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“Thank you for the flowers. They’re beautiful.” I headed into my tiny kitchen to find a vase for them. “How did you know it was my birthday?”
Scotty was casually looking over my apartment as he followed me into the kitchen. “I asked your father when we first met.”
My heart felt like it was about to burst out of my chest as I turned to face him. Butterflies fluttered in my stomach and my palms began to sweat. A thrill of anticipation surged through me; I couldn’t deny that I was excited to see him.
Before I let myself get carried away, I needed to know why he’d come to see me. “When I was in Kentucky, my dad said that you were still texting with him. But you don’t have to pretend anymore. I told my parents that we broke up. They were disappointed, but they got over it. So, you’re off the hook. You don’t have to fake date me any longer.”
“I didn’t come because of your parents, Summer; I came to see you.” He shifted his weight from one foot to the other and cleared his throat nervously. “I’ve missed you,” he said, with a pleading look on his face. “Please, give me another chance.”
I wanted to jump into his arms and bury my face in his chest. I wanted him to crush me against him with his strong arms wrapping around me, but I had to be certain.“A chance for what? I thought you didn’t do relationships.”
His brown eyes glistened with hope. “I was wrong. I want to see where this goes with us.”
I felt myself caving. He was damn near irresistible. “You want to date? For real this time?”
“Yes.” He nodded his head.
I needed time to think. I found the vase I was searching for, added some water to it, and then arranged the flowers prettily inside it. “I’m a little nervous about this, Scotty. You’re a great guy, but I’m looking for a boyfriend who wants to spend time with me. Time that doesn’t solely include between-the-sheets time.”
He pressed his palms into the countertop separating us. “I want that, too. I mean, I want to fuck you, but that isn’t all I want.”
His deep, gravelly voice had my sex clenching with need. I’d gladly lead him to my bedroom right now and find out just how much he wanted to fuck me, but I needed to be cautious. “You have such a romantic way with words. It’s a good thing you have that accent.”
He stepped around the small island and pulled me into his arms. I’d finally gotten my hug. “Is that a yes, Summer? Will you go steady with me?”
“Go steady?” I couldn’t help but chuckle at the old-fashioned phrase, even as I breathed in deeply, savoring the familiar scent of his cologne. His muscular arms tightened around me, and I felt a deep sense of comfort settling into my bones. “I’m agreeing to a few dates for now. I’d like to take things slow in case I’m making a big mistake.”
“You’re not making a mistake.” He drew away from me and reached into his pocket, pulling out a long envelope. “I have a show on Saturday. I brought you a ticket so you could attend and watch the band. There’s supposed to be this huge, fancy after-party that I thought we could go together afterward. It’ll be a great time.”
I swiveled away from him, not wanting him to see the panic in my eyes. “A show? Like a concert?”
“Yes, it’s a charity concert. It’s at The Shrine...”
He said something else, but I was too busy panicking. I didn’t want to see him at work. He would be there with all the other crew. What would his friends think of me? Would there be other women hanging around?
It just wasn’t my scene. The last concert I’d been to was when I was a teenager. I’d been particularly manic on a huge sugar high from drinking too much soda, and then I’d almost peed in my pants in the car when my friend’s mom was driving us home.
Scotty wanted me to hang out at a concert alone while he worked and then go to an after-party? It sounded like absolute hell. I wasn’t a wild party girl anymore, and I didn’t do drugs. I wasn’t even sure what Scotty was like. What if he was a drug user? He seemed perfectly normal during our weekend away, but who knew how he acted when he was around his friends? And what did he expect of me?
I needed to slow things down. We were still in the get-to-know-you stage. Without any finesse, I blurted out, “I can’t go Saturday night. It’s too much.”
He put the envelope down on the counter and then gently grabbed my shoulders. “But you’ll still go out with me? On dates or whatever?”
“Yes, I’d like to get to know you better.” I still had major trust issues when it came to men, but I couldn’t live my whole life in a man-free bubble.
He let out a sigh. “Can we hang out tonight, then? Or did you have plans for your birthday?”
“I have to work early tomorrow.” That was true. “I was planning to celebrate with my friends this weekend.” Celia and I were planning to hang out. Maybe I’d even tell her about my birthday.
He looked at me with an intensity that left me breathless. His dark eyes smoldering, his lips parted ever so slightly. I felt a wave of desire wash over me as I saw the corner of his mouth curl into a slight smile. “Can I stay for a while?”
I bit my lip. “Sure. I was just going to watch some TV. I can make some popcorn if you want.”
Oh, God. What was I trying to do? Bore him to death?
“Then what happened?” Celia’s eyes were wide with interest as she listened to every single word.
I tapped a pen against my desk. “So then he stayed for a couple of hours. It was really nice. He kissed me before he left.”
