Kennedy and I share a look of surprise. Nick doesn’t really date much, so this is news.
“Looks like it’s just you then, Ken. We’ll have to get you hooked up with someone too.” I say.
“Oh, I do fine on my own.”
“We’ve noticed.” Nick mashes his lips together.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Steel enters Kennedy’s tone.
“It means you two both need to smoke more weed and relax!” These two are a bit high strung lately, and I’m not sure when it started, but I don’t like it. “Help me speculate. Dominic asked me out with him on Saturday. We’re leaving early in the morning—”
“Ew.” Kennedy makes a face.
“—and he told me to wear something I don’t mind getting dirty. And he won’t tell me where we’re going.”
Nick snaps his fingers. “Mud wrestling.”
“Hiking?” Kennedy offers.
“I hope no to both of those. I just have no idea what he’s got in mind.”
“It’s adorable that he’s going to all this trouble,” Kennedy smiles. “It’s certainly more than Jason ever did. The dick.”
My head snaps up in surprise. “I thought you liked Jason.”
“I didn’t dislike him. But I thought his attitude toward the relationship was... lazy. You guys mostly just hung out at his place. He didn’t go out of his way to do anything special for you like Dominic already has.”
“Honeymoon period,” Nick declares. “I’m sure that will end eventually.”
“And I don’t think so. Elle’s worth the effort.”
“Yes she is. But as the only dude present, I feel better qualified to answer.”
“Yeah, like you’ve ever gone to any effort for a woman before.” She rolls her eyes.
“Maybe I would if the right woman came along.”
“You guys!” My back muscles ripple with the tension in their voices.
“Sorry,” Kennedy says. Nick nods.
“I’m beat, anyways. Goodnight.” I stand and walk back to my room. What the hell is up with people? When my brother and I used to get snippy with each other, my grandma would say, “Must be going to storm!”
Undressing, I slide into bed and turn off my lamp. Picturing Dominic’s face unleashes a small storm of a different kind; butterflies flapping their fragile wings around inside my stomach. I can’t wait to see him again.
Chapter Eleven
Saturday morning and there are no signs of life in the house other than me. Not even the smell of fresh coffee drew Nick and Kennedy from their beds. It must have been a late night on the town as I didn’t even hear them come in last night. It’s just as well I hadn’t tagged along; I’d have been the walking dead this morning otherwise.
Dominic told me to wear clothes that can get dirty. Are we going hiking? It’s safe to assume we’re doing something outdoorsy, but I’m really hoping it’s not paintball. Marie dragged me to a paintball place once thinking it would be a fabulous way to meet hot, rugged guys. Shooting the guns was fun—being hit by the paintballs wasn’t. They didn’t tell you that in the brochure. There were pretty multi-coloured welts and bruises all over my body for weeks. Fingers crossed that’s not today’s activity.
Sticking to a pair of older jeans, and sweater over a t-shirt, I’ve tied on some comfy hiking boots too just in case. He really should have given me more clues. It’s so frustrating trying to look hot without bringing any of my “A” game wardrobe pieces into play.
His car pulls up at seven fifty-five, and I leave the house as quietly as possible, locking the door behind me. By the time I get to the car, Dominic is there waiting for me with the passenger door open.
“I hope I’m appropriately dressed.”
“You look perfect.” He checks out my footwear as I slide into my seat.
“Where are we going?” He just shuts the door.
His cheeks have barely touched his seat when I exclaim, “You sadistic bastard! You’re not going to tell me, are you?”
“Nope. You did so well with the last surprise I thought we’d try it again.”
“Like exposure therapy?”
“I guess, but I hope it’s more fun than that.”
“Me too,” I deadpan, pulling a CD from my purse. I don’t mind riding in silence, but I prefer something to cancel out any outside noises and help me relax. “Do you mind?”
“Not at all.”
Meiko fills the air, perfect music for an early morning drive. Surreptitiously watching Dominic, I notice how he seems to listen with his entire body. Even though he’s driving, I can tell that the stereo has his focus.
