by CL Collier
“Sorry,” he says. “It’s just that it’s Kernville. A child would be safe walking home alone at night.”
I roll my eyes at him, and Krista replies with, “See? I’m fine!”
Dax continues, “But it would be very ungentlemanlike of me to allow you to walk home all alone. So let’s go.” He stands up, and we both just look at him.
“Seriously?” Krista says, looking surprised by his gesture.
“Completely. Are you ready to go now?” he asks her.
“Um, yeah, I guess,” she replies. She looks as surprised as I am.
I stand to go with them, too. This is so nice of Dax. Proof again that he’s probably too good to be true.
As we walk back to the hotel, Krista asks Dax where Chris lives.
“With me,” he replies nonchalantly.
I stop walking. “What?” I say, surprised. “He’s your roommate? Why didn’t you mention that before?”
They both stop walking and turn to look at me. Dax shrugs. “Actually, I didn’t realize I hadn’t. I don’t know why. But, yeah, he moved in with me when he got divorced.”
“Oh,” I reply. Then we all start walking again.
“Where’s your house?” Krista asks him. She’s clearly still a little concerned about Laura.
“Not too far from here,” he says.
“Be more specific. Nothing in town is too far from here,” I say, joking.
Dax chuckles at my joke. “Touché. If you want a more specific answer, it’s about four blocks away from my parents’ house.”
When we get to the hotel, I’m honestly not sure what I’m going to do. Should I say good night to Dax and go inside with Krista? I really don’t want to; I want to spend more time with him. Maybe he thinks this is it for the night, though?
As I’m contemplating all this in my head, Krista unlocks our room door and turns to us.
“What are you two going to do now?” she asks us.
Well, I guess that settles it; she wants me to go back out. I look at Dax to see what he says about it. He just looks at me with one eyebrow cocked.
“What do you want to do?” he asks me.
“I don’t know,” I reply.
“We could go back to the bar,” he suggests. “Or we can go to my house and hang out.”
“But Laura and Chris are there,” I remind him, scrunching my nose. That could be awkward.
“That’s true,” he says. He looks as though he’s thinking of an idea, and then he says, “Let’s go for a drive.”
“Okay then,” Krista says. “Have fun, you two. I’ll see you in the morning.” Krista winks at me, then walks into the room and closes the door.
Dax offers his hand to me, so I take it. We hold hands as we walk back to the bar, and I have to admit, I like the way his hand feels in mine.
“Are you sober enough to drive somewhere?” I ask him, suddenly remembering that he was drinking earlier.
“Totally sober,” he replies. “I only had two beers, I was never drunk, and that was a couple of hours ago now anyway. I’m fine.”
When we get back to the bar, he leads me to his truck in the parking lot. It’s a nice truck, probably only a few years old. He opens the passenger side door to let me in, and then he closes it for me. Such a gentleman.
Chapter Eighteen
Amanda
Dax drives us out of town. I don’t know where we’re going, but it’s a beautiful night out. The sky is clear, and the farther we get away from the lights of Kernville, the more the stars light up the sky. It’s breathtaking. We never get to see this in Seattle.
“Where are we going?” I ask him.
“You’ll see,” he says, smiling at me. For some reason, the fact he wants to surprise me excites me. It also makes me feel special. I try to hide how I’m feeling, but I can’t stop the smile from forming.
We drive for another ten minutes before he pulls off the main highway onto a dirt road. Neither of us is talking. The only sound is the music coming from the stereo. Coldplay. I love this band. Another thing we have in common.
We continue down this dirt road for a few minutes before he parks. I look out the window and realize we’re right in front of a lake. He shuts off the truck, but the music keeps playing. He turns the headlights off, too. Suddenly, the night sky is even more spectacular.
“This is amazing,” I say quietly in awe. I can’t take my eyes off the view in front of me.
“Come on,” he says as he unbuckles his seat belt and starts to get out of the truck.
I wonder what he’s doing. It’s pitch black out there, with only the moon giving us a little light, but I unbuckle my seat belt and get out as well. Dax opens the crew cab behind the driver’s side door and takes something out, but I can’t tell what it is. Then he walks to the back of his truck, so I do, too. Dax lowers the tailgate and then hops into the bed of the truck.
“Come on,” he says, turning around and offering me his hand.
I take his hand, and he helps me climb into the back with him, which I manage gracefully even with my dress on. I notice then that he has a blanket tucked under his arm, and he lays it out so we can sit down without getting dirty. We both sit with our backs against the cab of the truck. When I look out in front of me, I can’t believe the beautiful sight. Millions of stars are in the sky, twinkling down at us, and the half moon is stunning. I thought it was beautiful before, sitting inside the truck, but now I have an unobstructed view, and it’s amazing.
The music is still playing inside the truck, and Dax opened the rear window right behind us so we could hear it. This is the most romantic scene I’ve ever experienced. Dax is just a couple of inches from me, sitting with his knees up and his arms resting on them. I’m sitting with my legs stretched out in front of me and my hands in my lap. It’s still pretty warm outside, so I’m not cold in my dress.
