Chapter 10
Friday night came faster than Kate had expected. Between regular work and getting all of Vanessa's items in order, she'd nearly missed the text that her car was outside her office. Luckily, she'd taken a change of clothes to work with her—a pair of capris and a cute blouse that paired well with the heels she was already wearing. As the car drove her towards his place, she was pleased when they drove through familiar neighborhoods. They weren't too far from Grant Park and Kate knew that the houses and apartments were pretty nice in the area.
She touched up her makeup and fluffed her hair a bit, hoping to look like she hadn't overworked herself this week. The car came to a stop in what appeared to be a large parking lot.
“Your stop,” the driver said.
“I don't think so,” Kate said. “3050 South Moe Drive?”
“This is it,” the driver said. “The RV lots are numbered he pointed out the paint on the paving. If you know the number I can drive you closer.”
“RV?”
“Yeah, like a camper. That's what this place is. Rental slips for campers and buses and stuff.”
“You have got to be kidding me,” Kate scoffed, looking through her texts from Deacon. Nowhere had he mentioned that he lived in a camper. “One-thirty-six,” Kate said, when she found what she'd assumed was an apartment number.
The driver proceeded to pull further into the lot and came to a stop in front of a shiny white camper with royal blue accents. And a large one at that. One that you drive down the road and only have if you're serious about a recreational vehicle kind of life. Kate was flabbergasted. Who was this guy?
“Thanks,” she said, opening the door. “I think,” she added as she closed the door behind her and looked the place over. There was a Jeep Wrangler, still hooked up to the back of the massive rig. There were cords and hoses and a whole lot of stuff that Kate knew absolutely nothing about. A blue awning was pulled out over what could be considered a yard, complete with a piece of AstroTurf spread out underneath. Two wooden deck chairs sat side by side and Kate immediately wondered why two. Did he have a lot of company? A lot of women? Was she another woman he'd be asking to join him for drinks on the AstroTurf?
“Don't think too hard,” Deacon said from the door, which sat up about two feet off the ground. “You'll give yourself a headache.”
“I might already have one,” she confessed, walking over to greet him. She was making too much out of nothing. As over—or under—whelming as this was starting off, Kate couldn't help but smile when she saw him. Dark hair, dark eyes, and a smile that tied her stomach in knots. In a simple gray t-shirt with faint writing on it and a pair of jeans he looked sexy as sin in. When he reached out his hand to her she took it and stepped up onto the small set of steps that led into the camper. The heel of her shoe caught in one of the drainage holes.
“Damn it,” she said, when she lifted her foot and her shoe stayed in place.
“Don't worry about it,” Deacon said, bending down to fetch her shoe. While he was kneeling, he grabbed her other foot and freed the shoe. “You don't need these tonight,” he said smoothing a hand up her calf before tossing her shoes next to a couple pairs of shoes he had by the door.
She could feel the heat of his teasing touch on her skin. And, her feet thanked him. Her favorite thing to do at the end of the day was take off her shoes and bra.
One down, one to go.
“You're smiling,” he said. “It's charming, right?” he said, thinking that Kate was smiling at his quaint little abode. Little did he know she was playing out how he could help her out of her bra in her mind.
“Sure,” she said looking around. It was charming. In a one room, open concept, not much going on kind of way. Simple fixtures, most of which were attached to the walls. “If you're in to tiny house living,” she teased.
“There's plenty of room for two,” he said with a wink, causing her to laugh. “Dinner is almost ready,” he said, pointing her toward the sofa/kitchen table combo. “Sit down, have a glass of wine.”
“You know what wine does to me,” she reminded him as she poured herself a glass.
“In that case have a couple.” He smirked.
Kate raised her glass and watched him turn his focus back to dinner. “It smells amazing.”
“Let's hope it tastes as good,” he said. “I've only got a couple burners to work with in here.”
“I'm sure it will be great.”
He walked over with two plates of Chicken Fettuccine. After he placed them on the table, he returned to the counter and pulled two pieces of garlic bread from the toaster oven.
“Voila,” he said, placing them on the plate and taking a seat across from her.
“Not too shabby,” Kate said as she picked up her fork. “Now for the taste test,” she said, twirling a bite of noodles. She brought the fork to her mouth and blew on it for a moment before placing it in her mouth. The Parmesan cream sauce was perfect and the noodles were cooked just right. “Mmmm...”
“My favorite sound,” he said, taking his first bite.
“It's really good.”
“Thanks,” he said, picking up his wine glass. “We forgot to cheers,” he said. “To good food, good wine, and even better company,” he said.
“Cheers to that,” Kate said before clinking her glass against his.
Before Kate could take another drink, Deacon gave her the go ahead. “'You can ask.”
“Why do live in an RV?” Kate said quickly. The question had been on the tip of her tongue since the moment she'd arrived, but she didn't want to be rude.
