Page 45 of Dangerous Pursuit

“All right, are you ready?” he asks.

“Not really, since I have no idea what we’re doing. This is killing me.” I pout, causing him to chuckle.

“You’ll survive, I’m sure. One more thing. Here, put these in your ears so you can’t hear where we are.” He places a pair of earplugs in my hand.

I scoff. “You’ve got to be kidding me. You’re taking away my sightandmy hearing? I don’t know, Jackson.”

“Pretty please? It’ll ruin the surprise if you hear where we are before it’s time. It’ll be worth it, I swear. Just trust me.”

“You’re asking a lot for our first date.”

“Technically, it’s our second date. I took you out to breakfast yesterday, remember? Not to mention the fact that you did sleep over.” I can hear the smirk in his voice.

“Yeah, but that was sort of a product of the situation. This is official.” I groan. “Ugh, whatever, let’s do this.” I put the earplugs in and reach for the door handle but stop when he tells me to wait.

A few seconds later, my door opens, and he guides me out of the car, once again reminding me to keep my eyes closed, threatening me with the blindfold if I cheat. It’s hard not to take a quick peek, but I don’t because, honestly, I’m excited for the surprise.

I was shocked to see “Bosshole” on my caller ID this morning, forgetting that we already had each other’s numbers. My finger hesitated over the Answer button, assuming he was calling for work. I’m still not used to this. At the last minute, I decided to pick it up and was greeted in a very non-work-related way.

“Good morning, sunshine. Are you ready to spend the day with me so I can sweep you off your feet?” He said he didn’t want to take up an evening this week for a date so I could spend time with my mom before our trip. Did this guy step off the pages of a romance novel or what?

Now here I am, still with no clue as to what’s happening, but I’d say my feet have already been swept.

We finally come to a stop, and he guides me to sit before speaking into my ear. “Wait right here for a few minutes while I check in. I’m not going far, and I’ll be able to see you from where I’m at. I’ll keep my eyes on you the entire time, okay?”

After nodding in response, I sit and wait. I can hear background noise, but nothing specific other than what sounds like a lot of kids. I literally have no clue where we are.

A few minutes later, I startle at the feel of a hand on my shoulder before Jackson’s voice sounds in my ear once more. “We’re all set. Keep your eyes closed while we get to our final destination. Not much longer, I promise.”

He then helps me up and leads me forward, keeping my arm tucked in his. I catch snippets of things through the earplugs, which must be industrial with how well they work, and I hear Jackson laugh, telling me there’s another person with us.

I’m ushered into what seems like a golf cart and he gets in beside me. Shoot, I hope we’re not golfing. I never have, and it doesn’t seem all that fun, to be honest. But the kids don’t make sense for that idea unless it’s some sort of golf camp. If that’s his idea of a date, then shoot me now. I’m planning the next one.

After driving for a few minutes, he helps me out, and we walk until we enter a building, coming to a stop. He removes the sunglasses and earplugs and tells me to keep my eyes closed until he says. All I know so far is that some funky smells are going on wherever we are.

“Are you ready, gorgeous?” I nod. “You can open your eyes now.”

My eyes reluctantly open, sensitive from being closed so long, and blink a few times before focusing in on the scene before me. I gasp. There’s a fricking koala sitting on a small treelike structure, happily munching on a leaf while a man in a zookeeper’s uniform stands by. Turning my head back and forth, I take in the surroundings of some sort of lab or veterinary room.

“Surprise, Mia. We’re spending the day at the zoo, and this is our first stop.” He’s smiling down at me with a big grin lighting up his face.

“Wait, how did you plan this so fast? You only found out about my favorite animal minutes ago.” I’m in awe. Seriously, I feel… I don’t know exactly, butthis moment…feels special.

“I booked it yesterday, but they let me wait until today to pick which experience we wanted, and lucky for me, you picked an animal they had. It was just meant to be, I guess.” He shrugs, still looking at me with that goofy grin, causing me to giggle.

“I can’t believe you did this. He’s so cute,” I say, returning my attention to the koala. I’ve been to the zoo before—everyone growing up in San Diego has at some point—but I’ve never done anything like this.

“Feel free to come closer and interact with him. We just don’t let you hold them anymore. We’ll show you how to feed him, and you’ll be able to get some pictures. Would you like to get started?” The zookeeper asks, ready to begin.

I nod enthusiastically as Jackson and I move in closer, his hand resting affectionately on my back.

Jackson

Fascination and excitement flit across Mia’s face the entire time we spend with the koala, and I’m more enraptured by watching her than the animal. My sudden infatuation is intense, taking me by storm—a category five that I’m not sure I’ll survive. I went from merely being sexually frustrated to all-around enamored in the span of two days, and now I can’t get enough of her. The floodgates are open, and I’m worried my heart is filling too quickly, but slowing it down seems impossible.

After the behind-the-scenes experience, we enjoyed our private tour for the next two hours and then proceeded to act like kids for the afternoon, wandering around, holding hands, and gawking at the animals while taking silly pictures and laughing hysterically. The gorilla who sat in front of the window, pickinghis nose and eating it as two more were getting it on in the background, took the award for the day. We were wiping the tears at that point.

Not only was this the best date in history, but it was by far the most fun I’ve ever had with anyone. There’s no denying my feelings that seem to be growing stronger every minute we’re together. My only hope is that I’ve made progress making up for my terrible behavior over the last couple of months so she can catch up to my level.

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