“Is this the part where you kill me?” I couldn’t help the nervous joke as it popped out. Bash gave a bark of laughter before turning to give me a scary look. A wave of arousal hit me at his intense stare, which unleashed entirely new levels of confusion within me.
“Not yet,” was all he said, his white teeth flashing in the darkness of the car. Even in the shadows, he was devilishly handsome, and despite my joke, I trusted him wholeheartedly. I wasn’t afraid of him because a part of me knew he would never hurt me.
There was a break in the path ahead. The trees surrounding the narrow road opened up, and all of a sudden, we were spit out into what felt like a secret world. The last few miles were uphill, and I realized we had reached the top of a mountain, like we were closer to the sky over there somehow. What looked to be several acres of well-groomed land lay ahead. In the center, there was a two-story house, complete with a wrap-around porch.
To the side, there looked to be two different barns, one much larger than the other. Scattered around the property, there were fenced-in areas and pens to hold various animals. I got out of the car before Bash could help me down, dying to get a better look. We met at the front of the hood, where my eyes hopped all over the property.
“What is this place?” I asked, finally turning to see Bash watching me as I took everything in.
“Do you like it?” he replied, dodging my original question. But it was an easy answer.
“It’s lovely. It’s so peaceful. I grew up in a rural area, but this feels different. It’s fresher, cleaner. I don’t know if that makes any sense.” He was looking down. Bash seemed shy at that moment, which only amplified my curiosity.
“Here, let me grab everything for dinner. I thought we could have a picnic behind the main house. Then, I could give you a tour of my property.”
“Your property?” I asked, my heart rate increasing.
“Yes, it’s mine. I bought it a few months ago. You’re the only person who knows about it,” he said, a flash of vulnerability on his face.
It was better than any conventional gesture during courting. He was showing me a part of himself—something personal that he wanted to share with me. Trust was an immeasurable gift. I took his hand and kissed him, humbled in the moment.
“Feed me, then show me around. I can’t wait to see it,” I said, and I was graced with that smile—the soft one that lit up Bash’s eyes and made my insides melt. It was already by far the best first date I had ever been on.
Bash
When I was trying to come up with an idea of where to take Fee for our first date, I felt stumped. Dating wasn’t exactly something I was familiar with. I had never taken the time to pursue a woman before. Never really had to.
They basically came straight to me at the clubhouse. Not wanting to even associate Fiona with anyone else, I found myself in brand-new territory with her, and wanted to make sure she knew she meant more—that this meant something.
I spent most of the workday holed up in my office, looking up everything from restaurants to circus shows. It was a fucking Monday night. I had no clue what to do. Around lunchtime, there was a knock at my door, and I was surprised to see it was Match.
“Hey, man. I bought lunch. You want some?” A large bag of food from a local Mexican restaurant was visible in his hand.
“Fuck yeah! Thanks, man. Come in.” Match stepped in and dumped the bag. I tossed him a soda from the fridge in my office. Right after I took a bite out of a steak burrito, he spoke.
“Fee looked awfully pretty when I drove her to work this morning. Big plans for tonight?” he asked. His focus on me was different, almost defensive. I knew he wasn’t jealous, but protective of her. I sighed and sank back in my seat.
“I’ve been rattling my brain all day, trying to think of the perfect place to take her, and I’ve gotten nowhere.”
“She doesn’t need perfect. She just needs something real. Don’t pretend to be someone you’re not. Fancy chefs or expensive gifts won’t mean much to her. You have to give her something she’s not expecting. Something worth more to her,” Match said, and I could see he was speaking about himself too. As I processed his words, I knew what he meant.
He was right. An idea began to form in my mind. It scared me, but that seemed important. If I expected Fiona to share with me, to unburden herself and let me watch out for her, I had to show her I was willing to do the same. Trust and honesty—those were the keys to her heart.
“You’re right. Thanks, man. That helped. I appreciate you coming by.” Match shrugged, trying to look nonchalant, but his ears were pink and his jaw was tight. He was looking out for Fee, and I appreciated it. We finished the meal, discussing basic club shit. He had a meeting with Dare coming up, and would find out if he would start his apprenticeship after that. He was doing afairly good job of hiding his nerves, but if his work was anything like the one drawing I had already seen, I was pretty certain Dare would take him on ASAP.
After he left, a plan formed in my mind. I left work early and stopped at a few different stores to prepare for the night, then went straight to Fiona’s office, anxious to see her. I was parked outside twenty minutes before she usually came down, so I pulled close to the door, where I had a good eye on anyone entering and exiting the building.
I saw her hair first. The flash of red matched the last tendrils of sunlight fading overhead. I stepped out of the car, itching to get my hands on her, only to stop short at the sight of a mealy-mouthed kid in an ill-fitting suit grabbing her by the arm. Before I could head over there, Fee had shaken him off and was walking toward the car.
As soon as Fiona looked up, she only had eyes for me, and I lost myself, waiting for her to get close enough for me to touch. The man faded into the background as I got my hands on her. She looked beautiful—not that she didn’t always, but she had done something different. Her eyes looked sultry, popping from behind her glasses, and the silk scarf holding her hair back bared the tantalizing slope of her neck.
She was wearing a delicate shirt, and the material looked so silky, I was afraid I’d rip it if I grabbed anything too hard. Using restraint I didn’t know I had, I got her settled in the car and made my way back to the driver’s seat. Driving away, I caught sight of the kid from earlier, and a possessiveness I didn’t know I could feel washed over me. It looked like I would have to stop by for lunch one of these days, make sure the whole office knew Fee was off-limits.
The urge to claim her, to make sure everyone knew she was mine, was totally foreign to me, but I couldn’t fight it. And themere thought of anyone thinking they could touch my Fiona made my blood boil.
I squeezed her hand where I had it pressed against my thigh as we passed the clubhouse. I saw her eye the turnoff we missed, and curiosity crossed her face, but she managed to rein in any questions. I hadn’t told anyone about my place. She was going to be the first one.
I didn’t know why I felt the need to keep it a secret. I think part of me was just afraid that if I voiced my plans out loud, there would be blowback. This was the first thing I had done for myself, without factoring in the club or my family.
