Birthright

The valet brings the car around, and I help Cherry in before taking my own seat, but I don’t drive off right away. I’m not even sure where to go.

“Look, Cherry…” My voice trails off and I sigh. I have no idea how to begin to repair this.

“It’s all right, Nate. Really, it is.”

“It isn’t.” I breathe slowly and try to relax my shoulders.

I need to regain control of myself before I completely fuck everything up and have to start all over again, probably with another girl. The problem is, Cherry is perfect because she’s not from Cascade Falls, and all the other women are. They already know me or at least think they do. With Cherry, it’s different. I want it to be different.

“I wanted you to have a good time tonight,” I finally say. “Nice dinner, maybe a nice drive out to the park…fuck! This is a mess.”

“Well, a calm, relaxing dinner is nice but not nearly as good of a story,” Cherry says with a chuckle. “None of it was your fault. They were just a bit overwhelmed tonight. Chalk it all up to being Friday the thirteenth.”

“Is it?” She’s right though I hadn’t thought about it before now.

“Are you superstitious?” Cherry asks. “I was only joking.”

“Maybe a little.” I sigh and manage a smile. “Bad luck or not, I want to make this up to you. Maybe we can go to a place out of town with more options.”

“It’s getting a little late for dinner at this point,” Cherry says.

&

nbsp; My chest tightens. I don’t want the night to end before it’s even begun, but she’s right. It’s after eight o’clock, and we can’t drive to another town, find a restaurant, order dinner, and eat it before it will be way too late.

“There are some bars I could take you to.” As soon as I say it, I realize it’s a mistake. “They’re loud though, not places where we can actually talk. Not great food, either. I don’t suppose you gamble at all?”

“Like slot machines and such?”

“Yeah. There’s a casino on the south side of town.”

“I went to Atlantic City once,” Cherry says. “It really wasn’t my scene.”

“No casino then.” I rack my brain, trying to come up with a decent alternative, but Cherry beats me to the punch.

“Do you want to just go back to my place?” she says suddenly. “I mean, I’m not much of a cook, but I can keep us from starving. No long drive or waiting required.”

“Are you sure?” I look over at her, trying to read her expression. When guys say, “Come back to my place,” their meaning is usually obvious, but I’m not so sure about women.

“Why not?” She shrugs, her expression still unreadable.

A short time later, we step into her apartment, and Cherry heads straight to the bedroom to change out of her stained dress. I’m tense again but not for the same reason. I wasn’t expecting to end up at her place, and it puts all the carefully considered steps to my plan in a different setting—one I’m not prepared for, and now I don’t know what to expect. I also can’t stop thinking about the fact that Cherry is probably getting naked in the other room.

I shake my head to clear it of the images and take a moment to look around.

The apartment is small, and a lot of boxes are still unpacked, but it’s nice enough. Reid has definitely made a lot of improvements to the outside of the building, but I hadn’t been inside before. I look around for decorations or pictures—something that would give me more insight into Cherry’s personality—but all I see is a plant in the kitchen.

Cherry comes back in jeans and a green blouse that brings out her eyes. Though the look is the opposite of her previous attire, she’s still stunning.

“I’m starving!” she announces. “The specialty of the house is peanut better and jelly sandwiches complemented by a bottle of wine I got at the dollar store.”

“You bought wine at a dollar store?”

“Not really.” Cherry snickers. “It is from the drug store at the end of the block though. It cost more than a dollar but not a lot more.” She holds up a bottle of Pink Moscato with the image of a foot on the label. “It’s not bad for what it is.”

“It looks, um…”

“Cheap?”