Chasing Love

by Natalie Ann

  She burst out laughing, then leaned over and kissed him quickly. “I like when you make jokes. You never used to joke before and now it’s kind of cute.”

  He hadn’t been joking but wasn’t going to admit that. “Maybe I’m trying to be someone different.”

  She stopped in the process of opening the bag of lettuce. “Don’t be someone else. I’ve known you my whole life and it’s the person I like. Just be who you are.”

  “Who I am seems to push women away.” He couldn’t believe he admitted that.

  She tilted her head. “Then it’s my gain. Trust me when I say, I like you the way you are at the core of it.”

  “Then why are we going to the movies on a Tuesday night?”

  “Oh, Troy. Because sometimes in life it’s good to step out of our comfort zone for a touch. That doesn’t mean you need to change who you are.”

  He never thought of it that way. “Good point. Well then. I’m going to show you how to butterfly pork chops and get a good seer on them before we pop them in the oven.”

  “Butterfly what?” she asked as he unwrapped the large cuts of pork he’d picked up from the butcher on his way home.

  “Just watch and learn.”

  10

  Shock Factor

  Meena learned a lot tonight. She learned that big tough sexy guys sure the hell knew how to cook.

  She’d already known he knew how to kiss.

  But she learned he had a sense of humor that he seemed to show only to her.

  And that not only did he like suspenseful movies but that he held her hand in case she got scared. Which was pretty darn sweet since she recommended this movie.

  Had she seen him looking at the chick flick being played and secretly hoping she wouldn’t choose it? She had. She wanted to see it but decided to not push her luck. That could be a movie they’d watch at his house one night when no one could see him doing it. She wouldn’t be one of those women who embarrassed a man out in public if they didn’t want to do something.

  Nor would she guilt anyone into her choices either. She didn’t play those types of games and never would.

  But she’d been dying to see this movie anyway and it was so worth it watching it on a date.

  When was the last time any guy tried to comfort her, worrying that she might be scared? Never. That’s when.

  And though she really wanted to watch the movie, her mind had drifted back to their conversation during dinner. How Troy had said Sabrina—and other women—wanted him to be someone he wasn’t. That they wanted to change him.

  She didn’t want to change him. But she would like to help him experience a little bit in life. To her, he was still the same guy she had a huge crush on as a kid and the thought of him changing and her not loving him anymore was something she couldn’t imagine.

  It was the same as when everyone tried to change her. She liked being wild. She liked having her own style. And she loved the shock factor she gave people.

  What she didn’t love was that there were so many misconceptions that if you dressed wild and had outlandish or had funky colored hair that you were loose. That you got around and did everything under the sun with men. That you drank all the time and experimented with drugs.

  She’d always been quick to prove men wrong there. When she lived at home, Brian stepped in a lot. He didn’t think she knew about those times, but it got back to her that her older brother would corner some guy he didn’t feel was worthy of his sister and tell them the way it was.

  That might have been when her and Brian’s relationship went from nagging, annoying little sister to protective brother that she could appreciate and grow close to. She was glad they had such a strong bond now because she feared she’d pushed him too much as a kid being the attention hog that she was.

  She wondered if that was why Troy didn’t want Brian to know. It hadn’t even occurred to Meena, but she wondered if Brian often told Troy the same thing he was saying to guys that were interested in her when she was younger.

  There was no way Brian would tell his best friend to stay away from her, would he? Not for the reason he’d told other men, she was sure. But maybe Troy was right and it was best not to chance it just yet. Maybe it was better to see how it all played out.

  And once that thought skipped through her brain during the movie she thought back to the dinner Troy had cooked her. Well, showed her how to cook, but she was honest with herself and knew she wouldn’t have been able to pull off something that good.

  Big thick pork chops split in half—butterflied, he called it—nice and crisp on the outside, then baked in the oven and full of juices when she cut into it. She barely got through half, but wished she could have finished it all.

  With the meat, he’d made smashed potatoes. She’d only ever had them in a restaurant and his sure were restaurant worthy with butter and a touch of garlic. Then he cooked baby carrots. He didn’t open a can and stick them in the microwave like she’d been known to do. He opened the bag of baby carrots and put them in water with a touch of orange juice and they were both tender and firm, sweet and tangy.

  “How did you learn to cook like this?” she asked him when they sat down to eat.

  “My mother told me a long time ago to never rely on a woman to make me my meals. Unless I wanted to go broke and eat out every night, I should learn to cook for myself.”

  Her mother told her something similar as a kid too. Funny how she never learned to do much more than throwing a salad together, make a sandwich, or stick a premade, prepackaged item in the microwave.

  Of course in New York City, she’d just walk out of her apartment and there were more choices than most would ever see for food. Coming back here, she found slim pickings.

  “So your mother taught you how to cook?” she asked, devouring the potatoes.

  “She did.”

  “How come I never knew that about you?” she asked. Brian had never said Troy knew how to cook. She felt kind of slighted that she didn’t know that little secret about him when she thought she knew everything.

