Page 40 of Possess

Dani:How do you like his house?

Allyson:It’s beautiful. Wait…have you been here?

Dani:Who do you think did the landscaping.

Lots of smiling emojis followed Dani’s words.

Allyson:All right. Point taken.

Dani:Remember what I told you last night, and you’ll be fine. Have fun.

Allyson turned her phone off and slipped it back into her pocket as butterflies tumbled around in her stomach. She’d called Dani last night after she finished the intro to BDSM book. Luckily, Dani had been on a break at the club and could talk.

Zeke came back out to the deck with his hands full. Allyson jumped up. “Let me help you.” She took the platter of finger sandwiches from him.

“Thank you.” He placed three bowls of chips on the table.

“Is there someone else joining us?” She looked at all the food on the table. Not only the sandwiches and chips, but fruit, crackers, and cheese.

“Nope, just us. Be right back with plates and drinks.”

Allyson shook her head. “Did you think you were feeding an army?” She stood by the patio doors, watching him in the kitchen. She loved the open floor plan.

“I wasn’t sure what you liked.” He picked up plates, placemats, napkins, utensils, and then a small cooler that looked like it could hold a twelve pack of cans.

“I’m not a super picky eater.” She took the plates, placemats, and napkins from him. She put the placemats down first, then the plates, and set the napkins in the middle.

“Thank you.” He placed the utensils on the placemats and set the cooler on the table and opened it. “I have water, soda, and beer. Name your poison.”

“Water for right now.” She sat down and stared at the food. Her stomach growled.

He grinned. “Don’t be shy. Dig in.”

Allyson took several different sandwiches and put them on her plate, then scooped up some chips. She’d do fruit and cheese later. Zeke waited until she was done before he took food for himself.

The patio was quiet as they ate. “These sandwiches are delicious. But I have to ask what they are?” She got hints of flavors but couldn’t quite figure them out.

“There are three kinds as you’ve probably noticed. Right in front of you, is turkey salad, made with cranberries, mayo, mustard, and a hint of sage. Next to them on the right, is chicken salad, mayo, mustard, celery, a hint of onion, and pecans. The last is a tuna salad, mayo, celery, and pickle relish.”

“I would have never thought about adding pecans or pickle relish.” Those were giving the sandwiches a little extra kick.

“It gives them a little more flavor.”

“How did you come up with it?”

Zeke grinned. “I didn’t. Damon is a good cook. I called him and asked him what to do. Most of what he gave me was stuff way beyond my expertise level, so we settled on these.”

“They are great. Why the different bowls of potato chips?” There were plain, barbecue, and corn chips.

“I wasn’t sure what you’d like.”

“For the record, any of them are fine.”

“Noted.” He pushed his plate aside and pulled out a bottle of water from the cooler. “More water or something else?”

“Diet soda, if you have it.”

“I do.” He pulled one out and opened the can for her. “I should go get you a glass.” He set the can down and stood.

---