Hit the Wall (Blythe College) (7 page)

CHAPTER 7

Kaylie

I spent my Sunday doing laundry, studying, and running through my dance piece again a few dozen times. And trying not to obsess over my date with Jackson. Because he’d made it very clear last night that it was a date and not a thank-you dinner before he’d kissed the hell out of me. I swear to God, he’d melted my panties right off my body. If we had been anywhere else but the bar in the middle of a shift, I wasn’t sure that I would have been able to walk away. Maybe my self-imposed dry spell wasn’t that great of an idea now.

After the last guy I had hooked up with decided that he loved me and wanted to settle down after school and have babies and shit, I’d freaked out. I’d felt guilty because I’d thought I had been pretty damn clear that, while I’d liked him, I hadn’t been in love with him and I sure as shit hadn’t been thinking about forever.

Char had been right when she accused me of picking safe guys, but what was I supposed to do when even they weren’t safe anymore? When they wanted more than you were willing to give and you felt like you’d kicked a puppy because you’d had to shoot them down? If you were me, you’d decide that the sex wasn’t worth it and keep to yourself for awhile. Which sucked because I missed sex, and now it made me even more vulnerable around Jackson since my body was craving the pleasure it knew he could give me.

“So what are you going to wear tonight?” Char asked, interrupting my daydreaming. “Something hot right? You need to blow his socks off. Or his pants. I’m not sure why anybody ever came up with that saying anyway. Who wants to blow someone’s socks off? It’s not like you want to see his feet. If you’re going to blow anything off, you’d might as well make it something interesting, right?”

“I don’t think I need a hot outfit to get Jackson out of his pants, Char. I’m pretty sure he’d be willing to take them off regardless,” I answered. And now I was picturing him half naked thanks to her suggestion. Again. So I couldn’t really blame her for my mind being in the gutter.

“I’m sure you’re right, especially after seeing the way he was watching you at the bar last night. And glaring at any guy who looked too long. Even after you changed shirts.”

“Hey, that reminds me. I should be pissed at you for going along with him about that. You’re my best friend. No taking his side, remember?” I said as I wagged my finger at her, trying to pretend like I was angry.

“Oh, please. You can act as outraged as you want, but if I hadn’t offered to cover the bar for you, then you wouldn’t have had the chance to make out with him in the back.”

I decided to play dumb and act like I didn’t know what she was talking about. “Me? Make out with a guy while I’m out work?” 

“Yes, you. Don’t think I didn’t notice the way you were all mussed up when you came back to the bar, missy,” she teased. “I’m sure changing your shirt could have made your hair fall out of your ponytail a bit, but it definitely wouldn’t have smeared your lipstick. Or transferred it to Jackson’s mouth. Or made his hair all messy too.”

“Yeah, well I guess you were right about dinner being a date. Jackson decided that the way to make sure I got that it wasn’t just a thank-you dinner was to kiss me. And that boy can kiss!” I exclaimed, thinking about last night and the way my body reacted to his.

“See? Another upside to choosing a guy with a past.” Char she made a big kissy face. “You get to benefit from his finely honed skills. And if he can kiss good enough for you to get that dreamy look on your face, then he definitely has some moves he can show you in bed.”

“Okay, okay. Enough of the ‘I told you so’s.’ Help me pick out an outfit that will wow him, miss smarty pants.”

We rifled through my closet and dresser and finally decided on a black skirt and dark red sweater that I paired with black knee-high boots. I liked how the skirt and boots drew the eye to my legs. Years of dancing had made them my best feature, and Jackson had sure seemed to like them when he caught me wearing his shirt. Nothing wrong with using what I had since I was pretty sure that I was going to need any advantage I could get with him. There was something about him that left me feeling off balance and out of control. I usually hated losing control, but being around Jackson was a lot of fun, and I hadn’t had fun with a guy in a long time. I was a little terrified of the feelings I was having, but I guessed I would just have to wait and see what happens.

Before I knew it, six o’clock had rolled around and there was a knock at my door. I was impressed that Jackson had shown up right on time. Most guys weren’t as punctual for dates, and I hadn’t really expected him to be either. I was zipping up my boots, so Char grabbed the door.

“Hey, Jackson,” she greeted him.

He looked amazing in khaki pants and a dark blue button-down shirt. I loved how the blue made his eyes seem even brighter and that he’d actually made an effort for our date. I felt less awkward about having dressed up since he had too.

“Char,” he replied before looking across the room at me, his gaze zeroing in on my legs. It looked like I had been right in my guess that he was a leg man.

“I’m just about ready,” I said as I stood up and started to toss stuff into my purse. As I was looking down, trying to figure out if I was missing anything I needed for the evening, he walked over to me.

“Here,” I heard him say before a bunch of yellow roses moved into my line of vision. “These are for you.”

“Jackson,” I breathed out, stunned that he had brought them since he hadn’t really seemed like the traditional flowers-for-his-date kind of guy. Maybe he looked like it all dressed up, but hot tattooed guy underneath was still the same.

He flashed me a smug grin. “Consider the thank-you portion of the night over and done with. Just so there’s no confusion.”

“My oh my, you sure are a smooth one,” Char said. “Very well played. Why don’t I just take those and put them in water for Kaylie so y’all can head out for the date part of your night.”

Jackson reached out to grab my hand. “You heard the girl. Let’s get moving. I wouldn’t want us to miss our reservation.”

“You made reservations?” I asked, a little worried that maybe he had picked somewhere fancy where I would look out of place. I felt sexy in my outfit, but I hadn’t picked it with a super nice restaurant in mind. It was easy to forget that he came from money since he didn’t act like it. “Where are we going? Am I dressed okay for it?”

