Ten first dates, p.11
Ten First Dates, page 11
“He’s not my man.”
“Oh, he’s your man,” she assures me. “I saw the way he couldn’t keep his eyes off you.”
“Stop. You’re going to get my hopes up and make the butterflies in my belly worse. I’m already nervous as hell.”
“It’s just Orrin.”
“Right.” I pull the sundress over my head. “Okay. What do you think?” I twirl so she can see me.
“I think you look beautiful, Jade. Truly. Orrin is going to swallow his tongue when he sees you.”
“You think so?”
“Yes. Take a deep breath. Tonight is going to be great. I have a good feeling about this.”
“I’m trying not to get too excited.”
“Why the hell not?”
“I don’t know. I guess I don’t want to get my hopes up. One date doesn’t mean forever.”
“No, but that’s how forever starts. It’s okay to let yourself be excited. If it doesn’t work out, then it doesn’t work out. But you can’t hold back and not put yourself out there. You’ll regret it.”
“You’re right.”
“Wait, can you say that again? I need to hit Screen Record.”
“Ha ha.” I shake my head and pick the phone up from the nightstand. “It’s been a really long time since a date excited me this much. I know I need to stop letting my nerves get the best of me.”
“Yes. Do that. And have fun. Call me later, or you know, tomorrow.” She wags her eyebrows.
“I’ll call you tonight when I get in. I need to go. He’s supposed to be here in ten minutes. I still have to find my shoes.”
“Okay. Have fun.” The screen goes black. Oddly I feel calmer than before. It’s not that I needed Piper’s validation on my outfit, but not doing it alone helped ease some of my anxiety about tonight.
Tossing my phone on the bed, I rush to my closet to find the strappy sandals that Piper suggested I wear. I find them on the bottom of my shoe rack just as there’s a knock at the door.
“Shit.” Sandals in hand, I rush to the front door of my small two-bedroom rental. With my hand on the knob, I take a full deep breath before pulling open the door. Orrin smiles and waves.
“Wow,” he says, letting his eyes roam over me from head to toe. I stand still, letting him take his fill. I was worried, but the look in his eyes tells me that Piper was right. Orrin wants to be here. “You’re breathtaking,” he says, reaching for my hand that’s not holding my sandals and bringing it to his lips. “Are you ready to go?”
“Almost. I need to put these on and grab my purse. Is this okay?” I look down at my sundress. “I wasn’t sure where we were going.”
“It’s perfect.”
I nod and bite down on my cheek to keep from smiling. “Come in. I’ll just be a minute.” I step back, letting him pass, before closing the door and moving to the couch. I sit and begin to wrangle on my damn strappy sandals. They’re cute as hell but a pain in the ass to put on.
“Let me.” Before I know what’s happening, Orrin sits next to me on the couch and pulls my legs into his lap. With deft fingers, he manages to assemble my sandals better and faster than I ever have. He runs his calloused hands up my calf before clearing his throat and moving his hand back to my ankles. “Ready?”
“Y-Yes. Let me grab my purse.” My knees tremble as I stand. Orrin’s there, his hands on my hips, smiling up at me. “Thank you,” I tell him, feeling my face flush.
He nods, and I move to the kitchen to grab my purse and phone and make sure I have my wallet before moving back to the living room. “All set?”
I nod and smile, not able to find my voice. He places his hand on the small of my back and leads me out to the front porch. I stop to make sure the door is locked and then allow him to guide me to the passenger door of his truck.
“Where are we going?” I ask him.
“It’s a surprise.” He gives me a smile, and my heart flutters in my chest. I’m in trouble with this one.
“You’re lucky I like surprises,” I tease.
“I’ll have to remember that for next time. I knew this would be taking a chance, not telling you.”
“A good chance,” I say, smiling even though he’s looking at the road. “When I was a little girl, I used to love when my parents would surprise me.”
“Old boyfriends?” he asks.
