AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“What’s stopping you from doing that now?” She takes a sip of her wine.
I chuckle. “Money, mostly. Living paycheck to paycheck doesn’t leave a lot of extra cash to put toward savings. What about you? What are your big dreams?”
“Hmm. I’m not really sure. I know I want to get married and have lots of babies, but that’s about it. I’d love to be able to quit my job and be a stay-at-home mom.”
“Where are you working?” I ask, trying to avoid the subject of babies.
“Oh, my daddy owns a flower shop that I’m helping out at for now. I plan on quitting the second after I get married.”
The asshole in me wants to tell her that plans don’t always go the way they think you will. My parents didn’t plan on dying in a car crash, and my grandparents didn’t plan on having to postpone retirement to raise their grandson. Shit happens.
Lifehappens.
But I don’t say any of that. If that’s the life Anna wants, I hope it works out for her.
I don’t know if she and I will make it past tonight, though. We just don’t seem to have a ton of chemistry—especially when she slips into the conversation that she’s looking for a man to take care of her.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m all for taking care of my woman, but it’s nice having one who doesn’tneedit. I’ve always pictured myself having a real partner when I’m ready to settle down.
The thought of an independent woman makes Jenna reappear in my mind. Yes, she needed help, but I could see how much she hated asking for it.
Once again, I find myself trying to get Jenna off my mind. Damn, I spent less than an hour with her. She should not be invading my thoughts like this.
I’m on a date with a beautiful girl who seems perfectly nice. And to be frank, I’m sure I could take her to bed tonight if I really wanted to. But something about that feels sleazy. Don’t get me wrong, I love getting my dick wet as much as the next guy, but doing it with one girl while another is on my mind just feels wrong. Some of my buddies from high school would probably say I should have my man card taken away for that, but I don’t give a shit. It’ll just be another night of me going to bed with my own hand.
As much as I love a good fuck—and believe me, I do love it—I enjoy myself way more when the woman and I have a genuine connection. One-night stands just don’t do it for me anymore.
Oh yeah, I am definitely going to lose my man card.
Zoning back in, I make a serious effort to be engaged throughout the rest of our date. I try as hard as I can to find some connection or spark between us, but it just falls flat. She’s as sweet as sugar, just not my type.
Once we finish eating, I pay the bill, and we walk outside. I’m suddenly very grateful that we drove separately to the restaurant. It saves us an extremely awkward drive home.
Anna stops walking and turns around to look at me. “Okay, Shane, I believe in being honest.”
“Okay?”
“Well, I want to thank you for dinner, but I just don’t think we should see each other again. I don’t think we clicked.”
Thank goodness.
“Totally agree with you, Anna. No hard feelings.”
She leans up on her tiptoes and kisses me on the cheek. With a final wave, she walks away and gets in her car.
I watch her until she’s safely inside and out of the dark parking lot. Then, I walk to my truck and slide in, preparing to head home alone once again.
Chapter Thirteen
Jenna
“Where’s Momma?” I ask Jessie as I open the front door. I’m surprised to see him because our mother’s supposed to take me to my doctor’s appointment.
He shrugs. “She said you guys had a fight a few days ago, and you’d probably rather I take you. So, she’s on Nora duty, and here I am.”
Since we are already pressed for time, I don’t push the issue. Instead, he helps me to his truck, and we hit the road.
Once we’ve been driving for a few minutes, I ask, “So, how pissed is she?”
