Chapter 09
“Hello?”
God. Her voice over the phone. I closed my eyes and just took it in for a minute. It was so unsure and husky. I wanted to change the lack of confidence in her voice. It was almost like she couldn’t accept that someone actually wanted to spend any time on her at all. That needed to change immediately.
“Hey, beautiful,” I replied and heard her release a shaky breath over the phone. I decided to cut her some slack and not bring up too much of what we’d been texting about. I adjusted the front of my gray sweats I’d changed into when I got home, before I had opened that damned book and started reading. It wasn’t just any fluffy romance and had definitely affected me, along with her braver texts, and now her voice over the phone? I was growing painfully hard.
“I just wanted to see about setting up the date officially,” I said. “Before you thought too much about it and changed your mind.” I said jokingly.
Silence.
“Becks?” I asked.
“I really shouldn’t date. I don’t know what I was thinking when I agreed, ” she rambled suddenly. “ I’ve never been on a real date, like I said. I am a single mom. I have a daughter. I don’t want her getting hurt or feeling like I’m distracted,” she trailed off softly.
“Listen, Rebecca,” I said, firmly yet gently. “I don’t know your backstory. I don’t know your history other than what you briefly shared. But I think you deserve some good in your life. Especially if what you’re saying is that you’ve been alone all the time your daughter has been in your life. Let me take you on a date. Your first ever date. I don’t have to meet your daughter, and I’m not asking to, sweetheart. I know she comes first. I don’t wanna cause anyone any heartbreak here. I’m going into this hoping it turns into something, but I’m not expecting you to feel the same way or expect the same things.” I finally shut my trap. I probably terrified the poor woman.
I listened to her breathe out. Was it a sigh of relief?
“Okay.” she said, softly. “Hearing all that definitely helps. This is just uncharted territory.”
I grinned and sat up on the sofa, setting my elbows on my knees. I hadn’t bothered with a shirt after a quick shower and I let my eyes run over my tattoos as I spoke. Black ink sprawled over the majority of my body, one tattoo bleeding into the other. Everything meant something and tied together to make a huge canvas. It was about time to remove the dressing on my newest one. It always soothed me, scanning them, remembering my stories and how far I’d come. Every tattoo meant something.
“So, I’m thinking of something low key. Maybe just a movie? Conversation wouldn’t be too hard then? Or maybe bowling, if you did want to talk?” I asked, trying to feel her out.
“Bowling would be good. I haven’t been in ages, probably since middle school.”
“Sounds like it's needed then. What night works for you?”
“I’ll have to get back to you on that one. I have open evenings but the only one I know here in town is Monica. She has the girls for a sleepover tonight and I don’t want to bombard her with two weekends in a row with Nat.”
I nodded and then caught myself. She couldn’t fucking see me. “That makes perfect sense, babe. You just feel Monica out and let me know. Balls in your court, sweetheart.”
She laughed softly, “I’m gonna have to get used to these terms of endearment.”
“Yeah, probably. You seem to bring it out of me,” I said huskily.
I heard her shifting around on the other end of the phone.
Jesus. Was she in bed?
I wondered what she was wearing, then shut that idea down real quick. I was gonna have to take another shower after this phone call, probably a cold one. Jesus. Just knowing she hadn’t been touched in so long and had only been with two men. Two fucking idiots from what it sounded like. She obviously wasn’t naive with the smut I now knew she read. But she obviously hadn’t experienced anything mindblowing in the bedroom. I shut my eyes trying to erase the image of her spread out on my bed for me. God I wanted to make her scream my name and feel things that would shake her world apart.
“Listen, sweetheart,” I said, my voice coming out gravely now, “I should probably let you go. I have an early shift tomorrow and it's getting late. One of us needs their beauty sleep, and it's not you.”
She laughed out loud at that, “You don’t need any help in that department either, Officer Marshall,” she said.
My entire body clenched and I growled under my breath. Jesus. I needed to get off this phone before I initiated our texting conversation and terrified her.
“You have sweet dreams, babe,” I said.
“You too, Lucas.”
*Click*
I just sat staring at my cell phone. I’d done it. I’d gotten a date with her. I dropped my phone and flopped back down on the sofa, rubbing my hand over my beard. She needed someone who was going to take things slow. But this woman brought out a need in me I hadn’t ever felt before. I wanted to know what she tasted like, how her body would respond to mine, what she’d sound like coming apart for me. I groaned and adjusted myself before standing up.