“Nah, you’re the first. I mean, the first guy. The first date to surprise me. Well, unless you count the guy I’d been dating for about six months my senior year of college. He surprised me when I showed up at his apartment for our date. He was in a compromising position with his best friend’s girlfriend. He forgot we made plans.”
“Fuck. What an asshole. I’m sorry.”
I can hear the sincerity in his voice. “It’s fine. I wasn’t in love with him or anything. I mean, I liked him, but we’d only been dating about six months, and I was pretty focused on graduation and finals. We didn’t really see each other all that often. Looking back, I now know that should have been an indicator that we weren’t meant to be.”
He scoffs. “He’s a dumbass. If you were mine, I’d make the time.”
“It was a good thing. I can see that now.”
“Damn right it was. I’m sorry that he cheated on you, but if that hadn’t happened, you might not be sitting in my truck, and we wouldn’t be on the way to our first of what I hope is many dates.”
“Many?” I can hear the surprise in my voice. “You sound like it’s a sure thing.”
“I can be very persuasive,” he says with a chuckle. “That sounded creepy as fuck. I just mean, I want to get to know you, and I hope that you give me the chance to do that.”
“Let’s see how this surprise turns out,” I tease.
“Oh, it’s going to be good. I enrolled the help of my brothers. You’re about to witness an event planned by nine Kincaids. I’m confident of our wooing skills.”
My laugh bubbles out of my chest. “I can’t wait to see this.”
He glances over and grins. “All a part of my master plan.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“Yep.” His boyish grin has my belly twisting with excitement.
CHAPTER THREE
Orrin
I turn on the road, my road, and I see her shift in her seat out of the corner of my eye.
"Are we going to your house?" she asks.
"We are."
"Oh." I can hear the uncertainty in her voice.
"I promise, it's not whatever it is that you're thinking in the pretty head of yours," I tell her.
"How do you know what's in my head?" Her tone is defensive, and I know what she's thinking. She thinks I brought her here to hook up. That couldn't be farther from the truth. Sure, when that happens with us, I'd want her here in my bed, but that's not what tonight is about.
"Instinct, I guess."
"So, what are we doing here then? You asked me to dinner, and you brought me to your house. What am I supposed to think, Orrin?" She sounds upset, and that's just not going to work for me.
Pulling into my driveway, I put the truck in Park, kill the engine and turn to face her. "That's not what tonight is about, Jade. I promise you that. I wanted this night to be special. We only get one first date, and I wanted you all to myself. With my brothers’ help, and that includes Deacon, this is what we came up with. I'll show you, and if you want to leave, I promise you, sweetheart, I will take you anywhere you want to go if you don't feel comfortable here." I take a deep breath, waiting for her reply.
She's quiet for way longer than my poor racing heart can take when she finally says, "Show me."
“Jade?” I wait for her to look at me. “You have my word. At any time if you want to leave, you tell me, and we’ll go. No questions asked. No pressure to stay. You control this. Okay?”
She nods. “Okay.”
“Wait for me.” I point to where her hand is on the door handle. “When you’re with me, I take care of you. That means I open your door.” She sits back in her seat and drops her hand. Satisfied, I grab my keys and phone, shoving both in my pocket as I walk to her door to open it for her.
Pulling open her door, I smile and offer her my hand. She takes it and climbs out of my truck. I link our fingers together and lead her to the front door. Thanks to keyless entry, I type in my code, and the lock releases, allowing me to push open the door, and guide her inside.
“You can set your things wherever. We’re going to be outside in the backyard.”
“Okay.” She drops her purse to the coffee table but keeps her phone in her hand.
“This way.” Once again, I place my palm on the small of her back and lead her toward the patio door. “Sterling texted me when I got to your place telling me they were done.”
“The anticipation is killing me,” she says, smiling over at me.
