by Susan Stoker
“I’m not gonna get huffy with you, beautiful. First, I’m a man, and men don’t get huffy. Second, as I told you before, I don’t give a shit if you beat me at mini golf or not. It’s not a competition. We’re having fun. I take it you’ve been out with someone who hated to lose to a girl?”
Adeline nodded.
“Seriously, Adeline, I’m secure enough in my manhood to let you beat me at mini golf, checkers, a five-K, or anything else you want to compete with me on.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive.”
She smirked. “Good. Although just sayin’, I’m not going to enter us in a five-K anytime soon. So don’t hold your breath on that. But you should also know, I’m really not that competitive. It just seems to be a waste of energy to compare myself to others. Now, let’s get back to the course. You’re four strokes behind.”
“Four strokes behind?” he repeated cheekily with a gleam in his eye that she could read loud and clear.
Adeline knew she was blushing. “Shut up.”
Dean leaned down and kissed her, lingering as he teased her lips with his own, before pulling away just enough to whisper, “Beautiful.”
An hour later, when Adeline sank the ball in the last hole, she turned to Dean with a wide smile. “That’s it. I win.”
“Congrats, beautiful. You beat me fair and square,” Dean said, grinning.
“Damn straight.”
If possible, his smile got even bigger. “That was fun. I’ll tell you right now, I want a rematch at some point.”
“Deal.” Adeline grinned back, loving that they were freely talking about seeing each other in the future.
“What’s next?”
“Lunch with a view.”
“Sounds perfect. Hand me your club. I’ll take it back to the desk if you want to go to the restroom before we leave.”
The more time she spent around Dean, the more she realized how considerate he was. In the past, none of the men she’d dated had ever really paid much attention to what she needed versus what they wanted. She usually had to ask them to wait while she visited the restroom, or she had to flag down a waiter to get a refill. But Dean watched her. He kept note of what she might need, and acted on it. It was gentlemanly and sweet.
Without thought, Adeline stood up on her tiptoes and kissed Dean’s cheek. “Thanks. I’ll meet you out front.”
She went to turn around, but Dean reached out a hand and took hold of her arm. As soon as she stopped and turned back to him, he put his hand under her chin and lifted it at the same time he leaned down. He kissed her long and wet before letting go. “Meet you out front, beautiful.”
Bemused, she simply smiled and backed away, Coco at her side as usual. She used the restroom, washed her hands, then stood in front of the sink, looking at herself in the mirror for a long moment. Trying to decide if she looked different than normal, because she certainly felt different, Adeline tilted her head and examined herself.
Nope. She was still the same Adeline Reynolds she’d known her entire life. On the short side, carrying a few too many pounds, nice black hair, and perfectly normal. There was no good reason a gorgeous alpha male fireman such as Dean should take a second look at her. But somehow, he had.
Shaking her head, she smiled at her reflection, then took Coco’s leash and headed back out to meet up with one of the most amazing men she’d ever met in her life. Time to get the second part of their date going.
“The Tower of the Americas?” Crash asked as they turned into the parking garage near the large tower.
“Yeah. I know, it’s totally touristy, but I heard they have a pretty nice restaurant at the top and I thought we could have lunch.”
The look of hopeful optimism in Adeline’s eyes as she looked at him, wanting him to be pleased with her choice of activity, made Crash smile tenderly at her. “Lunch would be great.”
“Have you been here before?”
He pulled into the first parking spot he found, put the car in gear, then turned to her. Crash reached out and brushed a lock of hair behind her ear and nodded. “Yeah, beautiful. This is where the 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb is every year.”
“Oh. I didn’t realize. Duh, of course it is. It’s the highest building in the metro area. Does it bring back bad memories? I didn’t even think about it. We can go. We can stop at Chili’s or something instead.”
Seeing she was working herself up, Crash hurried to reassure her. “Stop. It’s fine. Actually, I’m looking forward to being able to take the elevator to the top for once. It’s a bitch to climb all those stairs with my gear on.”