“Get yourself together, Lucas,” I growled as I stalked into the bathroom, cranking the shower on as cold as it would go.
“Lucas, I just worry about you being alone all the time,” Nana said, looking at me.
I hated when she did this. The woman looked old and frail but was still a spitfire. She could stare through someone’s soul and make them feel about two inches tall.
“Nan, I promise I’m okay. I love my job and have friends,” I replied.
“A man needs more than that. And a lot more than those hussies you spend one night with and throw to the side,” she snapped sassily.
“NAN.” I said, horrified.
She cackled. “Oh! like I don’t know what a young man like you does? I may be old but I was young once, Lucas James Marshall. Your Pappy and I got into plenty of mischief in our day.”
“La la la la la!” I practically yelled, plugging my ears like a toddler.
She cackled even harder and I had to grin at her.
“I did meet someone a couple of weeks ago, when I went to check out the school on the first day.” I finally conceded. It had been about a week since I’d spoken with Becks on the phone. We’d mainly texted back and forth, teasingly as I made my way through the rest of the book. It was like I was a kid with my first real girlfriend again. I was becoming increasingly frustrated that she hadn’t committed to a date for us to go out yet.
I watched as her eyes lit up and cut her off immediately, “I literally just had her run into me and got her name, Nan. I can’t say it’ll go anywhere, but just that brief interaction felt like something. I asked her out about a week ago too.”
She studied me silently for a moment. “Are you asking her on a date or to your bed?”
“Nan!” At this point I scrubbed at my face with my hands, appalled at where our conversation kept going.
She snorted.
“I’m asking her out, Nan,” I said, looking at her. “She’s a single mom. I want to take this slow and do it right. I can’t say the thought of her in my bed would upset me. But there’s more than one person involved here,” I said.
That sure wiped the laughter off her face. She studied me again. It looked like she was checking for something unsaid. This woman knew me better than anyone. I squirmed uncomfortably. Even at forty years old she had the ability to make me feel like an eight year old that had taken a finger swipe of icing from the bowl while her back was turned.
Quirking her eyebrow, she nodded. “Good. Now go do something you young people do on Saturdays. You don’t need to be sitting in a stuffy old senior housing apartment with your Nana after your morning shifts. Plus I have Boris coming over for dinner.”
I crossed my tattooed arms and took my turn to stare at her. “He better be treating my Nan right. What are his intentions toward you anyway? Maybe I should pay him a visit? Run a background check?” I said jokingly.
Boris had lived in Reading, Pennsylvania his entire life. Ran the local flower shop until he retired after his wife had passed away and he’d moved into senior housing.
It was Nan’s turn to widen her eyes innocently at me. “Lucas Marshall, you will do no such thing. I am an eighty five year old woman perfectly capable of making my own decisions. And I haven’t been a blushing virgin bride since I was nineteen years old.”
I threw my hands up in concession. “Okay okay! Just for the love of God, Nan. Stop talking about sex.”
She threw her head back and cackled again as I grinned.
“You get on out of here. I have stuff to do, young man.”
I hugged and kissed her, promising I’d call in the morning to check how her date went. She playfully swatted my butt on the way out the door. I had to shake my head as I walked out to my huge black truck, pulling my keys out of my pocket. I don’t know how I’d ended up so lucky as to have a Nan that took in a brat and raised him like she did, but I would be grateful forever.
I got into my truck and pulled my cell phone out of my pocket. It was a Saturday. Maybe I could actually go out tonight. Hit up the local bar. I wondered if any of the guys would be able to go with me? I wasn’t planning on picking up any women tonight. I had a certain dark-haired beauty stuck on my mind. I pictured her brown eyes staring up at me behind those adorable glasses. I wondered what Becks was doing tonight.
I was trying to play it cool and not text or call her excessively. I had told her the ball was in her court, and I meant that. If she wanted to go on this date, I was going to let her call me this time after she’d lined up Monica watching her daughter. I didn’t want to suffocate her even though my entire being wanted to claim her as mine.
I shot off a quick text to Paul, Trevor, and Nick checking to see if they wanted to go out for a couple drinks later tonight.
Paul responded pretty quickly.
I scowled at my phone. Becks was going out with Monica? She had another free night and hadn’t set the date? I was glad she’d made a friend and felt comfortable leaving her daughter at their house but, damn. The thought of her out there and other men’s eyes on her before I’d even taken her on one date really chapped my ass. The fact she hadn’t called to solidify our date kind of irritated me too.
Well at least someone was available. Maybe it would take my mind off of Becks being out there.