Chapter Twelve
When Carly chose her outfit for her date Friday night, she made sure she was dressed to the nines.
Jesse had texted her that he was taking her somewhere nice, so she wore one of the rare dresses she had for nice dinners with sponsors.
It was a black pencil dress with ruffled capped sleeves, a ruched middle, and more ruffles that ran along the left side, down to her knees.
She had put her hair into a twist and wore dangling black beaded earrings to complete the look.
She eyed her reflection in the mirror critically, looking for any imperfections. She looked a little tense, but other than that, she couldn’t see anything that could turn a man off.
If Jesse Abernathy didn’t kiss her tonight, then she had the answer she’d been asking herself from the moment she met him.
He just wasn’t that into her.
Maybe he asked her out for companionship.
Or perhaps he was looking for friends, him being new to town like her.
If that was what he wanted, then that was what she would give him.
Even if it broke her heart. Especially if he started dating someone he actually was interested in and he came to her—his friend—to tell her all about the woman he did care about.
As usual, Jesse took her breath away when he greeted her at her door. Tonight he wore a black button-down shirt with matching black slacks. For once, he’d left his cowboy hat at home, leaving her fingers aching to run through the locks of his thick hair.
They were soon on their way. Carly fiddled with her purse in her lap, running her finger over the cool metal clasp.
“Everything okay?” Jesse asked as he drove the truck toward town.
“Yes,” she replied, forcing herself to relax. Carly took a deep breath, enjoying the scent of fresh soap and Jesse’s cologne. He smelled amazing, like amber and patchouli.
“How are things going at your place?” he asked. “Are you scratching at the walls to get back on the road?”
“Definitely not,” Carly said. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw his hands loosen slightly on the steering wheel at her proclamation. Maybe she wasn’t the only one nervous about tonight. “In fact, I started making inquiries to get my riding school up and running.”
Jesse seemed content to let her prattle on about some horse rescues in the state that she’d been in contact with.
“Sounds like you’re making progress,” he said as they pulled into the parking lot of a historic-looking building. There was a blinking sign that was mounted on the brick wall above a set of stairs leading to the building’s basement level.
“The Tenacity Social Club,” she read. “What is this place?”
He grinned at her. “It’s usually casual dining, but they’re doing a fundraiser tonight. The owner is doing a special menu for the night and brought in a jazz band.”
Once they were out of his truck, he offered her his arm. “Shall we?”
They made their way down the steps. Carly could hear jazz music filtering through the stairwell.
They entered the club, which had been decorated to look like a speakeasy from the 1920s with dark walls and forest-green chairs with tables made of mahogany.
Candles flickered on tables, giving the atmosphere a romantic ambience.
The place smelled like bourbon and wood polish.
A bar was situated in one corner and a stage was in the other, where a live band was performing.
Couples swayed together on the herringbone dance floor.
A couple of men sat at the bar, drinking their sorrows away, while a few couples sat the various tables eating food that smelled incredible.
It was cozy yet cool at the same time. A few people noticed them and waved, making Carly smile in response.
She was really starting to love small-town living.
A handsome man came over to them. He had on a midnight-blue shirt that bore the nametag Mike. “Welcome! We’re doing a special event tonight. Do you have a reservation?”
“Yes, for Jesse, party of two,” Jesse replied.
Mike led them to a table near the dance floor and handed them their menus. “Can I interest you in a wine? We have a Dino-themed red wine for the event.”
“That sounds great to me,” Carly said.
“I’ll take that too,” Jesse added.
Mike returned shortly with two glasses of wine. They gave him their food order—Jesse ordered a steak, while Carly ordered a mushroom Wellington—and Mike hurried off to the kitchen.
“I feel like I talked my head off in the car,” Carly said after taking a sip of the wine. It was just as amazing as Mike had said. She smiled softly at Jesse. “How was your week?”
Some of the relaxation that had been on Jesse’s face while he listened to the band, dimmed slightly. “Oh, it was fine.”
