“You have a lovely home,” I lamely say. Lovely, that’s all I got. I want to slap my forehead.
“Thank you.”
“You must really do well at the gym,” I say. And I’m dumb. I shouldn’t care about any of this.
“I do, but this was given to me when my father passed. I’ve done a lot of modern renovations,” he says and now I feel like crap.
“I’m so sorry, I didn’t know,” I stutter.
“It’s okay, sweetheart. It’s in the past,” he pats my hand.
“And the car?” I should stop while I’m ahead.
“I got that with the prize money from my last fight,” he says.
“You were a fighter?” Explains the scars.
“Just retired. Been training other fighters for a long time, though. I opened the gym way before I even thought about retiring,” he says.
“Do you miss it?”
“Sometimes. It’s a rush getting into the cage, hearing the crowd, the adrenaline. So yeah, not going to lie, I miss it sometimes.”
“I can see why people would say that, it’s just not my cup of tea,” I shrug.
“Will you come to your brother’s fights?” he asks.
“Yes, just because I want to support him,” I say.
“You’re a really good person, raising your brother and all,” he says.
“Thank you,” I reply, unsure of what else to say.
I watch the water drops on my beer as they slide down the bottle, swirling my bottle to make them race, awkwardly avoiding his eyes.
I’ve never been in this situation, never had friends or boyfriends, never been invited over to people’s homes.
Not that I wouldn’t date if a guy asked me out, but it would have to be the right kind of guy. I was too worried about Thorn to even think about it, but now, I’m thinking about it. Thorn is old enough that I could take a little time for myself, right?
But I’m sure it wouldn’t be with Kingston. He’s just being nice because of Thorn.
“So, this will sound weird. I’m pretty bad at dating and stuff. I have a reputation and not a good one, but I hope that doesn’t scare you off. And I know you have been taking care of your brother and working, and maybe you will say no, but would you like to go out sometime? With me?”
It was cute how he rambled and stumbled over his words and maybe I was wrong. I didn’t think Kingston would be interested in me, but I’m wrong.
“I’ve never dated. I get all my tips from dating shows, so I kind of understand where you’re coming from, but yes, I’d love to go out with you.” Why not? I should live a little, right?
He takes my hand and kisses my knuckles, and I can feel my face flush hot. I’m probably bright red, but his touch does things to me.
Good things.
“You’re cute when you blush,” he chuckles, causing me to blush more.
I smile and duck my head. I know my voice will betray me if I try to speak, showing him how much I’m attracted to him.
“Time to grill,” he says, and I jump back to the present.
Dinner is good and I’ll give it to Kingston, his steaks were tasty.