I was determined not to fuck this up and to give her everything I could.
Which was why I’d text her at eight this morning and told her to be ready for seven PM. Then I’d texted her countdowns, although admittedly, I’d added in some teasing here and there. The Townsends didn’t work like most people. Those taunts and the teasing were like foreplay for them, and I was going to let my knowledge of the family work for me.
Pulling up in front of her house, I grinned when I saw the dogs scratching at one of the windows near the front door. Her Dachshunds were what I would imagine an overcharged dog would look like if we could charge them. It was something my brother had said when we were kids, and he’d seen a small dog shaking outside of the store. He’d told me someone had left it plugged in to a charger for too long, and since then, that’s all I could think of when I saw small dogs doing it.
As I reached the door, they left their spot at the window and started scratching at the door instead. I almost felt bad when I put my finger on the doorbell, knowing it would make them bark even more.
Almost. But I didn’t. In fact, I kept pressing it and counting Mississippi’s until she pulled it open.
Just to say, it took her twenty-six Mississippi’s to open the door to my laughing face. Instead of releasing the button, I kept my finger on it just for badness. See, the bell had been a gag gift from her brothers when the house was completed because she hated them. And this one wasn’t a regular doorbell. Nope, it was set with the sound of a train horn when someone pressed it. You couldn’t ignore it, and you couldn’t get away from it. It was perfectly Ariana.
What was also perfectly her—i.e., a stubborn pain in the ass—was the fact she had the Ring system wired into her front door just below it, but she didn’t use it. After a deranged asshole took Charlotte, they’d wired her front door with the Ring doorbell, too. Add that onto the security inside, she should have had eyes everywhere, but for some reason, she just refused to use the doorbell that had a camera on it.
Slapping my hand off the button, she glowered at me. “You’re early.”
Checking my watch, I noted I was, in fact, early… by three minutes.
“You’re right, a whole three minutes. Did you need it?”
Crossing her arms over her chest and drawing attention to the area as her tits pushed up with it, she mumbled, “I wasn’t sure if you’d turn up after last night, or because of work or something.”
Yet, she’d still gotten ready for the date, and that meant a lot to me.
“I wouldn’t have missed this for the world. Why don’t you lock up, and we’ll get going.”
“I…” she started, and then blew out a breath and looked down at her feet. “Are you sure about this?”
The vulnerability her tone gave away there had me almost kicking myself because it was something she’d never show unless she had to.
Moving closer to her, I lifted her chin gently so that she was looking back up at me. “I know there’s a lot we need to work on—hopefully together—and I’m completely committed to doing it. I just need you to take a leap of faith right now and come with me so that I can start. Okay?”
“Ok,” she sighed, moving back into the house and yelling at Alexa to turn her lights off. It was as she locked her front door that the real Ari came back, though. “Just to say, if you fuck me around or start any bullshit, I’ll geld you with a wooden spork and feed your balls to Hanky and Panky.”
Wincing, I nodded and guided her over to the vehicle.
“I’ll take your word for it. Are they going to be okay on their own?”
“Lily has the dog groomer over at her place, so she’s going to come and collect them in ten minutes to get their ears and nails done. Either her or Tate will drop them back when they’re done. Jerry’s enjoying the peace up in my bedroom, but he has his own torture tomorrow.”
It took me a second to figure out what she was talking about, and then I remembered the cat.
Opening her door like the gentleman I was, I waited until she got in and shut it, then jogged around to my own.
“What’s happening to the cat tomorrow?” I asked as I pulled down the lane that would lead us out to the main road.
“He’s got an appointment with the vet. I’ve done everything I can to stop this being necessary, but it’s got to be done,” she told me, sounding like she was taking the creature to be euthanized.