Page 103 of You Kissed Me First

Katie doesn’t look at me. “Word of advice, Dom, never eye someone else’s tacos.”

“Noted,” I say, hiding my smile.

“I realized the other night that I don’t know much about you. Other than in the elevator, we haven’t really spent a lot of time talking.” She’s biting her lip as if she’s nervous.

“What do you want to know?”

I mean it too. I’ll tell her anything she wants to know.

“I don’t know.” She shrugs as she picks up her taco, taking a bite.

“Okay, I’ll start. What’s the best vacation you’ve ever been on? Fair warning, I hope you say this one,” I say before popping a fry into my mouth.

Katie rolls her eyes. “I’ll definitely say this is the most comical trip I’ve ever been on, but honestly, I really haven’t traveled. Just that trip to Europe with my sister. I’ve been too busy working. What about you?”

“I’ve been to some pretty cool places. I loved Greece though. Once you get away from Santorini and Mykonos and all the tourists, it’s pretty great. Delicious food, killer views. Although I have a feeling soon, Greece will be bumped out of the number one spot.”

“Why’s that?”

“I have a trip planned to Samoa a year from now. Swimming in caves and under waterfalls. Hiking through a rainforest. Maybe learn to surf. It should be a good time.”

“That sounds amazing. I don’t think I’ve ever heard someone talk about going there.”

“It’s been on my bucket list for a long time. Remember back in high school when the backgrounds on the computers in the computer labs would constantly change to different destinations? There was this photo of this secluded watering hole. You had to climb down a ladder to reach it and there was a little dock. I reverse searched the image and found out where it was, and it’s been on my list ever since.”

“Not going to lie, I bet your bucket list locations are way more exotic than mine.” Katie laughs.

“Why? What’s on your list?”

“I want to go to Ireland and Scotland mainly. Although I think it would be awesome to go to Iceland and go to the hot springs.”

“The thermal baths look like a great time.” I nod in agreement.

“So can I get a little personal?” Katie’s picking at her food now.

I set my burger down, pushing it away from me.

“You can ask me anything, baby doll.”

She takes a deep breath. “Why have you never really dated before?”

I try to fight the smile on my face. She wants to know. That’s good.

She mistakes my smile for something else. “It’s stupid. I shouldn’t have asked.”

I reach out, grabbing her hand. “I’m smiling because I like that you asked. Honestly, I dated a little in school, but they only wanted me for popularity or because I looked good. Then when we graduated, I thought things would be different, but it wasn’t. The women who came onto me weren’t into me for the right reasons. Once the security firm took off, they had different reasons. It went from my body to my money.”

“So you let them take what they wanted for a short time?” she asks.

I shake my head. “I never really dated as much as I made it seem. Sure, every once in a while, I’d meet up with a fuck buddy who knew the score, but I’m not the playboy you think. Mostly, I’ve been waiting on a girl to prove to me that they aren’t all the same.”

She chuckles. “Isn’t that something women say? That they are looking for one man to prove to them that they aren’t all sleazeballs?”

I shrug. “I’m waiting for my wifey. The girl who will be with me because she truly likes me.”

She gives me a shy smile. “I think if you look hard enough, you might just find her.”

I don’t say it out loud, but I want to.

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