“You sure?”
“Totally sure.”
“Like seriously sure, though?” I ask and swear I sound like a fucking idiot.
No chick has ever gotten me this tangled up—my tongue, my feelings, my stupid fucking heart. I don’t know what’s going on, but I know I can’t stop thinking about this woman sitting across from me.
I also know I lied when I told Eli he hadn’t lost his wingman last night.
Because he had.
Has.
Has lost his wingman.
I have zero interest in sleeping with another woman right now. I haven’t since I met Quinn, and it’s taken me until today to realize what that fully means. I don’t give sex up for anyone, yet I’ve given it up for her, a woman I haven’t even kissed, let alone slept with.
So yeah, I actually want to try this thing that all my friends seem to think is the greatest thing ever.
Dating. A relationship, even.
Fuck me.
Quinn laughs, bringing me back to the table. “Yeah, I’m sure,” she says with a nod, still holding my hand. “But can we set some ground rules?”
She blushes a little as she asks this, and it’s all sorts of nervous and adorable, making me feel a whole lot better that I’m not the only one who’s freaked out by all of it.
“Okay,” I say, drawing out the word. “What were you thinking?”
Quinn takes a sip of wine, her eyes darting to the horizon and the slowly sinking sun. I can see a million different thoughts running through her head, most of which I’m sure all trace back to that asshole she was married to.
“Quinn,” I prompt, squeezing her hand. “Talk to me.”
She blows out a breath as she lowers her wine glass to the table. “So, if we agree to date,” she starts, clearly nervous. “What exactly would that look like?”
“What do you mean?” I ask, tilting my head to the side. I’m pretty sure I know exactly what she means, but I still want to hear her say it. “What do you want it to look like?”
She swallows, pulling her hand from mine as she says, “Are we like...are we dating just each other? Or will you be...seeing other people?”
The laugh bursts out of me before I can stop it, and I don’t miss the way Quinn flinches in response. I know it’s because of the way she said ‘seeing’ when what she really meant was ‘fucking’.
Grabbing my chair, I move around the table so I’m sitting beside her, taking her hand in both of mine. “Quinn, I promised you I’d always be honest with you, right?” I pause, waiting until she nods. “Okay, so this is me being honest.” I pause, taking a deep breath before I continue. Before I come clean on shit I’ve never said out loud to anyone. “I have never done this before. Never dated a woman, never had a real relationship. I sleep around, and I get how that looks, but I can promise you that’s not what this is.”
I stop, shoving a hand through my hair as I try to work out how to say this without scaring her off. It’s not that I’m afraid of being honest. If anything, I’m too honest, always have been, always telling someone what I’m thinking and feeling. It’s gotten me into trouble in the past, but it’s also saved me a lot of drama, too.
“I want to date you,” I tell her. “Only you. I’m not going to see other women, and I’m sure as shit not going to be sleeping around, okay?”
She swallows hard, licking her lips as she whispers, “Really?”
Chuckling, I lift her hand to my lips, kissing her knuckles. “You know I haven’t hooked up with anyone since I met you, don’t you?” I ask, smiling when she shakes her head. “And you should know I totally got a booty call during that time and turned it down, too.”
“You did?” she asks, her eyes wide.
“Yep,” I confirm with a nod. “You wanna know why?” Quinn nods this time, and I smile, pressing a kiss to the inside of her wrist. “Because you’re all I can think about, Quinn,” I whisper.
“Really?” she asks again.
I nod, holding her hand against my lips. “Really. So, tell me what else you need.”
