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“Good boy.” Ginny rubbed him beneath his ears. “What a good boy.”
Dax hated that in that moment he was actually jealous of his dog, just like he’d been the night that Cap had spent on the couch snuggled up to her.
She stood and shrugged sheepishly. “I was trying to get him down but he just looked so cute. But I was trying, he just wasn’t listening to me.”
“He’s a smart dog, he sensed that you didn’t mean business,” Dax explained as he opened the fridge. “You have to be firm or he’ll walk all over you.”
“Be firm,” she repeated quietly.
“I have red and white wine, beer, water and soda. What’s your pleasure?” he asked as he stood and looked over his shoulder.
Her eyes were large and her breathing was labored as she stared up at him with a glazed look.
“Ginny?” he prompted.
“Oh, um…” She licked her lips and blinked. “Water is good.”
He grabbed a water for her and a beer for himself before walking back to the table. When he did she was still staring at him with an odd expression on her face. He’d just washed his face but that didn’t stop him from asking, “Do I have something on my face?”
“Oh no,” she shook her head and laughed. “Sorry, I just…here let’s eat.”
Dax nodded as she took her seat across from him and he handed her the bottle of water. Her hand brushed his as she took it from him and he felt a jolt of sensation rush up his arm. If the small intake of air was any indication she felt it too.
Something was different between them. Before, their first night had been…magic. There was something so pure, so perfect about the time they’d shared. The magic was still there, but there was more. He couldn’t quite figure out what, but he hoped that she’d stay. He hoped she’d agree to let him protect her while she was here so they could figure out whatever was going on between them together.
***
Ginny couldn’t believe that she’d totally zoned out when Dax had asked her what her pleasure was. It was a common phrase. But hearing him say the word pleasure had sent her senses into overdrive. She’d blanked on what he was actually asking her and was overwhelmed with the kind of pleasure she wanted him to give her.
Since she arrived on Dax’s porch this morning she felt like she was walking a tight rope of emotion and if she slipped she was either going to belly flop onto a net of embarrassment or crash onto a hard surface of humiliation. All of her daydreams and pep talks couldn’t have prepared her for the reality of being here. In Dax’s home. Taking a shower in his bathroom. Cooking in his kitchen. Seeing him when he came home from work looking so sexy she felt faint. Literally, when he’d walked in she’d gotten light headed.
She was starting to think that she wasn’t ready for this whole thing. In fact, she’d never felt so out of her element, which was saying a lot considering all the times that she’d been pushed out of her comfort zone in professional settings. Somehow, if there was a mic in her hand she could handle the pressure. But now, sitting across the table from the man that reduced her to a puddle of lust with one glance was so overwhelming she wasn’t sure if she could go through with staying here.
Most people her age were just graduating college. They were embarking on their careers after having high school and college to find themselves. They’d had the time to make mistakes. To party and experiment.
She on the other hand, had been working in her field professionally since she was fourteen. At sixteen, her debut album had gone platinum and she had a whole staff of people including a band depending on her to support their families. In her professional life she was so far ahead of her peers but in her personal life she’d barely made it to middle-school-level experiences. She’d never gotten a chance to date, to fall in love, to get her heart broken. To hang out with friends and hook up with the wrong guys or find the right ones.
Her longing for such experiences was the catalyst for her New Year’s journey. Write an album and release her first single independently which she hoped would garner excitement and possibly even a bidding war before signing with another label. Make some friends outside of the industry. Find her grandfather and connect with him. Cooking. Binge-watch TV shows. Date and possibly, hopefully, lose her virginity.
But maybe it was naïve to think she could cram years of living and developing into one month. Maybe she should go stay in a hotel or an Airbnb. Maybe she should cut the list down to things she actually had control over like writing her album and releasing her first single.
She could definitely do that. Cooking healthy meals for herself. She’d already made strides in that direction learning a valuable lesson today—follow the recipe. Binge watch TV shows. That was a no-brainer. Done. As far as making friends, finding her paternal grandfather and dating…those things were beginning to seem out of reach. Unattainable.
“This is delicious.” Dax spoke and Ginny looked up to see that he was already on his second piece of chicken. He’d finished the first one while she was having her internal crisis.
“Oh, good. I’m glad.”
She cut a piece and speared it with her fork. As she placed the bite in her mouth and began to chew her taste buds were bombarded with flavors. The texture was moist and the temperature was perfect. It was actually delicious.
“Wow,” she exhaled. “It is pretty good.”
Dax chuckled. “You sound surprised.”
“You should have seen the first batch. It was a disaster.”
“I smelled the aftermath.” His smile lit up his features. “I’m glad you had backup.”
She felt his grin all the way down to her toes. If she did bail on her plan, she could at least have tonight. And even though it wasn’t technically a date, she and Dax were alone, eating dinner and there was candlelight. This was as close to a date a she’d ever had.
