I looked at him in disbelief, gently elbowing his side, as I laughed. “You’re a werewolf that’s afraid of heights?”
He looked a little annoyed with my laughter, so I stopped.
Composing myself, I apologized, “I’m sorry.”
He pulled me into a brief hug. “Don’t be, it’s just my idiotic self. I’ve had the fear since I was a kid.”
We broke the hug, each looking away.
“Well, what do you choose?” I asked, taking a step away to catch my breath.
In the distance, the sun began to set, making the sky light up with reds, pinks and oranges. It was beautiful.
Suddenly, both of our stomachs rumbled. He smiled. “I guess it’s time to find something to eat. Any preferences?”
My stomach growled louder, making it harder to think. “Turkey legs?”
He beamed. “You think like me. Let’s go find some.”
AFTER THE DELICIOUS turkey legs, we went to find the nearest bathroom.
Inside, I washed my hands and face. Digging through my purse, I found the set of
toothpaste and the toothbrush I had packed. Quickly brushing my teeth, I checked to make sure I did a good job. Once I was satisfied, I put the stuff away and rinsed my mouth again.
Checking my hair one more time, I headed out of the bathroom. Right outside, Nathan waited with a smile on his face.
God, he was gorgeous and adorable. I just wanted to lick him everywhere.
I joined him, asking, “What game booths do they have? Can we check them out?”
He laughed. “Tonight is about you having fun. I don’t care what we do as long as you’re
happy.”
That warmed my heart. I think I was already falling for him. “All right, let’s find one with balloons.”
We looked around for a good minute, until we found what I wanted. The man at the booth—he looked around eighteen and wore a pair of sweats and a hoodie—motioned to us with a smile. “Welcome! What can I get for the cute couple?”
I blushed, standing closer to Nathan, and brushed my arm against his.
It was starting to get chilly.
Nathan noticed, taking his jacket off and placing it over my shoulders. It was warm and I loved the smell of fresh pine that he had.
“Thank you.”
He smiled, wrapping an arm around my shoulder before walking us closer to the booth. The
back of the booth held a large wall of balloons; they were in all colors. On the outside, there were larger balloons while the middle held small ones.
“So, I’ll explain the rules. The larger balloons on the outside are worth less than the small ones on the inside. If you hit all the small ones, that’s an automatic win. You can…” The man motioned to all the prizes and I had already set my sights on a stuffed animal with the cutest face. “Win any one of these prizes. If you get all the small ones, you get three prizes.”
Nathan shrugged. “Seems easy enough.”
He looked down at me as the man handed us six darts.
I couldn’t tell what was in his expression, but I was happy. This had been an amazing day.
Not once had I thought about my problems back home. “Here.” He handed me two darts. “You go first.”
He watched me as I slipped my arms into his jacket, getting more comfortable. It was too big but it was his, so I didn’t care. I laughed. “Now, don’t make fun of me. I suck at this game but it was always my favorite.”
The man in the booth cautiously moved to the left edge of the canopy, out of harm’s way. I nervously chuckled, tossing the first dart. It narrowly missed a large pink balloon.
“Oops,” I said, trying to line up the second dart, in hopes it’d hit some kind of balloon.
When I tossed the second one, it hit my target. I jumped for joy and did a silly little
dance with my arms up and my fingers pointed to the dark sky.
Nathan laughed at my dance and pulled me in for a hug, kissing the tip of my nose. “You are adorable.”
I blushed, pushing away from him to try to calm my racing heart. I wanted him so bad but I didn’t want to rush into anything without him feeling the same way
He smiled, turning back to the board before tossing the first dart of four. It threw straight and landed on one of the small balloons with a pop. I was impressed; this man had some good throwing skills.
I smacked his arm playfully. “What the hell? You didn’t tell me you were good at this game!”
He smirked, winking at me before tossing the next one. It hit the second small balloon. “Well,” he started, throwing the third dart at a larger black balloon. “You didn’t ask, so I wanted to show you.”
