I motion toward the leash in the back seat.
“I wish. I’ve spent my whole life wishing I had a Golden Retriever.” He frowns while he drives. “But I walk dogs for a few of my neighbors, so that’s the leash I use.”
“Why don’t you get a Golden Retriever?” I ask.
He shrugs. “I only want a shelter dog, and it’s nearly impossible to find a Golden in a shelter, especially as a puppy. I’ve wanted a dog for years and my mom always said no because she cares about her furniture too much.” He rolls his eyes. “But now that my little brother is ten, he finally convinced her to get a dog, but she saidonlya Golden Retriever. No other breed.”
He looks over and me and shrugs. “My mom is weird.”
“You’ll find one soon,” I say.
He nods. “I hope so. Dogs are the best.”
“Are you going to college to be a vet?” I ask.
He grins. “How’d you know?”
The way he smiles at me sends a tingle down to my toes. He’s more than just cute. He’s genuine. As we talk, I keep finding more things I like about him.
“Enough about me,” he says as we pull into a parking spot at the theater. “Tell me about you.”
“I’m kind of boring,” I say as we walk up to the box office.
“Do you have any hobbies?”
“I’m a songwriter.”
He looks impressed. “That’s awesome. Do you play any instruments?”
“The guitar… but I’m not very good at it.”
“That’s still pretty awesome.” He orders two tickets to the movie. I stand here feeling about two inches tall after mentioning my guitar. I hadn’t even thought about that stupid bet until now, when I mentioned the songwriting. Now it’s all I can think about.
It’s funny because dating Jaxon started out as a means to get Jacie’s amazing guitar, but now that I’m on an official date with him, he’s so sweet and cute and fun to be with that I hadn’t even thought of the stupid bet.
I feel terrible.
We head into the movies and Jaxon tells me to order anything I want for dinner. I try to say I’ll pay for my food, but he refuses and gives me that cute smile of his and says, “We’re on a date, Mae. It’s my pleasure.”
I just about melt right there.
The theater is awesome. We sit in individual couches that only hold two people and there’s swivel trays in front of us. The waiter wears all black and quietly moves down the aisles, bringing us food and drink refills while the movie plays on the big screen. It’s really cool and the food is amazing.
After the movie, it’s a little cold outside, and Jaxon throws his arm around my shoulders as we walk back to the car. “I should have thought to bring a jacket,” he says, rubbing his hand up and down my arm to warm me up.
“I like being warmed up this way much better than a jacket,” I say.
A slight pink hits his cheeks as he smiles at me and it feels good knowing I’ve made him blush.
He opens the car door for me again, and a knot of guilt lands in my stomach. Jacie was right about one thing—Jaxon is a good guy.
And now I’m realizing something I didn’t think was possible but… I really like him.
Like, like him.
Not just as a guy that will get me a guitar, but as a guy I’d like to date for real. Suddenly I’m thinking of every stupid movie I’ve ever watched where someone makes a bet about someone and when they find out the truth, it all comes crashing down and ruins everything. I decide I am not going to let that happen here. If I want to date Jaxon for real, I need to tell him the truth.
Chapter 7
