Free Be Good by Dakota Madison Page B

gave me a wide grin. “See, I knew you could do it. Thanks for not giving up.”
    “Thanks for not giving up on me .” When Brett’s eyes met mine, we both knew I meant more than just here and now. 
    If you would have asked me a few weeks ago, if I would have thought someone like Brett had anything to teach me, I would have thought you were crazy. Now it seemed Brett was teaching me something new every minute of the day. And they were things I actually cared about learning. I’d never cared about learning anything before I met Brett.
    I had a feeling what I had to learn from Brett was much deeper than how to use chop sticks and trivia about flowers and gardens. I had a feeling he was going to teach me a lot about love and life.
    As we exited the restaurant, Brett grabbed my hand. “So, what’s the verdict on Vietnamese food?”
    I thought about it for a minute. “The food was different, which isn’t bad. I’m glad that you make me try new things. I always considered myself a risk taker, sometimes too much of one, flaw number three, by the way. But I realized I don’t take risks like you do. Seeing and experiencing new places and eating different foods. Those are good risks. The kinds of risks I’ve taken in the past are the dark and dangerous kind. The risks you take are the healthy kind. The kind that broaden your horizons.”
    Brett stopped walk ing and turned to face me. “I’m glad you decided to take a risk with me. Even if I’m not dark and dangerous.”
    “And who says you’re not dangerous,” I teased.
    “No one had ever mistaken me for dangerous.”
    Not taking my eyes from Brett’s, I moved in closer. “Maybe nobody has gotten close enough to bring out your dangerous side. I know it’s there, Mr. Conner. I f you didn’t have a dangerous side, you never would have slept with me that first night. You just needed someone like me to bring it out.”
    I could see Brett swallow hard. “I think we need to get back to the townhouse.”
    “Nice try at changing the subject. Does it make you uncomfortable that we’re so attracted to each other? Does it make you feel like you could lose control?”
    He nodded.
    “Good. Let’s go back to your place.”
    And we did.

 
    Five
    Brett walked me upstairs as if he was walking me to my doorstep after a date. It was a sweet gesture.
    He gave me a peck on the lips and we both stood looking at each other. 
    “I’m not tired,” I said with a glance into the guest bedroom. I wasn’t ready for him to go downstairs and leave me alone. It felt good just being with him, talking with him and having him close to me. Brett made me feel safe. I could be myself with him, which wasn’t something I was with very many people. That’s a lie; I hadn’t ever been truly myself with anyone.
    Brett gave me a half smile. “Neither am I.”
    He took my hand and led me over to the bed. We both lay down on our backs, fully clothed. Brett took my hand and held it. We turned to face each other.
    Brett seemed to be inspecting every inch of my face.
    “What,” I asked.
    “I’m memorizing your face .” He said it was if it was the most normal thing in the world.
    “Why?” I laughed.
    “Because I’m not going to see you for a while. I want to remember everything about you. The way your nose turns up slightly and your mouth turns up a little more on the left when you grin. The way your blue eyes sparkle when the light hits them at a certain angle.”
    I could feel a lump starting to form in my throat. I had never gotten into romance and I didn’t want to be a sappy girl, who cried when a guy got all mushy. I wasn’t that girl . Was I?
    “What are we doing, Brett? You don’t want sex. You said you want to get to know me better but why? What ’s the angle here?”
    He propped himself on one elbow and looked into my eyes. “First of all, I never said I didn’t want sex. I just said we weren’t having sex this weekend. There’s a big difference. I want to have sex