“I missed you.”
I bit my lip, not quite ready to admit that I missed him to. I'd reminded myself over and over while I prepared for the date that Dane could not be trusted. He was a charmer and he would use that to get what he wanted from me. Nothing could be taken at face value. I just had to enjoy the night without getting attached.
“So, where are you taking me?” I asked. Dane grinned.
“How does dinner and a show sound?” he asked. I shrugged.
“Pretty standard.”
His face fell.
“Standard? I was trying to be romantic?” he said. I had only been teasing but it was funny seeing him get so worked up about it. I wondered how far I could push him.
“It's romantic, I guess. But being spontaneous and fun would be a lot more romantic, I think,” I said, not expecting him to actually take me up on that. He gritted his teeth determinedly and started the car.
“I'll show you spontaneous!”
We drove through a part of town I hadn't seen before. It wasn't long before I could see the ocean glittering in the distance as the sun set slowly in the sky.
“Holy shit, that looks so beautiful!” I said, looking at the gorgeous array of colors spread across the sky. I would have to use some of those colors in one of my designs.
“Yeah, it's nice. We'll have fun together,” he grinned.
Our date started right after Dane found a half decent parking space. When we got out of the car I asked him where we were going.
“The pier, of course,” he said. He took my hand and we walked towards to bright carnival lights overlooking the beach in the distance.
“Have you done this before?” I asked. He shook his head.
“No. I always meant to check out the pier since I first moved to LA, but I never got around to it,” he gave my hand a little squeeze, “It should be fun.”
“That's not what I meant,” I said, “I meant, have you ever held hands in public with a girl like this? Since you've been famous?”
Dane shook his head again.
“I guess I'm doing a lot of new things tonight,” he said. I nodded in agreement.
“You sure are. If you want, we can just walk side by side. Actually, I better take my Grandma's ring off too or Craig will go nuts,” I said. I reached for it but Dane stopped me, taking my hand again. “No, that's all right. Let's just enjoy ourselves and not think about any of those other fuckers. Does that sound like a plan?” he said. I was surprised, to say the least, but I agreed. It sounded like a wonderful plan to me.
The pier was like a childhood dream come true. There was color everywhere and I had no idea where I wanted to start. There was a giant Ferris wheel at the very end and about a million different stalls and rides on the way. I could smell the comforting scent of hot, greasy food and sweet cotton candy. There were vendors inviting people to try their luck at winning plush animals.
Dane saw me looking at the candy floss stall and without me asking, he walked over and ordered me the biggest stick of that fluffy stuff that I'd ever seen in my life. He even let me chose the color. I had a choice between yellow, pink, mint green or lilac. I chose lilac.
“Jesus, this is bigger than my head,” I said as we walked. For a moment I thought people were staring at the girl with the giant stick of purple cotton candy. Then I realized they weren't. It wasn't me they cared about. It was my movie star date.
People whispered and pointed as we passed by but no one was brave enough to just come over and approach Dane. He gave my hand a reassuring squeeze.
“Sorry,” he mouthed.
“No problem,” I said. Just then a teenage girl came up to us and asked if this was Dane Reynolds the actor. Dane nodded slowly and the girl gave a little scream. That was it. The crowd began to gather. People became pushy, asking for autographs and selfies. Soon I was shoved to the side, left to eat my cotton candy alone.
Shit, so this was the reality of dating a celebrity. Would we have to deal with this every time we went on a date? That was assuming that he even wanted a second date. Dane seemed to busy signing autographs to even bother with me anymore.
I wandered off to the nearest bench I could find and sat down. I finished off the last of my cotton candy as I watched Dane try to deal with mob as best he could. He was actually very efficient, making sure that everyone got their autograph and their selfie in the quickest time possible. Once the crowd dispersed again he came right over to me.
“I'm sorry,” he sat next to me and put his arm around my shoulders, “Maybe spontaneous isn't a good idea when you're famous.”
“Maybe not,” I said, glancing down at his arm, “You know someone's gonna snap a picture of this, right?”
Dane shrugged.
“Whatever happens happens. So, how about we get that dinner?” I didn't argue.
Dane
Luigi's was a great little Italian restaurant just a few miles north of my place. It was cozy and popular with locals, but not that well known. They always took good care of me in there. If I called ahead and told them that I wanted to book a table they would make sure that I wouldn't be bothered. The food was also delicious, which helped quite a bit. I just hoped Savannah would like it.
As soon as we entered the restaurant the hostess recognized me.
“Mr Reynolds,” she said, “We have a table set aside where you'll be left in peace. Please follow me.”
She led the two of us past a number of diners who all seemed to know who I was. They were whispering and looking at me as if I had two heads. Jesus Christ, this shit got tiring after a while. Sometimes I missed being a nobody. Then again, nobodies usually couldn't afford nice dates like this one.
The hostess led us up a flight of stairs and onto the roof. A single table had been set for us, overlooking the city skyline. It was warm and there was no breeze so it was perfect. “Thank you,” I said, as we were seated, “This is great!”
“It is, isn't it?” said Savannah. I was glad she thought so. She deserved the world. The least I could give her was a great date.