“I simply can’t imagine…”
Adeline’s voice trailed off.
“Look at me,” Crash ordered, hating to see the happiness fade from her eyes. He waited until she tilted her chin and caught his eyes. “This building is a place that oozes brotherhood for me. It’s where I sweat, curse, and swear I’m never going to climb another stair again in my life. By the time I’ve been up those damn stairs, twice, I’m dripping with sweat, my legs feel like noodles, but I’m so proud of what I do, and what those men and women did on September eleventh, I could burst.
“I feel like it’s somehow karma or kismet or something that made you want to eat lunch here with me today. So we’ll ride up the elevator like civilized people, eat lunch, maybe take in the movie at the top, if you’re up to it. We’ll do it knowing that, if required, firefighters, EMS personnel, or police officers wouldn’t hesitate to hoof it up all those stairs to get to us if we needed them. Okay?”
“Okay,” Adeline whispered back immediately.
“Perfect choice for lunch, beautiful,” he told her honestly. “Now, give me a kiss and let’s go admire the view and get something to eat.”
She smiled at him and leaned forward eagerly.
Crash was still smiling as her lips shyly touched his and her tongue caressed his bottom lip. Using his hand to tilt her head, Crash didn’t hesitate to take what she was so eagerly offering. He took the kiss from a pleasant meshing of lips to something carnal in the space of two heartbeats. His free hand rested under her raised arm, his thumb caressing the skin at the side of her breast.
Her hands weren’t still. One was clutching him to her at the back of his neck, her fingernails pressing against the base of his skull. The other was low at his side, squeezing as he devoured her mouth.
Knowing he needed to pull back now, or he’d be taking her shirt off right there in the car, Crash eased his mouth off hers, but didn’t move either of his hands. She didn’t either.
They sat there, both leaning into the center console, breathing hard.
Crash broke the passion-filled silence. “You make me forget everything but how you taste and feel under me.”
“Ditto,” Adeline murmured, licking her lips unconsciously.
Crash groaned and pulled her forward, brushing his lips over her forehead. “Come on. Lunch.”
He sat back and grinned as Adeline tried to get her wits about her. “Right. Lunch,” she murmured.
Pushing open his door, Crash got out and walked around to the other side of the car. Adeline was climbing out and he held out his hand for her. She grabbed hold and together they opened the back door to let Coco jump out. They walked hand in hand to the tower.
Adeline took out her wallet to pay for their tickets to the top, but Crash put his hand over hers. “No. I got it.”
“But, Dean. I’m taking you out.”
“Beautiful.”
He didn’t say anything else. Just her name in that exasperated way.
“But I paid for golf. How’s that different than this?”
“Because you paid when I wasn’t paying attention. I wouldn’t have let you pay for it if you hadn’t been so sneaky about it.”
He saw her blush. He knew she’d deliberately asked him to take Coco out for a quick walk before they went inside to pay. But unfortunately, he didn’t figure out why until he’d looked through the window and saw her at
the desk, handing over her credit card while he was outside with her dog. “I didn’t make a big deal out of it, because honestly it’s kinda nice to be out with a woman who doesn’t automatically assume I’m gonna pay for everything. But that doesn’t mean I’m not gonna pay for everything.”
“That’s not logical,” Adeline protested. “And I think this is going on the list of your imperfections too. Dean, I asked you out. I’ve got a job. This was my choice. I can pay.”
Crash leaned in really close to her face and whispered. “I know you have money, beautiful. And I want you to spend that money on yourself. Not on me. You should learn this now. I don’t care if it’s our second date or our four thousandth. You’re not paying.”
“Not even if we have a joint account and the money in it is both of ours? How’re you gonna separate it and keep me from paying for our dates then?”
“Fuck me,” Crash breathed, his face looking weird in an intense but good way.
“What?” Adeline asked. “What’d I say?”
“I like the thought of us being together in a way that we have a joint account. You not caring if your money is mixed up with mine.”
She rolled her eyes. “Dean, you’re missing the point!”
