Janie is blushing badly and taking another generous sip, okay, gulp of her wine.
“Actually, I’d say I’m the real winner. You’re a daft lot, all three of you.” I slide my hand around her waist.
“See? Charming,” Steven sighs. Janie pulls out of my grip. Miles clears his throat and walks away.
“Uh oh,” Steven follows after him. “Babe, I just got caught up! You know how I get with the banter!”
“He’s a character, isn’t he?” I turn to Janie as he goes.
“That’s what I get for letting him corner us. You get my entire pathetic dating history and now poor Miles is going to have a complex about his profession and probably his height and his New York accent.”
“What? No. Miles seems a stable chap, confident. He’s fine.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right.” She replies into her glass.
“Are you? Fine?”
She nods, “Just tired. Two nights in a row, ya know.”
“Come then, one dance for that photographer hiding in the trees over there, then we’ll go home.” I extend my hand to her but she hesitates. Damn. Just when I thought we were past this. Thought we were having fun. Reluctantly, she agrees.
I lead her to the checkerboard floor laid into the grass of the town square. We ease into a comfortable slow dance to some country song I don’t recognize. Her mind is racing though, I can tell. She worries her lip and won’t look up at me. So I pull her much, much closer. As a result her cleavage bulges right in my line of sight. And what a sexy sight it—
“My face is up here, Boss.”
Oh, right.
“Sorry. Actually no, I’m your husband, let me get my fill.” I make a point to stare.
She scoffs, “You’re unreal.”
“Uh huh, and you’re so bothered by what Steven shared becaaause?”
“Wow, just going there, huh.”
“Yes.”
“Can’t let me have this one? Stew in silence?”
I smirk, “I’ll permit you silence in exchange for this,” I move my hand on her back south, dangerously close to just grabbing a handful of what I want.
“Done, grope away,” she says, her voice a bit scratchy. But she still doesn’t want to lock eyes with me.
“No…well? No.” I shake my head and move my hand back. Finally she locks her gaze on mine. “It physically pains me, but I’ll refrain. No deal.” She tries to glower but I don’t budge. I want her to let me in. I lean down a bit closer to ask, “Honestly, what is it, love?”
“I don’t know, just, an imbalance, I guess?”
“Imbalance.”
“Yes, now you know about my embarrassing past but what about you? We swiped through fifty-six women and yet you haven’t told me a single detail about one girlfriend.”
“Ah.”
“Yeah,ah.You said you got bored every time, and I know you never got close to a proposal but are you telling me you never, ever got semi-serious? Never had a real relationship?”
“I did. I had a girlfriend for a couple months at University. Charlotte.” I lift a shoulder. “Not serious, of course, we were just kids.”
“And what about…” I wait, unsure what she’ll ask next.