A waiter quickly arrived with a basket of bread and my favorite red wine. He poured it out, handed over the bread and promised he'd be back shortly to take our orders. The two of us were left alone under the night sky. Savannah couldn't keep the smile off of her face.
“You really went all out for this, didn't you?” she said. I shrugged. “I wouldn't say that.”
“Of course you wouldn't. You don't want to admit that you're a hopeless romantic!” she teased. A hopeless romantic? Me? More like plain hopeless when it came to romance. Even so, I took it as a compliment.
“Thanks, I think,” I said. Savannah sniggered.
“This is like a totally different side of you,” she said, “You're being all polite and gentlemanly and you've really toned down your obnoxious side.”
“Thanks a bunch,” I said, “It's great to know you haven't lost your bluntness.”
“It's great to know you haven't lost your ego,” she smiled sweetly. Damn it, that woman really wanted to keep me in my place. It was endearing, really, to think that a tiny girl like her could tame a bad ass like me. I liked her, but that didn't mean I was going to change for her. Any girl who couldn't handle me wasn't worth perusing.
I had a feeling that Savannah was well equipped to handle me, however.
The waiter returned and we placed our orders. Savannah went for the carbonara so I copied her, deciding that it sounded good to me too.
“So,” she asked eventually, “When are we going to talk about what happened the night I left?” Jesus. She certainly hadn't lost her bluntness. I'd been hoping she wouldn't bring that up with me. I just wanted to talk to her, to make her laugh and look at her in that pretty cocktail dress. Why dredge up the past and ruin the mood? I said as much.
“Come on baby, shit was getting all romantic. Do you really want to ruin it by talking about all that?” I said. Savannah nodded with a smile on her face.
“Yup. I'll ruin it for
you,” she said. I could see she was getting flustered now, “Why didn't you stand up for me?”
I thought about it for a moment. There was no good answer.
“I didn't know it mattered that much to you,” I said. It was me being honest, but that didn't please Savannah. She frowned at me.
“Of course it mattered. What girl wants to know that the guy she cares about doesn't care about her?” she said. So she admitted that she cared about me. It made me feel good to think that. Conflicted, but good.
“I never said I didn't care about you,” I said.
“You never did anything to show that you did care about me,” she responded. She was smiling again now, but her eyes were angry. I hadn't expected her to get so worked up about it. This definitely wasn't a situation that was covered in a first date hand book. Not that I'd read one. If I had I might have been better prepared.
“I'm sorry you feel that way,” I said. We were then interrupted by the waiter, who appeared with two steaming how bows of carbonara for us.
“Enjoy,” he said, before disappearing again. We ate in silence for a while, too hungry and frustrated to even speak. Savannah eventually found her voice.
“It hurt.”
“What?”
“You hurt me.”
“Oh.”
She swallowed another bite of her carbonara and put her fork down.
“This isn't as easy as I'd hoped it would be,” she said, shaking her head. It didn't feel like she was talking to me. It felt like she was talking to herself. Despite this, I felt the need to respond. “What did you want to happen?” I asked.
“I don't know,” she turned her head and looked out at the LA skyline, “I don't belong here.”
“I wouldn't say that,” I said, hoping that she wouldn't sense my internal panic. So maybe I didn't know exactly what it was that I wanted. That didn't meant that she should leave. One thing I knew for sure was that I wanted her to to stick around.
“I don't belong here,” she repeated, “I need to go home.”
“No you don't,” I found myself saying. She gave me a gentle smile.
“What should I stick around for? I'm not a model. I'm not an actress and I'm not a singer either. My design career is going nowhere,” she said, before quietly adding, “My love life is going nowhere. I should go home and be close to my family. They miss me a lot.”
Fuck. It was time to bring out the big guns now. I hated myself for doing it but I needed to.
“You should stick around for me,” I said, “Please. Please stick around for me. I'll bring you home and you can visit your family if that's what you want, but don't leave for good.”
“Why not?” she asked. Damn it, I knew she would make me spell it out for her.
“Because I need you here. And I know I'm just a fucking idiot movie star with an ego the size of Jupiter and excellent muscle definition, but that doesn't mean that I can't admit when I need something. I need you, Savannah,” I said, “I really do.”
For once in my life, being honest with a girl didn't turn around and bite me on the ass. Savannah leaned forward and whispered, “I need you too.”
We didn't stay for dessert. We didn't even finish our dinner. I left a huge tip to let the restaurant staff know that the food hadn't been a problem and the two of us slipped back into my car.
I held her hand on the drive home. It felt nice. It felt like it belonged there.
Maybe it did.
Chapter Twelve
Savannah
Dane didn't bring me back to Mark's house. He brought me back to his own house instead. Stepping inside felt familiar and comforting compared to the coldness of Mark's place. I took a deep breath and let myself savor the unique but lovely scent of Dane's home. I'd missed it almost as much as I'd missed him.
The moment we set foot in the door Dane took me in his arms and kissed me passionately. “You're not sleeping in the guest room tonight,” he grinned.
