Free Moth to a Flame by K Webster

girl was enough to erase the shitty conversation with my dad.
    I pulled the flowers from behind my back—well, the plant, actually. “Lia, I got you a plant. Since you seem offended by flowers, I wanted to get it right. You can think of me when you water it,” I winked.
    She took the plant from me and chuckled, “What will I ever do with you Cale Reeves?” before she set the plant on the table by the window. “So, what’s the plan?” she asked. “Are you taking me to a movie? Dinner? I’ve been going crazy wondering about our date!”
    She was dressed in a sparkly, black top, a sexy pair of dark skinny jeans that hugged every curve of her ass, and some impossibly high heels. Her hair was pulled back into a sleek ponytail, accentuating her high cheekbones. My dick was going to hate me for what I was about to say.
    “Lia, I told you to dress comfortably. You’re going to have to change,” I sighed, not really wanting to see her in anything but those badass jeans.
    Her lips formed a sexy, little pout that made me want to throw her across the table right then and do very dirty things to her.
    Holding the backpack up, I smiled reassuringly at her. “Babe, you look hot as hell, but you aren’t dressed appropriately for our date. I bet those heels cost a fortune and they won’t help you where we’re going. I took the liberty of bringing some stuff for you to wear on our date. Throw on some jeans that aren’t so nice. Everything else you’ll need is in here.”
    Lia grabbed the bag and made her way back to her room, swaying her hips as she marched off. Getting out of those jeans was definitely a good idea if we had any plans of actually making it to our date.
    A few minutes later, she came out frowning, holding the bag like it contained venomous snakes.
    “What?” I asked.
    “There is NO way in hell I am wearing those ugly things!” she shrieked, sounding like such a valley girl.
    I started laughing at the look on her face. “What’s wrong with them? They’re hiking boots and you love shoes. I guess I’m missing the issue here.”
    “Pink camo? Really, Cale?” she huffed.
    “Lia, you’ll need them for our date. I promise it’ll be just us two. The fashion police won’t be anywhere near us. You’ll thank me later.”
    She rolled her eyes and sat down to put them on. Her cute lips were still puckered into a pout, but she was complying. She’d changed into some equally sexy jeans, but these looked more comfortable. The hoodie was one I’d given her to wear. It was pink camo too, but for some reason, she wasn’t as offended by the top.
    When she finished, she stood up, walked over to me, and kissed my cheek. “I’m ready for our date, handsome.” And with that, she strutted out the front door, giving me another prime view of her sexy ass.

CALE WAS UP to something for our date. He had me dressed up like a freaking redneck, but honestly, I really didn’t care. I was just excited to be going on a real date. When I’d thought about if this day would ever come with anyone, I’d been overwhelmed with anxiety. My nightmare dinner with Sam and then his creepy note stressed me out, but going out with Cale had me feeling anticipation I hadn’t felt in a very long time. For once in the past three years, I felt like a normal woman going on a normal date with a man. A very hot man.
    The drive to our unknown-to-me destination was a quiet one except for Big Wreck singing a very appropriate “You Caught My Eye” in the background. Our thoughts were in other places as we drove. Yesterday, Pops had a talk with me about being careful on my date. It seemed that he had quite the protective streak in him. If he’d known about the craziness with Sam or, more terrifying, my abduction three years ago, he’d have probably forbid me to date anyone ever. Family isn’t always blood. Pops was definitely family.
    I noticed that we were heading towards a more secluded area that normally would have sent me into a panic.