He seemed to think that over and finally nodded. “I will accept that. I did not care about a woman’s consent, because it wasn’t necessary.”
“You took what you wanted,” I said.
He nodded. “I do not want to take from you, Anita.”
“Then that means I need to offer it. Personal intimacy is like a gift that you give each other. Does that make any sense to you?”
“I think I understand what you mean.”
“Good,” I said.
Olaf leaned in close and smelled my hair like he had over at the sheriff’s office, but I wasn’t afraid this time. I don’t know if it was the bright sunlight and the crowd of families with kids, or other cops being nearby, or maybe I was just done with being scared of him.
“You do not smell like fear now. Do you think you’ve tamed me?”
“No, never. You are what you’ve always been: a big, dangerous predator. Do your preferences toward women scare me? Yes, but you keep saying you want to date me or have a relationship with me. I finally realized when you touched me in there that I’ve been so busy treating you like the big bad wolf that I haven’t taken the time to tell you any of my preferences. If this is supposed to be some kind of relationship, then you need to know my dating rules, just like I need to know yours.”
“I do not think I have dating rules, since I have never truly dated anyone.”
“Fair enough, but since I’ve dated more people than you have, maybe it’s my job to help you figure out your dating rules.”
He took in a deep breath and let it out slow. “Dating you is going to be difficult.”
“You aren’t the first person to say that.”
“Dating me is far more than just difficult, Anita.”
“Yeah, I know it’s potentially life-threatening.”
“Yes,” he said, face solemn, as if the answer made him sad.
“Just promise me one thing.”
“What?” he asked.
“If you realize you can’t fight your serial killer urges when it comes to me, warn me.”
“I will give you my word, if you will give me your word on something else.”
“What?” I asked.
“That you will truly give me a chance to date you.”
“Maybe we should figure out what dating means to us before I give my word. I’d hate to promise something and then find out that you meant something very different.”
“That is both fair and logical,” he said.
“Thanks.”
“Then first we need to define what dating means to me,” he said.
“Just you?” I asked.
“You know what dating means for you, because you’ve done it. I have not dated in any way that you would approve of for yourself.”
“You’ve never taken a woman out to dinner or a movie or anything, not ever?”
“I’ve only done that if I was pretending to be someone else and the woman was necessary to maintain my cover.”