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Chapter Thirteen
Jackson knew it in his bones—he was going to fall in love with Oleander and it would break him when she didn’t feel the same.
After the shakes, they wandered around the park hand-in-hand. Jackson spent so much time watching her that he kept tripping over his own feet. He was awkwardwithoutscreaming kids tripping him up, so with them everywhere, Jackson was surprised he didn’t fall on his face. He’d never been confident when it came to women, whether he was dating them or in a friendship—he always felt like those women could do better—but with Oleander, none of that filtered into his mind. The only thing he thought about with her was how he never wanted their date to end.
Armed with donuts, Oleander led them to a bench that had just been vacated by a family. She sat down, adjusting her dress and Jackson sat down beside her, straddling the bench. It was distracting, watching her in that dress. Jackson had never cared what women wore, but he liked whatshewas wearing. The dress wasflowy—there was no other way to explain what it looked like—and he fucking loved it. When she moved, the bottom twirled around her thighs and he got a chance to stare at her legs. It also hugged her delicious curves and stretched over her ass.
And Jackson was definitely in love with her ass.
The few times Oleander got ahead of him in their search for the next best item, he found other people staring at her too. She was so confident that it exuded off of her and Jackson was captivated.
This is how it always happened—he got hooked and addicted, fell in love and everything fell apart.
Jackson didn’t want that with Oleander. For one, she was far more mature than the women he’d been with. And she’d clearly experienced more in life than he had. And while she had a lot to teach him, she had a lot to offer by existing in his life.
Oleander made a noise between a moan and a growl, and Jackson snapped out of his thoughts to look at her. A group of guys passed them as she moaned and they gave Jackson a ‘thumbs up’ paired with disgusting smirks and he rolled his eyes at them.
“You should know this now, I can get addicted to donuts.”
He laughed. “I got that from all the noises you made and how you bought one of every flavor.”
Oleander made a face, “I was ready to buy out all of them, but Brea gave methatlook.”
“First name basis with the owner?” Jackson smirked, wondering where he’d gone when she’d chatted up the woman at the truck.
“She was telling me the story of how she and Ben met—that’s her partner—and ugh, I’m not someone who cares for romantic things, but it was perfect.”
“You’re not a romantic?”
Oleander shrugged. “I mean..I like romance, but I also don’t?”
“That sounds like an interesting story.”
“It’s a very long one.”
“We’ve got nothing but time.”
Oleander scrunched up her nose and Jackson chuckled. “Must we?”
“Isn’t that what people do on their first dates, get to know each other?”
“You’ve had your tongue in my mouth and your hand on my ass. Aren’t we already getting to know each other?” Oleander smiled at him sweetly and broke a donut in two pieces and handed one half to him. “Fine, ask away.”
Jackson grinned, proud of himself for wearing her down as he took a bite of the donut. If he was really interested in the donut, he would have been able to enjoy the flavors that filled his mouth. But he was so distracted by the way Oleander was eating that he had to force himself to focus on what they were supposed to be doing.
He was also very distracted by the memory of his hand tracing the shape of her full ass and their tongues dancing together when he greeted her. The thoughts made his brain wander and his pants tighten, which was definitely not family friendly at all.
Clearing his throat, Jackson took another bite of the donut before speaking. “What’s the most underrated alcoholic beverage?”
Oleander’s eyebrow arched up. “That’s not how this game works.”
Jackson laughed. “We’re doing things differently. Now, answer the question.”
“In my opinion?” she asked and Jackson nodded. “Tequila shots. People talk about it in books and you see everyone knocking them back in movies, but so few people order it at the Barrel. Frankie is single-handedly finishing our stock.”
“I, personally, know that tequila makes people do stupid shit,” Jackson said with a smirk.
“Now I need to know more, so let’s go with…something stupid you’ve done while drunk.”