“You want the short story or the long story?”
“Hmm...” Kate said pursing her lips. “Both.”
“Okay then,” Deacon said with a said with a laugh. “Short story... didn't dig the life I was living with the high-profile job and expensive apartment, so I changed it.”
Kate wondered for a second if that was a jab at her lifestyle, but his kind eyes said it wasn't as he continued with the long story.
“I graduated from SIU—” he said.
“With Grey,” Kate couldn't help but interject. She liked that they had a connection. She liked that his friend was her friend. It made him much more relatable to her than if they were just random strangers.
“With Grey,” he repeated. “Then I took a job at an investment firm in St. Louis. At first, I really liked it. I was busy all the time and making great money, but then I woke up on my 30th birthday and looked around my fancy apartment and wondered what in the hell I was doing.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, I had every material thing I could ever want, but I never had time to travel. I hadn't had a real relationship since college. I'd blown off all my friends for work and I, to be honest, I was pretty fucking lonely.”
“I know the feeling,” Kate said quietly. She could relate the Deacon's situation. Maybe not enough to up and move into an RV, but she got it.
“So I quit,” he said. “I took the few loyal clients I had and started my own firm. Not only are you sitting in my kitchen slash living room combo, this is also my conference room.” He laughed.
“How does it all work?”
“I do pretty much the same thing I did in that office, except on a much smaller scale. Plus, I can work whenever I want, from wherever I want... perks of being on wheels,” he added. “I have clients all over the country. Most of my work is digital, but I do try and meet with them quarterly.”
“You're a traveling investment banker,” Kate surmised.
“I guess so. I'm in Chicago for little while and then I'll head back down to St. Louis for a bit. Then over to Boston before heading down the east coast.”
“That's crazy,” she said.
“It's amazing,” he countered. “I'm making decent money and getting to see the country. It's like a job and vacation all rolled into one. Not to mention, I have plenty of time for adventure. Sky diving, surfing, hiking,” he said.
Now, Kate understood exactly how and where he'd gotten the body that she admired so much a few nights ago. She imagined watching him in the elements he was talking about. Surfing shirtless quickly became her favorite.
“I play as much as I work. It's all about balance,” he said, pulling her from her daydream.
“I could use a vacation,” Kate said. She hadn't had one in a few years. A beach sounded like a dream at this point. Even better, balance. Something Kate had been severely lacking.
“Anytime you want to hitch a ride you just let me know,” Deacon said with a grin.
“I may take you up on that,” Kate said, knowing deep down that she wouldn't. Her schedule would never allow her to take time off to road trip around the country. The idea of it all was very nice though. Especially once they'd finished dinner and settled into the two deck chairs with a glass of wine. Kate let herself imagine a life where every evening ended in the same way. The scenery ever changing from city skyline to ocean view to wooded wonderland. The possibilities were really endless.
“So,” Deacon said, placing his hand on hers. “I really didn't think you'd call. I'm glad you did, but you seemed pretty serious when you said you didn't have time to date.”
“I was.”
“So what changed?”
“My friend Vanessa is getting a divorce,” she said, leaving Deacon with a confused look. “It's a long story, that ends with both of us agreeing to really take a look at what we want in life. And losing Hope...”
Deacon nodded. Kate wanted to open up to him a little more.
“Did you know Hope?”
“I met her a few times,” he said. “She was lovely.”
“She really was,” Kate said. “It's still hard to believe she's gone.”
“I wish I would have been back in town for the funeral,” Deacon said. “Greyson and I might not have been as close as we once were, but I still wish I could have been there for him.”
“I'm sure he appreciates you being here now.”
“I hope so.”
“He's had a lot of good company.” Kate hadn't spent as much time as she would have liked with Greyson and the kids, but she knew that Willa and Vanessa were there every chance they got and that was reassuring.”
“Since she's been gone, I've been trying to live a little more. Take more chances,” she told him.
“I like that you're trying,” he said as he squeezed her hand in his.
“Me too,” she said with a smile. She was feeling like taking a chance at the moment as he stared at her. The entire night had been wonderful. The dinner, the conversation, the company. She couldn't have asked for a better date. “So you know the only room I haven't seen yet is the bedroom,” she said. Nervously she bit her lip wondering if she'd just been too forward. She'd thought about their night together on more than one occasion, but it was more than just the sex. Especially now. She really liked this guy.
“I think we can remedy that,” Deacon said, taking the last drink from his wine glass and standing. With her hand still in his he helped her to her feet. Her body brushed against his as she stood. “Did I tell you how glad I am that you changed your mind about me?”
She nodded as she stared up into his eyes until he leaned over and pressed his lips to hers. A soft, slow, perfectly sweet kiss that left her without a care in the world.