Page 33 of Be With Me

Chapter 11

Tyler

The bus took us to the Snoqualmie Casino. As we pulled up to the front doors, Ailee turned to me with a quizzical look.

“We’re gambling?”

That wasn’t why I’d brought her here, but I’d come prepared with funds. Just in case. “Sure, if you want.”

She turned away to peer out the window. “Believe it or not, I’ve never been here.”

“Really? Never? You live, like, ten minutes away.” Hard to believe, but secretly I was thrilled that it would be her first time. No matter what happened between us, if she ever came here again, she would remember being here with me.

I planned to make this night unforgettable.

“I don’t exactly have money to throw away on slots.”

“Well, there’s other stuff to do here, too. There are a few different restaurants and a show a little later I’ve got tickets for.”

“What kind of a show?”

I stood and held out my hand. “You’ll see.”

She eyeballed me for a few seconds, but I stayed steady, and in the end she took my hand and allowed me to lead her from the bus.

Inside, I was hit from all sides by the delightful gaudiness of the place, the bright reds and gold decor a perfect match with the clink of coins being dropped into a hundred slot machines, audible even over the music streaming through the sound system and the low roar of laughter and shouts from the other patrons. Flashing lights halfway blinded me, and cigarette smoke burned my lungs. All in all, a perfect distraction from my problems.

I started coughing. “I completely forgot people can smoke here.” I croaked out. Ailee wasn’t faring much better. “We can go somewhere else,” I told her when I could manage it. “If you’d like.”

She shook her head. “No, it’s okay. You said you bought tickets for the show. I’ll survive one night.” She waved her hand in front of her face as the lady in front of the nickel slots beside us blew a cancerous cloud in our direction as she looked around, presumably for the waiter to bring her another drink. “However, now I remember why I don’t hang out here.”

I grabbed her hand again and tugged her away, and we hightailed it out of there and headed to a side of the casino where the air was distinctly clearer. “So, what do you want to do first?” I asked her when we could breathe again.

Her free hand went to her stomach. “Um…food would be good.”

I grinned down at her and squeezed her hand. “A woman after my own heart.”

We picked the place with an all-you-can-eat buffet and I let her go in front of me, watching with amusement as she piled her plate high. It was fucking refreshing. I wondered if she’d be as free with her choices if it wasn’t a buffet. I hoped so. People needed to eat, and I was one hundred percent about keeping those luscious curves on her well filled out.

We ate in silence, both of us digging into our dinner with gusto. I didn’t know about her, but I was fucking starving. It was a good five minutes later when I noticed she’d laid down her fork and was eying me with a thoughtful look on her face. “What?” I asked around a mouthful of pasta.

“I was just wondering if maybe we should lay down some rules.”

I almost choked on my mac and cheese. “Rules?” I set down my fork and gave her my full attention. This should be interesting. “What kind of rules?”

“Dating rules.”

“Dating rules,” I repeated. I didn’t laugh, although it took some effort.

A blush crept up her neck to her cheeks, but her chin rose in defiance of my obvious enjoyment. “Yes, Tyler. Rules. I want to know—”

“What my intentions are toward you?” I kept my face suitably stoic.

She tilted her head to give me a look of disdain, her dark hair falling like strands of silk over her shoulder. “I have questions I want to ask you, but first I want to know how personal I should get,” she clarified. “Because I’ve had my heart torn apart before, and I’d rather avoid it happening again, if at all possible. So, I know you said let’s date and just see what happens, but if you’re planning to keep this…whatever it is between us on the casual side, I really need to know that up front. I just want to know what to expect, and then I can handle whatever gets thrown at me.”

Ah. She was talking about her ex-husband. And the flash of pain in her eyes made me want to hunt the asshole down and smash his head through one of those slot machines.

There were a lot of things I could’ve said in this instance, flowery things, things that would take off the pressure, things that would leave her guessing.

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