Page 27 of More Than Anything

“If I didn’t know better, I’d swear you wanted in my pants,” Avery told her when he reached the porch.

“You don’t know better, because I do,” Danette giggled.

“What manner of woman are you?” Avery asked, trying hard not to laugh.

Danette snickered. “The horny kind.”

“I’ll say. Why don’t you go in here and see if Joey and Byron will tag-team you?” he offered, standing in front of the door, determined to not let her in.

“I don’t want Joey and Byron. I want you,” she whispered, leaning in and running a finger down the side of his face. “You’re quite the man, AveryHolcomb.”

Avery just stared down at her. “So I’ve been told.”

“Is that a yes?”

He shook his head. “No.”

The look she gave him would’ve melted the plastic cup in a jock strap. “What’s it gonna take to get into your bed, Avery? Because whatever it is, I’ll do it.”

“You don’t have it in you,” he told her, shaking his head.

“But Iwantit in me,” she whispered, then leaned out and nipped his shoulder.

“Then you’ve got to promise me something,” Avery said, turning to face her and leaning against the door.

“Yeah?”

“Today, I’ll fuck you however you wanna be fucked. Standing up, sitting down, draped over the hood of my truck, in the feed trough, hanging from the banister on the stairs. But the next time I talk to you, I want to hear all about a date.”

Danette’s brow dipped into wrinkles and she eyed him sideways. “A date?”

“Yup.”

The expression had apparently frozen to her face because it was still there when she asked, “You mean like a man and a woman going out to dinner and all that shit?”

Avery smiled sweetly. “Yes. Like a man and a woman going out to dinner and all that shit. Having a conversation. Going for ice cream. Seeing a movie. Going to a ballgame. Or since this is TuckerCity, Texas, maybe fishing in the creek, or going to a rodeo, or having a picnic,” he said and, seeing her eyes light up, he finished with, “arealpicnic. In the park. With lots of other people around, and kids playing and running and screaming, and a hot dog vendor’s cart and everything. A date, Danette. Ever been on a date?”

Her expression softened and she looked away. Avery wondered if she was embarrassed. “Um, I never thought dates were…” She hesitated, looking for the right word, and then came out with, “Necessary.”

“They’re not?if all you ever want to be is the town slut.” Her eyes flashed and she started to say something when Avery belted out, “You know that’s what everybody says about you.”

“Not to my face,” she retorted.

“So? What the hell difference does that make?” Avery scowled. “And it bothers me that everybody thinks that about you.”

She shook her head and screwed up her face. “It doesn’t botherme.What the hell kinda cock do you have running the show in your head, Avery?” She spat his own words back to him when she asked, “What manner of man areyou?”

“The kind that’s trying to be better than he was. And then you come around and make me feel like a failure.”

“I told you I meant great, not good,” Danette almost coughed out, her exasperation growing.

“I don’t mean in the sack. I mean in my life. I want to be a better person. I’ve started over out here and I don’t want to be the same asshole I was before,” Avery explained.

Danette stood there for a few seconds, and Avery watched as her cheeks pinked up. “You really think I’m worth that?” she finally asked. Before his very eyes, he watched hers redden as tears pooled in her lower lids.

“Yes. I do. You came out here and brought me food because I didn’t have a kitchen. That was a nice thing to do.”

“Ms.Arlene sent me out here with it.”

---