Page 32 of Stripe Poker

He had glanced at it when they first arrived, but he was now looking over every part of the house. He looked at the front wraparound porch and at the fifty windows that sparkled in the afternoon light.

"You have a lovely home," he said, looking stunned. Her tiger perked up at the praise.

"Thank you." She looked at her house, always feeling cozy. She loved her place and the open space that surrounded it. "I bought it after saving up a shit ton of money. It was a fixer-upper at first, but I think I turned it into a beautiful home."

She loved how she incorporated her own personal touch into everything. It was ranch-like with a tad of modern mixed in. She also had the help of over a hundred seniors that gave their opinion on everything.

She opened the front door and allowed Benton to step inside. His eyes grew wide. He took in her large living room and the fireplace. The open concept kitchen and the large island she used for her dining area were connected right next to it.

Her entire house had five bedrooms and three bathrooms, with office space in the attic. There was a large garden out back and tons of flowerbeds that she kept up.

Benton looked at her. "This place is amazing. You did a wonderful job."

She blushed, shutting the door. "Thank you. It took about three years in total to do."

"Did you hire a contractor?" he asked, walking around. "The woodwork is stunning."

She nodded, flicking the lights on in the kitchen. "Most of it I did. I did, however, have a plumber and an electrician come in. I happen to have a lot of connections from the seniors."

She liked having the connections. While most times she felt bad or had rough days, there were plenty of times they had advice for her.

She liked to stop and talk to people that came in to see her after they'd been settled and everyone was interested in her house. Everyone wanted to give her advice, and she was grateful. Her house turned out amazing, and they all thought so as well.

"You're certainly talented if you managed all this and your job."

She blushed once more. "I can't take all the credit. The seniors helped me a lot. I would often hand out a little questionnaire asking which things I should do or what paint color would look best."

He chuckled, walking into the kitchen. "All right, what else about you do I not know?"

"Well …" She opened a cabinet, digging for a pan. "What do you want to know?"

"I don't know much, so let's start with your favorite color."

"Gray." She pulled herself up. "And yes, I know, really? But Gray. And you?"

"Maroon."

Her eyebrows went up. "Really fancy color choice there."

"I have fancy taste," he said with a grin. "And before we get so into learning about each other, what is your plan for dinner?"

"I have some chicken in the fridge and pasta in the cabinet. If that's okay. I haven't gotten to go get groceries this week yet."

"That sounds perfect." He rounded the cabinet, opening the fridge. He turned with the chicken. "Why do you like the color gray?"

"Because," she turned, grabbing the chicken, "everything matches with it."

He smirked, looking around her house. She had used gray as her wall color. He gave her a nod. "I'll give you that."

"And why do you like maroon?"

He shook his head. "Because saying red just makes it seem like I'm like every other man out there."

She cooked the chicken while Benton worked on the pasta. She watched him with interest, enjoying how he looked in her space. Her tiger seemed to like it even more. He fit like he was meant to be there.

They continued to chat, and she found that Benton had a love for anything that got his blood going. He liked to bike and hike. He ran a few marathons and just started getting into snowmobiling. She was impressed.

She shook her head, glancing at him with a laugh. "I love how you gave me a hard time about water, but you'll get into snow?"

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