Trent nodded and looked up at him. “You ready for your date?”
Cage grinned and grabbed his keys from the counter.
“I got this,” he said and slid his sunglasses on. “This is one area where I have a freaking clue.”
When he looked over to Trent, the older man was shaking his head.
“You really think that’s going to win her over?”
Cage looked down at himself and then back to Trent.
“What’s wrong with the way I look?” Cage frowned.
Trent shook his head.
“Nothing,” he said and chuckled. “That is, if you’re looking for a one-nighter.”
Cage looked back down at his clothes. He didn’t see what was so bad about his choices. It was the same sort of thing he’d worn on other dates.
“She’s not like that,” Cage said simply. “It doesn’t matter what I wear.”
Trent shrugged his shoulders. “Just keep that in mind. She’s different. Some of your old instincts might sabotage you a bit.”
Cage frowned. He made his way to the door and looked back to Trent.
“She is different,” he said more firmly than before. “And I do know that.”
He closed the door behind him and made his way to the car. Once in he let the car idle for a moment.
Cage checked himself in the mirror. He looked good. It was the one thing right now that he knew he could do well and he planned on showing her that. Whitney had to see.
He put the car into reverse and backed out of the driveway. He could do this.
* * *
Whitney paced back and forth in her living room.
The date was a bad idea. Everything in her said that it was a bad idea. Getting involved with Cage was just going to get her hurt. Men like him, well, they didn’t date women like her, at least not for any length of time. Even if he thought he liked her, he’d get bored. It was his nature. Just like with her father.
She looked at the silver mirror near the door.
Maybe she’d done too much. He hadn’t said where they were going, and she wasn’t sure how she should dress. She figured a black cocktail dress would be okay for most anything.
Whitney wrung her hands and tried not to think about it. There wasn’t time to change how she was dressed even if she wanted to. Cage would be there any second.
She fluffed the curls at the end of her hair and checked her lipstick. It wasn’t often that she wore this much makeup. She’d nearly forgotten how to put it on.
The bell rang, and she jumped.
He was out front.
After one last look in the mirror, Whitney smoothed out her dress and answered the door.
She bit down the anxiety tightening her throat and smiled at Cage. Her smile faltered a bit when she noticed his simple button-up shirt and jeans. She’d assumed too much and was way overdressed.
“I didn’t know where we’d be going,” she started and turned around to go back. “I can change.”
Cage reached out and grabbed her hand before she could slip into the back of the house.
“You look amazing,” he said and looked her up and down. She shivered at his gaze. “Don’t change.”
His rough voice made her remember the other night. She didn’t know how things were going to end tonight, but she was keeping her options open.
“Okay,” she said quietly.
“Ready?” he asked.
Whitney nodded despite the butterflies fluttering around her stomach. She hurried out of the house and quickly closed the door.
“What’s the hurry?” he said with a grin.
“I didn’t want Hank following me.”
“The dog? Why do you have him there and not the clinic?”
She smiled. “He’s pretty much healed, and I’m going to provide him some temporary housing.”
He nodded, and they continued on to his car.
He held the door open for her as she slipped into the sports car. Never had she thought there was an art to getting into a car, but found out that there must be. The vehicle was so low to the ground she had to reach out and hold the door to steady herself.
Once she was in, he shut the door and made his way around. It was quiet together inside the car. She’d been alone with him several times now, but this seemed so intimate.
“So where are we going?” she asked.
She looked over to him and almost wished she hadn’t. His sweet boyish smile beamed back at her.
“I thought we might go shoot pool at a cool place I know and then maybe do a little dancing,” he said.
She nodded. Although she wasn’t really good at either, it was his date, and she was sure he would make it fun.
They drove in silence. Whitney kept trying to think of something witty to say, but nothing was coming. Instead, all she could do was breathe in his aftershave and think about popping the buttons off his shirt. She squirmed a little in the seat.
“Are you comfortable?” he asked.
Whitney stilled and looked over at him in surprise. She didn’t think she was moving that much, but maybe she had been.
“I’m fine,” she said. “Thanks.”
Cage nodded, his eyes on the road ahead.
“Trent is working on the case,” he said after a few moments. “The dog was reported missing a few days ago from a few states over.”
Whitney frowned. “How did its stuff get here then?”
Cage shook his head. A piece of hair slipped onto his forehead, and she smiled a little. It was cute and made him look more boyish.
“There’s something going on,” he said and glanced at her. “Whatever it is, it’s focused on you. Right now, all we can do is make sure you’re safe.”
She nodded. It wasn’t something she really wanted to think about, but she was glad Cage was there. Regardless of everything going on and her complicated romantic feelings, she felt safe with him.
Cage stopped the car, and she looked around. This wasn’t a side of town she was familiar with. Little bars lined the streets. Loud music poured out of their doors.
She had to stop herself from wrinkling her nose. This was not at all the date she had in mind.