“Just fine?”
The side of Jesse’s mouth ticked. “Oscar had a bit of a rough week at school. He thought some boys wanted to have lunch with him, but when he showed up at the table, it was already full. I think I mentioned he struggles to understand social cues sometimes. Instead of walking away like nothing happened, he started stimming at the table—”
“Stimming? Like the day I ran into you outside Town Hall?”
He smiled at her. “That was the light version. He does this thing where he clenches and unclenches his fists. He cut his palms with his nails this time, and they started to bleed, which made things worse. He then started flapping them around, and—let’s just say kids can be really cruel, especially when faced with things they don’t understand.
People started laughing and pointing at him. ”
Carly reached across the table and placed her hand over his, giving it a quick comforting squeeze. “I’m so sorry, Jesse. What ended up happening?”
“A couple of the football players finally looked up from their lunches to notice Oscar. They were able to talk him into going to see Coach Finn, who then called me. By the time I got to the school, the damage was done. Oscar was red-eyed and sitting in the counselor’s office, rocking himself. I didn’t know what to say…”
He drifted off, and she was reminded of what he told her before—that he thought he was a failure of a parent compared to his wife.
“You were there for him,” Carly said. “That’s sometimes all a kid needs.”
She thought back to her own struggles as a kid, and some of the nightmares of her childhood.
There were nights when all she could do was pretend her birth parents were still with her, comforting her when her foster father started yelling or her foster brother began hitting her.
It had been a coping mechanism to pretend her parents were still there, offering her comforting words in her ear.
She’d get lost in her head, where her reality could never touch her.
“Thanks.” Jesse lifted her hand and kissed it. Tenderness flooded her. He released her to take another sip of his wine. “Anyway, let’s talk about something happier, huh?”
“Sure,” she replied. “But… I’m here for you if you ever want to talk.”
“I know.” His smile was sweet as he looked at her. “I appreciate that.”
“So…change of subject, then. How is it living with JenniLynn and Grayson and all the kids?”
Jesse laughed at that, and his body visibly loss its stiffness “Don’t forget the dogs! It’s lively, for sure.”
They continued to talk until dinner arrived. Carly took a bite of her food, and her mouth instantly watered with pleasure. She savored the gravy on top, dipping her seasoned vegetables in it so she didn’t miss a single bite.
After finishing their meal, she said, “It’s incredible. I’ve been all over the world, but Tenacity has some of the best food I’ve ever eaten.”
“I’m glad you approve,” he said, his eyes soft. “Would you care to dance?”
“I’d love that.”
They made their way onto the dance floor just as the band began to play a slow, melodic song. The trumpet player placed a mute on the bell of his instrument, giving it a timeless sound.
Carly wrapped her arms around Jesse’s neck, her fingers playing with the hair at the base of his skull.
It was just as soft as she thought it’d be.
He put his own palms at the base of her spine, the heat of his hands seeping into the fabric of her dress.
There was hardly any space between them, and she couldn’t have asked for anything better.
She almost wished that she had worn a looser skirt so that she could feel one of those strong thighs of his between her own.
Her hand drifted to his chest, resting above his heart, taking comfort from the steady beat of it.
The music changed, the beat becoming faster. Carly thought perhaps that was the end of their dance. Instead, Jesse twirled her away from him, only to bring her back hard enough so that her breasts met his chest. He smirked at her surprised expression before he dipped her.
“What are you doing?” She laughed.
“Showing you that this guy has some moves.” He wiggled his eyebrows at her.
She was very tempted to ask him to show her some more of those alleged moves when he brought her upright again, only to whirl her in his arms. They danced around the floor, cackling like loons.
Other couples moved out of their way, and she was pretty sure she saw someone whip out their camera, but in that moment, she didn’t care.
If she’d been keeping a tally of her best dates, this one would’ve taken a top spot without question.
When he drove her home later that night, she felt more optimistic about their relationship than she ever had before.
