evening? Was there something she wasn’t telling me? I hadn’t known Sarah long, but one thing was clear: she wasn’t a liar.
As I handed Sarah her basket of tacos and we settled into one of the picnic-style tables near the trucks, I watched her innocently inspect the fare and shook my head in wonder. I had expected this evening to be such a simple one. Sarah didn’t exactly strike me as complicated. How had it all gone so sideways? Even before Wyatt opened his big mouth, I’d felt like there was something between Sarah and I that was more on the side of caution than attraction, a barricade I had yet to tear down. Was it her religion holding her back? Or was it just that she was a timid little virgin, giving into the fear that had no doubt been instilled in her from practically birth about what terrible things men could do to women?
Sure, sex should be sinful—but only in the right ways. Not because some guy wrote a book that basically amounted to if it feels good, stop. After all, sex was what had gotten us all here, wasn’t it? Not that reproduction factored into my plans with Sarah. Well, not yet.
Fuck, what the hell was I thinking? She had me all messed up, considering her priorities instead of mine. My only thought should have been how the hell I was going to see her again, how I could convince her to go on another date with me so I could score. So I could win this stupid bet and be done with these damn feelings and all the complicated shit that came with them.
But then, was that what I actually wanted? I had to admit, it had felt good when Sarah grabbed my hand on the way down from the Ferris wheel, and when we’d kissed… well, she was inexperienced, sure, but… it was… nice. She tasted so pure. The meeting of our lips had left me feeling all warm and safe inside, like that was where I belonged—with her in my arms.
How could I lure her back to me so I could hold her again? I’d left the matter of a second date up to her… but surely there was some way I could sway her opinion of me again. There had to be, because what I’d felt, the way I’d acted—so gentle, so unlike me—couldn’t have all been for nothing. I wasn’t ready to accept that.
As I thought on it, I watched Sarah tentatively pick up one of the tacos and glance around at a few other patrons occupying the tables around us. She scanned them until she saw someone taking a bite of the same thing I’d ordered for her, then adjusted her grip on her food and slowly sank her teeth into one end. She lost quite a bit of lettuce and shredded cheese when she pulled away, but her eyes lit up when the cornucopia of flavors hit her tongue. Holding one hand over her mouth, she looked at me and said, “This is… this is really good!”
I couldn’t help but smile. Shit, this was the Sarah I liked—the one who popped up any time it was just the two of us. Yeah, we were surrounded by people—most of them shoveling food into their faces—but they were all at a safe distance and I could see she was starting to come out of her shell again, just like she had at the top of the Ferris wheel.
If I wanted a repeat experience of that magic moment, I was going to have to engineer a situation where we could be alone. But not too alone—I didn’t want to spook her that way, either. Someplace away from the sphere of influence our families posed, where we could both explore our desires without judgment. Somewhere we’d both be comfortable.
I wasn’t sure where that place was, or if it even existed, but if it did, I’d damn sure find it. Because there was no way I was giving up on Sarah now. I should’ve been focused on winning this stupid bet—and part of me was—but I was way more interested in the things she made me feel. The things I knew I made her feel, too. And if I could kill two birds with one stone…
I watched Sarah enjoy her tacos for a long time, the thrill of some new adventure plain as day upon her face. I hardly even touched my
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