Cage climbed out and opened her door with ease.
He held out his hand, and she took it to get out of the low seat.
She expected that he would let go of her hand once they were out, but he held on.
They made their way inside, and it was clear that Cage liked to come to this place often.
“Been a while,” the bartender said to him as they entered.
Cage nodded back.
Whitney looked around, and her expectations were slipping for the evening. It wasn’t dirty, but it was more hole in the wall than she was expecting. But maybe she was just being too harsh. It could be tons of fun, and she wasn’t giving it a fair chance. She tried to get into the right headspace.
“Hey, baby,” a curly-haired brunette said with a serving tray. “Where you been? We missed you.”
The woman leaned over the table toward Cage, showing ample amounts of cleavage. Whitney had to look away to keep from saying something she might regret.
“Hey, Candy,” Cage said, smiling at the busty woman.
Candy? No, Whitney was sure she wouldn’t be able to do this much longer without spouting off something.
“Can you get my date and I a beer?” He looked over to Whitney and smiled. “Want something to eat?”
Candy eyed her with venom, and Whitney pushed herself back into the seat.
She glanced over to Cage.
“I don’t know what they have,” she said and looked around for a menu.
Cage waved a hand. “Oh, it’s all the usual stuff.”
The usual stuff. He said it like she came to places like this all the time.
Cage turned back to Candy. “How about nachos?”
She swallowed and looked away. What about her dress screamed nachos? It wasn’t like she wasn’t a fan. On a normal night she would be down
for some, but not wearing something like this.
The worry that had been eating at her all day grew like a ball in her stomach.
“Should we play a game of pool while we wait?”
She looked up to find Cage standing next to her. He smiled, and she felt the worry ebb a little. Maybe he just didn’t think about that sort of thing or thought she would realize they wouldn’t be going somewhere fancy. She likely should have thought about it, knowing that he wasn’t really the kind of guy to get dressed up.
Whitney smiled and gave him her hand to help her up. She could make this work.
* * *
After the first beer worked through her, Whitney found that she actually liked pool. It wasn’t something that she’d ever played before, but it took logic and thinking, something she had in spades.
Not only that, but she was having fun with Cage. He’d taken the time to show her how to hold the cue right and the rules of the game. Much to her surprise, he was patient and didn’t get mad when she didn’t understand something or made a mistake.
The service from Candy had been less than stellar, and Whitney was pretty sure the bitch had tried to accidentally-on-purpose spill a drink on her, but Whitney had lucked out when a man passing through ended up taking the spill. When the nachos came, she’d had to pretend to eat them, so he wouldn’t feel bad, but it was a small sacrifice to have a better date.
Still, she hadn’t really gotten to know Cage. Other than the fact he was fun, she didn’t know much about him or his plans in life. She might be ready to date him, but that didn’t mean much more than that. Granted, it was still further than she’d been willing to go with Ted.
She finished off the last of her beer and set it on the table. Cage grinned at her, and she couldn’t help but smile.
“You about ready to go?” he asked.
She nodded.
“Just let me use the restroom real quick,” she said.
Cage nodded and took a seat back at the table.
Whitney found the tiny bathroom at the end of a small hall in the back of the building. She slipped in and found there were two stalls.
Not thinking about the cleanliness of the place, she went into the closest.
As she was finishing up, the door creaked open and heels clicked against the floor.
She finished up and found Candy on the other side of the door. The bright red lipstick she was applying stood out on her face.
Whitney turned on the water and washed her hands, trying not to look at the nasty woman. She dried her hands and pulled out the light maroon color she had for her lips.
Her eyes drifted over to Candy, who was fluffing her hair with her fingers.
The woman looked over to her and wrinkled her nose.
“How’s the date going?” she asked.
Whitney was somewhat stunned by the question.
“Good,” she said. Maybe if she kept it brief, she be able to get out without a cat fight.
“Where you going dancing?” she asked.
Whitney frowned and put down the lip gloss.
“How did you know?” she asked.
Candy laughed loudly at her question.
“What? You think you’re the first?” Her red lips curved into a cruel smile. “This is what Cage does.”
Whitney took in a deep breath. This woman was just trying to start something. She had been all night.
“I think that dinner and dancing is a pretty common date,” Whitney said and went back to looking at herself in the mirror. She tried to steady her hands and ignore the bitter woman.
“I don’t think you understand,” Candy said and moved a little closer so that she could see her reflection in her own mirror. “This date, this is Cage’s way. After dancing, he’ll suggest that you take a walk on the pier. Maybe watch the boats roll in. And while you’re there, you’ll kiss a little.”
Whitney swallowed down the bile rising from her stomach.
“He’ll suggest that you go back to your place, and when you wake up in the morning, he’ll be gone, a sweet note in his place.” Candy snorted. “I’m surprised though. Most women know what they’re getting with Cage. Guess he can’t get the same caliber of woman being such a freak now. I wonder if he can even perform.”
