7. Mia #2
I grin. I’m suddenly feeling a bit triumphant.
We start moving to the music.
“So, you do dance,” I say.
“Sometimes.”
“You turned Whitney down, though,” I point out. “I figured you weren’t in the mood tonight.”
“I wasn’t.”
“And now you are?”
He turns us, and the light hits his face differently. I can see his eyes more clearly now.
“No.”
“No? You’re still not in the mood to dance?”
“I’m still not in the mood to dance with Whitney.”
“Oh.” I smile. “But you’re in the mood to dance with me ?”
“Well, I’m certainly not in the mood to watch you dance with anyone else. Especially to watch anyone else put his hands on your ass.”
My smile grows.
He shakes his head. “You’re getting ideas.”
“No,” I lie.
He sighs.
I laugh lightly. “Okay, one idea. The idea that you would rather dance with me than watch someone else dance with me might mean that you like me.”
“I never said I didn’t like you.”
He’s right.
“I like you,” I say honestly. It's not flirty, just straightforward. “And I think… there’s maybe something here. Between us. Maybe.” I pause and wet my lips. “Am I wrong?
He watches me for several seconds without speaking.
“David?”
“Fuck…” Then he says, “No, you’re not wrong.”
My stomach flips again. And I smile.
“But it’s not a good idea,” he says.
I lean in. “But what if it is?”
His gaze bounces back and forth between my eyes. “You were the good girl, right? Never wanted to rebel or disappoint Scott? Took seriously following all the rules and making sure he was proud of you?”
I feel my grin fade a bit. But I like this straightforward thing and I think it’s the right way to go. So I say, “Yes.”
“What about now?”
“I…don’t know.” But I do. I still want my dad to be proud of me. I still hate disappointing him.
But I know where David is going with this. He's going to say this is it. We're done. No more. Stop all of this.
“The idea of disappointing him still bugs you, right?” he asks.
“Yes.”
“But at the same time, you want a taste of being bad with me?”
Whoa. I wasn’t expecting that . My eyes widen. I study David. “You think I’m interested in you because you have a bad boy reputation?”
“I think that might be part of it,” he says.
His gaze is intense. “But I get it. I stepped over a lot of lines, pushed a lot of boundaries. The people who took me in and saved me were completely aware of it, because I did it to test them.” He pauses a beat.
“Your rebellion is happening later than mine and for a different reason, but it’s still because you had parents who stepped in when they didn’t have to. ”
I swallow hard. “Why…” I clear my throat. “What’s my reason?”
One corner of his mouth tips up, and I have the insane urge to press my mouth there.
“You’re doing it now because you’re wondering what you’ve missed being grateful and scared.”
Wow.
Not only is David very straightforward, but he’s pretty damned insightful.
I couldn’t have this conversation with anyone else. There are other people, unfortunately, who’ve had a traumatic childhood and have complicated relationships with their parents, of course. But none that I’m attracted to and want to know better the way I do with David.
“What if that’s right?” I ask him.
“Well, then you need to figure some things out.”
“Some things like what?”
“Well, how do you think that works? We sneak around?” He shrugs. “That could give you a little thrill and let you have some fun, but you’ll stay safe, and Scott won’t have to know.”
I don’t know what to say to that.
David Bennett is saying…
“What are you saying? That you would like to see me? Get to know me?” I pause. “Date me?” Then I frown. “Is it dating if no one knows we’re doing it?”
He gives me that almost-grin again. And I like it. Again.
“I would definitely like to see you. And get to know you. I don’t care what we call it.” He pulls me a little closer. “I just don’t want it to cause problems. I don’t want you to regret it.”
Oh. That makes my stomach flip but in a new way.
That’s sweet.
And kind of sad.
“Scott just wants me to be happy,” I tell him.
He nods. “I’m sure that’s true.”
“So, I can talk to him. Tell him that you and I are…”
David’s smile is a real smile this time. “How about you and I see what you and I are first?”
That makes sense. I guess. Being this close to him and those little smiles and him no longer saying no we absolutely can not do this , realizing that he does actually want this, is making me just want to say yes to whatever.
“Okay,” I finally agree.
“Okay,” he says with a nod. “But?—"
Well, dammit, there’s a but.
“You’re in charge. You want this? You have to figure out ways for us to see each other that won’t bother Scott. Tonight, just dancing in a bar, is no big deal, right? We’re both here. So what?”
“Right. Casual.”
He smiles. “Right. You think you can come up with more things like this?”
I have no idea. But I want to try. “Yes.”
His smile is full and real and completely directed at me now, and wow, the stomach flip is also full and real.
"We could do this again," I say quickly. "This works."
He nods. "Sure." Then he leans down a little and says, "But there are a lot of things we can't do here."
I suck in a quick breath. Right. I want to do those things. "Okay. I'll come up with some things."
His grin is very real, and almost flirtatious. I like it. A lot.
“Okay. You’ve got my number. Let’s see what you’ve got, Wild Child.”
Then he squeezes my hand and my hip.
And turns and walks away.