Chapter Three

 

“This is where you need to be on a Friday night,” Ben said. “Out with the boys, enjoying a drink, dancing, and meeting a few of the women.”

Dwayne took a sip of his beer and glanced around the bar. It was the town bar, and there was a local band playing. It had been another week, which meant five days of lunches, and now he worked like crazy on his home, mainly because he rarely saw Blair throughout the week.

No matter what anyone said it wasn’t a lost cause. He’d felt the response in her kiss at the fair. She’d wanted him. She just kept on denying them both, but he could live with that. There were moments when he saw she was tempted by him, and she was merely fighting herself. He’d known from hearing the gossip around town that she was a sweetheart, and they were shocked she was making him wait so long. He caught signs of this personality when she dropped her guard. She’d been hurt in the past, and he understood that. He didn’t mind waiting to claim her.

He watched the couples dancing, wanting nothing more than to have Blair in his arms. As if his thoughts alone conjured her, she came in with a group of women and headed straight to the bar. He recognized Linda from the booth, and he knew without a doubt she wouldn’t be a problem.

Casey, the local hairdresser, he’d turned down flat. He only had eyes on one woman.

“You’re not going to give up,” Ben asked.

“I want what I want,” he said, not even trying to hide the woman he was looking at.

“Well, if anyone can get her, it’ll be you.”

While the men continued to talk, he listened with only half an ear as he watched Blair. She stood on the edge of the group, often smiling and talking every now and again. She looked happy, and for now he didn’t want to bug her.

The moment she spotted him, he knew. Her cheeks went a bright red, and she licked her lips. It was becoming a tell from her when she licked her lips, as it was a signal that she was thinking some dirty things, especially as her chest got all flushed, and he’d see her nipples poking against her shirt. He knew when a woman was aroused, and Blair could be standoffish, cold at times, but there was no way she could hide her attraction to him. It was one of the reasons he hadn’t given up—and also, he liked her. He liked that she wasn’t giving in too easily, or giggling over every single word he said.

He was getting to know her, and he liked that.

Blair would be his soon enough, and he knew this interest wasn’t about the chase; far from it.

When he felt enough time had passed, he got to his feet and made his way over to her. All conversation stopped, but he wasn’t about to step away. “Would you like to dance?”

She nodded, finishing off her drink and taking his hand.

Leading her onto the dance floor, he placed his hands on her hips, pulling her close. “We’ll be the talk of the town. The chief’s daughter and the new fireman getting it on, dancing closely together.” He winked, to which she giggled.

“You’re a very patient man, I will grant you that.”

“That date?”

“Why are you so determined to have a date?”

“Because it’s the nice and polite thing to do.”

She licked her lips. “I … can’t we just hang out? Have some fun. Does it have to be a date?”

“It can be whatever we like. I even consider a trip to the zoo a date.”

“I don’t like zoos.”

“How can you not like zoos?”

“Because I don’t. I always think the animals look so sad. It’s no big deal.”

“I hate reptiles. I always skip it when I visit the zoo.”

“Do you go there often?”

“Not really. I guess not ever now. They were something cool as a kid,” he said.

“You’re easy to talk to.”

“Be careful. That’s a full compliment.”

“I can give them.”

“I’ll let them go to my head.”

“I’ve missed this.”

“What?” he asked, curious.

“Having fun with someone, dancing, relaxing. It’s nice. Thank you, Dwayne.”

“You’re welcome.”

She leaned forward resting her head on his chest, and he closed his eyes, loving her closeness. The scent of lemon was a comfort to him.

“He hurt me,” she said.

He didn’t say a word as she told him what was bugging her.

“I thought he was going to ask me to marry him when he told me he couldn’t do it anymore. That he couldn’t stand to be in a small, stupid town with stupid people. That he was a big fish like a shark, and he had to go and find other pretty fish.”

Dwayne struggled not to laugh. “If it makes you feel any better, he’s entered the ocean of great white sharks. He’s going to get eaten up and tossed to the bottom of the ocean for scraps.”

She lifted her head. “I thought I loved him. I don’t want to lose a part of myself again. He made me doubt who I was. I didn’t even see that he was unhappy and that he’d been trying to leave for some time by pushing me away.”

“That’s because he’s an asshole, and no one in their right mind should ever want to push you away.”

She nodded. “I will go on a date with you.”

“Sorry, not going to happen. We’re going to hang out. You’re going to get to know me, and when you’re ready, we’ll see about going on that date.”

He was a patient man, and he wasn’t willing to force her into something she wouldn’t want.

“Getting to know each other is going to be on a date,” she said.

“You can label it what you want, but that’s not how I’m going to see it.” He gave her a big smile, which she couldn’t help but respond to.

“You’re really something else.”

“You better believe it. Now, I’m going to let you enjoy your evening with your friends. I will be asking you to dance, often. See you soon.” He took her hand and placed a kiss on her knuckles, giving her every part the gentleman.

The ladies she was with gave him a giggle.

Nodding at them, he made his way toward his own group.

