I lean on my hand, my eyes hooded. “That was the plan.”
“I don’t doubt it. You don’t hold back with me.”
“I don’t, and I won’t.”
“Good,” he says, the side of his mouth hooking up. When the waiter comes back to our table, he takes our dinner order and leaves promptly. “What did you do today? Any cool cupcakes being made by the stellar Stella?”
“You like rhyming my name, don’t you?”
He grins. “I do. I actually work hard to come up with different ones. I have an app on my phone.”
The giggle bubbles out of me, even when I try not to let it. “You’re so silly,” I announce, and he winks, his whole face taking part in the motion. Oh, if I were wearing panties, they’d be on fire. “I made a strawberry-filled cupcake with buttercream frosting and then some Nutella ones, along with chocolate chip cookie dough ones.”
“Are there any left?”
“There are a few in the cooler.”
“So, we’ll go there after this?”
I grin. “I do have a key.”
“Yup. We’re getting dessert.”
Why am I making that way more sexual in my head than I think he means it? Probably because I want him so badly. Time to cool my jets. “I’m down for that.”
“As long as I have you home by nine.”
I roll my eyes. “I don’t have a curfew.”
“Oh, I don’t care. You’ll be home by nine.”
“Stop! All I gotta do is text if I’m coming home or not, and my mom is cool.”
He eyes me. “Fine, but I can’t be out all night. I’ve got an early morning and a game tomorrow.”
“I knew that.”
“You should come watch me play.”
“Maybe,” I say. “I did trade my shift tonight to be here.”
“I didn’t know you did that.”
“I wanted to see you.” We share a heated look before I bite my lip. “I feel like it’s the elephant in the room, but do you want to talk about why your day was bad?”
Immediately, I regret asking. His eyes lose their light, and his mouth turns down as he shakes his head in annoyance. “Therapy was an absolute shitshow. The new therapist was such a bitch and doubted me at every turn. Noelle, my longtime therapist, was trying to defend me and really fight for me, but that lady was just awful and didn’t believe any of my growth. Even said I shouldn’t be in a relationship.”
“What? Why?”
He pauses then. “This isn’t a place I can talk about that, but she made it seem like I only want sexual things from you. And I even told them I only kissed you for the first time yesterday, two dates in.”
“Yeah, we’re going slow.”
“Exactly, and when I was able to give her three things about you that turn me on that have nothing to do with sex, she still doubted me. I hate being doubted. I hate that I know I’m recovering and growing, and she comes in, not knowing shit about me, and decides the work Noelle and I have done is nothing.”
I reach out, threading our fingers together and cupping my other hand over ours. “I’m sorry. That’s very unfair.” I mean it; it’s bullshit. But damn it, I want to know why this chick feels this way. It kind of worries me. But I do trust him. I believe what he is telling me.
“I’m not some sex addict or anything,” he supplies—I guess due to the look on my face. “I did use sex to get over my feelings before, but I haven’t been with anyone for almost seven months now.”
“Oh,” I say, surprised by that. “I didn’t know that either.”
He shrugs. “It’s not like I have a shirt telling everyone these things. I only tell important people.”
I swallow as I hold his gaze. “Don’t let that lady into your mind at all. She doesn’t know you, and she snap-judged you. That’s unfair, and you are amazing, Wes. I promise. I wouldn’t be spending my time with you, getting all gorgeous for you, if I didn’t believe that.”
He squeezes my hand. “Thanks. She actually got fired.”
“I figured. Elli don’t play. She’s a mama bear.”
“She is,” he laughs, rubbing his thumb along mine. When his phone lights up, we both look down to see it’s Aiden. I press my lips together. Shit, did my parents tell him? Wes looks over at me just as I meet his gaze, and I guess he’s thinking the same thing I am. “Do you think your parents told him?”
“I don’t think they would,” I say with a shrug.
Still holding my hand, he picks up the phone with the other and answers. “Hey, man. What’s up? Oh. Is she okay? Oh hell. Okay. No, dude. Don’t worry about it. I’ll catch you another day. Keep me in the loop.”
I’m trying to pay attention, but then my phone sounds with a text from my mom.