Chapter 17

To Lori's chagrin, Eric held out a hand her former fiancé. "Hi there. I don't believe we've met. I'm Eric Gordon, from Computer Science. You must be Warren Chamberlain."

Warren raised an eyebrow, but courtesy wouldn't allow him to refuse the handshake. "That's right, Mr....George, was it? And this is my fiancée, Miss Marjorie Barnett." Eric shook Marji's hand gallantly, ignoring Warren's deliberate mistake with his name. Lori, had no idea what he was up to, but since it seemed to be annoying Warren, she let him get away with it. For now.

"So pleased to meet you, Miss Barnett," Eric offered, then turned a warm, flagrantly sexy gaze back on Lori. "You're lovely, of course. It almost makes Chamberlain here look like less than an idiot, for giving up Lori." He dropped a swift kiss on Lori's hair. "But then, all's well that ends well, right?" His possessive caresses left no doubt as to his implication.

Marji wasn't quite bright enough to realize she'd been insulted. Warren it seemed, was, for once, shocked speechless, much like Lori. Eric helped her on with her coat.

"Enjoy your meal," he told the other couple as he began to lead Lori away. "Personally, I'm not sure this place lives up to its reputation. I found it to be unusually - stuffy." On that note, he quickly shepherded Lori out the door and into the parking lot.

Lori's outrage built in silence until they were about halfway back to Kilkenny. Then it finally exploded. "What the hell was that all about?" she nearly shouted, startling Eric so much that the vehicle swerved momentarily.

"Huh?" he returned. "What do you mean?"

"I mean back at the restaurant. Why did you kiss me in front of the entire dining room?"

"Oh that." He turned to her and grinned, his teeth visible in the darkening twilight. "That was fun, wasn't it?"

"No!" she shrieked, although she was aware that she was lying. "That was the most embarrassing moment of my life!"

Eric snorted. "What, Dr. Perfect never kissed you in public?"

"Of course not!"

"What a loser. You're way better off without that stiff," Eric told her.

"I know that," she muttered, angry to find herself agreeing with this heathen. She had to admit, though, he'd handled Warren and Marji with great aplomb.

"Look," he uttered quietly. "I'm sorry if I embarrassed you. The idea was to let them see that you have a good thing going without him. Isn't that what you wanted?"

Lori nodded grudgingly. "I guess. I'm just usually a lot more...restrained," she finished. She also didn't know exactly what she - he - they did have going on.

Eric snorted. "You mean repressed," he grumbled, so low that she barely heard it. "So, do you want to go to a movie, or something?"

Lori didn't want to let on, but his accusation about repression had hurt. It also ticked her off. I was time, she decided, to slow things down, more than a little bit. "I don't think so," she told him coolly. "I seem to have developed a headache. I'd like to go home, if you don't mind."

"Whatever you want," he replied levelly. Leaving the freeway exit ramp, he turned toward downtown, rather than toward the commercial strip where the movie theaters and nightclubs were located.

When he pulled into her driveway, she was out of the car before he could come around to open her door. Pleased with that minor victory, she allowed him to follow her up the steps to her apartment. She unlocked her door, then turned to him and stuck out her hand. "Goodnight, Eric. I'll call you when Wesley gets her DNA results. Thank you for an - interesting dinner."

He started to reach for her hand, then seemed to think the better of it. "Oh, hell," he groaned and pulled her into his arms.

His lips were on hers before Lori could react, but her instincts responded just fine. She opened her mouth and he plunged his tongue inside to deepen the kiss, until she could no longer remember that she'd decided to slow things down. Then, as suddenly as he had started, Eric stopped.

"Good night, Lori," he growled. "You'd better go inside now."

Lori just stood there on the wooden porch, befuddled. Eric opened her door, then gently nudged her through it. He dropped a quick kiss on her forehead, then softly closed the door in her face.

Lori stood staring blankly at her closed front door until she heard the sound of his car start up and then peal out of her driveway and down the street. He was driving too fast, she noted abstractedly. She hoped he didn't get a ticket - or hurt. She moved through the kitchen to her floral-print sofa and plopped down, coat and all, onto its cushioned softness.

By Monday afternoon, Lori still hadn't been able to stop thinking about Eric. She'd managed to grade student term papers and do her weekly laundry on Sunday, but the grading had taken her twice as long as usual because her mind kept wandering.

Sunday, he called, and even though she knew she shouldn't, she accepted the call.

"I just wanted to make sure you're okay," he said. "I know you were kind of upset last night."

Kind of upset? Typical male understatement. "I'm fine." That wasn't even an understatement, it was a flat-out lie. She was miserable.

She'd come to a conclusion during the long, sleepless night that had passed since he'd closed her door in her face. She simply didn't have the time or the emotional energy to date anyone seriously right now. Maybe after her tenure review, she could think about it, but right now she had to focus on her job and that didn't leave much left over for dealing with these terrifying emotional mood swings. She was too attracted to Eric to keep things light, so she couldn't afford to see him at all. She'd get him his lizard data, then she wouldn't see him again.

"So how about this Friday we try something different," Eric had offered. "There's a great burger place down by the river."

She took a deep breath and answered. "I don't think so. I really don't have much time for that sort of thing right now. I'll let you know when the DNA profile is ready, though." Then she said goodbye just as abruptly and hung up on him before she could change her mind.