The fourth dart hit a smaller balloon. The man in the stand was surprised; he nodded his head in approval.
Once they were all thrown, he smiled and announced, “This is the first time someone has actually hit all three small balloons this year! Go on, pick some prizes.”
Nathan looked at me, tilting his head curiously. “Which ones do you want?”
“Uh, that one.” I pointed to the animal with the cute face. When he pulled the toy down, I realized it was a wolf. I chuckled when he asked what other ones I wanted.
I shook my head. “I don’t care, just choose whatever.” Nathan chose a large blow-up hammer and a beach ball, taking them under his arms as we thanked the man and moved along before looking around at the other booths and prizes.
I pulled my phone from my purse and checked the time. It was almost 10 p.m.
I took a deep breath, putting my phone back into my purse. “What are our plans? It’s ten.”
He thought for a moment, as we found a bench to sit down on. “Well, we could head to
my place and watch some movies. What do you want?”
“That sounds good. Let’s do that.”
WE WERE BACK at his Jeep, where he unlocked it and opened the hatch to place our rewards inside. Deflating the hammer and beach ball, he folded them, neatly placing them on the bed of the trunk. I set the stuffed animal on top of my duffel bag.
He slammed the door closed before he stepped toward his door, opening it and reaching in to start the engine.
I remained in my place behind his car. He looked confused to see me still standing there. “What’s wrong?”
I blushed, looking away while shaking my head. “Nothing.”
He gave me a look, concern on his face. “Don’t do that. What’s up? You don’t have to hide anything from me, Dahlia.”
I took a step to him, my heart pounding. If I was going to do this, now was the time. Looking up at him, I moved my hands to his chest.
I clenched his shirt between my palms and pulled his face down to me.
My lips quickly found his, kissing him. It was gentle, but I was uncertain of what he
would do.
Surprisingly, I noticed that his hands had found my waist, as he pulled me closer to him, closing the gap between us so my hands were smashed between our chests. He kissed me with more passion than I had expected. I moved my hands so that they were around his neck. It sent chills down my spine and I devoured him more. It was amazing what he did to my body—it was out of my control.
Around us, we heard whistles, hoots and hollers.
We broke the kiss, our foreheads together as we looked into each other’s eyes.
“What was that for?” he asked, his eyes searching my face. “Because, I felt like it. I
couldn’t help myself,” I shrugged. “It was either now or never. My nerves would’ve gotten the best of me if I didn’t take this chance.”
He laughed, breaking contact between us, running his hand through his hair. “I was going to wait till we had a few more dates, but that kiss just confirmed it for me. Would you be my girlfriend?”
That I wasn’t expecting. “Yes, I would like that.”
His grin was wide as he wrapped me in a hug, lifting me up into the air, while he twirled
us. Our eyes never left
one another’s.
When he placed me back on the ground, he took my hand and led me to the passenger
door. He helped me into the seat, before smacking my ass.
I laughed, the playful action exciting me. “Hey!”
He chuckled, a teasing expression on his face as he closed the door behind me.
CHAPTER 4
I MUST’VE FALLEN asleep on the drive home because Nathan gently shook me awake, standing in the door of the passenger’s side as he waited for me. “Dahlia, we’re here.”
I woke up, stretching my stiff arms and legs. My neck hurt too. “Damn, I didn’t think I was tired. I should’ve found a better position. Ugh, my body is stiff.” It was well past midnight. The lights on either side of the garage door were on, illuminating the front of the house.
He laughed; it was cute and comforting. “It’s fine, just gets you rested for the movies.”
He took my bag and the other items from the hatch into the house before he came back to the passenger side and helped me out.
I almost tripped, but he caught me. My cheek landed on his chest, and the sound of his rapidly beating heart calmed me and made me relax. I felt his body move as he chuckled.
“That was close. I got you.” He wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me even closer and away from the Jeep’s door. He grabbed my purse before closing it and locking the car.
