Driving home, I'm not sure whether that was a perfect first date for her. It certainly felt like it for me. Casual, intimate, and I was actually glad Ansel interrupted us before I could do something I shouldn't.
My reputation as a…"prolific dater" has definitely reached Bridget's ears. Yet I don't know whether she assumes that because I dated a lot, I was intimate with a lot of women. I definitely wasn't. There were a few, long ago, but maybe I subconsciously knew that I was waiting for the right one.
Well, I've found her. I'm falling so hard for Bridget that it's making me dizzy. I already feel like she's mine.
4
BRIDGET
Iswear, Dash has me under some sort of spell. I can't stop thinking about him.
If Ansel hadn't shown up last night, I know we would've had sex. Except…it didn't feel like that. It genuinely felt like we were making love. Connecting.
As I finish my shift by cleaning everything in sight, my mind can't stop turning things over and over. Like when you're not sure if a pancake is cooked through, so you can't stop flipping it.
Our private date was perfect. The moonlight and the scent of the forest and his dazzling eyes all combined to break through the shield I didn't realize I'd been holding around myself.
After seeing how terribly Mom's relationship turned out, I've been justifiably paranoid. Yet Dash treats me like a goddess. Could it be that this could work?
"You're a million miles away," Lynn says quietly as she reaches past me to grab menus for the customers who just walked in. When she returns, she gives me one of her knowing smiles. "It's Dash, isn't it? Since the night he drove you and your guitar somewhere, you've been a bit…"
"Spacey? Distracted?"
"Falling in love." I've never actually seen Lynn smirk before, but her kind eyes are soft. "It's okay," she says, keeping her voice low. "It's adorable. He seems like a really nice guy."
"With a reputation," I murmur back. "His family is extremely well respected, but he's known as a bit of a…"
Lynn nods. "Apparently he used to date a lot. I know. But that was years ago." She stares down at the counter for a moment, nodding. "This is the problem with living in a small town."
"What do you mean?"
"If we lived in a huge city, if over the span of five years a guy went out with ten women, nobody would ever know. But because everyone knows everyone's business here, people are hyper aware of every single time a guy goes out for coffee with a woman."
"Wow. That's an excellent point."
She smiles. "Look out for us quiet ones. We're very observant."
It's true. Lynn is always catching details that the rest of us miss. "I'll remember that next time I need a spy."
She taps the side of her nose before returning to her tables. "Gotcha. Have a good night."
By the time I grab my purse, a familiar black pickup is already in front of the café. Dash holds the door as I climb inside, his hand brushing my hip in a discreet motion that makes me quiver inside. Once he gets in the truck, he pauses. "So, I could take you to dinner. Or I could make you dinner back at my place."
"Whichever you prefer, thanks."
His large hand covers mine as he gives me a pointed look. "Corbin is setting up some new shelves at Mom's house and staying there for dinner. So my place is empty for the next several hours."
"Your place." The words tumble from my lips before I can consider it any further.
His seductive grin tells me that I definitely made the right choice.
On the drive, we keep unearthing new facts about each other, as if searching for buried treasure. Dash confesses that he won't eat peas because of the "pop and squish" texture, but at the same time he loves blueberries. I share that I've always loved all kinds of music, but I've always been far more drawn to anything guitar-based, which is why I'm taking lessons. Not that I think I'll become a great musician, but simply so I can appreciate the music more.
Dash apparently took piano lessons when he was nine, but didn't pay attention very well, leading to his Mom threatening to staple his shorts to the piano bench until he played for at least half an hour.
His home life sounds so…normal. Four rambunctious boys being messy and wild, yet becoming serious whenever their Dad took them out to their property to help fell and prune trees, clear fallen trees and branches, and maintain the land. They learned a lot while very young.
There's a wholesomeness around their family that I love.