  “Not sure. It’s not something I go around bragging to guys about,” he said.

  “I don’t know why. What an awesome way to land a chick. You know that old saying ‘the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach’ goes both ways.”

  He laughed. “I’m guessing by your admission that wasn’t the way you got to a man’s heart.”

  She smiled at him but didn’t say anything else. What could she say? That she’d never felt like she wanted to learn. That she didn’t want to be a housewife like that. That now she was wondering if that was what Troy would want out of a woman and she’d have to find some cooking class?

  She was starting to panic that the more she knew the more she was assuming it might not work out for them when she’d wanted it for so long.

  She opted for honesty. It was always her best policy anyway. “No. I’m creative in other ways, but food just wasn’t my thing. I eat what’s available. I go out a lot, but I’m not a food snob. Though this could turn me into one. Is this what you want? Someone to cook you dinner every night like your mother did for your father?” She knew his mother never worked.

  “Why would I need that when I can do it myself? I told you my mother made sure I didn’t have to depend on a woman for that.”

  She breathed a sigh of relief. “So you wouldn’t mind being the one to cook every night?”

  “I believe in equality. Unfortunately, I think a lot of women I dated didn’t. They saw what I owned. They saw what I came from, and they wanted to cash in on that and take that ride. I don’t work my ass off for someone to just ride on my back.”

  “Oh,” she said. That was a side of Troy she’d never seen before either. He was a little bit fierce, a little bit cocky and a whole hell of a lot of sexy.

  Of course, she felt the same way and since she owned her own business and never planned on letting a man take care of her, she was fine with his thoughts too.

  “That prob
ably came out harsh. I don’t mean that someday when I marry and have kids that I wouldn’t want to care for my family. Or if my wife wanted to stay home and raise the kids I wouldn’t be a hundred percent behind it. It just means that I don’t want someone to think dating me gives them a free ride.”

  “So you want a stay-at-home wife?” she asked. She was getting really confused now.

  “No. I want whatever she wants and what works for our family. I want someone I can talk to about those important things and figure it out. I don’t want someone that just assumes. And wow, this is a pretty in-depth conversation for a third date. How did this happen?”

  “I’m not quite sure myself. But know one thing. A lot of what you want out of someone is exactly what I do. I’ve worked hard to get where I am and I’m young with a lot of years ahead of me to keep learning more and working. I’m not afraid of hard work and I don’t want or need a man to support me.”

  “So noted,” he said, grinning at her. Both humor and understanding in his eyes, and maybe even acceptance.

  After that conversation, they cleaned up dinner and each ate the cupcakes she brought for dessert. He’d joked that he thought popcorn and candy would be their dessert, which she hadn’t really thought of. She’d just seen the Valentine’s Day-themed cupcakes and wanted to grab them.

  She’d pushed all those conversations they had out of her mind and tried to pay attention to the movie they were watching though.

  Then when the movie was done, they’d gone back to his house again. It was after nine at this point and she was thinking it was moving close his normal bedtime. “So are you late for bed?” she’d asked him.

  “Ten o’clock during the week. Still have forty-five minutes,” he said.

  “Enough time for a nice goodnight kiss then.”

  They were standing next to her car in his driveway and though the wind wasn’t blowing, she felt the chills on her neck. She hoped his kiss would warm her up good.

  “More than enough time for that.” He leaned down and laid his lips on hers. She’d wished they would have done some necking in the movie theater, but didn’t want to push it.

  In the end, she was glad she hadn’t. They weren’t teens anymore, though it sure the hell felt like it.

  But now was better. Now he was holding her proper and holding her close, his tongue moving in and showing her he had a lot more to teach her.

  “That should hold me over until our next date.”

  “And when should we plan on our next date?” he asked.

  “I planned this one. How about you do the next and let me know?”

  He nodded his head. “I’ll be in touch.” He leaned down and kissed her one more time and when he turned his back to go into his house, she took that moment to fan the heat in her face.

  11

  Have That in Common

  So a few days later he was still trying to figure out what to do. How to plan a date when he hadn’t planned one in longer than he cared to remember.

  Most of the times when he was in a relationship, the woman he was dating did all the plans and he just went along rather than argue. It was much easier that way than stressing or worrying they wouldn’t be happy with his choice.

  He and Meena had texted back and forth for the past few days, talked once at night, but other than that, there wasn’t a ton of communication.

  He wasn’t sure if he should be giving her space, or if she wanted space. Or maybe he was overthinking the whole thing because he’d been busy and she kept saying she was booked solid. Even the one night they were talking, he’d interrupted her looking over paperwork and placing orders at home all the while complaining that she hated doing work at home.

  That side of Meena he never expected. He didn’t see her as the responsible businessperson. Not someone doing and worrying about all the same things he was now. He never figured they’d share that trait.