She’d put off the question of whether he was really ready to date, but maybe now was the right time.
Unlike the drive to their date, she didn’t feel distracted or tense. She felt hopeful.
“I had a lot of fun tonight,” he said as they stood on her porch, but he made no move to kiss her.
“I did too,” she replied, leaning against the railing.
“Well, I…” he started to say before he gave her a tight smile. “I’ll call you later, okay? Have a good night.”
He started down the steps so he could head to his car. Carly shook her head as she watched him go. They had just spent an incredibly romantic evening together and he was walking away like nothing happened.
Carly’s frustration boiled over and she followed him. “I need some clarity here.”
He gave her a quizzical look. “Sure. What about?”
“Are we dating? Or do you want to be only friends?”
Jesse froze at that. “You don’t know we’re dating?”
“Are you really ready for this? I mean, it’s okay if you’re not—you must have really loved your wife—but just tell me if I don’t have a chance here because—”
Jesse held up his hand to stop her tirade from spewing any further. “Forgive me, but I think I need to recap this conversation. You think that we’re either not dating, I just want to be friends, or I’m not ready to date. Do I have that about right?”
Carly wanted nothing more than to run inside her house and never come out again. Ever. The police would eventually be called because the neighbors would complain about the smell wafting from the house, even though they lived miles away. And the real irony was that it’d be Jesse who made the call.
“It’s getting pretty late,” she said weakly. “I should get inside.”
“Yeah, that’s not going to happen.”
Carly stiffened at that. “I’m sorry?”
“I need to understand what’s going on in that head of yours.”
She raised her chin. “I don’t think that it’s really that confusing.”
“I might be just a dumb country boy, then, because I don’t understand how we went from having an incredible night tonight to you asking me if I’m not interested in dating you.”
Carly tried her best not to let hope rise in her at his words. Because he’d probably run for the hills after this conversation tonight.
“I thought maybe this wasn’t working for you and you’d prefer for us to be friends. You don’t call or text much and…”
Her voice trailed off as he ran a hand through his hair, making it stick up adorably. She refused to be distracted. His head dropped as he muttered, “I knew I was going to be bad at this. You only want to be friends?”
“No!” she was quick to answer. “I want us to date, but…”
His eyes locked on her. “But what?”
She looked up at the night sky, feeling humiliated. If she still wished on stars, she would have begged to get out of this situation.
Jesse finally took a step toward her. “Talk to me.”
“Why don’t you want to kiss me?” When he looked at her with a completely stunned expression, her face flamed. She wanted nothing more than to go inside and cry. She muttered, “Forget it.”
She turned to enter her house. She didn’t make it two steps before Jesse grabbed her and swung her around to face him.
Before she could ask what he was doing, he cupped her cheeks and kissed her hard.
She stiffened in shock for half a second before she relaxed into the kiss.
Jesse loosened the pressure so he could angle his head.
She gasped for air but was cut off as he kissed her again, his tongue dipping into her mouth.
Hers danced with his in a sensuous rhythm.
Jesse’s hands drifted to the twist in her hair and began pulling out the bobby pins.
He pulled back enough to say, “I love your hair. I have dreams about it.”
The locks tumbled wildly around her shoulders. Carly was sure it looked like she’d been electrocuted considering how much hairspray she’d put into it before she left the house, but she didn’t care as she wrapped her arms around him and pulled his mouth back to hers with a moan.
His hands wrapped around her, his palms lowering until they were on her curvy bottom. He pulled her even closer, and she arched against him, desire pooling between her thighs.
He pulled away with a shuddering breath before leaning his forehead against hers. “I’ve wanted to kiss you from the first second I saw you. I definitely want to date you. I’m just a little out of practice… and I was trying to be a gentleman.”
Carly licked at her lips, drawing his eyes in the faint light of her porch.
“Don’t be a gentleman,” she murmured.
With a groan, he pulled her back into his arms.