Page 68 of The Scars I Bare
“Yes?”
When he stepped forward, my stomach fluttered as his hand tentatively touched my waist. I could smell his aftershave as that grin of his came closer.
“I think I’ve found the perfect word,” he said, lowering his voice as he got closer to my ear. “But I don’t think it’s very polite.”
I sucked in my bottom lip, his eyes watching every second. The tension was building as my mind filled with thoughts of breathless heartbeats and first kisses.
“Dean!” Lizzie’s voice cut through, breaking us apart like two horny teenagers caught together behind the bleachers.
“Hey, there’s my brainiac!” Dean greeted her with enthusiasm, not seeming to miss a beat while I had to take a deep, slow breath to pull myself out of the lust-filled haze I was currently in. He walked inside and bent down to give her a hug.
Would my heart melt every time he did that?
Her small hands barely made it to the middle of his biceps, but she squeezed him hard, closing her eyes tight before letting go.
“Molly and Dr. Jake are going to babysit me! I made a list of all the things we’re going to do while you and Mommy are on a date!”
“Oh, yeah? Let me see,” he said, taking the slightly crumbled sheet of paper she had balled up in her hand. His face went through a mixture of emotions as he read the list to himself. From amusement to shock and back again. “What is this one?” he asked, pointing to something in the middle.
“Jumping Popsicle Sticks,” she said nonchalantly.
“And that is?”
“Oh! You take a bunch of Popsicle sticks and weave them together, creating built-up energy, and when you’re done, you release them, and they kind of jump. It’s really cool. I saw it on—”
“YouTube,” he and I said in unison.
“How did you know?” Lizzie asked, putting her hands on her hips while she giggled.
“Well, I’m sure Jakey and Molly will have loads of fun with this very long and comprehensive list.”
“Jakey?” Lizzie asked, her interest piqued.
Dean laughed, putting an arm around her as I grabbed my purse. “Ah, yes. Be sure to ask him how he got that nickname. It’s adorable.”
I shook my head, amazed at how those two men behaved around each other.
But then again, all of Blake’s so-called best friends were business partners and guys he’d gone to boarding school with, but he never seemed to be extremely close with any of them. I’d always felt sort of sorry for him for not having a close bond with anyone besides me.
When I’d ended things, I’d realized, in giving him that missing link he’d never had, I’d lost every single one of mine in the process.
Looking over at Dean messing around with Lizzie, I couldn’t help but hope that this was my first leap in getting that all back.
“You ready?” he finally said after chasing her out to the back patio to where Jake and Molly were busy putting dinner on the grill. He came back breathless, a happy smile plastered on his face.
“So ready,” I said, grabbing his hand as we made our way out the door. “But are you going to tell me where we’re going in this chariot of champions?”
“Nice name,” he said, our hands swinging between us as we made the short walk down the driveway.
Once we arrived at the passenger side of the stark white rented golf cart, he made a grand gesture of opening the door for me.
A small laugh escaped my lips as I hopped inside, the hem of my skirt rising high on my thighs. Dean’s eyes watched in wonder before he cleared his throat and ran around to the other side to hop in next to me.
“So, I thought, for this first official date of ours, I’d take you on a tour of the town.”
I gave him a curious look. “But I’ve already had a tour of the town” I said. “Several in fact. I have been here for two weeks. In fact, Lizzie and I gave ourselves a pretty nice one, involving ice cream the first day we arrived.”
“Yes,” he replied, unconvinced. “But have you had a proper tour from a proper local?”
