Dahlia

I sat in my office all morning that day, my mind wandering, completely unable to settle on one thought, let alone do my job. Breakfast with Chet’s mom that morning was a complete disaster. Judging from the way she had treated me at the wedding, I wasn’t expecting sunshine roses, but what I got was an absolute nightmare. I left soon after her outburst, ignoring Chet’s pleas to stay. I couldn’t stay in that house any longer. I needed some time to be alone, to think about everything that had happened.

I knew what Chet would say if I brought this up to him. He would insist that she was just stressed about work, or about something else. He would make up some excuse to justify her behavior, telling me she didn’t mean it, or whatever. He would say anything he could to keep this going. I should have been flattered at that, but all I could do was wonder if this whole thing was a good idea anyway.

I knew I shouldn’t have entertained thoughts of anything Chet’s mother said, but it was hard not to. What was I doing with Chet? I was over ten years younger than him, a doctor who came from nothing and had just moved to Dallas, and he was practically a cowboy prince who had been groomed by two parents who were obsessed with him. I wanted Chet, but it wasn’t just about Chet anymore. If we wanted this for real, I should have been able to feel welcome in his life. No matter how much I wanted him, no matter how he made me feel, I wasn’t going to settle for a life in a family where I wasn’t wanted. And even after his mother went, I knew I didn’t belong, everyone knew it. I didn’t want to settle for that.

I didn’t want to settle at all.

I picked up my office phone and dialed his office. There was a short ring before, “Hello?’ A secretary.

“Hi, this is Dr. Waters for Chet Blackwood.”

“Oh, alright. I’ll transfer you in right now.”

I waited the necessary three seconds before, “Hello?” Chet’s sultry voice filled the earpiece.

My heart skipped a beat at the sound of it, but I cleared my throat and shoved those feelings down. This was the time for serious decisions. I had to stop letting my emotions dictate everything I did. This was getting to be too complicated. “Hey Chet, it’s Dahlia.”

“Hey, love. It’s so good to hear your voice. I can’t stop thinking about you.”

In that moment, I realized that breaking it off might actually be hurting him. That made me stop. “Oh have you?”

“Yeah. I gotta say, I feel like shit about the way my mom treated you.”

“Oh Chet, don’t worry. I don’t even want to talk about it.” I didn’t.

He let out a sigh of relief. “Thank God. You know it’s just… Her husband just died. He was the last one.” His voice broke at the end.

I sighed. I knew this argument was coming, but he made a good point. “I know.”

“Listen, I’m sure if I run it by her, she would be more than happy to have you again.”

Well, that was a complete lie. “I actually had something to talk to you about.”

I heard a voice in the background. Some man mentioning something about a budget. “Hey, Dahlia. I actually have to go. It seems like something has come up.”

Damn. “Oh shit. This will be quick.” I actually hoped it would.

“No I think we need to come back to this later, I really am sorry… actually, would you be willing to go on a picnic with me later tonight?”

A picnic? “Sure, I guess.”

“Great.” His voice sounded lighter. “I know a great midnight spot.”

He hung up.

***

That night, he drove me down an unlit path in the outskirts of Dallas. I let my head rest on the window, watching the dark shadows of the hills and trees zoom past the window. In that warm, quiet car, I felt so at home with him, my early thoughts of that morning completely changing. I wanted to sit here with him like this forever. Eventually, he stopped the car in a place that looked totally random to me and stepped outside. I got out and watched him hoist open the trunk and pull a duffel bag out of it.

He shut the trunk and then came around to me. “Follow me.” He led me down a short path into the woods. I was starting to wonder, wildly, if he was going to kill me after all, when the thick brush started to clear out, leaving an opening. I stepped out of the trees and into the opening, looking around me. It was gorgeous. I loved how the moonlight streamed down, a perfect amount of light even though there wasn’t a street lamp in sight.

“This is amazing.”

He nodded as he unzipped the bag and pulled out a thick quilt. It was hard to get a good look at it in the shadows, but it looked purple and had the initials CB stitched into one of the corners.

A smile played on my lips. “You’re favorite blanket, right?”

He shrugged. “So, I like blankets. Shoot me.”

I chuckled at this, watching him set out a small chest he had brought full of cheeses and grapes and topping it all off with a bottle of sweet white wine. “So, for someone as rich as you, you sure do get creative with dates.”

He smiled at this.

God, I loved his smile.

“I figured if I’m gonna do this courtship right, I’m gonna have to be creative.”

I laughed as I took a seat on the blanket. It was surprisingly thick and warm, considering we were sitting directly on the mush of a forest floor. I fingered the cloth as he poured our glasses. “Wow, nice stuff.”

He shrugged. “My grandmother made it.”

“You seem really attached to your grandparents.”

His face fell. “Well, they aren’t here anymore, so.”

I scooted closer to him, letting my head rest on his shoulder. The simple touch made my heart flutter.

He put his hand on my cheek, turning my face to face him and kissed me. I felt a heat between my legs, my body squirming with pleasure as he pressed his tongue just inside my mouth. I clutched his sweater with my free hand, leaning deeper and deeper into him.

I wanted him. All of my thoughts from this morning seemed silly in the wake of how I felt about him now.

But he pulled away. “Now, what was it you wanted to talk to me about?”

Right. In that moment, I made a split second decision and lied. “Oh, just what happened with your mom.”

“Ah, right,” He said, leaning back as he took a sip of his wine. “That mortifying meal.”

I chuckled. “It wasn’t that bad. Who would you be if you weren’t embarrassed by your parents every once in a while?”

He wrapped his free arm around me. It felt heavenly. “Sure. Baby, you are kind.”

Baby. I could die. I let my head fall back in disbelief for just a moment.

But he sighed. “It’s just so damn hard to talk to that woman sometimes.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, sipping more of that amazing wine.

“Well, let’s just put it this way; yesterday at the breakfast table was the first time she mentioned dad.”

I nodded. “You must feel so alone in this.”

He shifted again, laying down so that he could rest his head in my lap.

I let out a silent sigh, internally cursing myself for not having sex with him earlier. Now, would be totally inappropriate because we happened to be talking about heavy stuff. This was supposed to be quality time. And yet, I couldn’t deny how much I wanted him to turn around and eat me out.

“Yeah. You have no idea. Now I’ve got this whole company to deal with and I just don’t know what the hell is going on half the time.”

“It’s hard when your product is people,” I said.

He looked up at me, a deep look in his eyes. “You understand me.”

I gulped. “I feel like I know you.”

He sat up and kissed me again. God, why did it always feel so good?

“I just know that losing my dad was hard. My mom never got over it. And sometimes I felt like I was going through it alone… and that she just...I needed her the most, precisely at the moment when she just couldn’t be there for me.”

He nodded, placing a hand on my cheek. “God knows I know what that feels like. But with me it's… I never thought I would need, or even want to be close to my mom.” He let out a dry laugh. “I didn’t even really see her as a person until she started acting crazy after his death. And my dad…” he shook his head. “He warned me not to let him down, and I really didn’t care. And now that he’s gone, I’m terrified that I’m gonna do just that.”

I cupped his cheek with my hand. His eyes flickered closed at my touch.

I kissed him. He made me feel so protected and so in control at the same time. “Don’t worry. Just follow your instincts.”

At that, he took the wine glass out of my hand. “See, that’s just the thing.” He advanced on me, leaning into me as he kissed me again. “I don’t have any instincts.”

The two of us collapsed onto the blanket. I wrapped my arms around him as he buried his face in my neck. It was the two of us just being the two of us. The most natural thing in the world.