Chapter 23 Ladies
Ladies
“You know we’ve all had him, right?”
My head whipped around to find the Brady Bunch slinking up alongside me.
“What are you doing here?” Was that going to be my go-to sentence forever?
‘Here’ was The Beaver Dam.
And technically our first date.
I snorted to myself. To think I’d called Noelle a dirty whore.
Natalia’s eyebrows rose while her eyes rounded innocently. “Are we not allowed here? You may be able to kick us out of the pool area,” she gave me an exaggerated nod with wide eyes, “but this is a public place.”
I glanced at Tiffany. Married with two kids, I expected her to protest immediately. She frowned fiercely at Natalia.
I watched as she opened her mouth then snapped it shut just as quickly.
She slid a glance at me, a small smirk teasing her lips.
My shoulders dropped. I expected more from her. And myself. It was time I stopped expecting people to rise to meet the most basic of expectations.
While Tiffany hung out with the Brady Bunch, she never partook of the bullying Natalia excelled at. I thought she was stuck with them because they were family, but now I wasn’t so sure.
It pained me to have yet another bullet to dodge in town.
Daire’s deep voice behind me made me jump. “Harley, I haven’t fucked any of these…ladies.” He jerks his chin up at Natalia. “I considered taking her on a date, but after talking to her for ten minutes, I didn’t relish the idea of getting hypothermia on my dick. Can we go eat now?”
My spine straightened, my smile shining like a freaking beacon. “Sure!”
He chuckled. “You, however, are going to burn me alive.”
Tiffany laughed out loud and held her fist up to me.
I tilted my head. Maybe I was right about her after all. I gave her a little bump.
She winked. “Go get it, girl.”
Natalia gasped, “What are you doing?”
Tiffany stepped back and slanted her a cold look. “Finally growing up and making better choices. In case I haven’t made myself clear, I’m done with both of you.”
“But we’re family,” Brittany whined.
Tiffany shrugged and answered drily, “Yes, well, you can’t choose your family, can you.”
Daire’s arm around me tightened as he drew me away. “Show’s over, little spitfire.”
I snapped my jaw shut, realizing I’d been watching with wide eyes and a mouth like a guppy.
“Well worth the cost of admission,” I admitted.
He laughed and led me to our table, the same booth we occupied when I escaped to the bathroom to avoid him.
“We’ve come a long way since that night,” he stated with a grin.
“How?” I exclaimed. “How do you always know what I’m thinking?”
He chuckled. “You looked at the booth, then the hallway to the bathroom, then your eyebrows shot up and you smiled. So, unless you came here with someone else, sat at this booth, and avoided him in the bathroom, it’s a safe guess.”
“You made me nervous.” I drew an imaginary circle around my face. “The way you looked at me,” even the memory of it made me swallow hard, “I knew I was out of my league.”
“It’s only because you want it that it affects you.”
“Want what?”
“To let go. Give up control. Give yourself over into someone else’s hands.”
I screwed up my face.
“Give yourself over into my hands.”
My disdain evaporated.
“See?” He took a sip of his beer. “With the right partner, you want to be set free.”
“Set free from what though? I want to understand.”
“You will.”
“Tonight?”
He pointedly set his beer down on the table. “Do you want it to be tonight?”
I raised my eyebrows. “Do you?”
He stared back at me for a moment, the brackets around his beautiful mouth deepening. “I see I’ve made another tactical error. You don’t need space, you need convincing.”
“You were giving me space? Why?” I stared at him incredulously as he picked up his beer. “I thought maybe you changed your mind about me. But that didn’t make sense because we’ve been spending all our free time together. So, I figured you had a low sex drive.”
He slammed his bottle down on the table, coughing and sputtering behind his hand. His laughter reached his eyes, the corners crinkling.
“Harley, you’re killing me. This is the second time you’ve made me choke.
” He lowered his voice and leaned closer, his lips still curved in a smile.
“I do not have a low sex drive. I did not want to spook you by moving too fast. I think the opposite is true. And perhaps you’ve been feeling neglected? ”
I shook my head. “Not neglected, no. Just maybe that you weren’t as interested in me in that way as I am in you.”