Relief washes over me that she seems to feel relaxed here. I know this was a risk, but I’m hoping that it pays off. “Remember, at any point in the night, if you want to go, we can. I’m not saying that because I don’t want you here. I want you to stay always, but I also want you to be comfortable.”
“Thank you.” She peers up at me under long lashes, and all I want to do is kiss the hell out of her.
Keeping myself in check, I open the patio door, and we step outside. It’s hot but not unbearably so. As soon as the sun starts to set, it might cool down, but that’s okay. I have a fan and blankets. At least I’m supposed to have them. That was Rushton’s job.
“What is all of this?” Jade asks, her eyes scanning my backyard.
“Well, it’s movie night. I thought about going to the theater, but I really just wanted to spend time with you. I wanted to be able to talk if we wanted to so we could get to know each other better, and I didn’t feel like getting shushed at the theater all night long. So, we have our own screen and projector. That was Declan and Deacon’s job.”
“You gave Deacon and all of your brothers jobs for our date night?” She’s shaking her head.
“Damn right I did. We did some major planning and work to pull this off tonight.”
“It’s perfect. Thank you, Orrin.”
The smile she gives me lights up her face and sets my heart into a gallop. “You’re welcome. I’m glad you’re here.”
“So tell me about all of this.” She waves at the setup in my backyard. “Who helped with what?”
“So you already know that Declan and Deacon teamed up for the outdoor movie screen and projector. Rush was in charge of the blankets and pillows. Brooks was in charge of drinks, and we have wine, beer, and water in the cooler.” I pause, letting all that sink in. “Sterling was in charge of food. We have chicken salad sandwiches, which Piper said were your favorite.” I wink, and she nods, her cheeks turning pink. “Fresh fruit, chips, and chocolate chip cookies, which are homemade by me if you count opening up the pack and placing the little squares on the cookie sheet.” I flash her a cheesy grin. “And I basically helped them all make sure everything was perfect. I could have done it all myself, but my brothers wanted to help, and honestly, it was nice to have them here with me.” I shrug at my confession. However, it’s the truth. My brothers have my back always, just like I have theirs. Them being here kept me from overthinking my choice to bring her here.
She laughs. “That definitely counts.”
“That’s what I told Piper. Anyway, Archer and Ryder were responsible for all the twinkle lights you see, and Maverick and Merrick were in charge of music and movie selection.”
“Music and movies. Nice.” She takes a few steps toward our little backyard oasis and turns to look at me. “I can’t believe that you did all of this. You got your brothers and my best friend involved. This is… I don’t really know what to say, Orrin.”
“Say that you want to stay and have dinner with me. Say that you’ll curl up on that makeshift bed and watch a movie with me.”
“This was a lot of work.”
“We’re only ever going to have one first date, Jade,” I remind her again.
“Do you work this hard for all of your first dates?” she asks.
“No.” I’m quick to shut that shit down. “No, you are the one and only that I’ve put this kind of effort into.”
“Sounds like you’re getting more resourceful in your old age,” she teases.
No longer able to stand the distance between us, my feet carry me until I’m standing right in front of her. So close that the toes of our shoes are touching. Resting my hand against her cheek, I wait for her to look at me. “I’d like to think it's me knowing what I want. Whether or not that has anything to do with my age, I’m not sure. I do know that it has everything to do with you. I’ve never done this for anyone else because I didn’t want to. Not until you.”
“Thank you for doing all of this. For bringing me here. Best first date ever,” she whispers. Peering at me under long lashes. She grins, telling me whatever else is coming my way is to lighten the heavy I just put on our mood. “I don’t know. Thirty-two is pretty ancient,” she teases.
“Just because you’re still in your twenties, Miss I’m Twenty-Seven, doesn’t mean I’m ancient in my thirties.”
She places her hand on my chest, and I cover it with my own, holding it there. “I was just messing with you.”
