Page 30 of Dating the DILF
“Where?”
Camden’s and Shannon’s incredulous voices overlap each other as they stare at me with very different expressions. My best friend wears a look of proud approval, while his wife looks slightly confused.
It’s the day after the night before. The night of mind-blowing hotel sex. The night I realized exactly how far out of my league Charlie actually is.
I glance around their backyard, ensuring there are no little ears close by, but Lulu, Tyson, and Brianna are too busy chasing the dog to be bothered by what we are talking about.
“You heard me. I’m not repeating myself.” I glare at the both of them.
“I would high five you right now if my wife wasn’t sitting right there.” Cam smirks at me.
“Wait, I thought you were serious about this woman?” Shannon’s brows dip and she appraises me thoughtfully. “I mean fucking a girl at her work party doesn’t scream serious to me.” Camden opens his mouth to say something, but Shannon shoots a hard stare at him, and he makes the smart choice to keep quiet.
“No, it’s definitely serious. I just don’t have any self-control when it comes to her,” I admit with an unapologetic shrug. “She has her shit together, you know? She always seems so composed and a little guarded, but when she’s with me, it’s as though she trusts me enough to let loose, and that drives me fucking crazy. I want to push her boundaries and see her let go, knowing that’s a part of her only I get to see.” I take a gulp of coffee and since Cam and Shannon aren’t saying anything I plow on, because talking about Charlie is becoming one of my favorite things to do.
“There’s just, there’s something so authentic about her. She’s kind of awkward and there is something slightly innocent about her, like she doesn’t quite know how to navigate this thing between us. Sometimes she goes completely silent on me, but I know it’s because she’s trying to find the exact perfect thing to say or she’s overthinking somethingIsaid and instead of frustrating me, it fuckingthrillsme because I know it means she cares about what’s happening between us.” I pause, inhaling deeply, and continue. “Then I saw her last night, and she seriously blew my mind. She was confident and so fucking smart. People were hanging on her every word and I had no idea what she was talking about half the time, but Iwantto. I want to listen to her explain the complexity of acquiring a company, or the intricacies of drafting contracts for multimillion-dollar deals.” I shake my head. “Every boring-as-fuck detail, I want to hear it.”
I look up to find the two of them staring at me, their mouths slightly agape. Shannon’s eyes are bright, and she looks like she wants to jump up and tackle hug me, but Camden’s hand on her thigh holds her still.
“We’re happy for you, man, you deserve this.”
Shannon nods in agreement. “And she knows about the show?”
I ignore the twist of my gut. “I told her about it.”
“You told her everything?” Her voice holds a note of disbelief that intensifies my discomfort.
“There’s something you need to know.”
A shadow of wariness slips across her face and I can see her physically brace herself for bad news.
“Okay.” She tries to give me an encouraging smile, but it comes out as more of a grimace.
I have no idea how to do this, so I decide to just rip off the Band-Aid.
“I was on a reality TV show last year.” My hands grip my empty glass and I watch my knuckles turn white dispassionately.
“Oh.” I drag my gaze across to her and she looks surprised, but relieved. “That must have been fun?” She sounds uncertain. “What kind of show?”
“It was a dating show.” I watch as the relief transforms into hesitation.
“You said you’re single.” Her words are sharp and there’s a subtle undertone of accusation.
“I am.” I rush to reassure her, determined to drive the hurt from her eyes. “I promise you I am one hundred percent single.”
She still looks doubtful and I consider how much I need to tell her and how much I can, in good conscience, keep to myself.
“They pitched the concept to me as a social experiment. They would do all sorts of testing on me and the women to make sure I was matched with people who I was compatible with and who would make a good partner.” I glance at her to make sure she’s still invested and I’m relieved to find her listening intently.
“It was only half true.Iwent through all kinds of testing. Psychological, personality, even this pheromone test that I really don’t want to re-live.” Her nose wrinkles in distaste. “I found out later that the women they matched me with never did any of the testing. There were a few genuine people on the show, but the majority were models and actresses who were just trying to get their face on television.” I grit my teeth and then force myself to go on. “It was a giant shit show and I’m still dealing with the fallout now. I regret ever agreeing to do it and I would hate for it to change your opinion of me.”
I slump down in my chair and wait.
Charlie’s eyes are bouncing around the shop and I can see that she’s processing everything I’ve just told her. I give her the silence she needs and hope my mistake isn’t going to ruin what we have started to build.
“You’re definitely single?”
“Yes.”
