Page 32 of Cain

“Because I can’t get you out of my fucking head,” he says, jaw tight, like finally admitting it out loud bothers him that much. “And believe me, I’ve tried.”

“Well, isn’t that just the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard?” I say with an eye roll. “Every girl wants to know someone is only with them because they want to forget about them but can’t. Get real. I understand this bothers you, but I’m not exactly sure how it’s my problem.” Maybe it’s because I can’t get you out of my head, either.

“Sorry I’m not giving you flowers and fucking chocolate, but this isn’t exactly a territory I’m used to being in.”

“Let me make it easy for you then. There is no flowers and chocolate territory for you to enter,” I say as I start plating up the steak, mashed potatoes, and grilled asparagus.

“There’s going to be my version of it. What does that look like? I don’t have a fucking clue. All I know is I can’t get you out of my head, and until then, you’re stuck with me.”

I pause while setting his plate down in front of him because, once again, he’s made me want to punch him in the face. “Are you seriously saying you want a relationship with me until I’m out of your head?”

“I’m still not really sure what I want, Evan. I just know that until you’re out of here,” he pauses as he taps a finger to his temple, “no one better touch you.”

“Are you high? Because it sounds more like an infatuation. You just need to get it out of your system. And unfortunately, what happened earlier was a fluke for me. I’m not a fling kind of girl. None of this is yours.”

“Damn, this is the best steak I’ve ever had. You always cook like this?” Cain says, finally taking his first bite. He doesn’t give me a chance to respond before he talks again, “Well, you’re in luck, little hellcat. Because all of you is, in fact, mine. I’m thinking I want to give this exclusive thing a shot. The thought of some pencil dick having his hands on you makes me want to murder someone,” he says as if it’s the simplest thing in the world.

“That’s it?”

“Yeah, hellcat. That’s it.”

Sighing as I set my fork down, I say, “I just don’t see how this is going to work. You’re used to club girls hanging off of you. You literally can have your pick of any girl you want. I don’t see you being exclusive. It’s not that I don’t trust you or anything; I just know you’re used to a certain way of life. I’m not in the business of making someone change who they are.”

“What if I want to change?” He’s looking me dead in the eyes now. “I don’t like bringing up past exploits, but it’s been a minute since I’ve even thought about being with a club girl. That shit you saw with Candy wasn’t what it seemed. Yeah, you saw her climb in my lap, but you didn’t hear me telling her to go find someone else. That I wasn’t interested.”

“Why would you do that?” I swallow, suddenly all too nervous that I am going to hear an answer that I really don’t want to hear. This is starting to seem a little too real now.

“Have you been listening to me? I know I’m speaking English. It’s because I can’t stop thinking about you. And I don’t know… something about being with another girl that wasn’t you just felt wrong.”

“But you haven’t even been with me!” I squeak out.

“I might not have had your pussy clenching my cock, but I liked it just fine when my fingers were buried in that sweet heat.” This man and his way with words.

“Is that my grand romantic gesture?” I ask, knowing my cheeks are now the same color as my wine.

“For now.” He smirks while taking another bite of steak.

Taking a bite of my own food, I start thinking all of this over.

Do I really want a relationship right now? Despite not having any friends, I still have a lot going on. I spend all of my free time working on my house.

And there’s the Storm drama. Because what the hell is up with him? I don’t know how to cut ties with a middleman like that, even if I wanted to. How do you find a new one and know if they have connections?

Can I trust what Cain says about wanting to try to be exclusive? But he also doesn’t know where this is going, so what does that even mean? I’m not about to be yanked around. The thought of him being with someone else makes me see red. I never considered myself a jealous person until I saw him with Candy.

“I can see the wheels turning over there. Want to share?” Cain says, snapping me out of the rabbit hole my thoughts were going down.

“It’s just been a long few weeks.”

“So this isn’t about you and me?”

Setting my fork down and leaning back against the barstool, I sigh and answer, “It’s part of it. I guess I’m just getting mixed signals from you. I know you don’t know where this is going to go, and I get that, but it’s the whole ‘you don’t know what to label it, but want to be exclusive’ thing.” Pausing to take a sip of my wine, I add, “And the Storm stuff is starting to eat at me.”

Cain sets his fork down and grabs his drink, taking a long swig before turning fully to me, giving me his full attention. “How about this? I like you, and I think you like me. Let’s just see where this goes. If we decide we want it to be more serious, then we talk about that when the time comes. In the meantime, while exploring what this is, we are exclusive to each other.”

I nod because, honestly, that takes a lot of pressure off. I don’t have to second-guess whether he’s with someone, and I actually have time to figure out what the hell I want.

“As far as the Storm thing goes, I don’t have much to say until I chat with the fucker. How’d you meet him?”

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