that is so not
necessary,” she said.
“Didn’t say it was necessary. But that’s what I’m going to do. You see that old pickup
over there?” he asked her, pointing toward a dark beige Ford F-150. “That’s what I’ll be
driving.”
Liz wanted to argue with him, he was taking this a little too far, but she didn’t bother.
Jason was going to do whatever Jason wanted to do, regardless of what she said about it. But
she knew she couldn’t just sit back and allow it, either. She therefore cranked up and left,
driving her normal fast speed, unable to stop thinking about what in the world was she getting
herself into. She was allowing him to what? See her home like a good little girl? What would
he want next? To know her every movement? To make her phone him whenever she went
anywhere or even planned to do anything? To get his permission before she decided anything
for herself? She’d been in those kind of suffocating, all-consuming relationships before. With
her father first, and then with Scotty, her ex. Both alpha-males, both bound and determined to
keep her under their control. She was terrified of going down that road again.
It wasn’t until she was nearly halfway home did she realize she had left Jason in the dust.
She was naturally a fast driver and this night, after that round of incredible lovemaking with
Jason, after the implications of the decisions she was making, she had forgotten he was even
behind her.
As soon as she parked at the curb in front of her apartment, however, she was shocked to
see Jason’s truck fly around the corner like a bat out of hell and park before she was able to
get out of the car. It was quiet around the Center, given that it was a dead-end street
surrounded by warehouses and other office buildings, and Liz suddenly felt queasy when she
stepped out of her car and saw Jason barreling toward her. He was in jeans and a polo shirt,
and looked furious. Her inattention, it seemed, had annoyed him.
“What kind of driving was that?” he yelled as he approached her, his arms flailing. “It’s a
wonder you didn’t kill yourself driving that fast, Liz? What’s the matter with you?”
Liz attempted to play it off. “Don’t tell me a little petal to the metal bothers the Bulldog?
It’ll bother Mr. Conservative, I know. But the Bulldog?” She said this with a smile, a smile
that seemed to catch Jason short, and he exhaled. And smiled too, only his smile was still
fraught with worry.
“You nearly gave me a heart attack, woman.”
“Sorry about that.” And she was.
Jason looked at her. He knew her little Daytona 500 stun was her way of defying him, of
showing him that she was her own woman, so he took it in stride. He placed his arm around
her waist and began walking with her up the stairs that led to her front door. “Just remember
I’m an old man,” he said as they walked.
“Yeah, right. You’ll run circles around any twenty-year-old and you know it.”
“I don’t know now. You said earlier tonight I reminded you of your father.”
“I said you were acting as if you were my father, which isn’t the same thing.”
“What ever ,” Jason said in a mimic of Liz and Liz laughed.
When they arrived at her front door, however, Jason looked around at her neighborhood.
“I don’t like this, Liz. It feels too deserted around here at night.”
“And that’s just the way I love it,” she said, putting her key in the door and unlocking it.
She then turned to Jason. “Thanks again for letting me use your car. Unless my driving
style’s given you second thoughts.”
“You wish,” Jason said, playful at first, and then his look lingered and changed. She was
beautiful to him. Not just in looks, not just her fantastic body. But in a way that was more
than just her looks, that was more than just a sexy body. There was a great sense of decency
about her, an innocence was still there, that pricked at him. She’d been through a lot,
necessary,” she said.
“Didn’t say it was necessary. But that’s what I’m going to do. You see that old pickup
over there?” he asked her, pointing toward a dark beige Ford F-150. “That’s what I’ll be
driving.”
Liz wanted to argue with him, he was taking this a little too far, but she didn’t bother.
Jason was going to do whatever Jason wanted to do, regardless of what she said about it. But
she knew she couldn’t just sit back and allow it, either. She therefore cranked up and left,
driving her normal fast speed, unable to stop thinking about what in the world was she getting
herself into. She was allowing him to what? See her home like a good little girl? What would
he want next? To know her every movement? To make her phone him whenever she went
anywhere or even planned to do anything? To get his permission before she decided anything
for herself? She’d been in those kind of suffocating, all-consuming relationships before. With
her father first, and then with Scotty, her ex. Both alpha-males, both bound and determined to
keep her under their control. She was terrified of going down that road again.
It wasn’t until she was nearly halfway home did she realize she had left Jason in the dust.
She was naturally a fast driver and this night, after that round of incredible lovemaking with
Jason, after the implications of the decisions she was making, she had forgotten he was even
behind her.
As soon as she parked at the curb in front of her apartment, however, she was shocked to
see Jason’s truck fly around the corner like a bat out of hell and park before she was able to
get out of the car. It was quiet around the Center, given that it was a dead-end street
surrounded by warehouses and other office buildings, and Liz suddenly felt queasy when she
stepped out of her car and saw Jason barreling toward her. He was in jeans and a polo shirt,
and looked furious. Her inattention, it seemed, had annoyed him.
“What kind of driving was that?” he yelled as he approached her, his arms flailing. “It’s a
wonder you didn’t kill yourself driving that fast, Liz? What’s the matter with you?”
Liz attempted to play it off. “Don’t tell me a little petal to the metal bothers the Bulldog?
It’ll bother Mr. Conservative, I know. But the Bulldog?” She said this with a smile, a smile
that seemed to catch Jason short, and he exhaled. And smiled too, only his smile was still
fraught with worry.
“You nearly gave me a heart attack, woman.”
“Sorry about that.” And she was.
Jason looked at her. He knew her little Daytona 500 stun was her way of defying him, of
showing him that she was her own woman, so he took it in stride. He placed his arm around
her waist and began walking with her up the stairs that led to her front door. “Just remember
I’m an old man,” he said as they walked.
“Yeah, right. You’ll run circles around any twenty-year-old and you know it.”
“I don’t know now. You said earlier tonight I reminded you of your father.”
“I said you were acting as if you were my father, which isn’t the same thing.”
“What ever ,” Jason said in a mimic of Liz and Liz laughed.
When they arrived at her front door, however, Jason looked around at her neighborhood.
“I don’t like this, Liz. It feels too deserted around here at night.”
“And that’s just the way I love it,” she said, putting her key in the door and unlocking it.
She then turned to Jason. “Thanks again for letting me use your car. Unless my driving
style’s given you second thoughts.”
“You wish,” Jason said, playful at first, and then his look lingered and changed. She was
beautiful to him. Not just in looks, not just her fantastic body. But in a way that was more
than just her looks, that was more than just a sexy body. There was a great sense of decency
about her, an innocence was still there, that pricked at him. She’d been through a lot,
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