"It was a joke," Clay said. "Dylan, this is starting to piss me off. I want to spend time with you. And, yes, I want to have sex with you, but I'm a grown troll. I'm not going to throw a tantrum because you don't want to sleep with me just because you said yes the last time."
There was another moment of silence and an apology was on the tip of his tongue. He hadn't meant to upset her, but he felt like she was judging him based on her interactions with other men when he'd done nothing to deserve it.
"I'm sorry I upset you," she said. "But understand where I'm coming from. I'm not a game player when it comes to relationships. I need your expectations spelled out clearly. If I don't like them, I will definitely tell you." There was a smile in her voice as she continued, "But this is part of the reason I like you so much. You're completely honest when I ask. It's exactly what I need."
It was Clay's turn to pause. Finally, he said, "Okay, then I'll spell it out. Please come over and have dinner with me tomorrow. I'm a decent cook and I promise not to give you food poisoning. We can watch a movie or play a game. If you're so inclined, I'll graciously agree to have sex with you, but only if you ask nicely and tell me I'm pretty."
Dylan actually laughed. "That all sounds fine."
"Fine? I'll have you know that sex with me is more than fine."
She laughed again. "I'll keep that in mind. Thank you for being honest."
"I'm always honest with you," he said.
"Don't ever stop," she murmured.
"I probably won't," he admitted. "Even if you wished I would."
"That won't happen, but I'll keep it in mind if I start to worry about that." She changed the subject. "How was your day? What did you do?"
"Let's see. I took care of my brother-in-law so my sister could do some errands and shit and I have to tell you, if I ever break an ankle, just shoot me. I don't want to be as annoying as he is."
Dylan laughed. "What about when you get the flu?"
"Oh, I'm definitely annoying. And whiny."
He loved it when she laughed like she did then, loud and from the gut.
He wanted to make her laugh like that as often as possible.
Maybe even forever.
* * *
The next night, Clay prepped for dinner. His mother made sure he knew how to cook before he was grown. She said she refused to send him out into the world without knowing how to take care of himself.
While it wasn't his favorite activity, he could cook and he wasn't afraid of a new recipe if he saw something he wanted to try.
Like twice-baked potatoes. He loved them at restaurants, so he'd learned to make them himself. And he was pretty damn good at it, if he said so himself.
Tonight, he was pulling out all the stops. He was making lamb chops, broccolini, and his excellent twice-baked potatoes. For dessert, he made apple crumble and it was staying warm in the oven.
He'd also called his mother and sister and told them that he was changing the locks if they came over without calling first again. He'd also reminded them to ring the doorbell before they came inside, too.
They gave him shit until he reminded his mother that she'd never get grandbabies from him if she cockblocked him. And reminded his sister that the responsibility for those babies would fall on her in that event as well.
The teasing had immediately stopped.
Clay was fairly confident the quiet, romantic evening he planned wouldn't be interrupted by his family. And that any...activities that might occur at the end of the evening wouldn't be interrupted either.
He was trying not to get his hopes, or anything else, up because he wasn't entirely certain that Dylan was ready to spend the night. Her question the night before definitely made him think.
He didn't want her to feel pressured, especially this early in their relationship. And it seemed like she'd been pressured before. Just thinking of some asshole pushing her to have sex with him pissed him the fuck off.
She'd told him a little about her experiences with online dating, but he had a feeling there was more to the story than that.
He stared at the stove, trying to remember what he was forgetting, because he knew he was forgetting something.
