Page 30 of Bourbon & Bonfires

“Stop, I’m wearing jeans; it’s not like I’m in a ball gown. Let me grab my stuff and we can go. I’m sure you have plans after we eat,” she mumbles as she walks in the house. This is strange. In the last few minutes she’s either been laughing loudly or mumbling. The laughter is great; it’s the mumbling that has me confused.

I follow her into the house and watch as she walks to the couch and grabs her purse and a coat. I step aside and take the coat from her before motioning for her to walk ahead of me, placing my hand to the small of her back as we walk outside. As I step out, I take my hand from her back and pull the door closed behind me. Addison turns with her keys in hand, presumably to lock the door, when she runs into my chest.

“Oomph.”

“Sorry.” My hands immediately go to her arms to steady her. A quick gasp from her makes me smile, and I step out of the way, motioning for her to lock the door. “Ready?” I ask, and she simply nods and walks in front of me to the truck. I won’t deny I take the opportunity to check out how perfect her tight jeans accentuate her glorious ass. When we reach the passenger door, I open it, and she climbs into the cab. I hand her the coat before I close the door and jog over to the driver’s side.

Instead of saying anything, I turn the ignition, let the sounds of Chris Stapleton fill the cab of the truck, and pull out of the driveway. It’s only a few seconds after I’m driving down the street before Addison speaks.

“So, uh you look nice. Handsome. Oh, God,” she wails, covering her face with her hands. “Sorry, this is awkward.”

“Thanks, I already told you I think you look beautiful, but it’s worth saying again.”

“Stop being sweet.”

“I’m not; I’m being honest. And, why is it awkward?”

“I don’t know. We barely know each other. Plus, I haven’t been out with anyone in a long time.”

“I’m pretty sure I saw you eat last weekend. So, you have, in fact, done this recently.” My tone is teasing and hopefully enough to break the ice, because Addison is wound tight and I don’t want to send her over the edge when she realizes where we’re going for dinner. She smacks my arm, and I flinch while laughing so she knows I’m teasing.

“Don’t make fun of me.”

“Okay, I won’t. Hey, where’s Mason tonight?”

“He’s at the movies with a new friend from school. It’s really one of the first times he’s done anything other than work with you since we moved here. I’m glad he’s making friends, and from what I could tell from my online stalking and phone call with the boy’s mom, he shouldn’t get in any trouble.”

“You called the kid’s mom?”

“Of course I did,” she states matter of factly.

“Poor Mason. Ouch! Quit hitting me. I’m a delicate flower, Addison.”

“It’ll never be Addy, will it?”

“Maybe if you stop hitting me, I’ll consider it.”

And that does it, the tension eases, and we laugh together. Addison reaches over and taps the volume as Thomas Rhett sings, and I flash back to our night at Country Road and how I’d love to pull over to the side of the road and kiss her again.

“You never said where we are going to dinner. Is this a shortcut to the restaurant?” she asks, looking around the neighborhood I’ve turned into.

“Not exactly. I have to be honest, I kind of don’t want to tell you where we’re going, but I think you may kill me if I don’t. First, let me tell you my original plan was to grab some takeout and drive out to my buddy’s property, so we could have dinner under the stars and a bonfire. But, there was, uh ... well, uh ... a change of plans.”

“Okaaayyy.”

I don’t bother replying as I pull in front of parents’ house and park. Both my brother’s car and my sister’s minivan are parked in the driveway. Great, the whole gang’s here. I look over to Addison, who is looking at me confused but still hasn’t said another word. When I open my door to get out, Addison does the same. I place my hand on her arm and say, “Just wait.”

When I open the passenger door, she turns to exit but I step up between her legs, one hand resting on the dash and the other on the seat so I’m pinning her in place. I take a deep breath before meeting her eyes. Her beautiful brown eyes that are open and kind and make me believe things I’ve never thought were possible.

“Like I said, I had a plan to take you out to Jameson’s property for a fire and dinner. I figured we could just relax and talk without a bunch of people around. I enjoy being around you. You make me laugh and your heart is so kind, I want to know about you. Why has it been a while since you’ve done this? Why are you single? Do you know how amazing your kid is? And don’t even get me started on how fucking hot you are.”

She stares at me, her eyes capturing mine, a small smile beginning. Then, I feel her hand lay atop mine. It’s a light graze, but it’s there, and I don’t dare move. I can tell she has something to say.

“You don’t want me, Landon. I’m a middle-aged single mom with baggage. You’re young and have so much ahead of you. Friendship is all this can ever be.”

I wait for her to remove her hand from mine, but she doesn’t. I take that as a good sign.

“Addison, if you only saw yourself as I see you. We’ll table this topic for later, but right now, inside that house is my life.” I throw a thumb over my shoulder toward the house before continuing. “My family is in that house. If this is too much, I will get back in this truck, and we’ll go do what I planned. I’ll deal with the fallout later. But, if you’ll indulge me for ninety minutes, we’ll still go for that fire, only instead of dinner, it’ll just be dessert.”

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