Page 5 of Just Curious

“Second?” was all she could manage.

“I’m counting tonight as the first. I invited you for a drink and then fed you dinner. I’m enjoying your company immensely, so this is a date.”

“Wow. I didn’t even realize.” She laughed, “I guess I should have dressed a little better and not wiped my runny nose so much.”

“Nonsense. You look gorgeous. And I don’t mind saying that I’m already developing quite a crush on you.”

Willa blinked at him in surprise. “Uh… thanks?” She was also wildly attracted to this tall, handsome neighbor of hers with his dark scruff and wavy black hair that she wanted to run her fingers through, but she was too nervous to say so.

With a tiny smirk, Jackson stood to clear the dishes away and packed the leftovers into his refrigerator. Looking over his shoulder, he asked, “So?”

“Uh… so? So what?”

“Alright, I’ll take the pressure off. I’ve been invited to a party in a few weeks. Will you come with me as my date? I’d like to take you out sooner than that too, though.” Jackson got a thoughtful look on his face and went on, “Maybe that could be our third date, or… fifth or sixth…” his voice trailed off in a hopeful sounding way.

Willa shook herself a bit and then laughed. “Are you always so sure of yourself?”

“Never once. This is a complete first for me. You are bringing me to my knees, Willa.”

“Huh.” She gave him a serious look and then a beaming smile. “I’d love to go to the party with you. In the meantime, I don’t know what to suggest, though. What do you like? Galleries? Theater? Sporting events? There might be a Gulls game this week.”

“Oh! You’re a hockey fan?”

“Mm… not really afan,per se. At least I’m no puck bunny. I don’t actually know much about ice hockey, but I played a mean game of field hockey when I was a teenager,” she said with a grin. “I’m just thinking about possible new experiences. Do you like hockey?”

“Actually, I love it. Let’s do it. I’ll get us some tickets right now. Meet me in the living room in a minute.” Jackson headed to another part of the house where he quickly brushed his teeth and then grabbed his laptop. When he made it back to the couch, he thought to himself how right Willa looked with her feet tucked under herself on his big sofa. He quickly moved to her side and sat down close enough to touch her. “I’ll pull up the seating chart so we can choose our seats.” It was a good excuse to scoot closer. She had to see the screen, obviously.

While he was perusing the ticketing site, Willa asked, “So… Jackson? I thought that maybe you had a girlfriend.”

Shaking his head, he turned to look at her. “What gave you that idea? I don’t, by the way. Not yet, anyway.” He winked.

“You said something about your friend who decorated for you, and I thought maybe…” her voice trailed off as he laughed.

His mouth curled into a crooked grin and he said, “Casey.”

“Um, yeah?”

“First of all, Casey is my best friend, and we grew up together. He’s a guy. He lives out in Rancho Santa Fe now where he has this amazing import and design business and an incredible house. It’s gorgeous out there, but I wanted to be closer to the beach. Anyway, I guess you could say that we’re close, but he’s certainly not my girlfriend.” Jackson laughed at his own joke.

Letting out a breath, Willa smiled sheepishly. “Oh, I see. Sorry for jumping to conclusions.”

“It’s alright. My turn to ask you something.”

“Oh. Go ahead.”

“How about these two seats? Look good?” He pointed to the arena seating map.

“Sure. They look great. That was your question?” Willa’s brow furrowed.

Jackson punched a few buttons on the site and sat back contentedly. “There! Now we have tickets to the game this Wednesday night.” He put the laptop aside and took Willa’s hand in his large one as he looked straight into her eyes. “No. That wasn’t my question. Willa, I’m attracted to you, and I like your personality and brains. A lot. You already know I want to take you out. I want to see where this might go. Are you with me at all on this?”

Enjoying the feel of his warm hand, she regarded him back and said softly, “Yes.”

“Wonderful.” Jackson looked happy and pensive when he added, “I wasn’t going to be so forward, and this may be bad—or rude—timing, but I’m dying to know… when you write about sex, how much of it is from personal experience and how much is just imagination? I’m sorry if that’s too nosy.”

“Oh, well. Um,” she stammered. “Obviously, I’ve had sex. Some of it has been great and other experiences not as exciting. I’ve done a lot of reading and research, so I know what sounds good to readers. They don’t always want the most factual or realistic scenes, but as a writer I have to make things plausible and steamy enough to keep them interested. As for my own experience, it depends on the book. I’ve certainly never experienced any kind of a ménage, though they are loads of fun to write about.” Jackson smiled at that, and she continued, “I’m not so much into writing about BDSM—and that craze seems somewhat passé now anyway—but I’ve written about a little light bondage in the spirit of keeping things fresh and unique from book to book. Each partnership needs to have their own sexual chemistry and bedroom personality, or it comes across as cut and paste. Does that make sense?”

“It does. I’m still not all that sure about your experience, though.”

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