“Okay. I’m prepared to agree to it: no grand gestures, no commitments, no calling it romance. We date each other when I’m home, and others when I’m away? If something changes, or we meet someone special, we’ll both be okay.”
“Yes.”
She put her hand out and he glanced down, frowning. “What is this?”
“Shake on it. We made a deal. We can continue to see if this attraction is real, without getting weird about it again. We will be totally honest, every step of the way, no matter who else we choose to date. We aren’t committed or crazy or falling in love. We are simply testing the water.”
A slow grin appeared on his face. Shaking her hand, he said, “Deal.”
When her stomach responded with a belly full of butterflies, Daisy knew there wasn’t one thing casual about how she felt towards him. But whatever he had to tell himself to make it happen would be tolerated and even supported by her from now on. She had to guide Asher past his doubts into unconditional acceptance. Of whatever this was and her. And them.
No denying how potent it was. The chemistry made her heart sing and her soul fly. Yeah, it was real, and it was there. Nothing flaky about her reaction to him either. He didn’t trust her yet, probably because of the distance, but she intended to prove that he could. It would be romantic, epically so, but not yet… He was too rigid in his thoughts to get to that point yet. But she knew she could fine tune him slowly and make it happen.
They perfectly complemented each other. Asher’s obsession with making lists, future planning, and schedules for the next five or ten years came from his roots of organization and caution. Daisy’s excitement towards life, and living in the present, as well as a burning curiosity for new things, didn’t require any planning. If her journey sometimes changed its linear direction to better suit her, so much the better. Yes. She could create their dream and he could anchor it to the ground. In the meantime, they’d both have security without becoming bored or stagnant. See? Yin and Yang. Black and White. Today and Tomorrow. Everything in life is balanced. She was sure she and Asher could also establish that. But he needed more time, bless his pragmatic, little heart. She didn’t foresee any of it, but stepping back now, in that moment, while still straddling him after the best makeout session ever, she realized how well this could work.
Asher still held her hand in his. His thumb rubbed the soft skin between her thumb and index finger. The contact sent hot, sensual currents all the way to her core. “I would kiss you again to seal the deal, but if I did, I doubt I could stop. You stopped us like a brick wall, which I needed. Should we go before we don’t follow the plan?”
She giggled as she pushed back and released his hand, rising as he groaned and shifted around. She assumed his erection prevented him from popping up as fast as she did. Finally, he rose to his feet.
“Asher Reed, you will not have your way with me on these decrepit stairs that might collapse under us and send me to the ER for a tetanus shot. What kind of girl do you think I am? Certainly not that type.” She grinned to let him know she was kidding. And she might have been that type of girl with him. But the issues he brought up lengthened the entire process. He needed more space and time to get used to it all.
He put a hand out to her, and her heart filled with joy at how easy the intimate gesture seemed. She slipped her hand into his and they started towards his truck. “Fair enough, Daisy Rydell. A normal date where I’m neither weird nor mean.”
She ran back to grab the remnants of their picnic. Once on the road, driving back to town, she asked, “What shall our next date be? We’ve gone to town and been sorta formal. We’ve done the casual outing. What do we do next?”
“How about something in-between? River’s End Café? A long walk? Whatever it might be, let’s just try to relax and see how it goes.”
“No sex. But do we agree on one goodnight kiss? Take the anxiety out of it?”
He nodded. “Deal. No matter what, we stick to the plan.”
“Deal.” She resisted an eyeroll at the sheer satisfaction she heard in his tone. He loved having rules, guidelines and a plan. Even for a stupid date. But obviously, all the stress he felt in considering whether or not to date caused this reaction in him. He needed all those rules and parameters. He needed them to show him how to behave. Because, for whatever reason, dating Daisy blew his mind. But neither could he deny the attraction, nor the magnetic draw. She always felt it, not he. However, it must have also existed for him or he wouldn’t be willing to pursue it any longer.
Daisy was ready to hold on for the ride. She was willing to guide his obedient, planned-out mind through it. She could only hope for future spontaneity. Unscheduled events. Exciting expeditions. Romantic feelings. But those had to wait. He could get weird and mean. No one wanted a repeat of that Asher, least of all her. So, she decided to remind herself how bad he could be if and when her willpower weakened.
Chapter 8
EVENTUALLY, DAISY AND ASHER managed to have a decent date. One that was neither weird, awkward, argumentative, nor uncomfortable. Dinner at the local café, which was owned by Jacob and Luna Starr, (cousins by marriage to Daisy), was the spot they chose. There was no reason to wonder why they were having dinner alone. They neither sought out attention nor avoided it. What harm could there be in a casual dinner between friends?
They talked about stuff far beyond what they already knew of each other. From a lifetime of growing up in close proximity to sharing so many relatives, Asher managed to move past that issue and was not as weird and awkward as he had been previously. He was polite, nonjudgmental, and did not dwell on their differences or consider them anything pivotal. Instead, he let the conversation drift wherever it went with no concern for future problems or issues. Right now, this moment and this hour were all that mattered.
He cringed when he remembered how freaked out he was on their first one. He had trouble switching his impression of young Daisy from his cousin to someone he could date. Obviously, it wasn’t easy for Asher to make the switch. His ensuing anxiety and confusion of why he couldn’t date her left him without any real answer.
This time, their date was successful.
They ate, chatted, and even laughed a few times. After the meal, they parked in a spot where they could watch the sun setting over the water. It was a fun, enjoyable, normal time. Like any good date might have gone.
The time came to walk to her front door and say goodnight. With a kiss. It was already decided and agreed upon. Knowing it would happen made it easier to accept. The raw worry and stress and what-ifs didn’t arise this time.
Additionally, her name didn’t flash in his mind with quite the same drama or evoke the uncomfortable feelings as the first two dates did. They were both reasonable, more comfortable with each other, and the conversation flowed. They even held hands without any degree of weirdness (or meanness). However, it was once more, decidedly awkward.
She was wearing shorts and her hair was long and flowing as it framed her face. Daisy said, “So our first normal date is finished.”
“How would you rate it? Three stars? Four?”
“Out of how many?”
“Five, of course.”
“I’d rate it a four at this point. But with a really great kiss? Might boost it to five.” She tilted her head up and looked at him with a soft, but strangely wise grin. What she was thinking was a mystery to him and he had to wonder. Daisy seemed to possess a secret that he lacked any knowledge of. He saw innocence and light in her eyes, and he sensed there was something special about her that he could not identify or define. Surprisingly, she was much more than he ever estimated.