Page 42 of My Grumpy Sweetheart
“Aren’t you going to ask me what the fuck I’m doing again?” he challenged me with a laugh.
“Nah. I already know I’m going on a date with a crazy person.”
He shrugged, still smiling as he took off his shoes. “Well, I’m going on a date with a grumpy axe murderer.”
I can’t help but huff out a laugh, a weight lifting off my shoulders. Fuck, sparing with him felt so good. “I told you I’m going on a date with a crazy person. That just drives my point home.”
Bailey giggles, then eyes the array of sweets next to him. “Did you rob a candy shop?”
“First you think I’m an axe murderer, then I’m a mercenary or an FBI agent or whatever, and now I’m a robber. What will you come up with next?”
“Well, I wouldn’t have to come up with outrageous ideas if you’d just tell me what you did for work.” Snagging a pack of Twizzlers, he winked at me.
I didn’t think I’d laughed as much in the past year than I had in Bailey’s presence. “Not gonna lie, I’m a little afraid you’ll break things off once you realize my job is really boring.”
Bailey just smiled and placed his hand on my upper thigh, squeezing lightly. “Are you really afraid I’ll think that way or are we still joking? I get the feeling we’re not, but I don’t want to make things awkward if we are.”
Oh, how I had misjudged him when I’d first seen him.
“You’re pretty blunt,” I said, smiling at him to let him know it wasn’t a problem. Quite the contrary, it was… refreshing. “It’s a little bit of both. I like my job and I’m good at it, but it’s what most people consider boring as fuck and definitely not as out there as axe murderer or mercenary.”
Not in the slightest. Most people used my job title to describe others as stuck up and uptight, and looking at it from the outside, a couple of years ago that probably would’ve been a fitting description for me.
“Come on, just spill it.” Bailey’s thumb stroked my thigh. “Honestly? I don’t care what you do for work. And believe it or not, I’m well aware of the fact that not everyone can have such an exceptionally cool job as I do.”
I laughed, the tension inside me shattering into tiny pieces. “I’m an accountant, mostly for small businesses in the area.”
Bailey smiled at me. “You’re right. I wouldn’t have pegged you for an accountant. You really don’t look like one.”
I shrugged, keeping my eyes firmly on the road to be able to get the next bit out. “Well, up until two years ago, I fit the description. I’d worked my way up to CFO of a pretty big company in New York City, but then…” I trailed off, the tension snapping back in place. “I needed a change,” I finished lamely. This was not the right time for such a heavy conversation. “So I packed my stuff and moved away from it all.”
Bailey giggled. “And became the axe murderer in the woods, luring in small business owners with the promise of huge tax returns only to murder them in your garden shed.”
I let out a deep belly laugh. “You’ve figured out the truth. Now I can never let you go.”
“Play your cards right and you might never have to.”
* * *
Half an hour and an endless string of chatter later, I finally took the last turn and stopped the car in front of a big, wooden building. The right side featured big windows, allowing us a view of the rustic but nice inside where various tables and booths were placed.
“A restaurant?” Bailey looked at me with raised eyebrows. “You told me to dress casual or ready for a workout to take me to a restaurant?” He giggled. “That’s certainly a new one.”
“It’s more like a bar than a restaurant, and we definitely can grab a bite to eat later, but I wanted to do something else first.”
Smiling, I nodded towards the big wooden sign right above the entry.
Bailey gasped.
“Axe throwing? Are you fucking kidding me?” He started jumping up and down on his seat, his hands clasped over his heart. “That’s… that’s…”
A horrible idea? Incredibly stupid? Dangerous?
“Dakota, that’sperfect.Like literally so fucking perfect. Thank you.” One moment he was grinning at me like the mad man he was, the next moment, I had my lap full of Bailey, his arms wrapped around my neck, peppering me with kisses. My arms snaked around him and I pulled him flush against my chest, burying my nose in his hair, letting out a relieved sigh before pulling my head back a bit.
“I was afraid you’d think it’s dumb.” There, I was trying all this communication and honesty shit.
“It’s hilarious. You know, you’re this big grump with an epic resting frownyface, but under the surface, you’re so funny. It’s amazing.” He beamed up at me, his blue eyes sparkling with so much emotion it was hard to hold his gaze. But at the same time, I didn’t want to look away. I never wanted to look away from him.
