Maybe, we could have a boy and a girl. That would be perfect.
He’d make a good father. I knew that. You just had to watch the way he was with Drew. Sure, he acted all gruff and mean but he really looked after him. He even loved the guitar lessons, as much as he’d tried to hide it.
That reminded me of something. “Hey, Jackson, remember that time I went on the date with Drew?”
He nodded. “It wasn’t a real date. We set it up so he’d win the challenge with you.”
He nodded. “I figured that.”
Yeah, he could say that, but I saw the grin before he wiped it off his face. He’d totally believed it. He could pretend that he hadn’t cared but he’d totally been jealous.
Chapter 38 Jackson
I ASKED GINA OUT ON a date. I had no idea what else to do, so I figured we should start from the beginning. A first date is a first date, even if you’ve known each other for a while and have
been through hell together.
It’d been so long since I’d been on a date, I wasn’t sure how to go about it.
Hell, that was a lie. I’d never really taken a woman on a date. When we started the band, I was so young. Women just tended to throw themselves at me and I played along. Sometimes they stuck around for a while but it was never planned. There was no dating involved.
There wasn’t even anyone to ask for advice. I could ask Carlie but I had no trust in her womanly instincts. She wasn’t the dating type either. And I sure wasn’t asking Drew. Finally, I asked Alex. He had some good ideas.
“A restaurant that’s classy but not so classy you’d feel intimidated.”
I’m pretty sure the “you” in that was not a general “you” either but a direct implication that I’d not know how to act in a fancy place. Hell, he wasn’t wrong.
He wrote down the names of a few places.
Lately, I felt a bit weird talking to Alex. If what Drew had told me was the truth, then he had a lot he kept hidden. I sure didn’t want to let slip that I knew anything.
I wanted to do everything right for the date. I got flowers for her. Red roses.
When I got to Gina’s door, she seemed pleased with them. She took them in and put them in a vase.
“Do you want a drink before we go?” she asked.
“That’s okay. The doctor said I have to lay off the booze while I’m on these meds.”
She made a shocked motion as though she was going to faint. I’d have to get used to that for a while. But I’d made the commitment. It wasn’t like I’d never drink again, just that I’d cut back for a while. It sure left a big hole inside me but I was hoping there were things in this life better than drinking.
Gina looked gorgeous. She had on a cute shirt that showed off her body and a sexy pair of jeans. I wanted to sweep her up into my arms but we’d never make it to dinner if I did.
“Should we get going?” I asked.
She grabbed her bag. We walked to dinner. It wasn’t that far and it was a nice night.
All through dinner, we joked around but I couldn’t say the things I wanted to say to her. I was ready to give this relationship all I had, if only she’d let me.
“I’ve got another job,” she said.
“It’s taken you until halfway through dinner to mention that?”
She grinned. “It’s only part-time but it pays enough for me to survive on. It’s pretty much the same work I was doing before, not very exciting, but I can work from home. That means I will have time to study if I apply for university.”
“You know if you need to save money, you could always move into my place.” I grinned. It was a brave move and I was going way too fast. I’d hurt this girl and I needed to rebuild her trust. Things had been going well between us and I knew we had forever, but every moment I was apart from her felt like a moment wasted.
“Maybe. One day.”