Page 35 of About That Pact

“I’ve heard worse. You don’t have any comical dating stories?”

He paused, then said, “I had a woman ask me how soon I wanted to start a family. It caught me off guard, but I said in a few years, maybe. She said I was leading her on and left.”

“What’s funny about that?”

“It was our second date.”

“Ouch, okay. That was too much.”

Baron brought their dessert of chocolate and peanut butter tort, then scurried away.

“I see my favorite table is enjoying themselves,” he mentioned while refilling both their wine glasses. He scooted off before either of them could respond.

“I’ve had plenty of women only order a side salad for dinner on a date,” he said, turning back to their conversation. “I’m not saying it makes it a horrible night, but come on. Who only eats a salad? Not a single man I know is impressed by rabbit food.”

She took a bite of dessert and moaned. It was delicious. She didn’t enjoy cooking, but baking may have been in her future. Her hobby list was rapidly growing.

“Not true,” she told him. “I ordered an appetizer, salad, and entrée once. When I asked to look at the dessert menu, my date casually mentioned I didn’t need it.”

“You’re joking.”

“Nope,” she responded before taking another bite. “But I did get a slice of the best apple pie I’ve ever had. Needless to say, I never responded to his calls or texts to go out again.”

They both recanted tales from their dating history, making each other laugh. Rafe went to the bathroom, and Charlotte took a moment to digest their night. Again, they had a lot of fun together. Okay, so she’d had to crash his original date. Even she could admit that wasn’t an ideal setting. But the rest had probably been her best date yet. If she could even say it counted as one.

THE RESTAURANT WAS closing, so there was no other choice but for them to leave. Rafe left some extra cash on top of the tip since they’d stayed late, and they made their way out. While his story on blind dates was a failure, he had some fresh material for dinner with a friend. There was no awkwardness, conversation flowed freely, and since Charlotte already knew his faults, he didn’t need to impress her.

The downside of going on a date with a friend was crossing the line in the sand. Sure, they had already shared a meal together, but was it time for something more? When it came to Charlotte, he was always one step away from kissing her. He hid it well, but there was always this pull to her.

Now, he had to confront the elephant in the room. Or, in his case, the car.

“Thanks for taking me home.”

Charlotte shot him a pointed look. “Why on earth would you take an Uber to a date?”

“I didn’t Uber here. The weather was nice, so I left early and walked.”

“Now you know, for your next date, you need to drive. That way, if it’s a total bust, you can have someone call you and feign an emergency and you don’t need a getaway car.” She gave him a mischievous grin.

“I can’t believe your dating experience requires a getaway car.”

“Well, this getaway car is the last favor I owe you.”

“Oh, how quickly you forgot about the bet you lost in my apartment.”

She let out a groan. “I was wondering if you would forget.”

“Have I ever?”

“Never. But next time, you need to drive. It’s better than having to dodge a kiss at the end of the night,” she pointed out as she turned the car toward his apartment building.

“Please don’t tell me you have more horrific stories about kissing.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, Rafe wished he could shove them back in. He did not want a history lesson on the other men who have kissed Charlotte. It was bad enough he knew about Adam.

“You mean more horrific than my first kiss?”

Her humor only made her more attractive to him. “I was your first kiss, and there was nothing horrific about it.”