by Bree Dahlia
I was throwing it all out there now, and if he couldn’t take it? Oh, well, not my issue. But I did draw the line at Daniel. I couldn’t take that next step and mention my twenty-year-old stepson, and I couldn’t explain my reasons for that either.
“I don’t recall us doing any sleeping.”
“Do you think this is a joke?”
“No, it’s most definitely not a joke to me.”
I got up and brought my plate into the kitchen, pulling out another beer, even though I hadn’t finished the last one yet. I snagged another for him too, just in case. The course had taken another turn, and I wasn’t sure where it was leading.
When I returned, he was kicked back on the couch. I handed him the bottle, and he nodded, popping it open. I went back to my couch and plunked down.
“Do you make it a habit of having sex with unfamiliar women?”
Because my repertoire didn’t include banging strange men. I’d been with others before my marriage, but I could hardly count that as sexual experience. It was more like fumbling and trying to get something to stick.
“I wouldn’t say it’s a habit, but I have, yes.”
Okay, I could definitively strike the virgin/not virgin question off my list. I knew there was no way he could have been that good for a first time. Why did I ever let Perry put that into my head to begin with? All it did was make me crazy. Check that—crazier.
“Then let me ask this a different way. Are you a cougar hunter?”
He sputtered, and I was that close to running over and smacking him on the back. Apparently it wasn’t good timing to ask him such a thing during a swig because he almost spat beer all over my cushions.
“What the hell are you talking about?” Chase started laughing, and I crossed my arms and glared at him.
“I thought you were older that night. If I had known your true age, I wouldn’t have slept with you. No matter how hard up I was.”
I waited for him to make a comment again about sleeping, but then realized I’d just admitted I was hard up. Way to go, Jillian.
“And I thought you were younger.” He rested his forearms on his thighs and leaned in closer to me. “But unlike you, if I would have known your age that night, I still would have fucked you, and I can assure you I am not hard up.”
“No, I imagine you’re not.”
Since when was green not a cool color? His eyes blazed as if they were fire-toned, and I sank farther into the couch to deflect a bit of the intensity. He reminded me of nothing less than a man at the moment.
“Since we’re being so honest with each other tonight, I can also assure you that you’re the first unfamiliar woman I’ve even wanted to see again. So, I could suppose you’d say we’re both of each other’s firsts.”
“Ah…” If there were a correct way to respond to that, I wished it’d hurry up and drop out of the sky because I was at a total loss.
Chase’s inspection let up enough to give me a little breathing room before he stood. My eyes immediately lined up with another equally intense body part. Don’t look, don’t look. Dammit.
He chuckled, his face softening. “We’re getting way too serious here. Would you agree?”
“God, yes.” My original intent to hurl everything at him only seemed to backfire on me.
“Do you have any games?”
“Games? Like in board?”
Chase sat down and guzzled his beer. “Yeah. Anything you’ve got will work.”
He smiled, a boyish grin that didn’t make me want to run and hide. Instead, it made the surrounding air lighter, and the room much more comfortable to be in.
“You’re in luck,” I said, smiling back. Stacks of them were still piled high in my office. Board games, huh? Never saw that coming.
I went through the kitchen, swiping a saucy pepper to munch on along the way. The computer was the first thing I noticed upon entering the room, but I had no desire to take a peek. I went straight to the games, grabbing the first box off the top. I hadn’t played one of these in who knew how long and had no preference.
I came back, setting Bunked on the coffee table. “Ever play this one?” I asked.
“Nope.”
“Me neither.” I adjusted the table, so it fit evenly between the two couches. I wasn’t ready to have him share one with me yet. A little space between us was a necessary thing.
He shook the top lid loose. “Perfect. Another first.” His lips curved, and I felt that warm tingle spread up my neck. What was it about this guy?
Chase scanned the directions briefly, then tossed them aside. “You did not read those already,” I said.
“It’s pretty simple. We read a card, and the other says if it’s true or bunk. You get an extra point if you can give the correct answer to a bunk question. The one with the greatest amount of points wins.” He set the stack of cards on the table, along with the timer. He picked up the top card. “So, tell me, Jillian—has Milwaukee always been your home base?”
I laughed. “That is not one of the cards.”
“It’s a warm-up question.” Chase slipped down to the floor, propping his back against the couch. He spread his legs a bit and rested his forearms on his knees. The position flustered me. Not to mention he was closer now.
“Born and raised. Honestly, I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else.” Chase nodded. “What about you?” I asked.
“Lived in Madison till I was five, been here ever since.” He flipped the timer over. “The scientific name for a wolf is Canid Lupis.”
“Wait, what?” He pointed to the timer. Oh, we’re playing the real game now. “Um, fact.”
“Bunk. The correct name is Canis Lupis.”
I shook my head. Close enough. Geez. I picked up a card, waiting for the sand to run out. He’d never get this. I started the timer and read, “The medical term for red blood cell is derived from a Latin word.”
“Bunk. It’s Greek.”
Humph. I handed him two chips and took another sip of beer. Of course, what was I thinking? If this was a game about useless facts, he’d remember way more than me. He’d only been out of school for… Nope, not going there.
