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Chapter Sixteen
For their next date, Jackson found a new bar that was close to both their places, and because he was planning on drinking, Jackson didn’t take his car. He got them a cab and picked Oleander up on the way. It had been two weeks of these dates and he was loving every single minute. They saw each other regularly and when they weren’t together, they were texting and once, they attempted to FaceTime, but between her schedule and his, it was impossible to talk for long enough to make it work. He didn’t care as long as she kept giving him the chance to woo her.
From the minute Oleander used that word, Jackson realized that’s exactly what he was doing. He was wooing her and he was going out of his way to prove to her that their relationship wasn’t a passing thing and he wanted this.
“I can’t believe I gave up my night at mybarjob to go spend it in another bar.”
Jackson rolled his eyes. “The difference is, someone else is serving you drinks.”
“What are you doing checking out the competition?”
“Is itreallycompetition?”
Oleander arched an eyebrow. “It’s competition if it has your attention.”
Jackson smirked as she nudged him, settling into his side in the cab as they made the 20 minute drive. Oleander had her hair pulled back in a tight bun and she was wearing a black dress that stopped at the knees. The neck was wide open, and showing off enough cleavage for him to be distracted. The sleeves were long and poofy and on her feet, she was wearing those same heels from a few nights ago. Her legs looked incredible.
Jackson had told her to dress up, because he wanted this to be a sit down, drink and eat kind of date. The kinds where you splurged on an expensive alcohol and ate finger food that cost more than you could afford. If she was going to dress up, so was he. He had on black trousers, a black shirt with the top two buttons open and a casual black blazer over it. When he picked her up, Oleander whistled before adding: “I’m gonna have the hottest date tonight.”
Walking through the doors of Swirled Spoon, Jackson put his hand on Oleander’s back and guided her towards a high table. He helped her into her chair as a waitress came over with the menu. Unlike the Barrel, this place was decked out to be fancy with all the dim lighting and expensive decor. Oleander looked around, taking in all the details, which gave Jackson time to admire her.
“This is a really fancy date.”
He shrugged, “We’ve done the fun stuff and I figured it’s time for the fancy stuff.”
Oleander tilted her head. “You know I don’t need any of this, right?”
“I know,” he nodded. “That doesn’t mean I still don’t want to spoil you.”
“So this is all part of your wooing plan?”
“Absolutely.”
Oleander laughed and picked up a menu to peruse it. Once she’d decided what she wanted, Jackson went to order it. As he stood at the bar, waiting for their drinks, he looked over at his date. When they first met, he never would have imagined being on a date with someone like Oleander. Because she was truly out of his league—she was so fucking beautiful, staring at her made his heart race and his trousers tighter.
With their drinks in hand, he returned and set her whiskey sour in front of her. Jackson sat down and raised his drink in a toast.
“To wooing.”
Oleander laughed and clinked her glass against his before taking a sip. Her eyes popped open and Jackson chuckled as she stared at her drink and took another sip.
“Holy shit, this isgood. Better than the ones I make.”
“I’ve never had a whiskey sour before.”
Oleander took another sip. “Next time, I’ll make you one. But right now, I need to figure out what they’ve done to make it taste so good.”
The restof the night went on like that. Oleander tried a few of their whiskey cocktails and joked about Killian finding out she was at another bar.
Then the DJ played music that made her groove. Oleander slid out of her chair and made her way onto the dance floor and Jackson sat there, hypnotized. When he was finally able to tear his eyes off of her, he realized he wasn’t the only one captivated by the way Oleander was moving.
He should have known someone would try their luck. A tall, beefy guy from a table across the dance floor was moving towards Oleander, like an animal stalking its prey, and Jackson gritted his teeth as he watched this unfold. He knew that he should be staking his claim, but Oleander wouldn’t appreciate it. Even as the thought crossed his mind, Oleander was looking at him, a sexy smirk tugging at her lips.
Jackson slid off his chair and moved towards her, his eyes drinking in the sight of this woman who was all curves and allhis. He’d miscalculated the distance he had to cover, because before he was close enough, the beefy guy smirked at Jackson and grabbed Oleander at the same time—one arm sliding around her waist as he yanked her back against him. A second later Oleander shook out of the guy’s grip and spinning around to face him. The sound of her hand hitting his face filled the bar as the music slowed down, rendering the guy speechless.
“Don’t fucking touch a woman without her permission,” she spat, anger and venom dripping from every word. The guy had the audacity to smirk, rubbing his cheek as he shrugged at her. The guy looked like he was going to reach for her again, so Jackson stepped around Oleander and he finally got the hint and backed away.
Jackson blew out a shaky breath and turned to face Oleander. He released the tension in his jaw as her arms slid around his waist, pulling him closer to her. Their lips brushed briefly as Jackson set his hands on her hips and pulling back so he could look at her.
