CHAPTER 9
Gage
I truly have no idea when I last went out on a date. After retiring from the league last year, I was incredibly transient. Spent a lot of time back home in Iowa, visiting family—hopping from home to home to hang out with siblings. I did some traveling—trips to Costa Rica, South Africa, and a jaunt through Europe. I fucking took an art class—which I sucked at—and spent a lot of time renovating the houseboat I’d purchased in Seattle.
I was busy, but not so busy that I couldn’t meet women. Thing is, I wasn’t interested in a relationship. Though I’ve had my share of girlfriends over the years, nothing stood the test of time. Like I told Baden… the right one hasn’t come along yet.
And now there’s Jenna.
I don’t think many men would give her a second look, not because of the scars. She’s gorgeous in her own right despite them. But she’s complicated, and men—at least most of the ones I know—don’t like complications. They want relationships to be easy and challenge-free.
I can’t explain why a complicated woman has my attention right now, but she does. And I don’t think I want to fix her, because she’s not broken.
Maybe she’s a little wary. She’s certainly had significant trauma in her life, but she’s about the most resilient person I’ve ever known.
And that is what makes her fascinating. No matter how high the hurdles were she had to overcome, she’s a self-conscious woman—through circumstance—who made a ballsy move from the safety of a private life with her sister and moved across the country to where she knows hardly anyone just so she could take a job that exposes her to many people.
If that’s not courage, I don’t know what is.
But tonight… Jenna is simply a beautiful dinner companion I’m eager to get to know better.
When I picked her up, I wasn’t prepared to be as dazzled as I was. She’s wearing a black silky jumpsuit belted at her waist. The legs are somewhat baggy but taper at the ankle, and she’s wearing black stiletto sandals. The top is long-sleeved, cut straight across at her collarbone, and she’s wearing a red and black–patterned scarf knotted at the side of her throat. Her hair is curled, worn long over her shoulders, and her makeup is perfection, as if she’s not wearing any. Just golden skin, long lashes, and plump lips coated in something shiny that makes me think of kissing it right off her.
When I told her she was stunning, she blushed, tugging slightly at the scarf. I took her hand and pulled it away, holding on to it as we walked out of her building.
And now here we sit at our private table tucked in the back of a highly recommended French restaurant. Wine has been tasted and poured.
I hold up my glass, and she mimics me. “Here’s to an amazing first date.”
Clinking her glass against mine, she smiles. “I’ll drink to that.”
Chuckling, I sip the Malbec we’d decided on after both having a taste, because I don’t believe in one person making the choice. The sommelier looked offended, but fuck him. I found it fun, if not slightly intimate, that I tasted the wine and then passed it across to Jenna, who didn’t hesitate to take a sip after me.
Jenna sets her glass down with a soft hmmm. “That’s good.”
“I notice you didn’t correct me when I called this a first date,” I say, placing my glass down on the crisp linen tablecloth.
She smirks. “You’re being awfully optimistic.”
“That is a word most people would use to describe me.”
Settling back into her chair, she tips her head. “What other words would people use?”
Deep question to start the evening—I think about it a moment. “Stubborn.”
She flashes a smile and laughs. “I get that vibe from you.”
“My family would say I have a very hard head. That when I set my mind to something, I don’t deviate, and I’m tenacious in my pursuits.”
“That could be a good or bad thing,” she says, fingers playing with the stem of her wineglass. “You said you had sisters. Any other siblings?”
Nodding, I push the bread plate back a bit to make room and cross my arms on the table. “Four sisters and two brothers. Seven of us in all.”
“Wow,” Jenna exclaims, eyes sparkling with fascination. “Okay, so tell me one word each of the siblings would use to describe you.”
“You are not pulling any punches in this get-to-know-you phase, are you?”
“Well, a girl can only google so much about a guy,” she quips, and I bust out laughing.
“Okay… let me think.” I tap a finger to my chin, doing a quick mental rundown of my brothers and sisters. “Melanie would say I’m hardworking.”
Jenna motions with her hand to give her more.
“She’s a doctor, practices family medicine back in our hometown, and she’s thirty-three. She appreciates a strong work ethic.”