Safe Word: Oasis 5: Mina's Heart

by Michele Zurlo

  A hostess sat them immediately. Everett pulled out her chair, a courteous move she hadn’t expected. Their server, a man whose face looked very familiar but who Mina couldn’t quite place, arrived before the hostess left.

  She turned to smile over her shoulder at Everett. “Thank you.”

  Mina ordered water with a twist of lemon, and Everett ordered a soft drink. When the server left, she anticipated an awkward silence. After all, what did she know about Everett Burke except that he was handsome and a few years older? What could they possibly have in common?

  He folded his hands on the table and regarded her with a twinkle in his eyes. “What was the first thing you decided to do in college that you weren’t allowed to do at home?”

  The question startled her. Why would he think she had a rebellious streak? She’d spent more Saturday nights studying than partying. Was his purpose to find out the lengths to which she would go to have fun? Mina shook her head. “I don’t know what you mean.”

  “I had dessert for dinner and stayed out all night. My mother would have killed me if I’d sat down to dinner with a huge piece of cake, and my parents were both firm on the midnight curfew. They still use it if I stay with them. It’s just one of the many reasons I got an apartment as soon as I could.” He flashed that charming grin again.

  The server brought their drinks and took their order. Mina hadn’t looked at a menu, but Elmhurst wasn’t a fancy place. Once in a while they served a fish dish, but mostly they served burgers and fries. That was what she ordered.

  Everett followed suit and thanked the server. Then he turned his attention back to her, not that it had ever fully left. “Your turn.”

  She didn’t pretend to have lost track of the conversation. “I'd have thought you would have done things that were wilder than that. I can picture you at a frat party every weekend.”

  He shook his head, but he allowed her evasion. “I wasn’t interested in being part of a fraternity. I lived in the dorms my freshman year and got a tiny student apartment with three other people after that. New York isn’t a cheap place to live.”

  She hadn’t known he’d gone to college in New York. She’d thought both he and Wilder had stayed home to attend the University of Vermont. She wanted to ask about that, but when he lifted his drink and sipped slowly, she realized he wasn’t going to say more until she answered his original question. “I learned to drive.”

  “Ahh.” His head bobbed as if some great understanding had come to him. “Freedom and independence. Smart move, though you probably didn’t need to drive much at Harvard. The public transportation system is pretty good.”

  “That, and I didn’t have a car. When my parents divorced, my father agreed to pay tuition, room, and board. Nothing more. My mom didn’t have money for frivolous things. I had a job in the library to cover expenses.” This was the first time she’d ever mentioned to anybody that her parents were divorced. In this small town, she couldn’t pretend nobody knew or cared. It was likely they all knew.

  But Everett didn’t seem to fixate on that fact. “That’s funny. I worked in the library too. I worked on their computer systems and spent a lot of time lost in the stacks, reading. What was your major?”

  She couldn’t picture Everett Burke, handsome charmer, sitting on the floor of a dusty aisle with his face buried in a book. In a woman, maybe. She wasn’t sure she believed him. “Computer engineering. I can write programs, but I love developing hardware more. You went to NYU? What was your major?”

  He nodded to confirm which school he’d attended. “Anthropology and statistics. You wouldn’t think they go together, but they do. Studying culture is all about analyzing statistics.”

  “What can you do with that degree around here?” The judgment inherent in the question didn’t occur to her until it was out there, hanging in the air and dripping with her incredulity.

  He only chuckled. “You’d be surprised. I’m working for my parents’ company. Wilder and I have expanded the company’s reach to service the entire country, not just the New England area. We’ve doubled in size, and the growth means we get to travel all over the place.”

  In this economy, the fact that any company could grow amazed Mina. She had no idea what his parents’ company did, and she didn’t want to draw attention to her ignorance by asking. So she just smiled encouragingly. “Congratulations. It must feel good to know you’ve made such a difference. I bet your parents are proud of you.”

