Chapter Eleven
Meg looks like a deer in the headlights. Maybe that came out blunter than I intended it to? I’m just curious about why she did it and if she’ll be honest. We’re having a good time. She’s a lot more loosened up than normal and hasn’t been drinking.
I’m still in a state of surprise that she asked me. I made the effort, and she did too, looking smoking hot in that black dress. Her hair all done and she’s wearing make-up, not that she needs it but it’s accentuated the rest of the outfit, and the effort she went to.
We’ve gone through the entire meal getting to know one another better and it’s been nice, but I’m not one to beat around the bush and given her circumstances, I don’t want to mistake this for something it isn’t. I need to know my boundaries here.
My blurting out about the t-shirt thing was probably not the way to go about it, particularly as she looks like she is about to hurl or run away.
“I mean, it’s not a big deal, I just… I don’t need it back or anything.”
“Honestly,” she takes a deep breath. “I’m not sure why I took it. ”
Well, that clears up exactly nothing. Meg brushes her hair behind her ear and looks at her plate.
“I didn’t intend to make you uncomfortable. Sometimes I have a tendency to put my foot in my mouth and it’s a big foot, so it’s generally stupid shit that comes out of me. But that said, I am curious about it.”
“It was comfortable, and I was thinking I should wash it for you.”
“Then you kept it.” I’m trying hard to keep the smug look off my face.
“Well, I haven’t seen you,” she says, not making eye contact.
“Is it in your purse?” I stifle a laugh.
“Hilarious.” She narrows her eyes, but there is a twinkle in there. “Maybe I’ll give it back to you when we go for a run tomorrow?”
Leaning back in my chair, I keep my eyes locked on hers. “Keep it.”
She bites her lip and my fucking dick throbs. What I wouldn’t give to pull that plump lip from between her teeth right now. I clear my throat.
“How about we skip the run and move onto something a bit more fight focused tomorrow?”
“Really?” her eyes widen. “I mean, we haven’t trained for a few days now.”
“You’re doing well, your fitness is up, the conditioning has helped tone and strengthen your body.”
Don’t look down, don’t fucking look down. It could be the bra, but her tits are high and looking fine as fuck in that dress. I noticed her legs when we were walking in too. She is ready.
It has nothing to do with the fact I will need to get closer to her, showing her the correct stance and form when throwing punches. Nothing at all.
“If you think I’m ready,” she says.
Fuck, her voice is doing all kinds of shit to me it shouldn’t be. “Yeah, I think so. Can you come over in the morning? ”
Any other chick and I’d be taking her home tonight. That isn’t true. I don’t take women home. I always go to their place so I can leave when we’re done. Megan has already spent the night at my place once. Not with me, but she was there, and I wasn’t uncomfortable with it.
“Yes, that’s fine. My shifts are mostly four starts lately, so I have most of the day.”
“Me too.”
We don’t need most of the day, not for a bit of sparring and training.
We stare at one another and I barely breathe when Meg leans forward and puts her elbows on the table. The movement pushes her tits together, giving a tantalizing hint of her cleavage. I’m not sure it’s on purpose. I am sure she sees my eyes drop there.
Fuck, is she flirting?
“How was the meal?”
I jolt at the sound of Angelina’s voice behind me. Megan moves back in her seat and looks up at my fucking aunt with a smile.
“Beautiful. Everything was delicious, thank you.”
“I’m glad to hear it. It’s on the house.”
“Angelina,” I hold up a hand.
“No arguments. You may be a giant MMA fighter, but I can get a step ladder to hit you round the back of the head.”
Meg giggles behind her hand, probably visualizing that. I like the sound of her laughter, so I can almost forgive Angelina for interrupting that moment. Almost.
Meg thanks her but offers money again, which has Angelina scowling and backing away.
“It was an absolute pleasure to meet you, Megan. And you,” she points at me. “Take care of this one,” she winks.
“I’m sorry about that,” I say with a resigned shake of my head.
“I like her. I would also like to see her get that step ladder.”