“You mentioned you work a lot. What is it that you do?”
“Another warm-up question?” Chase smiled and raised the bottle to his lips. I was entranced for several seconds too long before looking away. “Nothing as exciting as you.” I froze, but he didn’t seem to notice my Freudian slip. “I’m a recruiter for financial advisors. I started the business two years ago and have been working my butt off since. But I guess that’s the secret to my success.” I reached over and tapped the back of the card he held in his hand. “Now for the real question, please.”
“The oldest written language is Sumerian.”
I had this one. “Bunk. It’s Sanskrit.”
“Fact, it’s Sumerian.”
“What? Let me see that.” I snatched the card. Damn. I’d never been the least bit competitive with these games, but I just wanted to kick his ass. I picked up the next card in line and groaned. Come on, why couldn’t I get easy ones like this? “Why’d you decide to teach music?” I asked, delaying the sure win.
“To follow my passion.”
I tucked my legs up underneath me. “And music’s your passion or teaching?”
“Music. Although, teaching others to love it as I do ranks right up there.”
A pleasant chill snaked through me. I liked talking to him; he resonated with me. That was the problem. I tried reaching for a new card, but his hand covered mine and I jolted, causing some of my beer to splosh out.
“Just what do you think you’re doing?” he said.
“This question is unfair. I need to get a different one.”
“Doesn’t work that way.”
I pulled my hand away before he burned a hole in it, wondering why it’d even taken me that long. Torrents of conflicting emotions ran through me, and as much as it pained me to admit it, I just wanted him to take charge like he did the other ni
ght. I was so attracted to him it hurt, and I wanted to be put out of my misery.
I took a deep breath and scooted back a bit. Pretty soon, I’d be swallowed into the cushions. There wasn’t much farther I could go. “Fine. A heptatonic is a musical scale with five notes per octave.”
“Fact.”
I scrunched my face, and he started laughing. “Stop cheating. You know very well the answer’s seven.”
“I don’t think that qualifies as cheating. Come on, let me have another one and give me a chance to catch up.”
“You’re already ahead.”
“Then we should be exploring ways for you to get more points.”
Dammit, Chase. I couldn’t tell if he was suggestive on purpose, but the entire room was pinging with electricity. Little sparks crackled over my skin, and I almost feared his touch again. I drained the rest of my bottle. “Then you should read me another question.”
If he was waiting for me to make some kind of move, I just couldn’t do it. That’d be consenting to my inappropriate attraction, and I preferred to live in denial. As long as I didn’t pursue him, I’d be okay. ‘Keep the delusion casual’ should be my mantra.
“The Lira is the official currency of Italy.”
Ha! About time. “Bunk. It was before the euro. Of course I know that because….” Because that’s where Daniel is right now.
Chase cocked his head, but when I didn’t finish my sentence, he put the card down and handed me two chips. “You know, you never did answer me that night when I asked what moved you more deeply, lyrics or music?”
“It depends. I can be equally affected by either.” I thought about it, glad for the distraction. “Words connect me with the song, but the sound can change the whole meaning, despite the lyrics. A haunting tone can give upbeat words a different message and vice versa.”
He was studying me again, and I wasn’t sure how to interpret it. “Are you following your passion, Jillian?”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“Your recruiting business. Is that what you love?”
I was a bit taken aback. It was a job, a career. How many people truly loved their job? Chase was one of the lucky exceptions. “I wouldn’t exactly say love, but I’m damn good at it.”
I grabbed a card and read, “Plants store energy in their roots.”
“Bunk. It’s leaves.” I tossed two more chips at him. “So, when you’re not sucked into work, what do you do for fun? Besides sleeping with passionate music teachers and avoiding said music teachers at ballparks.”
I jerked my head up, and he smiled. I narrowed my eyes at him. Not funny. “Ah…” Would it sound pathetic to say that work mainly was my fun? Sure, I saw Perry when I could and had those weekly family meals, but since the divorce—and the year prior—I’d buried myself. “I rake leaves and shovel snow.”
“That must be how you got such a beautiful body.”
I tensed. Something about the word ‘beautiful’ threw me off. Not ‘sexy’ or ‘fucking hot’ or any of the other adjectives he could have used to get the point across, but beautiful. It was the way he said it too. The perfect marriage of lyrics and music, and my emotions spiraled into one giant clusterfuck.
“Do you want another beer?” I said.
“I’m good.”
I looked toward the window at the darkened skies. The rain held off, but the wind was still going strong. Plenty of circulation was swirling around that room. Maybe a bit too much. I inched away from Chase, hoping I didn’t make my discomfort too obvious. His scent was noticeable, and I found that odd. Unless a smell was unpleasant, I usually didn’t detect it that strongly. And it was definitely the opposite of unpleasant. It made me want to spread my body all over him and take it for my own.
“Are you wearing any cologne?”
“No, why?”
Damn. I was afraid of that. “Just wondering.” I sucked in my bottom lip. “So, do you play anything else, besides acoustic?”