  “They are.” Everett smiled. “I’m lucky to have such a close-knit, supportive family. They didn’t expect us to stay around, but they welcomed us if that’s what we chose. Wilder and I decided to stay. Marielle, my older sister, moved to Hawaii to study marine life. Danica is on her third university. She keeps changing her mind about what she wants to do.”

  Mina could see that. Danica had been a very vivacious, impulsive person in high school. It made her interesting to observe from a distance, but Mina had never wanted to get caught up in the whirlwind that was Everett’s little sister. They might be the same age, but they had little in common. The few times she’d been assigned to work on projects with Danica had been enough excitement to last her for years.

  “That must drive your parents crazy.”

  Everett shrugged. “We all would have been surprised if she suddenly slowed down and focused on one thing. I’m sure she’ll never settle on one career. We love her for who she is, and we just want her to be happy.”

  That was the sweetest sentiment Mina had ever heard a person express. She’d listened to other people utter the words, but this was the first time she’d heard the genuine love and affection that suffused Everett’s simple statement.

  The server arrived with the food. Mina had been too nervous after their morning encounter to eat much at lunch, so she dug into the juicy burger, relaxed, and enjoyed the rest of her conversation with Everett.

  EVER WATCHED AS the tension eased from Mina’s shoulders. She’d been so wound up when she’d arrived that he wondered if she’d changed her mind about wanting to spend time with him. Just to be safe, he kept the flirting to a minimum. It brought to his attention exactly how much he flirted with just about every woman he knew.

  Some of the witty innuendos he’d squelched were good ones too. When he eventually asked what job she had done at the library, he didn’t make a joke about more interesting ways to dust those aisles of empty books and collections that nobody visited unless they were looking for some on-campus privacy.

  He’d figured out the moment she blurted her first sentence that she wasn’t comfortable with heavy flirting. Dialing it back tested his patience a bit. The only people he didn’t flirt with were family members. Even Micah and Jude weren’t safe from his penchant for jokes of a sexual and insinuating nature. They’d just learned to go with it.

  That night, he completely abandoned his friends. They understood the importance of a proper first date, and he knew they wouldn’t expect him to spend time socializing with them.

  After dinner, he could tell Mina wasn’t going to be comfortable with karaoke. She was too introverted to dive into something like that. No matter. They could work their way up to that, just as he could ease her into his large and boisterous group of friends. He’d introduce her to them a few at a time, keep the atmosphere relaxed.

  She reached for the check as Benjy left the table, even though their server had clearly set it next to him. Ever had never in his life let a woman pay for dinner. He hadn’t been raised that way. He set his hand over the slip of paper and regarded her with an expression that forbade any argument.

  She retreated, but it was a slow process, and he watched her wage an internal struggle the entire time.

  He leaned forward, because his words were for her ears only. “Mina, I don’t like that you didn’t let me pick you up, but I let you have your way because I really want to spend time with you. Please don’t make the mistake of thinking that there will ever be an occasion where I will let you pay the check.”r />
  “That’s so sexist.” Her brows dipped with amusement. “I know I’m the one benefitting from it, but I can’t say I’m in favor of it. I’ll pay next time.”

  That would never, ever happen. “It’s good to know there will be a next time. I’d like to see you tomorrow.” He removed his hand from the check and reached across the table. It wasn’t a way to tempt her resolve, because he might just turn her over his knee if she touched that slip of paper. He closed his hand around hers, knowing full well that she wasn’t completely comfortable with his public display.

  The analytical part of him watched her to make sure she was okay with his show of dominance. She seemed to be intrigued by it, no doubt about that.

  She nodded at him. “I’m free tomorrow.”

  “Great. Now that we’ve established that, let me make clear my stance on feminist issues. I believe a woman can do anything a man can do, and she can probably do most of those things better. Women tend to be more intelligent, thoughtful, and levelheaded. However, I firmly believe that it’s my place to always show you respect. I will open doors, wait to sit down until you’re seated, and pay for dates.”

