Page 83 of My Infatuation with Isabella

“Thank you.” She turns to Dylan. “What do you think, big brother?”

“Your hair looks great...It’s your face that?”

She giggles, jabbing his arm. “Jerk!”

We sit at the restaurant for another hour, and the more I talk to Dana, the more I see the bond between her and Dylan. It may sound weird, but before today, Dana seemed like an abstract concept. Meeting her and seeing how protective he is of her, makes me realize the depth of his loyalty to her. I’m starting to understand why he keeps so many secrets.

At three, he drops Tommy back at the office, then drops Dana at the restaurant so Peter can take her to choir practice. Dr. Burkman notices the difference between us as soon as we enter her office. The level of hate and annoyance in the room has drastically reduced. She spends the session giving us feedback on everything we’ve told her over the last few sessions and what we need to do to control our reactions. She explains how our past issues make our fights more volatile, so we first need to deal with that before we tackle issues of the present. For Dylan and I, the past and present issues are the same. He’s not forthcoming, but after our talk today, his reasons make more sense.

After our session, he takes me back to the office to pick up my car. It’s after six and not many cars are left in the underground parking. I take the gifts he bought for me and exit the car, but he stops me at the passenger side door.

“So...can we do this again?” he asks. “Next time without my sister...or Tommy.”

“I’ll be honest, I’m...very reluctant. The whole situation is just...messy and complicated. You’re coming out of a five-year relationship. We’ve got so many lingering issues. It’s messy, Dylan.”

He nods. “I think...I think when you look at everything that’s happened, there’s a lot of heavy stuff, so let’s stop being so serious and have fun, you know...just be us. I want to be with you. You’re not sure if you want to be with me, so let’s make a deal...an arrangement of sorts.”

“Because that worked so well the last time.”

“Hear me out. I want a maximum of five dates for me to prove myself and if after that you still don’t want to be with me, then I’ll stop stalking you...Maybe...Hopefully...I’ll try.”

I giggle. “Okay. And what are the terms?”

“Terms of engagement are as follows. Dates one and two are compulsory. You told Tommy that no guy gets to date three, so from date three onwards it’s optional. At the end of date one, I get a kiss.” He steps closer, pushing me up against the passenger door of his car. Lifting his hand, he runs his thumb over my lips. “Date two, I get one hour with this mouth and I get to use it however I choose.” He raises my hand to his lips, kissing each of my fingers then my palm. A small smile plays on his lips when he hears the change in my breathing. “Date three, I get your hands.” Placing his hand over mine, he presses it against his chest before dragging it down his abs until it reaches the drawstrings of his sweatpants. “Date four...I get access to your bed.” His heated gaze travels down my body, stopping at my breasts and my nipples harden in response. Moisture pools between my thighs as his eyes rove over me before making their way back up to my mouth. “Now, let’s be very clear about the last one. If I get you to date five...that’s it. You’re mine. No more games. No more arrangements. No weekly renewal options. Every part of you...ismine. Those are my terms. Anything from your side?”

“Hmm...” I give it some thought. “First kiss is limited to five minutes.” I say this because I know myself and I’ll end up naked if I have that mouth on me for longer than that.

“Fifteen,” he counters.

Too tempting to refuse. I’ll just have to keep my legs crossed the whole time. “Fine. And only one date a week. It can be on any day of the week, but only one a week.”

He nods because he understands my need to take it slow. “Okay.”

“And you’re not allowed to see me between dates, so you can’t just show up to my office like you did today. Seeing me at therapy is the only exception.”

“Am I allowed to call you at least?”

I think about it. “Sure.”

“I guess I can live with that.” He waits for more, but I don’t say anything else. “That’s it?”

“Yep.”

“Can I take that as you agreeing toallthe terms of engagement?”

“Yes. And you?”

“I do. So, you’ll let me take you out tomorrow?”

I push at his chest until he takes a step back because I don’t trust myself to be that close to him, not with the way he’s looking today. “Of course.”

He smiles. “Alright. What’s your address? I’ll pick you up.”

“Call me tomorrow and I’ll tell you where to find me.” I start walking to my car, but he calls out from behind me.

“Uh...I don’t have your number.”

I stop and face him again, sucking in a sharp breath. “Oh, dear. You know...when you were making all those demands earlier about getting my mouth and my hands and my body...you didn’t mention anything about getting my number.” I shrug unapologetically. “Whoops. Bit of an oversight on your part, isn’t it? And once I leave here, you can’t see me until date two.”

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