I wonder if he applies that same focus to everything he does. My gaze crawls lazily from his lips, all the way down his torso, and long legs, and back up. The memory of last week’s kiss tears through me with the intensity of a lightning strike, leaving me warm all over.
Oh yeah. I know one thing he applies that focus to.
The urge to climb over to his side of the car and crawl into his lap is lessened when I realise we’re stopped at a red light. I’ve been staring at his mouth too intently to notice that he’s looking at me too. Hungrily. Up close in the morning light, I fully appreciate how perfectly his black lashes frame his light eyes.
There’s not enough oxygen and too much space between us. Breathing quicker, we lean in, straining against the seatbelts holding us apart. His warm breath smells deliciously of mint and chocolate, and I want to taste it on my tongue. He reaches for me, soft hand brushing my face, sliding to the back of my neck, urging me forward with gentle, firm, delicious pressure.
We jerk apart—the blare of a car horn behind us rips the moment in half, reminding us that we’re parked at a now green light.
You hear the term road-rage bandied about, not thinking it’s actually a thing, but if I had a baseball bat right now, that asshole behind us would have a broken windshield at the very least. The horn’s discordant tone has crawled into my neck, leaving me annoyed and feeling unsexy. I’ve never felt this kind of want for someone before.
Dominic guides us forward through the light, lightly chuckling.
“What?”
“It was really for the best; we’re on the road. But I could have killed him for honking right then.”
I grin, pleased he feels the same way. Though I’m not used to being with someone so direct, I like it. It’s like the usual game playing is out the window, and we can just relax and be honest with each other.
“Worst timing ever,” I agree. “So where are we going?”
“Nice try.”
Damn. Most of the game playing is out the window.
***
There is a Siberian tiger cub curled up in my lap. She’s suckling and biting at the bottle of milk Dominic holds for her, making soft growling noises as he strokes underneath her chin.
“Tigers don’t purr,” Julia the Zookeeper explains. “We call that little growling sound, ‘chuffing.’ It’s how they say hello.”
I love the cub, and I want one, and wow is this date ever making me feel like a girly-girl! The kiss that never happened occupied my thoughts the whole drive here—to the Zoo. I thought we were just going to go to the zoo, which still would have been cool, but Dominic had something even better planned: The Zookeeper for a day program.
So far, we’ve played with fawns and watched a cheetah have blood work taken. Cleaning the zebra enclosure was less fun, but not as bad as I’d thought it would be—mucking it out with pitchforks and shovels, and replacing their old straw with sweet-smelling fresh, felt like we were really doing something good for the animals. Bathing the elephant was amazing too. I’d thought they were smooth, but they’ve got bristles that feel like wire around their eyes, ears, and mouth, and some sparse hair on their trunks and legs.
My shoulders might hurt tomorrow; the elephant was tall, and we scrubbed at him with brushes, much like you’d clean the roof of a truck, but it was cool. After that, we prepped lunch for the animals, though
mostly cut bamboo for the pandas. They have to eat so much of it that preparing their food is pretty much a full time job by itself.
And now there’s a tiger cub on my lap, and though neither of us is capable of purring, I would if I could. This is the most fun I’ve had since... well. Our last date. Dominic’s been attentive, but also completely throwing himself into the experience. A lot of guys would be acting too cool to enjoy themselves, but he’s making it even more fun by being playful and eager to soak up the experience. The animals have all reacted really well to him, which I take as a good sign. One of the fawns jumped in his lap as soon as he sat down and wouldn’t move.
I know how she felt.
This is something I always thought would be cool to do, but never told anyone, or got around to doing. Also, it’s not cheap. Four hundred dollars per person, which makes me hope he’s called in another favour, because I can’t imagine someone spending that much money for a date with me. Judging by his car, and clothes, and everything I’ve seen, he can probably afford it, but still. I’m just going to not focus on the financial aspect of it.