  He let her absorb that for a few moments. Watching her think was a mesmerizing activity. From what he could tell, the conclusion she seemed to arrive at was the adoption of a wait-and-see attitude. He continued before she could vocalize her reaction.

  “I’m not all that sensitive or enlightened. You won’t see me watching movies about relationships or reading self-help books. I tend to tell rather than ask, which you’ve already experienced, and I expect to get what I want, when I want it. I have a quick temper, but it’s gone as fast as it appears. I’m not perfect, and I don’t strive to be what I’m not.”

  She patted the top of his hand with her free hand and flashed a grin. “At least you’re in touch with your inner caveman. It’s not all tragic news.”

  He chuckled at her dismissive summation.

  “Since we’re airing faults, I should tell you that I’m very stubborn. When I decide on something, it doesn’t matter how much evidence stares me in the face proving I’m wrong. I will ignore it. I never back down from an argument. I also don’t watch movies about relationships, but I will read self-help books, especially if they’re about time management. I’ll actually read anything—billboards, back of the shampoo bottle, the tiny print at the bottom of a contest entry form. It doesn’t have to be interesting.”

  Everett liked stubborn women. They developed into strong submissives, and he liked his women strong. Opinionated. It made their surrender that much sweeter.

  “I also like to pay for my half of the meal. I prefer to drive myself around and meet you places so that I’m not stuck there if I want to leave. I believe in leaving my options open.” She lifted her brows, challenging Everett directly, but he mostly noticed the way her brown eyes lit at their interaction.

  He met that challenge the same way he approached negotiation. “Very well. I can bend on letting you drive. You can pick me up at my apartment tomorrow at eleven. I’m treating you to lunch.”

  With that, he released her hand, extracted a credit card from his wallet, and handed it to Benjy, whose timing was very fortunate for Mina.

  Chapter Three

  Normally Mina would bid her date good night at this point. He’d all but admitted he had a Neanderthal view of gender relations. But she found his old-fashioned values attractive. He had treated her as if she mattered every second they were together. He’d opened the door and paid for dinner, but those were surface features.

  He’d also spent every moment with his attention completely focused on her. She had the sense he knew that she had encountered a bitter section of tomato on her burger and eaten it anyway. If she asked him, he could probably tell her the exact ratio of ketchup to mustard she liked for her fries. He listened when she talked, responding to what she meant as well as what she said.

  If this was chivalry, why was it considered a bad thing?

  He walked her toward the parking lot at a snail’s pace, holding her hand firmly in his. “I know you don’t want to stay for karaoke, but I don’t want you to go home yet. My apartment isn’t far from here. Want to come over and hang out?”

  Mina recognized the subtext. She’d been here before. “I told you I’m not having sex with you. I don’t even kiss on the first date.”

  Everett lifted her hand and brushed his lips across the back of it. “I didn’t ask you to come over and have sex. I asked you to hang out. We’d be doing the same thing there that we did in Elmhurst, only without a crowd. You can take off your shoes and get comfortable. I’ll even give you some cake. It’s chocolate.”

  She laughed nervously, not all that certain he was telling the truth. Men always tried to get her in bed. “Did your mother make it?”

  “Hell no. She’s a great person, but she can’t bake to save her life. I made it. From scratch.”

  From the amount of umbrage in his tone, she figured he had actually made the cake. She truly wanted to know how far he’d gone to set this up. “Did you bake it just for me?”

  He shook his head a little regretfully. Then he lifted her hand, which he still held with his larger one, and kissed it again. “I made it yesterday, so it’s mostly gone. There’s just enough left for us to finish it off. However, I can promise something special for tomorrow, and that’ll be just for you.”

  They’d arrived at her rental car. She dug for her keys in her purse, but he took them as soon as she found them and stuck them in his pocket. She looked up, ready to launch a protest, but he captured her face between his palms. The hold was both firm and affectionate. Then he slid his fingers into her hair, wrecking her carefully upswept arrangement.

