Chapter Five #2
I hate dresses on me for the most part, but Amy’s right, it’ll help me stay cooler and hopefully not overheat.
I climb into the shower, scrubbing everywhere I can reach and shaving until I’m as smooth as I’ve been in months.
Hey, no judging, I’ve been living the ‘me’ life, remember?
It includes avoiding shaving when it’s not absolutely required.
Besides, it’ll be no-shave-November in no time.
I’m finishing up, applying my mascara on the wispy fake lashes I’ve glued to my eyelids, when my phone chimes.
I’ve gone all out for this date. I’ve moisturized everywhere, and even brought out my contour skills in my makeup.
When he sees me this time, I want him to realize I don’t always look like a frazzled, hot, irritated mess on the cusp of a menopause breakdown.
Okay, it’s a lie, I look like that ninety percent of the time.
However, I have my sparkle moments, and tonight’s one of them.
I check my phone.
He's outside my gate. Right now.
“Ah! This is really happening,” I say to myself, momentarily hopping up and down as a burst of nerves hits me.
I’ll probably regret not holding on to the energy later, as I seem to burn through it quicker now than I ever have in the past. I’ll be ready for bed and a good book come nine o’clock, and he’ll be raring to go, I’ll bet.
“Be good, my babies,” I call out, then give extra pets and air kisses before I grab my wristlet with my credit card, phone, gum, lip gloss, and keys all crammed inside it.
I step outside the gate of my privacy fence, since I have the entire lot fenced in, to find the same big truck as before, waiting for me.
JJ climbs out as soon as he sees me, walking around the front, a big smile plastered across his face. Lord Jesus, this man cleans up nice. He’s even more gorgeous than my fantasy, and that’s saying a lot. I thought I’d built him up, but apparently, I was selling him short.
“Holy fuckballs,” I whisper, and his head tips back as a booming laugh escapes between his perfect lips. I can’t help but grin at the sound; his laugh makes me feel happy all over. “Oops, didn’t think I was going to say that out loud.”
“I hope it was a good holy fuckballs? Because with the way you’re looking tonight, I’d say it’s phenomenal for me.
” His words come across as completely genuine, and it has me standing a little taller, brushing off some of the earlier hesitation I was feeling when I was staring in the mirror, moments before he arrived.
I’m not going to lie to myself and pretend that his being younger than me isn’t at least a little intimidating, because it is.
I’m finally at that age where I accept that I’m not going to be the youngest in the room, the most attractive, or whatever.
I’ve been slowly making peace with getting older and being okay with the changes my body is going through.
It’s not easy at all, after living life thinking none of these changes would happen to me, or if they did, they would somehow be easier.
It’s something I wish were different in the world, educating women starting at a young age about the true depth of changes we face both mentally and physically that we experience all through life.
Not only when you’re young. They talk about puberty, then childbirth, then menopause, but so much is left out in the growing times between each big stage.
“You look pretty handsome yourself,” I admit, my cheeks warming as a bit of shyness comes over me. I’m not generally a shy person, but around him, I feel all tingly and jumpy for some reason.
“Thanks,” he follows me to the passenger side, opening my door, and my brow hikes. I get regular doors held open for me frequently, it’s a Texas thing, but the truck door too? Never happens.
And, I like it.
He offers his hand again, helping me as I put my foot on the sidestep and climb into the massive vehicle.
Men in Texas love their big trucks, and JJ seems no different in that department.
As I’m passing him to get into my seat, I catch a whiff of him and nearly melt on the spot.
I’m going to be Lord-Jesus’ing a lot tonight, I already know it, because wow.
Just wow.
Everything about him makes me want to tell him to drop trou and let me hop on for a quick, rough ride. It’s been like the Sahara Desert between my thighs for as long as I can remember, and suddenly now, I’m raring to go. This man is magical, and he doesn’t even know it.
After he helps with my seatbelt, nearly buckling me in himself, he carefully closes the door.
I watch with rapt attention as he walks around the front, his tall frame making the truck not seem quite as big anymore.
It suits him now that I’m sitting back, studying him.
He climbs inside, and as soon as his door closes, the cab fills with his scent all over again.
I breathe it in like a weirdo, but thankfully, he doesn’t comment.
He shifts the truck into reverse and, rather than be lazy to use the backup camera, his arm stretches to hold on to the back of my seat as he turns to look behind him and reverse us out of my driveway.
It’s sexy, seeing the muscles in his arm flex as he lightly holds on to my seat and maneuvers the vehicle effortlessly.
He shifts into drive, and as the truck rolls forward, I break the silence.
“So, uh, do you eat red onions?”
A chuckle spills from his lips, and I’m reminded again how much I enjoy the sound. He finds me funny, and most guys consider it a winning trait from what I hear. “Red onions? That was random and weirdly specific.”
“I’m random, sometimes. Okay, a lot.” I admit. “So, do you like them?”
He glances at me, his gaze intense for a beat, almost as if he’s attempting to gauge whether I want him to eat them or not. He clears his throat, “No. I actually find them to be disgusting. I’m allergic to onions.”
I gasp.
The sound is louder than appropriate for the situation, garnering his attention again. “No way! I’m allergic to them, too. So gross. Repulsive.” I shudder. “But can you, like have small amounts if they’re really tiny?”
He shrugs, “Yeah, that doesn’t bother me too much.”
I sit back in my seat again, preening a bit. He just keeps getting better and better. “Fuck onions,” I say after a beat, and he shakes with laughter.
“Exactly, fuck onions.”
Well, this is off to a good start.