“I can pick him up.Just call the school and let them know.”He was serious.Interesting.
“Are you sure?”She gave him a chance to rescind the offer.
“Yes.I wouldn’t have offered if I didn’t want to do it.I’ll hang out with him and Willa for a little bit.Maybe order some Chinese for dinner.”
“Wow.That’s awfully nice of you, Jed.I’d appreciate that.”She really did.Was this what it was like when you shared the burden with someone else?
A comfortable silence stretched out between them until he made the turn to hit the alley where she lived."What are your plans for the rest of the day?"He pulled his truck in next to her car, but left it running.
“Since I don't need to go shopping today, I might just take a really long nap before I have to pick up Oliver.”That idea held great appeal.
Jed nodded his head.“That sounds like a good idea.If I didn’t have things to do for the club, I might take one, too.”Resting his arm on the steering wheel, he turned in his seat, giving her his full attention.“Can I take you and Oliver to dinner tonight?”
Sadie’s heart melted at the idea.Was this supposed to be like a date?She was too afraid to ask.Beneath his self-assured smile was a hint of uncertainty.Did he doubt she would want to go out with him?“Yes.We would love to go to dinner with you.”
She didn’t know if this was an official date or not, but she was going to pretend that it was.She knew it was a dangerous game she was playing with her heart, but she couldn’t stop if she tried.
* * *
Jed
Going out to dinner with Sadie and Oliver was a new experience for him.He’d fucked women and never had the desire to take them to dinner.If they had kids, he had no idea.So why was it different with her?He couldn’t explain it.He enjoyed her company both in and out of bed, and Oliver was funny as hell without trying to be.
Darren talked about the way she took care of her nephew, but Jed hadn’t fully appreciated what he meant at the time until he witnessed it firsthand.She was a very attentive mother figure who was both loving and strict when she needed to be.She always put a lot of thought and consideration into everything she did for the boy.
The apartment she rented from the club was small, but she made it a home.She’d put up a Christmas tree and had it decorated to the nines, along with several other Christmas-themed decorations around the room.He doubted her pay at Big Dick’s could pay for all of it, so he was sure she’d dipped into her savings.
The last time he checked, Race said her house in Taos still needed a little more work done before they could put it up for sale.They hadn't had the heart to tell her that after they snuck her and her nephew out of town, the Phantoms had gone in and trashed her house.They'd gone in and turned every single faucet on, ruining all the floors.They'd ripped the upper cabinets from the walls in the kitchen.It looked like they'd taken a sledgehammer to the drywall, and they'd destroyed every piece of furniture they could find.
More than once, he found himself second-guessing how he’d handled things with her at Bottoms Up.He’d only been trying to keep her safe from Tinker, not bankrupt her.
When he arrived at her apartment for their date, he almost choked on his tongue after seeing what she was wearing.“Wow.You look nice.”
She was dressed in dark wash jeans that fit her to perfection, and the cute black boots she was wearing made her legs look longer than usual.She wore a lightweight, deep red, off-the-shoulder sweater that had him fighting to keep his dick from getting hard.She’d curled her long blonde hair so that it cascaded in waves below her shoulders.She wasn’t wearing a lot of makeup up but the eyeliner and mascara she did wear made her already stunning green eyes pop.Then she went and smiled at him, and the hard-on he’d been fighting came to life.
“You look nice, too.”He had no words to describe the way she was smiling at him.Breathtaking, beautiful, and radiant didn't come close.Her eyes did a slow head-to-toe inspection of him, and there was no way she could miss the wood he was sporting.And he didn't care if she saw it.He wanted her to see what she did to him without even trying.
“Come here.”He wrapped one hand around the back of her neck and settled the other on the small of her back as he pulled her in close.“There’s something I have to give you before we go.”
“What’s that?”She swallowed hard, probably already knowing what he was about to do.
As he lowered his head, intent on kissing those sexy, bee-stung lips, her eyes drifted closed.He took his time exploring her mouth and the feel of her soft lips beneath his own.The taste of cherry lip gloss was quickly becoming his new favorite flavor.With a gentle glide of his lips against hers, he teased her bottom lip with his tongue, seeking entrance so that he playfully brushed against hers.He shifted her head to get a better angle and deepened the kiss.Her sigh was music to his ears, but if he didn't end things now, he might call off the date and find a way to get her to her bedroom so he could quench both their hungers.
“Sadie, my shirt is stuck!”Oliver called from the bathroom.
He slowly pulled away, one side of his mouth kicking up, happy to see she was just as affected by their kiss as he was.Her eyes slowly lifted as his hands fell away.He took a step back in anticipation of Oliver’s arrival.
“Wha—” she had to clear her throat.“What was that for?”she whispered.
He imagined she was a little surprised by the kiss, considering every time they got together, they went at each other like they were starving.Frankly, the kiss and what he’d felt shocked the shit out of him, too.
“Why do I have to tuck my shirt in anyway?”Oliver groused as he cleared the hall, ending their current conversation and keeping him from spouting something he wasn’t sure he was ready to say.
Oliver raised his head to say something else when he noticed Jed was standing there.His eyes rounded."Jed!”He shot across the room like a rocket, plowing into him in his eagerness to wrap his arms around Jed’s legs and hug him.
“Hey, buddy.You look nice.”Jed ruffled his hair.The boy was wearing a nice pair of jeans and a hunter green and white checkered long-sleeve shirt.“You ready to eat?”
“Yes!I’m starving!”He put his arms through the coat Sadie was holding out for him.“Sadie wouldn’t let me eat any snacks.”