  “You said you don’t kiss on the first date?” He peered deep into her eyes, asking silently for permission and relaying a lot about his intention.

  She tried to shake her head, but he held her still, forcing her to speak. “Never.”

  “I’ll respect that,” he said. “Feel free to sit this one out.”

  With that, his mouth descended over hers. She could have panicked and pushed him away, and she knew he would have stopped. But she didn’t want that. She wanted to know what it felt like to be kissed by a man who had figured out how to sidestep the many restrictions she placed on him.

  He brushed his lips lightly across a part of her that had suddenly become hypersensitive. He massaged and explored, leaving her mouth to skim across her cheeks, temples, and eyelids. By the time he made it back to her mouth, she’d parted her lips to suck in more air. He took it as an invitation to deepen his forays.

  When his tongue slipped into her mouth, Mina wrestled with a split second of indecision. In her entire life, she’d allowed only three men this liberty. The first one had treated her mouth like a Popsicle, slurping and sucking the flavor away. The second had left her feeling like he’d simply licked her face inside and out. The third had been exceedingly gentle, to the point where she wasn’t sure if he had any muscle tone in his lips.

  Everett wasn’t anything like that. His kiss was firm and commanding, a sensual feast she couldn’t hope to resist. A powerful, hot liquidity washed through her system, sapping her muscles of necessary strength. He took what he wanted—her participation truly wasn’t required—and left her weakened, clinging to him for support.

  When he at last brought the kiss to its stunning conclusion, he wrapped his arms around her body and held her against him. She felt the rapid beat of his heart, and she knew he’d been affected just as deeply.

  After several moments spent luxuriating in his embrace, she drew a shaky breath. “You are one devious man.”

  “Yes.” He chuckled, rocking his chest against hers. “Wild got the scruples, and I got the cunning. Now that you know what you’re in for, do you want some cake?”

  Mina laughed at the proud way he embraced his fault. She wasn’t as sold on the cake as she was on the prospect of receiving a few more kisses like that. For th
e first time ever, she honestly considered going to second base on the first date.

  Things wouldn’t go further than that. She was very experienced in putting a stop to wandering hands. When she initially got to college, she had avoided dating because she didn’t know how to interact with men on anything but an academic level. The few who had managed to make her see them differently hadn’t made it past her defenses.

  From the time she was little, she’d listened to her mother lecture her not to have kids until she was forty. Jin Ae had been eighteen when she’d married her high school sweetheart and nineteen when Mina was born. From that moment forward, her mother had been locked into a role. While she’d never expressed regret that Mina was in her life, she often said she wished that she’d waited ten or twenty years so that she would have been better prepared.

  The unspoken part of her mother’s warnings was clear: don’t get trapped in an abusive relationship. Keep your legs closed and your options open.

  And so she’d never let a man do more than touch her breasts, and two of the three had been restricted to touching over the clothes. Somehow she knew Ever would find a way around any restrictions she set. While that scared her a lot, she had a built-in escape plan because she didn’t want to stay in Vermont for more than a few months.

  Just from the way he kissed, she knew she wanted to experience some heavy petting from Ever. With that in mind, she smiled and nodded. “Cake sounds yummy.”

  “Great.” He clicked the button to unlock her doors. “You can drive us this time.”

  Mina drew her brows together. “You’re going to leave your truck here?”

  “I didn’t bring it. Wild drove.” He opened the door and motioned for her to get inside.

  She was a little affronted that he’d just assumed she’d go home with him. “So you planned to ask me to your place the whole time?”

  He stared at her for a long moment, the reflected pinks of the sunset clashing hard with his unusual green eyes. She had the feeling of being dissected yet again. When he spoke, she knew that was exactly what he’d been doing. “Mina, if you don’t want to come to my place, we can go anywhere you want. If you have an issue with using your car or with riding together, I can get Wilder’s keys, and he can go home with Micah. You seem to want to ascribe a lot of motives to me that don’t exist. I was pretty clear in stating what I want from you.”