Ben was laughing. “Wow, you really know how to make them swoon. We don’t do the knuckle kissing thing here.”

“Maybe you should.” He’d never kissed a woman’s knuckles before. He’d never wanted to, but with Blair, he wanted to treat her with respect, and to show her that not all men were bastards. “The guy before, who was he?”

“Oh, you’re on about her ex. He worked at the bank. He never really fit in, and it showed. He had an attitude. Chief never liked him, so he was relieved when he finally dumped her. Blair was heartbroken for a long time. A lot of people hope you don’t do the same.”

“I won’t.”

No, he saw a treasure when he looked at her, and he intended to rock her world.

****

“You like to go strawberry picking?” Blair asked, reaching down to grab some of the juiciest strawberries she’d ever seen.

She was in an ice cream making mood, and with strawberries being at the height of season and irresistible, she didn’t see a reason not to do it. Dwayne had also found out where she lived, and asked her out. She’d already been on her way out, and he’d offered to come and help.

“Why not? I’ve never done it before, and it’s always a chance to learn a new skill.”

“You do surprise me.” She couldn’t resist strawberries. They were her favorite, and the local grower knew how to make them just perfect. He always opened up his fields for people and families to come and pick. This was just one of the many reasons why the city never appealed to her.

The cars, the large buildings, rarely any fields or greenery for miles—she didn’t see what could hold people, unless it was the prospect of making money.

Humming to herself, she kept on picking.

“So, what are we doing with these berries?” he asked.

“I’ve got ice cream and jam. I also like to freeze some, so that I can have them on hand.”

“I’ve never made jam or ice cream before.”

This made her pause. “Do you want to see?”

“I’m not going to eat all of these before they rot. I can’t think of anything better than learning how to make both. I will get to try some, I take it.”

She laughed. “Yes, you will.”

Loaded up with several cartons of strawberries, she paid the bill for their weight, and Dwayne drove them back to her home.

There, she got them in the sink, washing them and removing the stems. Dwayne then took them out, chopped them up, and placed them in the many different-sized jugs she had available. The ones she wanted for the freezer she put in one jug, whole, without the stems. She dried them and placed them in a bag, labeling them before putting them away.

“Right, what are we going to make first?”

“I’d say the ice cream. We need a custard base first.”

Together, they whisked egg yolks and sugar, and she got the cream and milk simmering on the stove.

They were laughing as they tried not to split the custard, and she used his muscles to whisk like crazy when it nearly caught.

Straining it through the sieve, she pressed some plastic wrap on the surface and ran a hand over her forehead. That was a close one.

“Wow, that was intense. I thought going into a burning building was tough.”

“Don’t be silly. What you do is the tough part.” She was very aware of the danger that came with being a fireman. There had been a couple of occasions she’d nearly lost her dad because of it. She recalled being at the hospital waiting for news on his condition. Her father’s left leg was covered in burn scars from being trapped. For a short time, they’d thought he’d lose his leg, but he’d gotten through the surgery and grafts.

They made the strawberry compote that she was going to mix with the ice cream, before moving onto the jam.

Dwayne was a keen learner, and he listened to all of her instructions. By seven o’clock, they were sitting out in her yard after enjoying some grilled steak, eating some of their homemade ice cream.

She had a churner, which made it so soft, and stopped any of those horrid ice crystals from forming.

“I really enjoyed today,” he said.

“Me too. I didn’t expect you to be so into making ice cream.”

“With how this tastes, I expect you to bring me many different flavors. I take it you do them?”

“I do. Apart from when I’m heartbroken. There’s never enough ice cream for me to enjoy.” She licked her spoon clean, and when she glanced over at him, she saw that his gaze was on her lips.

“When you do stuff like that, it’s hard for me to remain a gentleman.”

She didn’t say anything. Her pussy was already growing slick at the promise in his eyes. She knew exactly what he saw when she licked the spoon, and her own gaze landed on his body. There had been a few times today she’d been distracted by his body near hers.

It had been a long time since she had sex. She didn’t even know if she was any good at it.

Sex had always been something she thought would be amazing, earth-shattering, but often, it had been boring and lackluster.

“Tell me what you’re thinking about?”

“Lackluster sex.”

This made him laugh. “I can promise you being in my bed would be anything but.”

“I’m sure a lot of men say that.”

He stared at her for several seconds. She wondered what he was thinking about when he placed his glass on the table. “Come here.”

Putting her glass down, she stepped close to him, ignoring every single warning going off inside her head.

He reached out, taking her hand, and she stopped across the sunbed, straddling him. His hands went to her thighs and he moved them up, gripping her hips before drawing her down to sit on him.

Through her thin shorts, she felt the hard ridge of his cock pressing against her, and she bit her lip to keep from crying out.

“Sex is whatever you make it.” His hands moved down her thighs before sliding up and resting inches away from her pussy.

Her nipples felt incredibly tight, and it took every single ounce of control not to beg him for more.

“Tell me to stop.”

Did she want him to stop?