Chapter 27
Chapter Twenty-Seven
No pressure, Addie, this day only has to go perfect, she thought to herself.
Addison's hand shook a little as Daniel opened the door to his truck and reached in to help her out.
She smiled at him and turned so he could slide a hand around her waist and guide her down to the pavement.
She could have gotten out of the truck on her own, but she knew he liked helping her.
Or at least he liked touching her every chance he got.
And truth be told, she enjoyed his touch just as much.
She caught his hand after he closed the door and engaged the locks on the truck.
She breathed in the crisp morning air and grinned up at him. "What do you think?"
"About what?" he asked gruffly.
"About my favourite place in the whole city," she replied, tugging on his hand and encouraging him to follow her into the city park.
He followed her reluctantly. "It has trees," he grunted.
"Yes, very observant," she laughed. "It also has benches, tables, walking paths, a few statues and a river winding through it. Generally people call these things parks."
He stopped walking, forcing her to stand still too. "Your favourite place is a park?"
"Uh huh."
"Why?" he demanded.
Addison frowned a little. She was hoping he would be a little more impressed with her special place. She should have known better. So far the only time she'd ever known Daniel to be impressed was when her clothes came off. But dammit, she was trying to communicate with him, clothes on.
She shrugged. "It's peaceful here. There are no demands on my time, I can wander around or just sit and listen and smell to my heart's content without any pressure to be somewhere else. Everything just sort of recedes and I can be myself here."
He didn't say anything for a minute and she wondered if maybe she reached him. Then he said, his voice cool, "I meant, why did we come here?"
"Oh," Addison said, somewhat deflated. Then cautiously, "We're on a date. I thought we should try again, only this time I'm taking you to places that I love that I think you might like too. I want you to get to know me better."
"No," he said instantly. He grabbed her arm, turned on his heel and began dragging her toward the truck.
Addison struggled to keep up and would have tripped over the uneven paving stones, except the grip on her arm was extremely firm. She gasped and clutched at him with her other hand, nearly losing her knit purse in the process.
"Please, Daniel," she begged. "Just for a little while?"
"Fuck," he snarled under his breath. "I hate when you use that word against me, you know I can't fucking resist you when you say it like that."
He turned on her and gripped her arms tightly and spoke, his lips close to hers, his voice tight with tension. "Just tell me why you insist on doing this to yourself."
She brought her mittened hand up and rubbed it against his chest. It wasn't terribly cold out, but cool enough that she liked to cover her hands so they would stay nimble for her cello.
"I need to know if you can... if you can like me outside of the bedroom.
I know you don't do dates, but you do want some kind of relationship.
We're together every night and I don't see an end to this.
Unless you plan on ending it some time soon.
Maybe you don't want a traditional girlfriend, and that's fine, I won't force you to label what we're doing.
But I need to know if we can at least like each other. "
He didn't say anything for a long time, just held her in his eerily still way. Finally, he said, "I think it's bullshit Addison, but if it's what you want I'll do it."
She grinned happily and clapped her hands together. When he loosened his grip on her arms, she broke free, grabbed hold of his hand and pulled him in the direction of the tables. "Pick one that has a game board built into it."
He did as she told him without question.
She took a seat and commanded him to do the same, then she reached into her purse and pulled out a bulky paper bag full of wooden chess pieces.
As she started feeling the pieces one at a time and pulling them out of the bag to place on the board, he asked her, "You carry these around in your purse? "
She laughed. "Not usually. I haven't actually been here in a while. I used to come here quite a bit before I got hired on at the orchestra, when I was between jobs. I actually used to live right around the corner from here so it was easy for me to wander over and see if anyone felt like a game."
"You lived in this area? Could've been killed just going out for groceries, let alone looking for a companion in the park," he snapped. "Fuck, you have the instincts of a baby, Addison."
She sighed and continued placing pieces on the the board.
"We're trying to have a nice day here, Daniel.
Would you mind please watching your language?
