Page 45 of Passion and Payback

His eyes met mine, and I knew he wondered if he should address that last tidbit. I knew he was still thinking heavily about what he had ‘discovered’ I’d been up to. He hadn’t tried to stop me, but I knew he was thinking through everything he’d learned. Soon, I would find out his views, and in the meantime, I would keep doing what I was doing.

I waited for him to speak, to choose how he was going to deal with everything I’d said, including my outright admission to the plots in my head. The worry on his face told me how bothered he was by my thoughts, but I didn’t know if that was because he was worried about how dangerous or morally dubious it was, the potential legal trouble, or other issues.

After a moment, he finally smiled. “So, had a major thing for me, huh?”

I let out a laugh that was both amusement and relief. “Well, yeah. Big strong best friend who was always there for me and looked good in more or less clothing? Kind of hard not to be into you.”

“Oh, okay,” he said with a little laugh, ducking his head in what I thought might be mild embarrassment.

“The real question is how you looked at some scrawny kid, wearing clothes that never fit him right, usually sporting a new bruise or cut, and said, ‘Yeah, that’s the person I want,’” I said with a snort.

He cast a sidelong glance at me before shaking his head. “It was…well, I had my reasons.”

“Oh, that’s lovely and vague,” I said with a snort, leaning back against the couch since it seemed like the prospect of discussing my plans had been dropped. “And gives me that oh-so-fuzzy feeling.”

“How’s this for a warm and fuzzy feeling?” he said, his eyes locking onto mine and holding as he spoke. Even if I’d wanted to pull my eyes away, I wouldn’t have been able to, as the intensity from before had returned. “How about this weekend, I take you out?”

“What? Again?” I asked with a nervous laugh. It wasn’t like I thought something else was going to happen, but that didn’t change my nervousness about the idea.

He opened his mouth, closed it, and scowled at me. “Maybe we could avoid talking about what happened and focus on my idea.”

“Right, of course,” I said, abashed and feeling a twinge of guilt for the reminder. “Go on, your idea.”

“If you’re willing to…try again,” he said, giving away his nervousness with a hard swallow and a flicker of a smile. “I’d like to try properly.”

“Try what?”

“Well, as much fun as we were having, and as much as you supposedly wanted it, I feel bad about how the kiss happened. I’d like the chance to put us in a situation where it’s much more, I don’t know…suitable?”

“Suitable?” I wondered, suspecting I knew what he meant and feeling a flutter of butterflies in my stomach but still verymuch wanting to hear him say it outright. If I was going to have one of my many fantasies finally come true, I was going to milk every last bit.

His smile was knowing, as if he understood what I was doing, but he drew himself up and gave me a warm smile. “I’m asking you out on a date. You and I get dressed up, and I take you somewhere we would have never dreamed of being able to afford. We have some good food. We talk, have a couple of drinks, and talk about whether we’re going to your place or mine.”

I laughed. “Which would make me ask whether you think I’m that kind of date.”

“And I tell you that whatever date you are, I’ve had a good time and want to see you again either way.”

I grinned. “Very smooth. One might think you’ve done this before.”

“Not in a while,” he said with a grunt.

“Or with a guy.”

“Or with someone as important to get it right with so early on as it will be with you.”

I wasn’t going to tell him no from the moment I realized what he wanted to ask me. It wasn’t like I required attention to show how important I was to someone, but hearing just one honest, vulnerable statement was worth thousands of daily ones.

“I think it’s safe to say you’ve won me over,” I said with a laugh. “How nice are you thinking?”

“Nice. We’ll need to dress up.”

“Mmm, a suit?”

“Probably. I’ll have to make a few calls and see what I can do in a week.”

“Geez, how fancy are we talking?”

“Suit fancy.”

---