Anger boiled in Whitney. This woman just wanted to humiliate her, and there was no way in hell Whitney was going to let her get away with saying something like that.
“Maybe I’ll give you a call tomorrow and let you know,” Whitney said with a smile and slammed out of the room.
There was no way she was going to let that bitch ruin her date.
Cage sat waiting at the table. It had been a good evening. He was a little surprised when Whitney showed up to the door in such a nice dress and nearly changed plans but was glad he hadn’t. Given that it was his first time back at dating, it was good to stick to what he knew. He wanted this to work more than anything, and if that meant going with the plan, that was fine with him. At least he knew it worked.
Whitney stormed out of the bathroom and back into the booth.
Cage frowned and leaned forward a little.
“Something wrong?” he asked.
Whitney took a deep breath and let it out. Her perfume drifted over to him, and he smiled at her.
“I’m fine,” she said and took a drink of water.
“Good,” he said and reached across to take her hand. He stroked the tender skin of her wrist against his calloused thumb. “I was thinking…” He swallowed and looked over to her bright green eyes. “Maybe after we go dancing, we could take a walk.”
Whitney stilled. “On the pier?”
Cage smiled. This was easier than he thought it would be. “That’s what I was thinking.”
Without a word, she yanked her hand out of his and stood. She stormed toward the door. Cage called out to her, but the pain in his leg wouldn’t let him keep up. Once outside, he found her standing by his car.
“I want to go home,” she said and stared hard at the car.
Cage swallowed, not really sure what he’d done to fuck this up.
He placed a hand on her shoulder, but she jerked away from him.
“Whitney, what did I do?”
She turned around. Tears brimmed her beautiful eyes. “Take me home now, or I’m calling a cab.”
Cage nodded, not really sure what else to do. At least if she was in his car, he’d have a chance of figuring it out.
Chapter Twelve
Cage tried to start a conversation with Whitney several times, but each time he was shot down in the worse way possible: silence. Whatever he had done, Whitney was angrier than he’d ever seen her.
They stopped outside her house, and he turned to her.
“Please,” he said quietly. “Tell me what I did. I just wanted us to have a fun date.”
Whitey turned to face him. Anger radiated off of her.
“What? By using the same date that you use on every other tramp?” she spit out at him.
Cage paled. He’d thought he was giving her a good date. It was tested. It worked.
“It’s not like that¸” he said quickly. “You don’t understand.”
Whitney gave a hollow laugh and opened the door.
“I’m sure it’s not,” she said and glared at him. “Except Candy filled me in. Thanks for the shitty beer.”
She stomped out of the car and slammed the door.
Cage cursed his leg as he struggled to get out of the car and make his way up the stairs.
It couldn’t end like this. He wasn’t going to let it.
“Whitney,” he called out, but she was already to the door.
His knee burned as he forced himself to half-jog up the stairs. She’d just unlocked the door as he climbed the last step.
“Wait,” he said and quickly walked over to her.
He cursed the lack of railing on the side of her porch. His knee shook, and he would have liked nothing more than to lean against something. Cage rested his hand against the
house and turned so he could talk to her.
“What do you want, Cage?” she asked. Her voice was small and sounded tired.
He sighed. “Just give me a chance.”
She furrowed her brow as she looked at him. “This was your chance.”
“Look,” he said and ran a hand through his hair, “I’m not good at this.”
Whitney snorted. “Could have fooled me.”
“It’s not like that,” he said and fumbled for the right words. “I didn’t date before,” he said and almost wished he hadn’t said that from the look she was giving him. “I only know how to do it this one way.”
He ran the hand in his hair along his neck.
“I just want to spend time with you,” he said quietly. “However you’ll let me.”
Whitney stilled in the door. He didn’t know if what he was saying meant anything, but he had to try.
“You are different from everyone,” he said and stared into her beautiful green eyes. “You have to understand that.”
Wind swept her hair in front of her face, and the soft lighting of the moon made her seem almost angelic. Cage swept the hair behind her ear and let his fingers linger on her face.
Whitney didn’t even know where to go with him. He seemed so sweet and caring. There was a large part of her that hoped he meant what he said, but another part of her couldn’t help but think he was just manipulating her.
She opened her mouth to say something but stopped when Cage suddenly turned and reached into the bush behind him.
Not understanding what was going on, Whitney pressed herself against the door and watched as Cage struggled with whatever was in the bushes.
“Get your hands off me, pendejo,” a younger voice said from the bush.
She gasped as Cage pulled out a boy who couldn’t be more than twelve.
“Quit moving,” Cage growled at the kid and pulled him into the light. “Fuck,” he groaned. “You’re Carlos’s grandson.”
* * *
Whitney still couldn’t say she understood the whole thing. After they had managed to get the boy inside, they were surprised to find he and Hank were already friends. He sunk to his knees and laughed as Hank licked his happy face.
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