“No fucking way,” I whispered with a giggle. Without warning Dane grabbed me and tossed me over his shoulder as if I weighed nothing. Fuck, he really was as strong as he looked. I gave his shoulder a little slap in mock protest but he just returned the favor by giving my ass a quick spank. “Put me down right now, mister!” I demanded.
“Not a chance,” he said. To my surprise, he managed to jog all the way upstairs with me still thrown over his shoulder like that. His grip on me didn't even weaken with all of that extra pressure. He carried me effortlessly to his bedroom and laid my down on the bed without so much as breaking a sweat.
“You go to the gym, I get it,” I said. He laughed at me as he tossed his shirt to the ground. Fuck, I had forgotten how buff he was. I couldn't stop myself from reaching out and stroking his colorful abdomen, admiring ever one of his tattoos.
“Come here,” I said. I pulled him down so he was laying next to me and I could get a proper look at his tattoos, “Tell me about them.”
“Are you serious? I have a raging hard on right now,” he said, “And you want me to tell you the story of every tattoo I have? Most of them don't even have stories to them. They're just there 'cos I wanted them.”
Despite what he was saying I could tell that he wasn't annoyed at my curiosity.
“Come on. Please. I'm boring, I don't have any. It's interesting to me,” I said. Dane stroked my bare arm.
“I don't know, maybe you should consider getting some. You'd look pretty hot with tattoos. A biker chick body with an angel face. Now that would be hot,” he said. I gave him a fake slap. I loved the way that tattoos looked on other people but they terrified me. My tastes and preferences changed so often that I couldn't fathom loving a design for my whole life.
“Shut up,” I said, running my hand up his chest, “How do you deal with the fear of regret with these? Do you ever worry you'll see one of these dragons or snakes and you'll think 'fuck, I hate that shit'? That's what I would worry about. Last year I wore the color orange almost every day for six months and now I can't stand it. I just worry that something similar would happen with a tattoo.” Dane shrugged.
“I figure if I like the design now that's all that matters. I just try to live for the day and not worry about the future too much,” he said. Well, that much was obvious. I must have frowned then because Dane suddenly sat up and pointed to the green dragon winding its way around his abdomen, “I actually got this one in Japan from a real Japanese artist. This guy is famous for knowing his shit. Find a crooked line in any of those scales, I dare you. You just can't. He's too good. Cost as much as my first car loan to get, but it was worth it.”
“I always wanted to go to Japan,” I said dreamily, “I love the fashion there.”
“You should come with me on the next press tour. We always make a stop off in Japan. My movies make a lot of money there for some reason,” he said. Jesus, it was like he was offering me the world on a plate. I was afraid to say that I wanted anything else in case he promised it to me. I just knew that mens' promises could not be kept. Especially the promises of movie stars.
I snuggled in closer to him as if that could stop him from ever hurting me again. Who knew? Maybe it could.
Dane
I woke up early. The sun was shining and the hottest girl in the world was asleep beside me. It would be a good day, I just knew it. I also figured the perfect way to spend it.
I gave Savannah a little nudge and she woke up, the dazzling green of her eyes even more beautiful in the soft morning light. She gave me a little smile.
“You woke me up and I didn't punch you in this face. Nice job,” she mumbled into the pillow, “Can I go back to sleep now?”
“Nope, we have a big day ahead of us,” I said. She groaned.
“What now? Do you have another shoot? I might sit this one out.”
I shook my head. She was way off.
“Nope. No shoots,” I said, “I'm going to get a new tattoo.” She squinted at me.
“Do you have any space left?” she asked. I po
inted to a small blank patch on my arm between a few koi fish and my samurai.
“Yup, a little bit. Feel like coming along with me?” I asked. I'd never had somebody come to one of my tattoo sessions before. I wasn't a wimp. I was able to take the pain like a man. It was having someone to talk to that I wanted most. My main artist wasn't so much of a talker. I hated laying there, bored for hours on end as he carved on another new design. It was always worth it, but Savannah being there would make the experience all the better.
“OK,” she groaned, “Just give me five more minutes.”
I couldn't argue with that. I got up and went straight for a shower, feeling better than I had in what seemed like forever. Savannah and I hadn't even fucked last night and I felt incredible. I never realized that a woman could make me feel this happy.
When I emerged ten minutes later, Savannah was still asleep. Curled up in a ball with the pillow over her head, it seemed like a shame to wake her up. That didn't stop me. I gave her a little shake and she tried to swat me away again.
“Come on baby, don't mess around with me. You won't win,” I said. She grabbed the sheets and pulled them closer to herself stubbornly. Ah, a challenge. That was just what this morning called for. If it was a challenge she wanted it was a challenge that she would get.
I lay down next to her and pulled the sheet over the two of us. She was pretending to be asleep now, hamming it up in an attempt to annoy me. I could tell by the smirk on her face that she was faking. She was as awake as I was.
This became even more obvious when I slid my hand down her naked body. I paused for a second to cup one of those perfect breasts before continuing. Soon my hand was between her thighs and she was moaning softly into the pillow.
Sweetest Sin: Bad Boy Bundle Page 76