My face flamed at the thought that he didn’t find me as attractive as I found him. I looked down at the table. Of course, it made sense. Where he was lean and muscular, I was softly rounded. More rounded than I should have been.
I closed my eyes. What was I doing with him? Physically, we were not a match. Would I spend our entire relationship wondering what he saw in me? Knowing everyone else wondered the same thing?
I didn’t intend to spill my guts, but he had this simple, direct, and non-judgmental manner of questioning me that made it all too easy to spill.
“You’re spiraling hard,” he murmured.
I looked back up at him, a polite smile on my face.
“Honesty, Harley,” he murmured softly.
I inhaled and dropped my smile. “What are you doing with me?”
“Anything and everything you’ll let me.”
I laughed painfully. “I’m not joking.”
“Neither am I.”
“Why?” I emphasized.
“Somewhere along the way, you decided you were unworthy. Don’t project that onto me.”
I blinked rapidly. “It’s not projection, it’s just facts.”
He snorted. “What facts? I’ll give you some facts.
You have curves, and I want to sink my teeth into them.
You’re petite. I want to wrap you around me like a belt and wear you everywhere.
You’ve got this sassy attitude I want to strip away in our bedroom to reveal the good girl underneath who wants to please her man.
You have the most beautiful eyes, but they’re not smiling as much as I want them to be.
It’s too soon to tell you my thoughts about your mouth and the rest of your delightful body, but hopefully that’s enough ‘facts’ for now. ”
I stared back at him, my brow furrowed. Could it be possible he saw me like that?
My silly, romantic heart thrilled at his words.
It’s too soon to tell you my thoughts about your mouth and the rest of your delightful body.
I couldn’t even begin to unpack that statement.
But I ached to believe him.
“I don’t expect you to believe me right now. I know, if what happened with that bitch earlier is any indication, you’ve been eating shit for a long time. But at some point, you have to take stock of the ‘facts’, and see yourself through a lens they did not craft for you.”
I closed my mouth. “Can we not talk about this anymore?”
He nodded, his lips pressed tight. “Talking is overrated. I’ll show you exactly how I feel about you tonight.”
“Tonight?” I squeaked. Having sex was one thing, having sex after stripping down to my soul was another.
He answered decisively. “Tonight.”
I thought he would bustle me out of there but instead he ordered another drink and asked for a menu before steering the conversation toward safer topics.
I tried not to compare, but the vast difference between Daire and Paul made it impossible not to notice.
Daire paid attention. He paid attention to everything.
When I shared my dreams and plans for the resort with Paul, he barely looked up from his cell phone or the television. Often he had both going at once.
When I spoke to Daire, he made eye contact. Asked questions. Made the effort to understand what it meant to me.
Conversation flowed throughout dinner. And when he had no knowledge of what I needed, like an answer to my social media woes for the resort, he still found something to offer.
“I don’t have social media, so I can’t offer you much in the way of advice for the resort, but a friend of mine from university is in social media marketing. I can contact her if you like?”
“Her?” I blurted.
“She’s only ever been a friend,” he narrowed his eyes on me. “Are you the jealous type?”
I lifted my chin. “Why is it when a man is possessive it’s sexy but when a woman is possessive she’s considered a stalker?”
“You can be as possessive of me as you want. You’d make the cutest ever little stalker.” He grinned. “She’s only ever been a friend, and never one with benefits.”
“Did you have somebody where you used to live?”
“Well, Harley, I suppose now would be a good time to tell you I’m not a virgin.”
I feigned shock. “Really? Whatever did you do at those sex clubs?”
“Ah,” he laughed. “I was wondering when you would bring that up again. I didn’t participate. I watched and learned. I can take you if you want to see for yourself.”
Did I want to see?
I thought of all the women in barely there clothing.
“Nope. Surrounded by all those beautiful women, I would feel—”
“Harley,” he growled a warning. “When I said you’ll have to come to terms with the facts, I didn’t mean I’d sit here while you put yourself down.”
I sat back, feeling chastened.
His voice softened. “I don’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable, but it hurts me when you talk about yourself that way.”
My mouth twisted to the side. “You’re not the first person to say that to me. And you’re right. I’ll try not to do it.”
He dropped several bills on the table and stood up. Holding his hand out to me, he teased, “The teacher in me is feeling the need to teach you a lesson.”