Page 30 of Haven

Confidence left the window. I came here thinking I would be rejected again, but she wanted to take me out? My brain was trying to figure out the right words, but it was still scrambled. A date. Normal people date. Fuck. I made a mistake coming here. I should have let the amazing sex be the end of it. If I let Hades take me out, it would be the equivalent of her adopting a feral cat who had abandonment issues and a string of abusive owners.

“That date might call for an emotional support animal and a pint of whiskey.”

She smiled and I swear my soul ascended to the cosmos. Holy good God, Jesus take the wheel. “I have a pet rock named Daisy and a fully stocked bar at my place.”

I felt like that meme with the hamster panicking. What the hell did I do now? Now that I was here, I was terrified. My fight or flight was going rampant throughout my entire body, trying to decide if I deflected this, ruined it, or just got up and ran away from her, but something told me Hades would chase after me.

Maybe I didn’t have to be scared. That was a lie. I was a ticking time bomb of emotions, and this wasn’t something I was used to.

“You’re scared. I can read the signals all over your face. You don’t have to run or self-sabotage.” I narrowed my eyes. Was she a shrink? She smiled. “I’m a doctor. It’s my job to read people.”

A doctor.

Beauty and brains.

“Wait, how old are you?”

“Thirty.” I did the math in my head, but something wasn’t adding up. Hades laughed at the inner conflict in my brain. “I graduated high school when I was sixteen with dual enrollment courses, so I was technically a sophomore, but I only had to do one semester before I was considered a junior and I did summer classes. I didn’t have a social life because I was a minor, and college kids didn’t want to hang out with the child. I finished medical school when I was twenty-two, and my residency at twenty-six.”

“So you’re like a genius?” She laughed and nodded. “Wow.”

Hades was going to do one of two things: break my heart or steal it.

I dropped my bike off at her house and got into her cherry-red Camaro. Hades’s hand rested on my thigh as we drove in comfortable silence. I felt like a schoolgirl with her first crush. When I set myself to see her again I wasn’t expecting this, but hell, I deserved a little happiness in my life, even if I was mortified.

Hades didn’t live far from the ocean front and I knew if I ever came here without my bike, I could walk if I needed to clear my mind. Would it be the safest? Probably not, but it was something that wouldn’t happen if I was with her. Hades walked to the passenger side and opened my door for me, extending her hand to help me out as she steered us toward the pier. The piers in Briarwood were one of my favorite spots, but Cin always had too many people out there watching me. There was no one here, which seemed odd, but I didn’t question it.

“I don’t normally do this,” Hades admitted.

“What? Bring a girl to the pier?”

The corners of her mouth curled into a grin. “Yes, and ask a gorgeous woman on a date after we skipped all the bases.”

“So that connection wasn’t just me?”

“Nope.”

“This could be the worst mistake of our lives,” I muttered, looking down at my hands.

Hades put her finger under my chin and lifted my head up. It felt like a scene from a movie. “And what if it is the best thing we do?” She leaned in, brushing her lips against mine in a soft kiss before deepening it. Kissing her was like the first glimpse of sunlight breaking through an edacious hurricane. “I’m not one to fall in love at first sight, but I know when my feelings are intense.”

“And if I am the enemy?” This was going to be a modern-day Romeo and Juliet story with guns, gangs, and motorcycles.

“Enemies make the best lovers.” Amen to that. “I know you’re Cinder Bourgeois’s sister. I didn’t like an old IG post for my health.”

“And the feud?"

She shrugged. “The feud is not my problem. I want to know who you are, your strengths and weaknesses. The reason you’re scared to say yes and what was done to you.” I watched her tongue lick her lips. “This feeling is intense, and I want to know more. I have a blanket, and there’s an entire ocean waiting for us.”

The cool ocean breeze did nothing for my heated skin as Hades held my hand and icy water hit my feet. This was easier with my therapist. She was certified to deal with my trauma; Hades was…hell, I didn’t know what she was right then, but exposing myself could make or break this growing connection between us. For the first time in a while, I was terrified.

She laid the blanket close to the shoreline where the water barely missed the fabric and joined our hands, as if on instinct. I pulled my knees close to my chest and watched the soothing waves ebb and flow from the shore. My fingers grazed the sand as I gathered the words I needed to say. I just met the woman, and now I wanted to confess my darkest secrets?

I didn’t go around throwing my trauma around like confetti, but if I wanted to pursue anything with Hades, I needed to come clean about some things. I’d rather tell her now than deal with another heartbreak later.

“Do you want me to rip the Band-Aid off now, or wait?” I asked.

“Whatever you want to share,” she said. She was not ready for this rollercoaster of emotion and trauma.