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Halley
I’ve never dated anyone before.
Uncle Raymond always kept me near him, never encouraging me to go out to parties. He never said no, either, but he wouldn’t go out of his way to tell me to hang out with guys.
Between my nightmares and my freelance work, I never really had the time to think of dating. I enjoyed going to clubs with Mia and Cameron, but those were usually gay clubs, and if someone danced with me, it would all be in good fun.
I’ve always been a free spirit, dressing how I wanted to, never bothering with what people thought of me. I enjoyed my short clothes and dressing up.
Today is the first time when a man’s eyes made me want to cover myself up. Today is the first time when a man’s touch and his words made me freeze in pure fear.
I felt unsafe.
Then the way Jace came to my rescue, first using his words and then physically by putting himself between me and the man, it made me feel grateful to him.
And then he punched the man who said all those cruel words to me.
And after that he comforted me, in his own strange way.
I don’t know how but it worked.
Right now, he’s sitting across from me, staring at the sushi roll before him with utter distaste written all over his face.
I try to suppress my smile. “Just try it. It’s not that bad.”
Jace shudders. “It’s raw fish. How can you eat raw fish?”
I chuckle. “I shoulder through it.” I nudge his foot with my own. “Go on. Dip it into the soy sauce. You’ll like it.”
He glowers at me as if he doesn’t trust a single word coming from my mouth before obeying. The look on his face is of one who is being forced to undergo great torture as he dips the sushi into the sauce and then bites into it gingerly. He immediately makes a face.
“Oh, come on!” I protest, laughing. “You can’t hate it!”
He chews, manfully before sticking out his tongue, mumbling, “Dead fish. I ate dead fish. You made me eat dead fish.”
This man is grouchy, grumpy, sullen, and sometimes he acts like a five-year-old. But he is protective and strong and he can be gentle and kind as well.
My face still tingles from his touch from when he covered my eyes.
“All the fish we eat is dead fish, Jace.” I snicker. “Why are you so weird?”
He glares at me. “Do you want to foot the bill for this place?” He glances meaningfully at my second plate.
I immediately become sickeningly sweet. “No, boss!”
“I thought so.” He smirks in satisfaction.
His permanent state is however that of an asshole.
It takes me a while to realize that more than an hour has passed when we are sitting on the bench in the park near the office. “Don’t we have to go back?”
Jace is munching on a hot dog, he swallows and shakes his head. “We’re taking a long lunch today.”
I’m about to ask why before I realize that it’s for me. He’s doing this for me.
And just like he had done today, covering my eyes and asking me to stop it, I have the urge to do the same because my heart skips a beat at this apparently ill-tempered man who can be surprisingly sweet.
Misinterpreting the look on my face, he adds, “I’ve told Raymond. Don’t worry.” He shows me the text message on his phone along with the reply. “He knows where you are.”
