from the newspapers at the library, but seriously, they became too easy. He went through the paper and folded it before placing it in front of me.

"Are you going to time me or what?" I was having trouble not laughing at how sure he was that I couldn't handle the puzzle in the newspaper.

"No, I just want to see you try one. They didn't have a pencil," he said as he handed the pen over.

"I don't need one." This was my element and my middle name was cocky.

"We'll see," was his smartass reply.

I wondered why he thought a Sudoku puzzle was so special. There were much harder math brainteasers out there. I looked the puzzle over and the numbers started falling into place. Our food arrived as I was finishing up. Far too easy.

I turned the paper upside down, lifted my fork, and took my first bite.

Reed looked back and forth between the paper and me. "You can finish after you eat. I don't mind waiting."

"I'm done."

He gave me "the look" and I couldn't help laughing. "You wanna check my work?"

He turned the newspaper over and started examining the puzzle.

"How'd you do that?"

"Eat your food, jock man. Why is the ability to do a Sudoku puzzle so important to you?"

He took a bite of food and I watched his mouth while he chewed, loving the way his jaw moved. Was anything this man did non-erotic? His eyes were bright and he ate slowly, savoring each bite of the diner food. He swallowed and I watched his Adam's apple move as I slid my gaze back up to his eyes.

He was watching me, just the corners of his mouth tipping up. "A friend of my father's is obsessed with Sudoku puzzles. He got me addicted and at least once a week, I spend a of couple hours figuring it out."

"A couple of hours?" He had to be kidding.

"Yes, Miss Brainiac. They calm me down and require all of my focus. I like to work on one when I'm nervous before games."

He was the rising star in baseball. "How can you be nervous before games?"

His face flushed slightly. "This isn't good table conversation."

I laughed. "What do you do-puke?"

Reed Tyler's cheeks turned completely red.

"Seriously?" I asked, completely dumbfounded.

"Not if I work on a puzzle. The guys tease me about it, but we each have our own way of dealing with game day stress. But now I don't know if I can ever do one of these again." He flipped the paper over. "You just completed one in under ten minutes."

"Closer to five." I couldn't help tossing that out.

"What are your plans when you graduate?" he asked between bites.

"I'll need false teeth by then, so they'll come first."

"Hmm, some things could be pretty interesting with no teeth."

I choked on the bite of food I'd just put in my mouth and picked up my napkin, trying hard not to spit it out.

He threw back his head and laughed.

I swear my ears turned pink.

"We aren't going there yet, Jaycee."

I managed to swallow, but I wanted to hit him. He gave off so many mixed signals. He looked at me like he wanted to fuck my brains out, but then he backed off. I'd offered to have sex with him in exchange for the vet bill and that pissed him off. Then he made jokes about blowjobs. God, at least I think that's what he referred to. Every time I looked at him, I thought about sex. He wasn't a boy, he was a man. So why the hell were his signals so messed up?

He winked. "I'm not going to ask what you're thinking right now, so let's change the subject."

It was a good idea, so I took a small bite of food and let him do it.

"Let's talk about you moving in with me."

I managed to continue chewing and watched as he took another bite. He acted like what he said was no big deal.

It had to stop. I took a deep, calming breath so I could explain it to him unemotionally. "So-I move in. Uproot my sister and brother. Don't sleep with you. Do your house management thing while you're out of town. And then what? Or, let's say I sleep with you. What happens when you're bored, Mr. Jock Man? My sister and brother have started a new school, but it's time for us to move along. If we lived over the garage, Bitsy will think of you as a big brother or, better yet, a father figure and poofno more hero."

I watched his lips pull in tightly as I talked. He was a nice guy, but he had no place in my life and I had no place in his.

"Eat your food," was his reply.

Maybe things were finally sinking in. I broke into his house for god's sake. He played professional baseball and made a gazillion dollars each year. We were like Apple and Microsoft. We didn't belong anywhere near each other.

***

Reed took me home after the veterinary office called and said they needed to keep Don Gato overnight. I knew Jon and Bitsy were there and I was incredibly relieved that I didn't need to tell Bitsy her cat was dead.

"Thank you." It came out softer than I meant it to.

"Was that so hard?"

His bad mood was gone and a crooked smile flashed across his face. Suddenly, all I could think about was our last kiss. "Yea, it was kinda hard, but really, thank you."

"I heard what you said earlier, Jaycee, but I still want you to think about my job offer. I can have the trailer towed to my house so it's available if you need it. I could use the help while I'm gone, and having you there will keep my mind on the game. Spring training is a lot of work. We go straight into regular season after that and I'm away as much as I'm home."

I shook my head. "You're full of shit and you don't really need me."

I opened the door and got out, knowing he watched. I knocked on the trailer door. Unable to help myself, I turned and looked at Reed. I couldn't read the expression on his face, but his fingers came off the steering wheel in a semi-wave. I didn't return it.