Page 3 of The Last Date

Taking a large sip of wine, I nodded. “Perfect. Hit me.”

“I love camping, and spend about a week per month in the summer in the backwoods,” he began.

“I’m a city girl,” I smiled. “Occasionally cottages. No sleeping on dirt. Strike one.”

Jason swirled his wine. “Let’s see. I’m planning on buying a penthouse condo in a few years. Something big enough that I’ll never have to move again.”

Shaking my head, I smiled again. “I want a house. I love having a garden of my own. I can’t wait to have my own space so that I can plant vegetables and flowers. Strike two.”

The server brought our menus, but we both set them down for a moment.

Jason looked at me carefully. He really was handsome, in a slightly plain, classical way. Maybe he was the kind to grow on a person over time, if he had a killer sense of humor and was a great kisser.

“Kids?” he asked.

“One or two, tops,” I said.

“Strike three,” Jason said, not really looking disappointed at all. “I’ve never wanted them.”

He reached out to shake my hand again. “Well, it was nice going on a date with you, Sasha. Shall we turn this into a casual hangout? The food really is great here.”

Shaking his hand, I laughed, the stress of having my game face on instantly dissolving.

As soon as the server returned, I ordered us two raspberry shots and some cheesy garlic bread, and we got down to the important business of discussing our favorite directors, and everything that was right and wrong with movies today.

Relaxing around men was something I’d worked at over the years, and chilling out with Jason honestly felt like it was a great learning experience.

Two hours later, I walked in my front door grinning from ear to ear for the first time in ages. Walking by the living room where my mother was curled up with a book, I called, “I’m home, it was fine.”

“That’s nice, dear,” she called back. “If you’re looking for a midnight snack, your father might still have the barbecue going.”

I’d forgotten that tonight was my father’s boys’ night. Every month or two he got together with a few of his old university buddies for burgers and beers. It gave him a chance to show off the scotch collection he was so proud of, like a kid trying desperately to be popular.

Considering that most of them were millionaires, at least two of them billionaires, and they were mostly stuffy corporate types, I found it quite charming that they liked to unwind like regular guys.

I’d noticed that over the past few years, new and different men would be added to the group. Some of them were obviously business associates, but some looked a bit edgier. Like they worked security instead of finance. I was just glad that Dad spent a night away from his computer now and then.

Walking to the kitchen window, I could see there were still several men at the east end of the yard, but nobody was in the pool. I didn’t want to get in their way, but a midnight swim would be the perfect way to unwind.

Leaving my shoes by the back door, I went out to the pool house, where a few of my bathing suits were stashed.

The light was already on, so I rummaged in my side of the tiny dresser until my sky blue bikini appeared. Pulling off my dress, I shimmied out of my bra and panties, setting everything on the top of the dresser as I picked up my bottoms.

As I bent over to step into them, the creak of the washroom door filled the small room. Spinning around, I noticed for the first time that someone else’s clothes were laid across the daybed, as a completely naked man walked toward them.

He couldn’t have been one of my father’s friends. He was stunning. Maybe in his late thirties, with an incredibly muscular physique, and savage-looking tattoos up both arms.

His profile was beautifully sculpted, the perfect bone structure making him look like an action star. He was wildly masculine. I’d always secretly dreamed of being with a truly rugged man, but the fancy men my mother kept setting me up with were far more reserved. Even his dark, slightly wavy hair was a bit unkempt.

As he picked up his trunks, he turned slightly toward me. Something swung between his legs. It was the most unbelievably sexy thing I’d ever seen in my life, causing me to gasp involuntarily.

As he turned, I saw that his deep eyes were a rich, dramatic green. Then I realized he was staring at me as I stood six feet away from him, completely naked.

CHAPTER TWO

* Oakley *

The beautiful angel in front of me was a vision. A fantasy dream girl straight from the pages of every dirty magazine. But she was far more elegant, more beautiful. Like a cross between a pinup girl and the girl next door, if you lived in a very ritzy neighborhood.

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