Chapter 5
CHAPTER
FIVE
CHASSIS
Why am I nervous?
Dare walked me to my car, closed the door, and told me he’d meet me at home. It’s his home, too, but there’s something intimate about him calling it home. Like it’s ours that we share together. I know it’s not. At least not like that, but still…
I’m not sure what to do right now, and I’m not quite sure what I’m doing. Maybe I’m just lonely. Dare doesn’t want me. I’m this burden he’s saddled with because he respects my father. I need to remember that. Just because he’s being so nice to me doesn’t mean he’s into me.
And why would he be?
I’m pregnant with someone else’s baby.
I’m stupid. I’ve been stupid, and clearly, I’m not done being stupid.
Because I want him to want me. And that’s ridiculous.
I need to get out of this house, meet someone, a friend or something.
I need to socialize because I think I’m starting to go a little cuckoo.
Dare doesn’t know me. There’s no way in hell he wants me.
He’s living the life he wants. He probably never even wanted to be married—ever.
And here he is, married to me, and now I’m looking at him with starry eyes because I’m bored.
My thoughts seem perfectly rational to myself. But then my heart skips a beat when I hear his bike pulling into the driveway. I should not be excited for him to be here, to open that door and walk through in his thick boots. I shouldn’t even care.
But I do.
I watch as the door swings open, and there, walking through the door, is this man I’ve been stressing about. He moves through to the entryway, kicking the door shut behind him, then I watch as he stops, his eyes finding mine.
“Why are you standing in the middle of the room?” he asks.
I blink, unsure of how to respond to that. “Waiting for you?” I say, my words coming out more like a question than a statement.
“That doesn’t change my question. You’re on your fuckin’ feet in the middle of the living room and pregnant.”
My lips twitch into a smirk as I take a step backward. “Well, let’s eat then.”
I turn around and walk toward the small dining room. He follows behind me. I reach for the chair, pulling it out slightly before I sink down. I smile as he places a bag in the center of the table, then I blink as he places another bag down.
Tilting my head to the side, I shift my gaze up to meet his. “Two bags?”
“It’s The Dillinger,” he states, as if that should make perfect sense to me.
Now I’m excited for what’s in those bags. As much as I want to reach into them, I wait for him. My stomach twists and growls the moment he opens a bag and the scents reach my nose.
Whatever is in that bag, I need in my mouth… immediately… if not sooner.
“Are you ready to have your mind blown?” Dare asks.
Shifting my gaze up to meet his, I stare into his green eyes. They are mesmerizing, and I notice that there are flecks of gold in them. Maybe they aren’t green so much as hazel. Whatever they are, I imagine that when he’s turned on, they’re absolutely amazing.
When Dare begins taking things out of the bags and opening the containers, my entire body trembles. Every single container he opens contains food that looks better than the last. There are a couple of burgers, sweet potato fries, Parmesan-covered fries, a tuna melt, and desserts.
“How are we going to eat all of this?” I ask, shifting my attention between the open containers.
He snorts. “Mama,” he grunts, “this won’t be nothin’. It’s The Dillinger.” I see now that it’s a big deal. At least to my nose, it’s a huge deal. “We’ll eat family style or whatever,” Dare announces.
He stands and walks into the kitchen. A few moments later, he appears with a knife. I watch as he cuts both burgers and the tuna melt in half, then sets the knife down. Dare reaches for half of one of the burgers and brings it to his mouth. He takes a bite, no fucks given, and begins to chew.
Reaching for the other half of the burger, I bring it to my lips, open my mouth, and sink my teeth into the soft bread, biting back a moan the moment the juicy meat and sauce touch my tongue.
The Dillinger, indeed.
It’s amazing.
Next, I reach for a Parmesan fry and moan when the taste of truffle oil touches my tongue.
“Good?” he asks. With burger in one cheek and a fry in the other, I shift my gaze up to meet his.
“Amazing,” I murmur.
Dare chuckles, his pretty, green-and-golden, glittery eyes dancing as he watches me. He’s making it very hard not to be attracted to him right now. Not that it’s hard not to be attracted to him all the time.
He’s hot as hell.
Him being hot quickly takes a back seat as I begin to shovel food into my mouth. Sweet potato fries, truffle fries, burgers, tuna melt. My god, I’ve never had so much amazing food from take-out containers in my life. And that’s saying a lot because Vegas has some outstanding food.
I can’t wait for dessert, though. I think I smell a hint of peanut butter somewhere.