We made our way to the front door, where I admired the little porch. Two pillars held the roof up, with a large window looking into the house. There was a small patch for a garden, but it was full of weeds. The front door was a tan color.
He opened the door, releasing my waist before taking my hand and stepping into the house first. His living space was adorable. The front room had a long cream-colored sectional, a coffee table, with a massive 65-inch TV mounted to the wall.
He led me to the kitchen, where my bag and the inflatables had been set on top of the table. He placed my purse next to them, letting my hand go.
“I’m going to place these in the guestroom. Go ahead and have a look around.” He picked up my stuff and headed to the back of the house.
The kitchen was neatly cleaned, with stainless steel appliances and a Whirlpool dishwasher and refrigerator set. The countertop was marble, matching the floor entirely. There was a knife set hanging from a magnet attached to the backsplash with a microwave set up next to it. The sink was a large farm-style and had a cute window above it, looking out onto what I assumed was the backyard. It was a charming kitchen. I loved it.
I went to the fridge, opening it and looking to see if he had anything to snack on.
I almost jumped out of my skin when I felt strong arms wrap around my waist from behind. I relaxed, chuckling. “Why do you keep scaring me?”
He laughed, kissing my head before breaking away from me. “Because it’s adorable to see you get scared for a moment and to see how your body naturally relaxes underneath mine.”
I closed the fridge’s door, turning to him with my hands on my hips. “Oh, really? I’d like to take a shower before we start the movie night. Is that okay?”
He smiled. “Of course, there’s no need to ask me. I’d like to join you, but I don’t think we’re at that stage in our relationship yet.” He winked at me. My cheeks flushed a bright color—the embarrassment killed me. I was speechless, so I darted toward the back rooms.
“You better start the damn snacks! And you better not get any funny ideas,” I shouted down the hall as I peeked into the first bedroom. It was the guest room. My bag was set on the queen-sized bed as I flipped the light switch on, walking into the room. It was a good size with a full wardrobe set against the wall opposite of the bed, a large window with a comfy seat filled with pillows, and a vanity with a mirror on top. The furniture looked brand new.
Inside the attached guest bathroom was a walk-in shower that was twice as big as my grandparents’ whole bathroom. The vanity was beautiful, with a bright pearl countertop and a white base.
Looking in the mirror hung on the bathroom door, I still wore his jacket. I saw my shorts. I looked good. Digging into my duffel, I pulled out my pajamas and a pair of black lingerie underwear. Maybe I’d get lucky, but I also didn’t want to take too much advantage of the situation.
I turned the shower on and let the warm water run down my hand. It was soothing. Closing the door, I stripped my clothes.
Climbing inside the shower, I let the water fall onto me. I turned around, running the water to wet my hair. I noticed the girly bath soaps and shampoos set up in the hanging rack on the door. I grabbed the shampoo and began to coat my hair with it. It smelled of lavender. My favorite.
As I was rubbing the soap into my hair, my mind wandered back to the events of the last few days. Grandma being taken, Grandpa not being himself, and the primary responsibilities of being an Alpha. I had yet to meet the pack, and that was intimi- dating in itself. I needed to hold a meeting with them as soon as possible.
When my mind came back to reality, I realized I was sobbing. I hadn’t taken the time to stop and think about everything today. I had a wonderful time with Nathan, but now I was ruining it. Every emotion raged through me. Sadness. Hatred. Anger. Failure. I was feeling everything. It overwhelmed me. I wasn’t sure how I was going to pull myself back from this.
I heard a knock on the bathroom door—it startled me back into reality—while I wiped the tears from my eyes.
“Dahlia? Are you okay? What’s wrong?” It was Nathan, his voice full of concern.
What should I tell him? I didn’t want him to think my tears were because of him, because they weren’t.
Wiping my eyes again, I inadvertently caused the soap to trail down my forehead, managing to get it in my eyes. “I’m all right, and I’ll be right out! Don’t worry.”
