Whiskey and Country

“Why?”

“Because. You’re important to me.”

“Good night, Nick,” Dahlia said with another yawn.

“Night.” Our gaze bored into each other for a few more seconds until she looked away, moving to turn off her bedside lamp.

And I watched her, the sound of her steady breaths filling my heart with new sensations I had never felt before.

This was the most surprising date I’d ever had. Dahlia was her own person. I loved how careful, yet willing to open up to me, she had been tonight.

I hadn’t dated lots of women in my life—my dating records didn’t compare with Tucker's—but Dahlia had an almost virgin record. She told me once Jeff had been her one and only. I loved how sweet and innocent she was about everything, a contrast to the self-assured woman she usually projected. This new side of her grew on me. From an outsider’s point of view, she appeared to have everything figured out, but this version of her tonight showed me just how fragile she could also be.

And damn, everything about her enticed me.

With my thumb, once I made sure she was deep asleep, I ended the video call. A pinch squeezed my heart when her face disappeared on the screen. “Good night, Dahlia.”

And as a first in a long time, my last thoughts before dozing off didn’t travel to my memories of Derek. And the day I pressed that awful button.

Sleep claimed me, and my dreams swarmed with the woman I was starting to not get enough of.

Derek’s Bucket List – 20. Nick: Go on a different kind of date