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“The mall?” she questions.
“This is just the first stop. I figured if I’m going to take you out to a nice dinner, you should probably have a new outfit to change into.”
“A nice dinner, huh?” she teases before getting out of the car. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think that sounds like a date.”
I walk over and take her hand. “That’s because itisa date.”
She looks over, surprised. “It is?”
I nod.
“Like… an official one?”
I crack a smile. “I didn’t get paperwork notarized or anything, but yes, it’s pretty official.”
“But I thought… When you thought Jet liked me…”
My spine straightens at what she isn’t saying.
We may be in the clear with Jet, but it’s pretty clear now that Jonathan has sexual interest in her.
I know what she doesn’t yet, though. She’s young, gorgeous, fun, an all-around lovely person to spend time with. I’m well aware she will attract admirers who see the same things I saw in her from time to time. That’s inevitable, and I’m a realist.
As I am no longer a young asshole with more testosterone than common sense, I’m not going to let that stand in my way.
Without acknowledging that my son wants to fuck her, I say, “Things were different then. I had to move carefully if I risked crippling the confidence of my sensitive, younger son going after the first girl he’s ever really shown an interest in. This isn’t that.”
She seems to take my meaning, even if neither of us wants to directly address it. She nods her understanding and gives my hand a squeeze. “Okay, good.”
She flashes me a smile, and we move on.
I brought her for a new dress, but Kennedy enjoys shopping and so rarely gets to do it, we end up off course, buying soaps and glittery hand sanitizers. Then her attention catches on a beachy-smelling rollerball perfume that boasts being eco-friendly, vegan, and cruelty-free.
I’m more aware of the difference in our ages seeing the things that appeal to her and why, but when she samples the scent and brings her wrist up for my approval, I get a whiff of that coconut scent on her skin and I’m immediately transported to the beach. I can hear the waves hitting the shore as the scorching sun beats down on us, feel her warm skin beneath my fingers as she scoots off my lap and grabs my hand to drag me off the beach and out into the ocean with her.
Her dark hair is wild and free. She’s wearing a bikini, of course.
If they were in season, I’d buy her one right now.
“We should go somewhere,” I tell her.
Unaware of the tropical vacation playing out in my mind, she sniffs her wrist to see if she likes the scent she dabbed there. “Hm?”
I’m sure she likes it, but she’s so used to only window shopping, she starts to walk away from the display.
I stop her, pointing at the stack of small boxes housing individual tubes of perfume. “Grab one of those.”
A smile tugs at her mouth. “I take it you liked it?”
“I do. Have you ever been to the beach?”
She shakes her head no, grabbing a perfume and then falling back into step beside me. “Nope.”
“We should go,” I tell her. “Maybe Bora Bora? It would be good to get away for a while. I could probably get a week or so off work next month.”
“That would be… really awesome, but even if I don’t get in trouble for missing that much school, I’m not sure how I would explain the absence to my mom.”
Oh, that’s right.