“I love coming down here,” he says. “It’s my spot. I come here whenever I need to get away from it all and just think.”
“How did you find this particular place?” I ask him.
He looks over at me. “Back in high school, I was just bored one night and decided to take a drive. I found it by chance.”
A thought pops into my head, and I have to ask him. “And how many girls did you bring here after you found it?”
He chuckles. “Honestly, quite a few. But that was just in high school and maybe a year or two after. Once I moved out of my parents’ house and got my own place, there was no reason to bring a girl here when I could just take her home.”
“Well, I guess I’m privileged to be here at your special spot then,” I say to him.
He shifts and bends his knee to his side so he’s facing me more. “What time are you leaving tomorrow?”
I shift so I can see him better, too. “Honestly, I have no idea. Originally, we were going to leave in the morning, but now I’m not sure. We might want to sleep in after being out so late.”
“I wish you could stay a little longer,” Dax says. “We’re finally getting to know each other, and I really like you.”
I look away from him and take a deep breath. This is exactly what I was talking about earlier when I was telling him how impossible this would be.
“When do you go back to school?” he asks me.
I look back at him. “Not until the last week of August for staff start-up days, but I’ll probably go in the week before that to get my classroom set up.”
“So you have about a month of summer left?”
“Yep. I’m sure it will fly by, though. It always does.”
“Maybe we can see each other again before that?” he asks, sounding hopeful.
“Maybe,” I reply, trying not to promise too much. I have a feeling that when I get back to Seattle, both of us will get back to our own lives and forget about our connection. Out of sight, out of mind. I’m trying not to get my hopes up.
That thought actually makes me a little sad. I try to ignore it.
We talk for quite a wh
ile, sitting in the bed of his truck. The music plays softly in the background with that beautiful view out in front of us. We learn so much more about each other. I don’t think I’ve ever done this much talking on a first date before.
I learn he played a lot of sports growing up as a kid. He played football, basketball, and baseball in high school. He didn’t have an official job until he graduated high school because he was so busy with school and sports, but his dad would ask him to fill in and help out around the shop once in a while. His dad taught him all about cars at an early age, so by the time he was a teenager, he could do all sorts of mechanic work. He even built his first car, a project he did with his dad: a ‘68 Ford Mustang. They rebuilt it together, practically from scratch. He still has the car because it means so much to him.
I also learn that he almost went to college, but he decided to stay and work at his dad’s shop full time instead. He loves cars, and he knew he would inherit the shop someday if he wanted it—just as his dad had from his father. It was important to Dax to keep the family business going, and his dad, who never went to college either, could teach him everything he needed to learn.
Dax also learns a lot about me as we talk. I tell him about my childhood and how I always knew I wanted to be a teacher—partly because that’s what my mom did for a living, but also because I had great teachers growing up. I also tell him how Krista and I have been friends since junior high and about my college days with Laura.
I’m having such a nice time with Dax because, again, he’s so easy to talk to. I’m telling him practically my whole life’s story, and he’s doing the same. I’m getting tired, though, and a yawn sneaks its way out of my mouth. Dax notices and says, “We should get going. It’s already almost one thirty.”
I really don’t want to leave, but he’s right; it’s getting late. “Okay,” I say to him.
Dax doesn’t move to get out of the bed of the truck, though. He moves in closer to me and puts his hand on my cheek. We haven’t kissed yet, but I’ve been anticipating it. I wasn’t sure if he’d make a move here or wait until he was dropping me off at the hotel.
I lean into his hand and look at him, hoping he’ll kiss me. I want to know what his lips feel like against mine. I want to know how he tastes. But most of all, I want to know if there are fireworks between us. If there’s not, it’ll be much easier to leave Dax behind.
“You’re so beautiful, Amanda,” he says to me, then he leans in and our lips lightly touch. He teases me with his mouth for a moment, not really connecting fully with mine. Kissing me ever so softly, he licks my bottom lip. It’s one of the sexiest things a guy has ever done to me. Then, all of a sudden, he crashes his lips to mine and really kisses me.
Fireworks would be an understatement.
I move my hands up to Dax’s face as we continue kissing, my hands feeling the soft yet rough stubble on his cheeks. His hands are in my hair. He gives and I take, then I give and he takes. We’re so in sync with each other, and I’m beyond turned on by him, I don’t know how we’re possibly going to be able to stop now.
When he pulls away from me a little while later, I immediately miss our connection. My lips feel used and are vibrating with feeling. Dax puts his forehead against mine.
“That was intense,” he whispers.
“Yes, it was,” I reply, glad he felt the same way about it as I did.
We’re both breathing hard, out of breath from our sensual kiss.
“Do you really have to leave tomorrow?”
“Yes.”
“Come home with me then,” he says with no hesitation.
Without thinking, I simply respond with, “Okay.”
Chapter Nineteen
Dax
This girl. She’s literally the girl of my dreams. There’s nothing I don’t like about her. The more we talked, the more I liked her. When we kissed, it was electric. She’s just simply amazing. I haven’t been with a woman in a long time, and I can’t help but feel like I was meant to wait for her.