  Had he been wrong about her? Or maybe she matured while she’d been away. It’s not like he saw her all that much once she graduated from high school.

  Brian had told him his parents sent her to what they thought was one of the best cosmetology schools in the state. They probably never expected she’d want to live there the past seven years after school was done.

  He’d see Meena when she came home to visit, but it wasn’t often. Only when he was hanging with Brian and Meena showed up. Those times, Brian wasn’t so anxious to push her away as he had when she was a kid, but rather kept her closer so he could watch out for her.

  So he could see who was around her and hitting on her. Troy lost track of the number of times Brian had to talk some guy away from his sister. That lawyer’s tongue of his always came in handy. And if Brian needed a bit more muscle behind it, he’d do it when Troy was around and they’d double-team any guy they didn’t feel was worthy of Meena.

  To Troy, no one was worthy enough, but he couldn’t very well say that to Brian back then and always found some way to get Brian on his side to discourage any man he knew of getting close to her.

  He hoped Meena never found out about that. That he’d sent some fierce glares in the way of a few kids in high school and one or two at a bar when he’d been around later in life.

  Brian thought Troy was backing him, but it was really scaring the guys off. Though he didn’t have the courage to ask Meena out, he sure the hell didn’t want to see her with anyone else.

  And now that he’d had his mouth on hers, he couldn’t think of anything else other than doing it again and getting his hands into some of that action too.

  So back to square one, trying to figure out their next date.

  Who would have thought it would be this hard? Maybe if he and Meena had more in common it’d be easier, but really, the only thing they had in common that he could think of was that they both owned their own business and worked a lot of hours.

  Having Brian in common didn’t count in his mind. He’d rather not think about that or what they were going to tell Brian when the time came.

  Meena would probably like to go bowling or shopping or some other activity that he’d rather have no part in. But she did say that she liked him the way he was. That she didn’t want him to change.

  So maybe he could just plan a dinner out and play the rest of the night by ear. He sure the hell knew how he wanted the rest of the night to end, but he had to keep reminding himself that this wasn’t just some woman he met on the street. This was Meena Dawson that he’d known his whole life.

  And the fact that he knew her so well told him she felt the same about him. That she knew him well too.

  No other woman had told him she liked him the way he was. That she didn’t want him to change.

  She understood his need for structure and seemed okay with it, even if she did tease him about it. He couldn’t help that he inherited the responsibility gene from his father and honed it early on. He’d looked up to his father, thinking there was no finer man, or harder worker, and he wanted to be just like him.

  It’s not like he never went out and did anything fun. When he and Brian were younger they went out all the time. Just because more times than not Troy would have rather been home watching TV in his room didn’t mean he couldn’t go out and enjoy himself.

  Then when he got older and Brian went away to college, Troy even went and visited and stayed a few times when he could. But the older he got, the more he started to take his job seriously. The more he had to learn the business knowing it’d come to him someday.

  He just never thought his father would have a heart attack so soon. Almost two years ago. Brian was his best friend. The person who was closest to him in age and mindset at times. But his father had also been his best friend. The person who was showing him how to make a living. How to be a man.

  Yes, his mother taught him how to cook. But his father taught him how to live.

  He finally stopped doubting himself, pulled up the restaurant he had in mind and then made reservations online. There, he was done.

/>   Next step was to text Meena and let her know when he’d pick her up at her house.

  Meena couldn’t believe it had taken so long for Troy to figure out their next date.

  He’d told her he wanted to do something on Friday night, but he hadn’t given any indication of what that would be.

  How hard was it to pick a restaurant and let her know? Obviously pretty hard since he just texted her he’d get her at her house at six thirty tonight for reservations at seven.

  “What has you smiling?”

  Meena looked up and saw Holly standing in the doorway of her office. “Just confirming a date tonight.”

  “Oh,” Holly said, her hands rubbing together. “Meena has a date,” she yelled down the hall.

  Several pairs of feet could be heard coming in her direction. “Don’t you girls have clients?” she asked the four that were standing there staring at her, almost dwarfing her in the office now.

  “Just waiting for the next appointment like you,” Angela said. “Give us details of your date and who he is.”

  Angela had been in the salon the day Troy fixed the water heater. “Troy Walker and I are going to dinner tonight.”

  “Troy, the sexy repairman that filled out his Levi’s so well from the other day?” Angela asked, elbowing one of the other girls. Then they all started giggling.

  “That’s the same Troy,” Meena said, her smile filling her face, her cheeks almost aching.

  It’d been a while since she was able to chat with the girls about a man she liked or was seeing. She was almost feeling left out that her employees had all these stories and she had nothing but memories from before she moved back home.

  “So what are the plans? How long have you been seeing him? Where did you meet him?” Stacy asked, bumping Angela out of the way. Stacy just turned twenty-one and all she cared about was making enough money to pay her bills and party each night.

  “I don’t remember a day I didn’t know him. He’s my brother’s best friend,” she said, waiting to see what everyone’s reaction was going to be.