I bring her hand to my lips and kiss her knuckles. “I know you were. Now, come on. You can pick the music while I feed you.” Holding her hand, I lead her to the thick layer of blankets and mounds of pillows that Rushton set up. I don’t know where he found them all. More than likely I’m going to spend this week delivering items back to my parents and my brothers, but it’s all worth it. The night has barely started, and I already know I’ll have zero regrets.
“After you.” I motion for her to take a seat. She drops to her knees and gets comfortable with me sitting next to her. Reaching into the smaller cooler, I pull out the sandwiches, the bag of salt and vinegar chips that are her favorite, and the bowl of mixed fresh fruit.
“I think I need to have a talk with my best friend,” she says when she sees all her favorites.
“I didn’t ask anything personal, and I didn’t want to ask this, but I wanted tonight to be fun for you. I didn’t want you to be starving to death.”
“I would hardly starve to death, but I appreciate all of this. No one has ever done something like this for me before.”
“Because they're idiots, but I can’t say that I’m upset about it. I like to be at the top of my game.”
“Well, you’re doing a great job so far.”
“Thank you, my lady,” I say in my best refined voice, making her laugh. Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I pull up my music app and hand it to her. “Here, I can listen to anything. Pick your favorite.”
“I have so many,” she says, taking the phone from my outstretched hand. “What’s your favorite genre?”
“Honestly, I like almost all genres of music. I’m not much of a jazz fan or heavy metal, but the rest of it, I guess you could say I have an eclectic taste in music.”
“I bet I can stump you,” she challenges me.
“You think so?” I ask, easing back on the pillows holding my weight on my elbows.
“I know so.”
“Let’s do it.” I nod toward my phone that she’s holding in her hand.
“Hmm.” She thinks while she taps at the screen, and a slow, steady smile pulls at her lips. “Okay. Doesn’t matter if you know the artist or the name of the song, but you have to know the lyrics.”
“Damn, sweetheart, that’s going to be easy as hell.”
She shrugs. “Don’t be so sure.” She taps at the screen, and music begins to flow from the speaker. I recognize the song immediately.
“‘Try Missing You.’ Jon Langston.” I grin because I know I’m right.
“All right.” She nods in approval. “Too easy. Let me try again.”
When the next song plays, I burst out laughing. “‘Dicked Down in Dallas.’ I don’t know who sings it, but I know that I can.” She laughs and sings a few lines, and I can’t help but join her.
“Okay, okay,” she says, taking a deep breath and wiping the tears from her eyes from laughter. “I need to step up my game.”
“Okay, I don’t know the name of the song, but I can tell it’s Metallica.”
“Correct. ‘Unforgiven,’” she tells me.
I nod, letting the beginning chords register in my mind. “I got it,” I tell her, hearing the lyrics in my head.
“Okay. Try this one.” She taps at the screen, and the music beings to play once again.
“‘Edge of Seventeen,’ Stevie Nicks.”
“Shit, okay. Let’s go again.” Over the next hour, she’s not able to stump me. I know the lyrics, and sometimes the artist and sometimes the title, and even both more often than I thought that I would. “I concede to the master.” She bows her head, handing me my phone.
“Told you that I was good.” I grin. “Now, eat up so you can pick a movie.”
“Why don’t we watch while we eat?”
“Anything you want is fine with me.” I hand her Declan’s iPad and show her the app. “Pick whichever one you want.”
“What do you feel like watching?” she asks, taking the iPad and scrolling.
“You.”
“Come on, be serious.”
“I am. Do you really think that I’m going to waste time watching whatever comes across that screen when I can be watching you? Not likely.”
“I… I don’t know what to say to that,” she admits.
“You don’t say anything. You pick a movie, curl up next to me, and let me watch you.”
“Are you aware that makes you sound like a creeper?” She’s teasing, and the tiny lift at the corner of her mouth and the sparkle in her eyes tell me so.
I shrug. “I’ll own it. Pick us a movie, sweetheart.”
CHAPTER FOUR
Jade
