Page 81 of Meet Dare

In addition to being the most stubborn woman I’ve ever met, she avoids feelings and discussions of feelings as if they’re contagious. She’s hiding a bunch of hurt behind the wall she’s erected. It’s going to take a forklift and a metric ton of patience to dig it out of her. Good thing I’m a patient man.

“In the meantime, how about we watch a movie on my laptop?”

“Can we make out during it?”

I wiggle my eyebrows. “It wouldn’t be a movie experience without a bit of making out.”

“What about groping?”

I wink. “Guaranteed.”

“Above or below the beltline?”

My cock twitches at her teasing. He’s all for below the beltline. In fact, he’s ready to skip the movie entirely. He’s not as patient as I am.

“Do you want to watch a movie, or do you want me to tear your clothes off?”

She bites her lip as she pretends to consider my question. “Movie first.”

My cock weeps in my jeans. “Tease.”

She bats her eyelashes. “Me?”

I kiss her forehead before nudging her toward the sofa. I snag my laptop from the kitchen counter and hand it to her.

“Pick out a movie. I’ll make us some popcorn.”

She settles on the sofa with Diva on her lap. The dog immediately falls asleep and starts snoring.

I adjust my cock before gathering the ingredients to make popcorn. While the oil heats in the pan, I snag two beers from the refrigerator.

When I try to hand Cassie her beer, she doesn’t look up from the computer she’s scowling at.

“What’s wrong? Can’t find a movie you want to watch?”

She harrumphs. What she doesn’t do is answer my question.

I set the beers on the coffee table and pick Diva up before sitting next to Cassie. My gaze lands on the screen of my laptop and I no longer need to ask what’s wrong.

“It’s not what you think.”

“Oh really? It’s not? I can see plain as day you’ve been offered a job in Boston.”

“I have,” I acknowledge since I promised myself to never lie to her again after the Archer-Cedar misunderstanding.

She slams the laptop shut. “Were you even going to tell me? Or were you going to sneak away like a thief in the night?”

“I wasn’t going to tell you.”

She jumps to her feet. “You were going to leave without saying a word!”

Her shriek wakes Diva who growls in response. I stand and set the furball in her doggy bed before approaching Cassie.

“No!” She sticks her arms out to prevent me from getting near. “I don’t want to hear it!”

“You need to let me explain,” I insist.

“Explain what? How you’ve been fooling around with me and it’s all a joke to you?”

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