Page 13 of Cheese Daddy

“Oh, yeah. Andres said he let Owen know as soon as you were single, but Owen hung back because he didn’t want to rush you right after you and Samuel broke up.” Rita smiled. “I think he didn’t want to be a rebound.”

“Oh, wow…” She hadn’t known that. “Why didn’t you tell me before?”

“You were still getting over Samuel.” Rita raised her eyebrows at Bree. “I wanted to wait ‘til the right time, then it happened this past weekend.” She and Eden looked at each other, then fist-bumped, as if they’d somehow been responsible for Bree and Owen hooking up at the Outlands.

Bree couldn’t honestly argue that they weren’t at least partly responsible. She might not have had the courage to scene with him if it hadn’t been for their little pep talk.

“Yeah, Samuel was definitely not the right guy for me.” Looking back, she was still a little mad at herself that she’d been so intent on trying to make it work instead of accepting the reality. She hadn’t wanted the time they’d spent together to feel ‘wasted’ and ended up wasting more time.

As soon as he’d told her to go to the Outlands without him, she should have dumped him. Not because he didn’t want to explore kink with her but because that level of indifference should have been a warning sign. He’d couched it in terms of trusting her, but looking back, she’d realized he just didn’t care.

He’d barely asked any questions before or after she’d gone. She hadn’t gotten the impression he cared at all. Trusting someone was one thing, but either he’d been totally indifferent, or he’d been taking her completely for granted. Neither of those things was a good sign for a relationship, especially not one that was a year in.

So, it was better that they’d broken up. Now, she had the chance to get to date Owen.

Of course, she’d noticed that Owen was hot when she’d met him, but she hadn’t really noticed him until she and Samuel had broken up. That’s when she’d started feeling the possible spark. So, she didn’t feel at all guilty about her attraction to him, even though they’d known each other before she’d become single.

“I think you’re going to have a gouda time tonight,” Rita said. “You and Owen are adorably cheesy.”

Bree stared at her friend. Had she just heard her correctly?

Eden groaned.

“Please… no more cheese puns… I can’t take it…”

“I’ve got some taco puns instead.”

“No more puns!”

Her friends were ridiculous, but she loved them anyway.

7

Owen

It had been a few years since he’d done any ice skating, but it was just like riding a bicycle. Unfortunately, Bree wasn’t having as easy a time as he was. Wearing the same puffy blue coat and earmuffs as earlier in the day, she’d traded out her work slacks for jeans, which better protected her from the cold and from the falls… which was a very good thing.

“I’m terrible at this.” She sighed as he came to a halt in front of her and held out his hands for the third time. “I feel like I’m ruining all your fun.”

“Not at all. Let’s try something a little different this time.” He’d been trying to give her space while she got a feel for the skates and the ice, but obviously, that wasn’t working, so it was time to try something new. Instead of gliding back to let her do it on her own, he swiveled around her, so she was right in front of him. “I’m going to push you, okay?”

Nearby, there was a dad and a child doing something very similar, which is where he’d gotten the idea.

She made an adorable little growly noise.

“Feeling a little too on the nose, Daddy,” she mumbled, softly enough that no one else would be able to hear with all the music, laughter, and chatter going on around them, but he did. Chuckling, he rested his hands on her hips to give them enough space to keep from tripping over each other. She squeaked when he gave her a little push.

“Just feel the ice sliding beneath you… yeah?”

“Yeah, okay…” Mist puffed out on the air as she took a deep breath and released it. “Okay, this is definitely easier than trying to do it myself.”

Owen laughed.

“You’re going to do it yourself in a few minutes, but this way, you can feel what it’s like to balance.” It also took some of the pressure off her, which he thought might be the main issue. Feeling her relaxing against his hands, he slowly eased up on the pressure until she was doing it herself. “Now, move your feet, first the right one, there you go… now the left…”

She was moving forward so quickly, he let go completely and zipped around to the side of her. Not difficult since, even though she was going faster than she had been, she was still moving pretty slow.

Unfortunately, as soon as she saw him, she realized he was no longer holding onto her and jumped in surprise, which resulted in her falling on her butt again.

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