“All right.” I knew he didn’t believe me, but he left it alone. Nathan’s footsteps echoed through the room before I heard the bedroom door click closed behind him.
Quickly rinsing my hair, I put the conditioner in next. I filled the sponge with the peach body wash and began to lather myself. I checked to see if I needed to shave again; luckily, I was golden.
I turned the water off, hopping out and grabbing a towel from the first drawer in the vanity, and began to dry myself before starting to get dressed. I used some lavender deodorant, combing through my hair before putting on a loose bra and my t-shirt. Slipping the lingerie on, I did my pajama bottoms next.
I stood in front of the mirror. My eyes were puffy and red while my nose dripped. I grabbed some toilet paper to blow my nose before washing my hands and cleaning up the bathroom. Back in the bedroom, I placed my dirty clothes into a neat pile on the dresser.
I took a deep breath, standing at the bedroom door and tightly gripping the door handle before getting the courage to open it. In the hallway, the aroma that filled the house made me hungry again.
In the kitchen, Nathan had a cheese and cracker tray, with a bowl of chips and dip and some tea and soda, all neatly set up onto the kitchen table.
I found Nathan washing the little dishes he had dirtied. I swiped a piece of cheddar cheese and a Ritz cracker. Sitting at the table, I tossed the food into my mouth.
When he noticed me, his facial expression went from blank to worried. He dried his hands on a dish towel that had been set on the counter next to the sink, before coming over to me.
He didn’t say anything when he grabbed my hands, looking me in the eyes, as he pulled me to my feet and into a tight hug.
I was shocked, but I let him calm me. “I’m sorry,” I said, tears threatening to fall again.
He pulled away reluctantly before softly smiling down at me.
He cared, truly cared, but what he said next shook me. “It’s okay, cry if you need to. You can’t hold all that inside. It’ll destroy you before you know it.”
I didn’t realize the tears started flowing again until he used his thumbs to wipe them away, pulling me into another hug. I tightened my grip aro
und him, as the tears continued to fall.
I sobbed into his shirt, the material becoming damp. I pulled back from him, realizing that this was my ugly crying. When I looked up at Nathan, his expression was full of love. He smiled at me, muttering words of comfort. “These two days are supposed to help you let loose and get these frustrating things out. If you cry, then cry. I’ll be here to hold you,” Nathan moved away again, going to a drawer in the kitchen and pulling out a box of tissues. I sat back down, taking the box he handed me.
I wiped my eyes before grabbing a new tissue to blow my nose again. “We’re not canceling movie night, are we?”
He chuckled, taking the tray of crackers and cheese over to the coffee table. “Hell no! We planned this, so we’re doing it. Get your ass over here before I have to carry you. And grab the chips and dip before you do.”
I laughed, the sound from my throat was scratchy and weak. But I didn’t care—tonight it was only him and me and I could be whoever I wanted. I loved how he made me laugh when I was sad. I did remember that from when I was a kid. “Damn, I can never stay sad for too long. Thank you for taking me out, for making me laugh and for helping me to relax.”
I grabbed the chips and dip, placing the items onto the coffee table. I didn’t have a chance to take my seat as he pulled me down onto his lap, kissing me fiercely.
I melted into him, kissing him back. The kiss ignited me, sending warmth throughout my body as I placed my hands on his chest. He had reached his hands to my face, gently caressing my cheeks with the surface of his thumbs.
We broke the kiss, resting our foreheads together, as smiles spread across our faces. Gently setting me beside him, he grabbed the remote and turned the TV on.
Wrapping an arm over my shoulders, Nathan stared at the TV before asking, “So, any movie ideas?”
I blurted out the first thing that came to mind. “It has to be 21 Jump Street! Have you seen it?”
He looked at me like I was crazy, as he shook his head. “Nope, never heard of it.”
My jaw dropped. “What?! It’s a classic!”
Rise of the Alpha (The Rise Series Book 1) Page 5