And I realize how crazy that sounds.
And now, here I am, driving her back to my house.
And I think it’s a terrible idea now.
For one, Chris took Laura back to the house. Who knows what they’re doing there, and I don’t want Amanda and me to walk into something we don’t want to hear or see. Not only that, it seems kind of sleazy to take her back there, knowing our best friends are there, too. It’s not a fuckin’ frat house.
Secondly, sleeping with someone on the first date usually never works out. It never did for me in the past, and it hardly ever did for any of my friends. If I was really meant to wait for Amanda to come into my life, then I could wait to sleep with her, too. I’ll see her again. I have to. I can’t imagine not seeing her again, and hopefully, it will be in the near future. Seattle might be far away, but it will happen.
I’ll make sure of it.
Amanda
Shit. What was I thinking? The whole drive back into town has me rethinking my answer. I don’t want to have a one-night fling with Dax. This is not how I had planned for tonight to go.
Dax holds my hand the entire drive back, and I can’t help but feel giddy looking down at his strong fingers intertwined with mine. As we drive into the Kernville city limits, I realize I don’t have very much time left to formulate my plan on getting out of sleeping with Dax tonight.
But then I don’t have to.
Dax pulls into the hotel parking lot.
I look up at him, waiting for an explanation, but he doesn’t say anything. He just continues driving until he finds a parking space. Once he turns off the engine, he turns to me.
“Don’t take this the wrong way, but I don’t want to take you home tonight.”
I’m equally relieved and confused now.
“Why not?” I ask him.
“Because we just met. You’re leaving tomorrow. I don’t want to have one night with you and then … that’s it,” he says, but then he shakes his head. “I just want us to get to know each other more over the next few weeks, months, whatever. If we still have these feelings for each other and want to see each other again, then we’ll have something to look forward to.”
His words mean so much to me, and I don’t know what to say to him. It proves to me he really is a nice guy and cares about me more than just for a one-night stand. If I didn’t know him so well, I might think it was a line or a trick he was playing on me, but I’ve gotten to know and trust Dax tonight, and I believe every word. I don’t hesitate. I unbuckle my seat belt and practically launch myself at him, kissing him hard on the mouth.
We keep kissing for several minutes before we force ourselves to stop. I haven’t done this much “just kissing” with a guy in a long time. Usually, there’s a lot more touching that accompanies hot kisses like this, but for some reason, Dax continues to play the gentleman card. He must have the willpower of an ox. I didn’t know guys like him still existed in this world.
Dax walks me to my hotel room door where he kisses me again. Only this time, we’re not sitting in an awkward way in the bed of his truck or separated by the center console in the front seat. He wraps his arms around my waist and backs me up against the wall. His body is flush against mine, and I feel enveloped by him. I love the feeling of his body and his mouth on mine. I wrap my arms around his neck and lightly stroke the back of his hair down to his shoulders.
Shit. We should’ve just gone back to his place. Screw being rational.
But Dax pulls away from me and says, “I’ll see you in the morning.”
“What? I mean, you will?” I’m confused.
He nods his head. “Text me before you leave town. You can’t leave without saying goodbye first. Where’s your phone?”
I unzip my wristlet, take my phone out, and open my contacts to add his number. He gives it to me, then he takes out his phone so I can give him mine.
We kiss one more time before he says good night and walks away. I unlock my hotel room door and go i
n quietly so I don’t wake Krista.
Dax
I could have kissed Amanda the rest of the night, so I had to force myself to walk away and leave her there at the hotel. She’d better not leave town tomorrow without saying goodbye to me first, but at least I got her number.
When I get back home, the house is dark and quiet. I have no idea if Chris and Laura are awake in his room, but I know she’s still here because her shoes are by the front door.
I go up to my room and get ready for bed. I can’t help but feel like something life changing happened tonight. It’s like the start of a new chapter for me. I haven’t had feelings like this for a woman in a long time … maybe never quite like this, this fast before. Amanda has left some sort of mark on me. It’s as if a wind of change blew into town when Amanda arrived, and it’s making everything the way it was meant to be.
I can’t get her off my mind, and I have a ton of pent-up sexual energy, so of course, I have to resort to jerking off. I mean, I might be a gentleman, but I am a guy. Sometimes, a guy’s gotta do what a guy’s gotta do.
The only face I see in my mind as I pleasure myself is Amanda’s. I can still imagine exactly how her lips felt against mine when we kissed. I think about her soft hands touching me, how her body felt when I pressed her against the wall at the hotel, and all these images tip me over the edge.
I have the urge to text her, just to say good night one more time, but I don’t. She’s probably asleep already anyway.
Chapter Twenty
Amanda
I’m woken up the next morning by the sound of our hotel room door closing and someone walking in. I roll over and see Laura coming into the room. I look at the time on the clock and see it’s almost eleven o’clock already. I don’t remember the last time I slept in this long!
“Good morning,” Laura says when she notices I’m awake.