Page 48 of Siren in the Rain

Dallas lets out a loud belly laugh. “There’s nothing wrong with being a kid at heart, Griff.”

“Don’t judge. I just want to give Shae lots of experiences he might have missed out on growing up.” If anyone needs an opportunity to let go and have fun like a carefree kid, it’s him.

“I’ve never been to an amusement park,” Shae admits, almost too quiet to hear.

Still holding his hands, I draw them to my chest where my heart’s pounding with anticipation. “Pacific Park is totally cool and it’s right on the ocean—on Santa Monica Pier, in fact. I can’t wait to show it to you and I just know you’ll love it.”

Shae bites his bottom lip, clearly interested but not entirely sure. “Is it… safe for us to go?”

I turn what Cal calls my puppy-dog eyes on Dallas and he gives me the Papa Bear smile I was hoping for.

“MEOW Squad will provide security, but we’ll give you two lovebirds plenty of space.”

“We’re just friends,” I say. “Right, Shae?”

“Uh… yeah. Sort of friends.”

For now!

It’s a start, and I grab onto it with all my might.

“We’re going to have so much fun!”

Chapter

Eleven

Shae’s List of Life Goals

6. Write and perform my own music someday as me, not Bitchface Bella.

(Addendum: Share it with Griffin first because he’ll love it even if it’s crap.)

Shae

I probably never should have agreed to go on a date with Griffin, but having spent most of my life locked up in my father’s house and not allowed to go anywhere I wanted, the lure of an amusement park was too great for me to resist.

Needless to say, I missed out on experiencing many things. Too many, really.

In fact, I’ve never actually been on a date before.

That feels sort of pathetic at twenty-five, but I blame it entirely on my shitty family.

Wolf Boy has assured me numerous times that this is a friend-date with no romantic expectations. Although he’s also made it clear he’d be very receptive to any romantic overtures I might want to send his way.

Le sigh.

I don’t want to give Wolf Boy false hope by accepting this date when I know he wants so much more than I can give, no matter how he defines it. Taking advantage of his kindness feels wrong.

I expressed my concerns to him, but he brushed them off, telling me not to worry about such things right now. He does appear committed to building a friendship with me, and I promised myself I would at least work on giving him that.

It’s going to be a challenge, however, because the man is stupidly sexy and pings all my goddamn buttons. Most of them buttons I didn’t even know I had until I met Griffin McIntyre.

And therein lies the problem.

So far, I haven’t admitted to him that I’ve never been on a date before, let alone had sex with anyone.

It’s not as if I had a lot of opportunities when I was held captive. There were the few times I tried, not very effectively, to seduce some of my guards in the hopes of getting them to help me escape.

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