Crash took her shoulders in his hands and kept his head close to hers. “I’m not missin’ anything, beautiful. You are. We’re startin’ something here. Something I like a fuck of a lot. I like that you’re your own woman. I like that you want to take on your share of our date. But it’s not happening. Let me take care of you. You can pay for groceries and make me dinner. You can pay for gas, although if I’m with you, you won’t. You can pay for Coco’s vet bills. You can pay to get your hair and nails done, but you cannot pay for us when we’re out together. Capiche?”
She sighed hugely, but he saw her lips quirking upward when she huffed, “Fine. But you’re gonna get some really kick-ass birthday presents.”
He kissed her, lingering a moment too long for it to be a completely chaste public kiss, but he couldn’t help it. Anytime he touched her, he wanted nothing more than to inhale her scent, her touch, her essence. “Sounds like a deal to me.”
He towed her back to the counter and the woman behind the glass smiled broadly at them. “Twenty-four dollars for two adults,” she told him, still smiling, obviously having overheard at least part of their discussion on who would pay for the tickets and seeing their kiss.
Crash liked that Adeline pushed him and didn’t automatically say yes to everything he said. It somewhat annoyed him, but he liked it at the same time. She might be smaller and physically weaker than he was, but mentally she was probably stronger. She had to be with her medical history. He hadn’t thought he’d be attracted to a woman as independent as Adeline, but he was. He so was.
Hooking her arm under his, they walked toward the elevators that would take them to the top of the tower and lunch.
“Do you do the climb every year?” Adeline asked him quietly.
“I have for about three years now. The entire station almost missed it last year, when Penelope was still missing overseas, but we all talked about it and decided that she’d kick our butts if we backed out just because she was a POW. Sledge did a shit-ton of interviews that day, talking about how much his sister loved the stair climb and giving back to her country. We swear to this day it was what finally pushed the powers that be to make the decision to send in the Special Forces to find her.”
“I’m sorry you all had to go through that,” Adeline told him.
“Don’t be sorry for me, beautiful. Be sorry for Penelope. She’s the one who was kidnapped by those sick fucks. She’s the one who had to worry every day if she’d be burnt alive or raped. All we did was raise a ruckus here at home. She did the hard part.”
Adeline squeezed his arm. “That’s not true. Well, okay, the first part is true, but don’t ever say ‘All you did.’ What you guys did was vital in getting her back. I’m guessing you all wanted to hightail it over there and find her yourself, but obviously couldn’t. She’s your teammate. You were hurting too, maybe in a different way than she was, but you were still hurting.”
“Beautiful, sexy, and compassionate. I can’t wait to find out what else is under that tough skin of yours.”
Adeline blushed. “Stop it. You’re embarrassing me. You’re making me out to be some perfect woman, and I’m so not.”
“We’ll keep practicing on the accepting-a-compliment thing,” he told her with a smile.
She just shook her head at him.
The elevator opened and they got in. No one else was around, so they had it to themselves. Coco sat at Adeline’s feet, tongue out, panting happily.
“Wow, it’s so surreal to be in this elevator,” Crash said, looking around. “I’m so used to this being a place of solemn reflection. I love that you’re letting me see and remember it in a different way. Thank you,” Crash told Adeline seriously. “And I know you’re not perfect, no one is, we’ve had this conversation before. But nothing I’ve seen so far has given me any reason to have any second thoughts about getting to know you better. Your imperfections make you more real.”
“That’s how I feel about you too,” she told him honestly. She looked up at him with huge brown eyes and smiled.
Crash ran his index finger down her cheek tenderly. He couldn’t help but wish the day was going slower. He dreaded saying goodbye to her at the end of the day. Even though he knew in his gut Adeline was meant to be his, he also knew he couldn’t push too fast. Their relationship was moving quickly but he wouldn’t rush her.
They stood together in silence, enjoying each other’s company until the elevator bell rang when they reached the top of the seven hundred and fifty-foot tower.
They stepped out and headed for the hostess stand at the restaurant. “Eat first, then the movie?” Crash asked.
