Page 135 of The Single Dads Club
“Let’s stay in.”
“I usually order out after I put Lily to bed. What would you like?”
“Whatever you usually have is fine.”
“Well there’s always beers and chicken wings…” I grinned and raised an eyebrow. This wassonot a beer and wings kind of girl.
But without missing a beat, she smiled and nodded. “Sounds good to me.”
“Are you okay with some heat?”
She nodded, ignoring the innuendo. “Just as long as it’s not too spicy.”
“I think you could handle it.” I met her eyes and held them. Her big blue eyes widened and met mine. The sweet way she didn’t back down and her sincere curiosity about this thing between us stirred something inside me. I had no fucking idea where things were headed between. She was not my usual type but something about her had captivated me and I wanted to see where this could go.
I pulled out my phone to order. “Hey, Billy. Yeah, actually make it two orders of my usual.” I stood up and crossed the room. “You okay to wait here while I go pick up the food? It’ll only take a few minutes.”
“Sure.”
When I returned with a six-pack of beer and the cartons of food from the joint just down the street, Alexa had gathered napkins and plates from the kitchen. We settled on the couch again to eat.
I opened the containers of wings and celery sticks, placing them on the coffee table. “Have as much as you want.”
“Thanks.” She eyed the food suspiciously before daintily placing a napkin across her lap. “I’ve never actually eaten a chicken wing before,” she admitted.
“Ever?”
She shook her head.
Damn. This girl really was in a totally different league. She probably never ate anything that didn’t require utensils. I wanted to tell her she didn’t have to worry about getting messy in front of me, but she surprised me by digging right in, lifting a chicken wing from the container and curiously looking it over as if wondering how to begin.
I watched as she carefully as she nibbled at the meat, getting sauce on her bottom lip and fingertips in the process. “Mm. It’s good.” She sounded surprised. Watching her lick the sauce from her fingers was doing wicked things to my groin.Down, boy.
“Good.” I shoved the napkins towards her. “Now eat.”
She kept stealing glances at me from the corner of her eye, but we ate in relative silence. I removed a beer from the six pack and offered it to her. “Would you like one?”
She nodded. I twisted off the top and handed her the open bottle. She immediately brought it to her lips and took a big gulp, likely to wash away the heat from the food. The wings were spicier than usual, but she didn’t complain.
“You mind if I turn on the game?” I asked, reaching for the remote.
She was digging into another wing and gave a half nod.
I flipped on the game, more for the background noise than anything else.
Alexa leaned forward in her seat. “What’s the score?”
“You like football?” I couldn’t help the surprise straining my voice.
She nodded. “I love the Bears. Watching football was the one normal thing I did with my dad.” She smiled.
Well, fuck me.A girl that likes hot wings and beer, and now she tells me she a Bears fan too.Lord have mercy. My resolve to stay away from her just got more interesting.
We finished eating and I cleared away the food, but Alexa instructed me to leave the beer. We were each on our second, and the fact that she was a lightweight was evident by the way she leaned back against the couch, tucking herself against my side.
She was more entertaining than the game, freely yelling at the TV whenever the ref made a bad call—which was often. I watched the way she tilted the bottle to her lips and took a long pull, her graceful neck moving as she swallowed. She slipped her feet up on the couch bedside us, and I pulled them over to my lap. The contact caught her attention and she shifted so she was facing me.
“Cade?” she whispered in the dimly lit living room.
