Chapter 16
Dante
“Admit it.”
“I will never admit that.”
“Just say it one time and we’ll never talk about this again,” I insisted.
Kennedy shook her head and handed her putter to the kid behind the counter. “I highly doubt that you will ever let this rest.”
I held up the score card from the game. “If you say it, I promise I will not have this framed and hung in the entryway to my house.”
She laughed and grabbed the card from my hand. “You are absolutely insane. I still contest the fact that you won. I’m convinced you had an eraser in your pocket and doctored this.” Her mouth moved as she silently added up the scores for the sixth time.
“I swear that I didn’t do anything to that card.” I backed up to the counter and discreetly handed back the eraser that I had bummed off the kid when I had run to the bathroom on the seventh hole. He hadn’t seemed surprised at all when I begged him for an eraser. I must not have been the first person who absolutely needed to win a game of mini golf.
She handed back the card and crossed her arms over her chest. “I call a rematch.”
“What? Are you serious? I didn’t realize that you were such a sore loser.”
“You cheated somehow, Dante Craig. I know it.”
I tucked her under my arm as we walked out the exit toward the car. “I promise the next time we go mini golfing, you can keep score and you’ll see firsthand that I didn’t cheat.”
She scoffed. “Yeah, because I plan on kicking your ass next time.”
I pressed her against the side of my car and caged her in with my arms. “Are you only going to talk about me being so amazing the whole time we eat?”
“I guess that all depends on where you’re taking me.” She crossed her arms over her chest trying to put space between us. “I can be picky about what I eat.”
I leaned in and rested my forehead against hers. “I find that hard to believe, honey. On our last date, you ate half a plate of nachos that was the size of a garbage can lid and a huge ass burger. Then ate a huge ass sundae.”
“You didn’t see me eat that,” she insisted.
“No, I didn’t. But I know you ate it all, didn’t you?” I teased.
Her gaze lingered over my shoulder. “I don’t think I have to answer that.”
“Your non-answer is all I need to know that you licked the spoon and the bowl when you were done.”
She glared at me but didn’t protest.
“I thought we could go to Mac’s.”
Her face perked up, and her eyes lit. “By the strip mall?”
“Yeah. I haven’t eaten there in a while.”
She slightly moaned and closed her eyes. “Oh, my Lord. I eat there every Wednesday with Karlton. And then sometimes every Friday.”
I chuckled and brushed her hair off her face. The wind had picked up on the last few holes on the course and it looked like a storm was about to roll in. “You wanna go somewhere else?” I didn’t want to take her some place that she went all of the time.
“What?” she squawked. “Just you mentioning Mac’s has got my mouth watering. We are so going there.” Mac’s was a greasy spoon diner that was a block away from the karate and yoga studios. All of the food they made was amazing, and the pie was even better.
“Do I get to have pie?” Kennedy asked, reading my thoughts.
“I think you might like food a lot, honey,” I muttered.
“When it comes to Mac’s, I love food. If you don’t like Mac’s, we can’t be friends,” she said passionately.
Kennedy was definitely not one of those chicks who weren’t afraid to eat. “Mac’s it is, then,” I laughed.
She reached up and cupped my cheek. “You know that whole decoy with benefits thing we talked about?” she asked quietly.
I gulped and nodded. Please don’t let her be having second thoughts.
“Feeding me yummy food is the way to benefits.”
I breathed a sigh of relief and pushed my body against her. “I’ll definitely keep that in mind.” I pressed a kiss to her lips, and I sent up a silent hallelujah that she melted into my touch. “You’re everything I never imagined you would be, Kennedy.”
“Is that good?” she whispered.
“It’s fucking amazing.”
Her arms wrapped around my waist and she rested her head on my shoulder. “I guess I can accept that.”
“So, how about I feed you and then we can go back to my place to watch a movie?”
“You looking to cash in on those benefits, ninja?” she giggled.
“Maybe,” I admitted.
She hummed and tilted her head back to look at me. “Feed me and then a movie. But only if I get to pick what we watch.”
I looked down at her and knew that I’d let her do whatever she wanted as long as I got to spend more time with her. “Hmm, I guess I can agree to those terms,” I said hesitantly.
She lightly slapped me on the shoulder and laughed. “Look at you, trying to be all coy,” she giggled.
I wrapped her up in my arms and pulled her away from the car. “I don’t want to scare you away before we even start, Kennedy.”
A small smile spread across her lips. “I like when you call me Kennedy, but I like honey even better,” she admitted.
Kennedy was opening up to me, but I didn’t want to make a big deal about it. She let go and just enjoyed life when she wasn’t thinking about it. As long as I didn’t point it out that she was letting me in, everything would be fine. “What about Ken?” I asked lightly.
She leaned back and looked up at me. “Every time you call me Ken, you have to kiss me.”
Holy fuck. “You do know that I will never again call you Kennedy or honey, right?”
She quirked her eyebrow. “Until you get sick of kissing me.”
“Now you’re just talking crazy.” Getting sick of kissing Kennedy was not possible. Ever.
“We’ll see about that, ninja.” She threaded her fingers through my hair and leaned into me. “Now feed me,” she ordered.
I pressed a kiss to her forehead and lightly slapped her ass. “Yes, ma'am.”
I opened her door and helped her in the car. Before I shut her door, an idea popped into my head. “You think we could get Mac’s to go?” I would much rather spend time with Kennedy with no one around instead of in a crowded restaurant.
“You’re shameless,” she laughed.
“That’s not a no,” I grumbled.
She wound her hand around my neck and pulled me halfway into the car. “It’s definitely a yes.” Her lips and tongue touched mine and every thought of taking it slow flew from my mind. All I could think about was having Kennedy in my arms.
I jerked from her grasp and slammed her door shut. My legs couldn’t carry me fast enough around the car. I yanked open my door, slid into the car, jabbed the key into the ignition, and glanced over at Kennedy.
Her breathing was short, and she looked at me with hooded eyes.
“You got fifty different Kennedy’s inside of you, honey, and each one you let me see is better than the last.”
“It’s just me,” she whispered.
“And I’m damn glad you’re showing me you.”
**********