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His mouth at my ear causes goosebumps to appear on my forearms. "I always wanna make you dizzy."
What is this life? We've been flirting for a year, I kiss him, he ignores me, and now he seems to have gotten his head on straight. "Are you sure about this?" I ask, pushing my hands up his chest, before running my fingers through his hair. "I mean, when I kissed you, it scared you to death. What's changed?"
"Let's just say when you have a group of best friends, they don't let you forget anything. They don't let you sit around and pout when you've done things that caused the reason for pouting. So basically, my friends jerked a knot in my ass, and made me realize you did the heavy lifting, and all I needed to do was respond."
We're still swaying to the slow beat. "I've never put myself out there for anyone else," I shrug. "I'm not known for being brave."
"You're not known for being brave?" He scoffs. "You started the first food truck in town. When no one really knew what a food truck was, they argued that you wouldn't be able to compete with the restaurants. Somehow, you've been going for a year, and you're getting bigger. Then you came up to me and kissed me. The fuck you're not brave, Kara."
"Not typically," I argue. "When I need to be, I am, but no one could ever accuse me of going out of my way to make waves."
"Luckily for you, it takes me a while to realize what's happening in my life, but once I do, I'm like a golden retriever. I'm perfectly happy for someone to give me attention and pat my head, but that's where it ends. It never means anything." He pulls his bottom lip in between his teeth.
I don't like the way he's talking about himself. "What do you mean it never means anything?"
"I haven't gotten serious with anyone because I wasn't really raised in a home where either one of my parents had long-term relationships. I don't necessarily know how those things are supposed to work. So, I've always thought I might fuck it up if I were to give it a shot. I finally manned up enough to not worry about if I'm going to fuck it up or not."
Wrapping my arms around his neck, I pull him down for a quick kiss. Pulling him down, I speak into his ear. “You wanna go to the parking lot so we can have this conversation? Otherwise, we won’t be able to hear each other well.”
“Yeah,” he nods, grabbing my hand, pulling me toward the exit.
Once we get outside, he lowers the tailgate on his truck before picking me up and placing me on it.
“Let me get you an extra jacket I have in there, and a blanket. It’s cold enough out here, even though we were just dancing.”
I follow his body with my eyes, my stomach warming because he’s taking care of me. When he hands me the jacket, I put it on, and then he hitches himself up and spreads the blanket over both of our legs. I lean my head over onto his shoulder. "You don't have to be perfect at it, Abel. You just have to be willing to work at it with me."
"One thing I don't do is give up easily, even though it seemed as if I did. When I want something, I'll always come back to it."
I think about what I know of him in the past year. I can see that. He might make a snap decision, but he always corrects it, whatever it is. "I like that about you."
"Yeah?" He flashes me a grin. "Why don't you tell me what else you like about me."
I roll my eyes. "For someone who was kind of a jackass when it came to admitting you even liked me, you have way too much confidence in yourself."
"No, I think I have more confidence in you than I do me, but I'm willing to put myself out there for you. It's different."
There's that vulnerability again. It's not something I totally expected with him. He's more surprising than I've given him credit for. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I sigh when he wraps his around my waist. Laying my head on his chest, I breathe in the scent of his and relax, knowing I'm right where I want to be.
* * *
"Thank you," I smile up at Abel as we stand in the parking lot of Monroe's. It's past time for me to go home and go to bed, but I can't help but want to be around him just a little bit longer. I'm leaning against his truck and he has his palms pressed against the metal, actively boxing me in.
His breath hangs in the air as he leans in closer. My teeth chatter, my body tries to suck in his warmth. Fall and winter are coming early this year, judging by how cold it already is. "No," he shakes his head, pulling one hand off the truck. His knuckle swipes at my cheek. "Thank you. I'm sorry it took me a bit to get my head on straight. I don't mean to be stupid, it just sort of happens."
I giggle, snuggling in closer to his warmth. "It's okay, I'll be here to pull your head out of your ass when you need it."
"Go out with me tomorrow?" He asks softly.
"I could be persuaded. What do you want to do?" I hook my arms around his waist. Nothing has ever felt as comfortable as being with him. I've been with other men and it took me a while to warm up. Not with Abel. It's as if I knew him in some other life. The moment I met him, I felt at ease.
He glances down at me, those green eyes of his almost black in the muted light of the parking lot. "What is the one thing you've always wanted a date to do for you, but they've never done?"
I don't even think about it. "Cook for me. It's my love language. It's why I opened the food truck. Nothing says someone cares about another person like feeding them."
"Alright, I can't cook like you, but I'm willing to give it a shot."
"It doesn't have to be perfect." I press my hand into his chest, right over his heart. "It just has to be from here."