That was a long time ago. I was young and reckless when I first moved here to the city, I wasn't particularly interested in living safely.
It was also hard for me to make rent, so I had to live where rent was cheapest. Besides, you can't tell me you never took any stupid chances that could've gotten you killed. You’ve spent a good portion of your life living dangerously for a paycheque.
And last time I checked, I wasn't the one who was shot four times.”
He grunted something that sounded like "we're not talking about me," but she couldn't be sure.
She finished setting the board and then raised a brow pointedly at him.
She'd set the white pieces in front of him so he could go first. She knew they were white because she had carved little wedges into the bottom of each piece on the white set.
"How do you even know I can play?" he asked.
She smiled and crossed her legs beneath her long denim skirt. "You're head of security for Tyson King, you thrive off of strategy. You're always several steps ahead of me and everyone else. I would be extremely surprised if you didn't know how to play chess."
He still didn't touch the board, but he did finally ask, "If I win, do we get to finish this date and go home to bed?"
"Nope!" she said cheerfully.
"Do I at least get a blowjob later when we do get home?" he asked, sounding hopeful.
Her jaw dropped. It was pretty much the first time he'd sounded like a typical non-damaged guy. She laughed, "We'll see how the rest of the date goes. I reserve the right to make that a ‘no’ later on."
"You suck at negotiating," he grumbled.
"That's because I'm not a security expert, I'm a musician. Now start playing!" she demanded.
Daniel proceeded to slaughter Addison over the course of several games.
She felt like she came close to winning once, but she had an idea that it was his strategy to lull her into a sense of near victory before capturing her queen and king in quick succession.
He made it clear to her that no matter which way she moved he would stalk and trap her on the board, giving her nowhere to move her pieces.
As she put the pieces back in the bag, she could feel his eyes on her face.
She wondered what she looked like to him and fought the urge to drop her eyes.
It happened less and less in his presence.
Only when she thought about it. She knew her brown eyes were weird and wild looking because her parents had told her so.
Her eyes refused to focus on anything. She also knew she had long, wavy chestnut hair and soft feminine features.
But what did they really look like? She couldn't picture them because she had no basis of comparison.
"What are you thinking?" Daniel asked quietly.
Addison dropped her eyes and busied herself putting the paper bag back in her purse, which she'd slung over the back of the bench. She forced a laugh. "I was just thinking that you deserve a better chess partner, someone that can actually give you a challenge."
She heard Daniel stand and come around the bench. He dropped onto the seat next to hers and, without touching her, said, "You were fine. I haven't enjoyed myself like that... in a long time. Thank you."
She smiled up at him, flashing him her teeth. He brushed him thumb across her cheek and then said, "Now tell me what you were really thinking. Why did you look sad? What’s going on behind those eyes?"
Daniel always knew. She couldn't hide from him. "I wondered what you see when you look at me. I don't even know what I look like, Daniel. Why did you choose me?"
His stilled a little and she wondered if she crossed a boundary. She opened her mouth to assure him she wasn't fishing for a compliment like a girlfriend might, but he stopped her.
"Tell me something that’s good to you," he said touching her hair. "Something amazing, that touches all of your senses at once and brings them alive."
Addison thought about it for a moment, tilting her head.
"In the morning, when I'm in bed, I wake up and open my eyes and I can see the light coming in the window.
It touches my face and it's warm and welcoming.
It's so beautiful and it feels so good. Then the coffee pot starts, because I've set it the night before and I can smell the fresh aroma of my favourite coffee. That’s as close to perfect as I can imagine. "
"That's what I feel when I look at you."
"Coffee and morning sun?" she asked skeptically.
"Perfection," he said, pulling her into the warmth of his body.
Addison melted into him, lifting her face to his for a kiss.
He indulged her, taking her lips in a leisurely exploration.
She knew he wouldn't let their passion grow out of hand in a public park.
He was too aware of the potential risks involved.
After a moment, he broke away and leaned back.