“Bass. Piano. A little violin. You?”
I shook my head. “How long have you been with that little school? It seems different.” I looked up, thinking of the word. “Trusting.” Daniel had gone to public school, and I was used to buzzers and metal detectors and much more security. I’d just walked in that day like it was nothing.
Chase laughed. “Yeah, it’s like a big family. Been there a couple years. I’m fortunate to be part of a place that values the arts so highly.”
“And you do private lessons there in the summer?”
He nodded. “They’re cool with that. And it’s much better than using my apartment since I share it with two other guys. I’m already there anyway teaching summer school a few days a week. Either that or holding softball practice.”
I thought of Perry’s niece. “But Emily doesn’t go there, yet you’re her coach.”
“It’s a rec league. About half the kids are from the school and half live in the area.”
I felt like I was starting to ask way too many questions—even if I didn’t get that impression from him—but I really was interested. I liked Chase, I really did. I just didn’t want to like him. “Where’s my next question?” I said. “I need a chance to beat you here.”
“Lion prides have one male and multiple females.”
“Fact.”
“Bunk. They can also have multiple males.”
Argh. I guess I wasn’t up on my animal orgies. The next couple dozen questions weren’t much better. I did manage to get some right, and Chase appeared to truthfully get some wrong, but he still outnumbered me by at least two to one.
A big grin broke out on his face when he picked up my next card. Great, probably something about the mating habits of protozoa. I still remembered some things from school, just not all these little details. Unfortunately, this game did not take life experience into account.
“Stevie Nicks’s real name is Stella.”
“Ooh! Bunk. Her real name is Stephanie Lynn Nicks.”
“Nice.” He handed over two chips. “It says here you can get extra points and take the win if you sing one of her songs.”
“It does not say that.” I tried to grab the card, but he yanked it back.
“You’re really going to pass up the chance to take me down?”
Before I knew it, I was belting out “Leather and Lace.” I’m not sure why I picked that song, especially because it was meant as a duet, but I’d always loved it. I had a lot of fun with it, making it part of the game, but when I finished, the silence was deafening.
Did I miss something here? Why is Chase gaping at me?
“Holy fuck, Jillian. You told me you didn’t play an instrument.”
“That’s because I don’t.”
“What do you call that set of pipes?”
I shrugged. I knew I could sing halfway decent, but so could a lot of people. “I was just playing the game.” I smiled wide. “I win.”
“Hell, yeah, you do. I want to learn more about that secret weapon of yours.”
“It’s a voice, Chase. And there’s not much to say about it.”
“You looked like you were lovin’ the hell out of that song. Now that’s what I mean about passion. How often do you use it? I can’t picture you singing every day to the suits.”
“You’re right about that.”
“You already admitted you don’t love what you’re doing. Why didn’t you pursue what you do love?”
As if it were that easy. His youthful idealism was showing, blatantly whacking me on the head. “Because that’s not always realistic, Chase. I was in the music program at UWM for a couple years but had to drop out because of… responsibilities. That’s the way life works sometimes.”
I was starting to feel uneasy. I never had these types of conversations with Mike. He thought it was frivolous to continue studying something he considered impractical to daily life. We had a family to raise, and we didn’t sit around talking about passions and chasing after personal dreams.
Cha
se looked like he wanted to say more but kept quiet. I was thankful for that until he advanced closer, ending up on my couch. My couch. What was wrong with his? It was perfectly comfortable. The heat from his body radiated over, and my heart rate took a flying leap. It must have gotten stuck on the ceiling because it was not coming down.
“You want to kiss me right now,” he said.
“What?” What?
“Fact or bunk?”
“I already won the game,” I said with a barely-working mouth. I looked at his lips without intending to, then trailed up to his eyes, making two mistakes in a row.
“Fact or bunk?” he asked again.
I was not drunk but wished I were. I wished I were so blitzed that I was passed out cold. I was pleasantly tipsy, and that was the worst thing to be right now. Not that stone-cold sober had worked too well in my favor either. I had the feeling that nothing short of complete avoidance would save me from Chase Nolan.
“Why are you doing all this?” I whispered. “Why didn’t you just leave it at one night? Why did you make me want to give you my number?”
I could have gone on and on… Why do I feel something for you? Why didn’t I say no to dinner? Why did I invite you over, and why did I want to? Why do you have to be so young?
And why do I want to kiss you so freaking badly?
He touched the side of my face with the backs of his fingers, so lightly it burned. I felt the sensation travel down, and I closed my eyes, heat searing through me.
“I didn’t leave it, Jillian, because I didn’t want to. And after seeing you again in my classroom, I knew you felt the same. Do you know how easy it would have been for me to get your correct number? I could have checked around, but I didn’t want to do that. I wanted you to be the one to give it to me.” He took his hand away. “Now I believe you owe me an answer.”
I had one more chance to keep it together. He already said the next kiss was up to me, so if I didn’t agree to it, he wouldn’t do it. I nibbled on my lips. I was afraid how much I wanted it; I craved so much more than his lips against mine. It would start with one kiss, but it wouldn’t end there.