What do you do for a living, Dominic?
The tiger cub drops the bottle and begins gently biting Dominic’s hand. Her lunch is over, which means it’s time for ours.
We’ve been behind the scenes for hours, so our lunch is a late one, closer to two than noon. It’s a beautiful day, so we take our lunch outside to sit at one of the picnic tables. There’s an amazing view of the gardens, and birds walk around nearby, so we sit on the same side of the bench and enjoy the scenery together.
“What was your favourite part of today?”
“Hmm.” I dunk a fry in ketchup and bite into it, thinking while I chew. “I mean, the whole experience has been so amazing. But the tiger cub. Just holding something that will one day turn into an insanely powerful animal? So cool. What about you?”
“It’s going to sound weird, but mucking out the zebra stalls. Doing something useful for them was incredible. And I liked how they came running in, pawing and sniffing at the new straw.”
“That was funny. They definitely don’t sound like I thought they would.”
“Nope. I’d have pegged them as sounding closer to a horse’s whinny.”
“Not so much. What’s after this?”
“I believe we’re feeding the giraffes.”
“This is too much.” Shaking my head, I turn and bend to retie my shoelace to hide my blush. He’s gone out of his way to make two dates special and safe for me. Kennedy thinks I’m worth it, but no one’s really bothered before.
A sudden wind whips across my back, and a dark shape swoops past the corner of my eye. “What was that?” I sit up and look around but see nothing.
Dominic looks a bit shell-shocked. “Um. That was a kamikaze peacock.”
“What?” Another swoops over us, skimming our heads even though we both duck. “Oh my god! Lunch is over!” I shriek, and we rush to the garbage to throw out our waste, and head for the next event, laughing and clutching at each other.
***
Fourteen inches long and a blackish purple colour. I had no idea giraffes had such long tongues. Julia tore branches from a bush and handed them to us. The branch dripped a whitish sap onto our hands, and it dried almost instantly, sticky as glue. Orson, the giraffe, wrapped his tongue around the branch and yanked it high above our heads to devour in peace.
Up close, their huge eyes are gentle. There was a fence between us, but he bent down over the top of it and I could have petted him. I didn’t. Apparently he’s not a fan of contact, and I didn’t want to confirm that the hard way. This is a peaceful herbivore who can fuck shit up. You don’t want to offend a giraffe, that’s for sure. I’m content to feed him his tree, a few branches at a time, and watch him strip the leaves.
The giraffe feeding is our last stop of the day as Zookeepers. We shake Julie’s hand, thanking her for a great experience. I’m a bit sad that it’s over, but I’m buzzing with the day’s events. Memorable doesn’t even begin to describe it. Dominic tugs my sleeve.
“Follow me.”
He leads me into a large building and into a high ceilinged room. The air tastes hot and feels so dry that it’s like walking into an oven. Desert plants are all around the path and centre of the room, but he guides me down a short walkway and through a small door. Past the door, the air is cooler, but more humid. It’s easier to breathe, and we walk through plastic strips that dangle from the ceiling, into a vaguely sweet-smelling room stuffed with lush, green plants.
And then I know where we are. The butterfly room.
“I thought they shut this place down years ago,” I say softly. Something about the gentleness of the butterflies hushes voices.
“They had. The generators kept breaking down, and it took too much power to justify the electric bill. But they recently got enough funding to continue.”
“It looks exactly the same.”
“It is.”
“This was always my favourite place to visit. There was a bench. Over here.” I grab his sleeve and pull him to where my Pan bench used to be. Second bend to the right, tucked a couple feet inside a little alcove, where the plants grow larger on either side. It’s still there. “They didn’t change it!” I nestle on the bench delightedly and pat the seat beside me.
“Why is this your favourite place?” He settles on the bench.
Breathing deeply, I lean back and point to the plants growing from behind us. “They reach over, making a ceiling. It feels like you’re the only one in the room. Listen.”