He brushed a curl out of her face and adjusted her wool hat so it covered her ears better.
"Can we go back to my place now, I'm craving a little more privacy," he growled down at her.
"No!" she wailed, grabbed her purse and felt along the table until she was standing. "Come on, Zeke's expecting us at Strings and Bows."
Daniel sighed heavily and stood, reluctantly escorting Addison back to the truck.
At their next stop, Daniel watched vigilantly with strained patience as Addison spent nearly an hour going through sheet music with Zeke.
The eccentric music hobbyist described it to her and she decided which ones she wanted transcribed into music Braille.
Like a kid in a candy store, she explored and touched everything until she settled on a new bow, several new strings and looked at a new cello that Zeke had on display.
She decided against the purchase since she couldn't play more than one instrument at the same time.
"Sorry to bore you," she said, in a breathless rush as they got back in the truck. "I always get carried away in there!"
He took her package from her, set it in the back seat and said gently, "You don't bore me. But next time, he better keep his fingers to himself or he’ll lose them.”
She smirked and shook her head. “You’re impossible,” she said, reaching over to latch her seat belt.
"Where to next?" he asked.
"Food?"
"Good plan," he agreed. "You have a preference or can I choose something?"
"No preference," she assured him.
He took her someplace quiet, but way more expensive than any place she had ever eaten.
A Tyson King and Claudia Cantore type of restaurant.
She was surprised he would even consider it, but she thoroughly enjoyed every moment.
She practically salivated over every morsel as each course appeared at their table and enjoyed the way in which Daniel ordered each dish, using the right accent.
"I had no idea you had such hidden depths," she teased.
"I've traveled," he muttered.
They shared a booth in a secluded part of the restaurant.
Daniel was sitting close to Addison with his arm resting near enough to her to toy with the curls resting over her shoulder, but not close enough to interfere with her enjoyment of the delicious cuisine.
He seemed more intent on watching her eat than on eating himself.
Though he did take time to wolf down several bites in between conversation.
She could feel him constantly tense and relax, as though the desire to cater to her was at war with his habitual discomfort at being in such a vulnerable public setting.
"This isn't going to be cheap, Daniel," she said, a touch of anxiety in her tone, as she dabbed her lips with a cloth napkin.
"Let me worry about that."
"I really don't mind paying for my portion..." Addison tried to speak, but his hand came down on her shoulder with a growl.
"Stop speaking Addison. Don’t want to have to explain the vast contents of my bank account to you in this public setting. That’ll annoy me and might lead to a public spanking depending on how annoyed I am," he explained calmly. "One small meal’s not going to break me."
"Okay," she squeaked.
"Eat your dessert," he said, pushing the strawberry and kiwi tart close to her hand so she would know where it was.
"Okay."
"Addison, relax," he said, rubbing her shoulder soothingly.
"I'm not upset with you. Starting to come to terms with your independent spirit.
I'm far from poor. Salary’s extremely competitive.
Also have a savings account that I haven't touched from my.
.. contracting years. Most of the time I worked in deserts and jungles where expenses were low so the money just piled up.
I'm a man of few needs so haven't done anything with two decades worth of contract payments except invest."
Addison nodded slowly. She wasn't surprised that Daniel had spent his lifetime saving money.
She just hadn't really thought about it before.
Their non-relationship was supposed to be impermanent up until now and she was nervous asking him personal questions.
Suddenly discussing money so openly made things feel more permanent.
Of course, he probably had monthly printouts on her bank and credit balances.
The man had no concept of personal space when it came to her privacy.
“Finished?" he asked quietly and, if she weren’t mistaken, with a touch of hope.
She nodded and he took care of the bill while she found a washroom. He was waiting for her just on the other side of the door, ready to escort her back to the truck.
"We done, or do you have anything else planned?" he asked. He sounded genuinely curious, not like he was ready for their day to be done.
Yes, success!
"One more stop," she announced with a grin and gave him directions.