Page 44 of Dare You to See Me
“Flat water okay?” She asks.
“Yes. Thank you.” I walk into the kitchen and stand at the island. “These are for you. And these are for Dahlia.” I hold out the two bundles of flowers I brought.
A larger one of purple Anemones that Dagen told me to get, because I have no clue about flowers and would’ve just purchased a basic bouquet of roses. And a smaller bouquet made up of brightly colored Dahlias for…well, for Dahlia.
She passes me the water, her eyes freezing on the flowers as her hand floats to the granite counter.
“Oh,” is all she says.
Way to give a guy a complex. I crack open the lid and suck down a big gulp.
“If you don’t like them, it’s okay. You can toss them out, or whatever you like.” I shrug and look down at my hands that grip around the plastic bottle.
“No. It’s not that. It’s just…” She takes a deep breath and fingers the delicate petals of one light purple flower. “Dahlia doesn’t know we’re going out.”
“Ouch,” I say, not realizing it wasn’t just in my head.
“I’m sorry. I don’t want her to get any ideas, you know. I mean, she already talks about you constantly. She is completely smitten with you. If she knew we were going out tonight, she’d start telling the world we’re getting married. That’s how her little mind works.”
“Would that really be so bad?” I ask her and she passes me a displeased look. “You’re right. I apologize. And I understand. Why don’t you just tell her you bought them. No need to explain beyond that.”
She chews on her bottom lip, considering my words, and smiles. “Yeah. Okay. I’ll say that. And thank you. These are stunning. I’ve never seen anything like them.”
Her fingers ghost over the shades of purple she holds in her hand, and inspects all the details.
“Like you.” Her brown eyes meet mine and I hold her gaze, letting her know that for me, she is the most stunning woman I’ve ever seen.
With the clearing of her throat, she quickly changes direction. “Is this okay? I wasn’t sure what to wear since you didn’t tell me where we’re going.”
She motions her hand down her body clothed in straight leg jeans and wine colored satin-like blouse. The dark merlot color next to her ivory skin and black hair make her look like a decadent dessert.
“You look gorgeous.” Her cheeks blush and she drops her head. “Do you have an extra pair of shoes you can bring? Some flats or sneakers?”
Soleil scrunches her eyebrows and tilts her head. “Yes, but…why?”
With a confident smile I tell her, “I may not be able to beat you at a game of pool, so tonight we play on my turf.”
The smell of gasoline floats through the air, and the sound of revving engines drown out the chance of having any private conversation. Add to that the helmets we both wear and I’m screaming at the top of my lungs.
“Are you having fun?” I yell over to Soleil who sits in her own go-kart.
She smiles wide and nods. “So much! Want to go another round? Maybe you can beat me this time.”
I give her a faux snarl and add in a wink. I thought bringing Soleil to a race track would help me redeem myself and keep my man card firmly in my grip after the spanking she gave me at pool. Little did I know that the sweet thing also kicks ass at go-kart.
She takes the corners perfectly and just when I think I’ve got the jump on her, she floors it and pulls ahead, beating me to the finish line once more.
“You’re going down, doll face. Let’s go.” This time, she winks at me and turns her attention to the track.
I signal to the track operator that we’re ready to go once more and he guides us to the start line. The little light sits on red as the countdown begins. When the last beep sounds and the green light flashes, we take off. Only I move slower and let her fly right out of the gate.
She’s focused, taking turns in a steady precision, and speeding up on the straightaways. At one point she looks to her right to see that I’m not on her tail. Her head spins around to search for me, and that’s when I make my move.
I take advantage of her momentary lapse in focus and fly by her. She tries to recover but over-corrects on a turn that sends her careening into the tire bumpers. After that, I don’t look back until I reach the checkered flag.
I’m climbing out, pulling off my helmet, when she finally comes to a stop. She reaches the parking bay and the attendant rushes to help her out. I promptly push him aside and do it myself.
She places her hand in mine and carefully stands. “You cheated,” she pouts.