He stills and closes his eyes. I could lean in and kiss him. Instead, I share what I love about the room.
“Do you hear that? The soft hum of the generators. The quiet trickling of the water in the little man-made stream. The tiny tapping of the mist droplets landing on the leaves above our heads.”
“It’s very soothing.” He takes a deep breath and opens his eyes. “I can see why you like it.”
“And the way the plants reach around this bench, cradling it, surrounding it. Embracing it. It’s like we’re in our own little room made of plants and waterfalls.” A butterfly flutters delicately into the moment, landing on Dominic’s shoulder.
“And them. The butterflies. They’re so beautiful and fragile. And Pan’s here too.” I point at the bronze statue of Pan, standing beside the bench, flute in hand. “I just love everything about this room.”
“Then I’m really glad it’s here again.”
“Me too.”
We sit there for a while, visiting with the butterflies, and each other, until it’s time to go.
What an utterly perfect day. All I can think is, when can I see you again? And I know I should wait and not rush into anything, but I feel so relaxed with Dominic. Relaxed, but exhilarated too. Being with him feels natural, and easy, which scares the crap out of me.
The walk back to the car is quiet and slow as we take our time getting back. He reaches past me to unlock and open my door. It’s such a small nicety, opening my door before he gets in himself; it’s considerate and another way he makes me feel special.
“Dominic?” When I don’t move to get into the car, he looks at me with raised eyebrows.
My voice is tentative, but my hands aren’t. Slamming the door shut, I step into him and slide one hand around his ribs, resting it on his lower back. I brush the other up his stomach and pause at his chest.
“Thanks for today.”
And I reach up and kiss him. For a fraction of a second, he doesn’t respond, through surprise maybe, I don’t know. Then he hauls in a deep breath and wraps his arms around me, pulls me tightly to him, and kisses me back.
OMFG is he ever kissing me back.
My hands clench his sweater, trying to pull him closer. His hand teases the nape of my neck, and we’re in the danger zone—that’s one of my hot spots. I pull him with me as I take a step back. Not breaking contact, he caresses my hips, and presses me against the side of his car, which is a
damned good thing because I’m pretty sure my knees are about to give out.
I’ve had sex that didn’t affect me as much as this kiss.
He wrenches his mouth from mine, half-talk, half-moans, “Oh my god, Elle,” which only makes it worse for me. His voice is a heavy, velvet blanket, wrapping me more tightly in the moment, weighing me down beneath my desire. Our bodies are still in full contact, but neither of us moves, as if we’re both wild animals about to attack each other. I know for sure, if he moves right now, I’ll be all over him again. I want him so much.
Dragging in deep breaths, we gather control of ourselves. He kisses my jaw, slowly separates from me and opens my door. I manage not to lick the window that separates us when he closes the door after me. Barely. I want him so badly I ache all over. If we weren’t in public... but we are. And even though we have mad chemistry, it’s only our second date and I don’t really know much about him.
But I want to know more. And I can’t jump into bed with him until I learn more about who he is. No matter how loudly my body is arguing right now. It’s going to sound strange when I tell him I want to take it slower—especially right after that kiss! He gets in the car, and grips the steering wheel.
“I’m taking you home.” He doesn’t look at me. “And I’m not coming in. And I’ll tell you why: Because I don’t want this to just be a physical relationship. Ugh, that sounds so lame.”
“No, it doesn’t.” My voice is soft. I completely get it.
He looks at me intently, as if reading my sincerity. “And don’t doubt for a moment how much I want you.” His voice swirls down the back of my neck, and I grab his hand. He squeezes mine and something quickens deep inside me. Pent-up desire flows inside me from where our skin touches, and I close my eyes, savouring the feeling of delicious torture.
“But if you kiss me like that again,” he continues, “all bets are off.”
I buckle my seatbelt, and keep my mouth shut, lest I invite him to my side of the car to do the fabulously inappropriate things that parade through my mind.
Just Breathe Page 9