“Don’t encourage her. She will do it. ”
We head out after I leave a hefty tip under one of the glasses, which more than covers the cost of the food. I’ll get it in the neck, but I’m not a freeloader. We ate a lot of food and even though the restaurant does good business, I’m not about to take money out of Angelina’s hand.
As we walk to the car, Megan has to move closer to me because the streets are busy. I hold my hand out behind her back to make sure no one jostles her, but I don’t touch her. She glances at me side on as if she knows what I’m doing. I wink at her and her lips squeeze together in a shy smile.
Okay, this feels like a date, so what happens next? Besides taking her home and fucking her senseless because that ain’t happening. But it doesn’t have to be over. It’s still early, just after nine.
“I had a nice time,” Meg says, as we reach the parking lot at the rear of the restaurant. “What time do you want me to come over tomorrow?”
I swallow the disappointment. I should have opened my damn mouth before she did, but I was too busy thinking about getting her naked. Idiot.
“How is eleven?”
“Sounds good.”
Meg ducks her head and when we reach the car, I open the door for her again. She gives me another shy smile. I’ve noticed a lot of women don’t appreciate having doors held for them, wanting to be independent and all that which I can get on board with. Me though, it’s just a part of who I am.
Women deserve respect and I usually take their lead, but Meg seems to like me opening the door for her. Once I’m in the truck, I decide to go for broke.
“Would you like to get a drink somewhere?”
“I’m kind of tired,” she says, suddenly more nervous.
Okay, I get it. She is keeping her distance and as much as I would like to stay out, get to know her better, I’m happy with what we’ve done tonight. She’s opened up more than I thought she would. The fact she even came out with me is a big step. And she asked me .
I give her a reassuring smile, then head out of the parking lot. Meg seems lost in thought, so I leave her to them and we drive in silence. It’s not uncomfortable, and the radio is on in the background so it’s not dead silence.
She’s surprised when I get out and walk her to her door, but seems grateful for it. Her doorman doesn’t seem to be around, so I step into the foyer.
“I’m just making sure you get in safe,” I explain.
“Thank you, I appreciate that, Joey.”
We stop at the elevator. Meg doesn’t press to call it. “Thank you. I had a nice time.”
“Me too. We should do it again.”
Meg’s throat works as she swallows. Her head ducks and I kick myself. Did I misstep here?
“That would be good,” she says, her shoulders pressing back, more determination in her voice. “If it’s not too weird, I mean, with us training together.”
“It’s not weird at all,” I give her a big smile. “I’m happy to go out again, and to go wherever you want, at whatever pace. It’s all good.”
Her eyes widen, but she no longer looks nervous. She turns and presses the call button. From the display, it’s on seven, so will take a while to get to the ground floor.
I turn to watch her. Her head is tilted so she can see the numbers, her lips moving. At first, I think she’s counting the floors, but that is not the case.
She takes a deep breath in and turns to me. Then takes a step towards me. I stand still, but don’t take my eyes off her. She places her hand on my forearm and goes up on her toes. I’m way too tall for her to reach anything, so I duck slightly, and she kisses my cheek.
Fuck. I feel like a damn teenager on his first date, but I’m cool with that. She smiles at me again as the elevator doors open.
“See you tomorrow.”
“Yeah. Eleven,” I grin. She returns it, then steps onto the elevator.
I stand there for a good five minutes after she’s gone. I’m not sure if this is something I should pursue. Is she ready to move on? I’ve attracted more than my fair share of women over the years.
My college days were wild and being a champion fighter brings them out of the woodwork, like Angelina said, fight whores, I guess. Though calling them that doesn’t sit right with me.
I like a confident woman who goes after what she wants. It’s the clingers that get irritating. I’m up front, I let them know ahead of time I’m not the relationship type.
One day I’d like to settle down, but I never thought I was ready for that.
Meg isn’t like those other women. She needs to be treated gently, take things slowly. And ultimately, it may never work out.
But for the first time, I kind of want to see where it goes.
I’m whistling again as I head out to the car. I’ve never felt this happy about not getting laid before.
It’s really fucking weird. But I like it.