“Sounds good,” Adeline replied with a smile.
“The four-D movie isn’t going to mess with your epilepsy is it?”
She shook her head. “No, I’ll be fine. Thanks for asking and not assuming.”
They approached the entrance to the restaurant hand in hand. “Two for lunch,” Crash told the tall, slender woman behind the hostess’s stand.
She looked at him, then at Adeline and Coco with a frown. “I’m going to have to see your animal’s qualification papers.”
“His papers?” Adeline asked, surprised by the request.
“This is a public restaurant. We have strict health code standards we have to keep. There have been a few instances where patrons have stuck vests on their pets and pretended they were service dogs. Therefore, we have a new policy where we need to see the qualification papers and know what your disability is and how the animal is needed before you’ll be allowed to dine in this establishment.”
“I don’t think you’re allowed to ask for any of that information,” Crash said immediately, pulling Adeline into his side.
“She’s definitely not,” Adeline confirmed and kept her eyes on the woman. “House Bill four eighty-nine states that you can ask me if my dog is required because of a disability and what task he is trained to perform, but that’s it. You aren’t allowed to ask me to show you proof of certification for my dog”
“Look, I understand it’s awkward,” the woman said in a fake concerned tone, “but it’s also awkward for us when other patrons complain about allergies to dogs or when the supposed service animal makes a nuisance of itself. We’re protecting you as well as our other customers.”
“Bring the manager up here, now,” Crash ordered harshly, not giving Adeline a chance to say anything.
“Now, sir, all I need to know—”
“Manager,” he repeated through clenched teeth. “We’re done talking to you.”
The woman let out an aggravated breath, but turned on her heel without another word and headed into the restaurant.
“Dean, we can just go,” Adeline told him, tugging at his arm. “I don’t want to make a fuss. This happ
ens more than you know. I’m actually kinda used to it. Remember when I talked about annoying people? This is a part of that.”
Crash said nothing, merely shook his head. He was so pissed he couldn’t remember the last time he was this angry. But taking it out on Adeline was the last thing he wanted to do. He simply wanted to sit with his girlfriend and have a nice lunch overlooking the city. She’d gone out of her way to try to find someplace special for their second date, and he’d be damned if anyone would keep that from them.
Soon, a middle-age man with a receding hairline and wearing a gray suit jacket, tie, and gray slacks walked toward them, with the hostess at his heels. Neither looked happy.
The man started talking before he even reached them. “I apologize for the inconvenience, sir, ma’am. But we have every right to protect our customers and make sure any animal brought into our establishment is a legitimate service animal.”
Adeline was digging into her purse as the man spoke and when he was done, handed him a small card. It was the size of a business card, maybe a bit bigger, and printed on both sides. She took a deep, calming breath before she spoke. Her voice was firm, and she sounded as though she’d made the speech several times in the past.
“I understand, and it’s reprehensible that people would choose to falsely claim their pets were service animals. But that is not my problem. This card explains my rights, and yours. You cannot ask to see my dog’s training papers, nor can you ask what my disability is. But I’ll tell you anyway. I’m not ashamed of it. I have epilepsy. My dog alerts me if I’m about to have a seizure. He gives me the extra ten or twenty minutes I need to get someplace safe before it hits. Without him, I could start convulsing right at the table. If I was eating, I could choke on something and possibly die. I’m sure you wouldn’t want me to do that in your nice establishment.” Adeline paused to let that scenario sink in. When it appeared it had, she continued.
“I am completely responsible for my dog. Not you. Not the state of Texas. Not my dining companion. You can see on the back of the card the law clearly states that you could be fined and I can take you to court if you violate my civil rights. It also states that, by law, an identification card is not required to grant me and my service dog entry to any public place, including restaurants. Now, I’m on a date with a man I’m trying to impress, and you’re seriously making me look like a hard-ass bitch when I was going for feminine and lady-like. I’m hungry because I beat the pants off him in miniature golf this morning and now I’d like to sit and enjoy the view, which is my right, and enjoy a large glass of tea.