“No, you’re not dressed okay,” he answered and my heart dropped. “You look fucking amazing. So beyond okay that I’ll
have to stick close to you all night just to make sure that other guys know you’re with me.”

I couldn’t stop myself from beaming at his compliment. He was damn good at this. It was hard to remember that most guys would say just about anything to score. “I’m not sure if I should trust you,” I said as we walked to his truck. “Are you being genuine, or are you just putting on an act to get so you can get me into bed?”

Jackson stopped and turned to me so that he could stare straight in my eyes as he answered my question. “One thing you can be damn sure about, Kaylie, is that I won’t ever lie to you. What you see is what you get with me, okay?” he asked. When I nodded that I understood, he continued. “I know this might piss you off because it makes me sound like a douche, but I don’t need to put on an act if I want a piece of ass. The real kind. Not the drink. If that’s all I was interested in, there are other girls on campus who would give it up if I looked their way. No need for dinner. No compliments on how they look.”

I pulled away from him a little, but he wouldn’t let me get far. “You’re right. That does make you sound like a douche because that’s exactly what you used to be interested in. How could I possibly think that I’m any different to you than all those girls? That if I decide to let this thing between us run its course that you won’t disappear the second the sheets get cold?”

“You’re already different. I’ve never taken any of them to dinner. I sure as shit didn’t bring them flowers or think about what I was going to wear if I saw them. If that’s not enough for you, then I’ll just have to work harder to convince you that I’m not in this just to get into your panties.”

“I’m not very good at trusting people to stay around,” I admitted.

“Neither of us knows what’s going to happen here. We don’t know each other well enough yet. But I do know that I was willing to risk Aubrey’s wrath just by taking you to dinner tonight. She’d have my balls if I banged you and walked away the next morning. That’s one worry you can cross off your list.”

“You talked to your sister?” I asked, feeling a little better about the night and his intentions if that was true.

“If by talking you mean that she grilled me, then yes.”

“Okay,” I whispered and reached up to kiss him on the cheek.

He wrapped his arms around me to hug me tight. “Right, let’s get date number two started. I’m starving!”

We made it to the truck, and he bundled me inside before getting in himself. I watched him as he started the engine and pulled out of the parking lot. It was hard to believe that I was on a date with Jackson. If someone had told me that this would happen a month ago, I would have laughed my ass off at the idea because he was such a player. A week ago, I would have said no way because I couldn’t have imagined him being interested in me. Now, I was just happy to be here with him and a little scared by how he made me feel.

“So where are you taking me?” I asked since he had not answered the question earlier.

“How do you feel about Japanese food? I wanted to take you to one of my favorite places. It’s a
Teppan grill, but it has sushi too,” he answered, sounding like an excited kid.

“You’re favorite place, huh?” I teased.

“Yup. Good food and lots of it. Plus the chefs put on a bit of a show while they’re cooking. My parents used to take us there for my birthday when I was younger, and it’s always been kind of a special place for me.”

I was touched that he wanted to bring me to somewhere that meant something to him. He was already scoring major points with me tonight, and the date had barely started. I definitely needed to stay on my toes around him before I did something stupid like falling hard for him. So I just smiled in response and fiddled with the radio. I wasn’t surprised to find it set to an XM station that was all about rock ‘n’ roll. I let the music roll over me and enjoyed the ride to the restaurant. We got there pretty fast, and it was quickly obvious that Jackson hadn’t been exaggerating about coming here before.

“Jackson, welcome back,” the hostess greeted us with a big smile. She grabbed two menus and walked us to a station in the corner where nobody else was seated. It was odd because all the other ones were packed with people. “Your waiter will be with you shortly,” she said before walking away.

She wasn’t kidding either. The waiter showed up before I could even get my coat settled on the chair. He had a tray with a two white containers, glasses, and cups on it that he placed in front of us. I easily recognized the first as a teapot but wasn’t sure about the other flask-like one he had brought.

“What’s this?” I asked Jackson.

“Sake. You can’t experience Japanese food without trying it,” he answered as he poured us each a drink. I took a small sip, not sure what to expect. “What do you think?”

“I’ve never tried it before, but it’s good. Different than I expected since the only time I’ve ever seen was it in sake bombs at the bar before.”

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure comparing the sake you serve at the bar to this is like comparing Popov vodka to
Ketel One,” he explained.

As I sipped my sake, the chef rolled a cart to the table. I looked around the restaurant, surprised to see him at our table
already. Nobody else had been seated with us, which was really strange. We also hadn’t ordered, but he seemed to have everything with him to make our dinner.

Jackson must have noticed my confused expression because he nodded his head at the chef before leaning towards me so he could whisper in my ear. “I hope you don’t mind, but I asked for a favor when I made the reservation.”

Goose bumps traveled up my spine at the feel of his hot breath against my ear. “What kind of favor?”

“The kind where I get to enjoy my favorite restaurant with you all to myself. I didn’t want to share a table with a bunch of strangers.”

I nodded my head towards the chef, who had started to prepare the grill in front of us. “And how does he know what I want to order?”

“I didn’t want them to be out any money for letting me have a table to myself on the busiest night of the week, so I ordered a few different dinners for each of us. This way we can enjoy ourselves without anyone interrupting us. And you get to try a little bit of anything that sounds good to you. It’s a win-win.”

And there he went shocking the hell out of me again. I glanced at the chef’s cart again and realized exactly how much food there was on it. “What about all the leftovers? There’s no way the two of us are going to be able to eat all of that.”

“Ditching leftover food is an easy problem to solve. You can take some back to your roommate, and I’m sure the guys at the house will devour anything I bring back to them. And this way you can have as much of anything you really like as you want.”