Dangerous Curves Ahead 2 (Cowboy / BBW Erotic Romance) (5 page)

Jake
breathed a sigh of relief. He was slowly winning her over. “Then give us a
chance to find out if there’s more. In the meantime, we can enjoy the physical attraction
part that we already know is working.”

Krista poked
him in the ribs. “You don’t give up. You know, I feel like we did everything
backwards. I had sex with you before I even knew you. My God, I didn’t even
know who you were.”

“So, when is
it the
proper
time to have sex?” Jake teased.

Krista
thought for a moment. “Oh, I don’t know. Something like the fourth date, I
suppose.”

Jake flashed
her an innocent looking smile. “Well, this is our second date, and I’d say it’s
about over. So now we can start our third date-

“Hey, that’s
cheating!”

Jake had an
idea. “I’ll make you a deal. You can choose our next date. You can take me
anywhere you want. And we’ll see if I can fit into your
completely different
world. Then, you have to come out with me, wherever I choose. And I’ll prove to
you that you can fit in with my world. And that will be date number four and
I’ll be expecting my reward, assuming you manage to survive the ordeal, of
course.”

Krista rolled
her eyes at him. “You’re so confident, huh. Well, I’ll take you up on your
offer. In fact, I know the perfect place for our next date. You don’t stand a
chance, Jake Crenshaw.”

****

I woke up
the next morning with a smile already on my face.  The rest of my date
with Jake the day before had gone well. Besides serious misgivings that I was
dating Jake
Crenshaw
, a man completely out of my league, I felt a sense
of dreamy happiness.  I smiled at my own musings. Had Jake finally
convinced me that we
were
actually dating?

Jake had
dropped me off at my door with toe-curling kiss and the promise to pick me up
the next morning for our third date. I was beginning to regret my ‘no sex until
the fourth date’ stipulation, but it did take some pressure off of me for this
date. This date was going to be all about Jake, and whether he could fit into
my world. And I planned on running him through the paces, so to speak.

I
volunteered for an organization that reached out to under-privileged, neglected
or abused children. I had gotten to know quite a few of the children well, and
while I didn’t know their individual backgrounds, the tidbits that they let slip
were usually heartbreaking.

Occasionally,
I acted as a liaison for kids who were still waiting for temporary placement or
as a courtroom advocate for the children in family court. About twice a month,
I helped chaperone local outings or activities for these kids. It was to an
outing today at a local park that I was taking Jake.

I smirked
with smugness; he wouldn’t know what hit him. It was almost unfair. I had been
doing this for several years now, and I still came home exhausted each time. It
wasn’t so bad keeping up with the kids physically, it was just plain mentally
draining. The children were like emotional sponges, absorbing as much energy
and compassion as they could possibly eke from you. And those were the easy
ones.

After cleaning
up my apartment, I began to get ready for my day. I dug through my wardrobe
looking for something casual, yet sexy. I was a clotheshorse, so I had lots to
choose from, but in the end I pulled on some faded denim jeans and a simple scoop
neck t-shirt. This would have been my normal attire for the day and I was
determined for Jake to see my real and decidedly unglamorous self. I pulled my
hair up into the ponytail I had shunned the day before and only applied my
usual makeup.

I looked in
the mirror, studying myself. This was the real me. If today didn’t demonstrate
to Jake that we were totally mismatched, I didn’t know what would. I frowned.
Why
was I trying so hard to push Jake away?
I knew it was a feeble attempt to
try and protect myself from the inevitable. I turned away from the mirror
before I could no longer resist the urge to camouflage the real me with fancy
clothes and makeup.

Jake showed
up at my door five minutes early. I pasted a nervous smile on my face and swung
the door open wide. Each time I first set eyes upon him, he took my breath away
anew.
What was this gorgeous man doing with me?

Today, he
had ditched the cowboy hat, but he was holding a bouquet of flowers. “I thought
you could add these to the roses.”

I accepted
the flowers, shame washing over me as I recalled distributing the dozens of
roses Jake had sent me after our first night together to several ladies at the
local nursing home.

“Oh, yes.
I’ve meant to thank you for the roses, Jake. They were beautiful.”

Jake stepped
inside, “I don’t see them. I hope they lasted-”

I cut him
off. “Let me just get these in some water and then we’ll take off. I don’t want
to be late.”

My insides
fluttered when Jake smiled at me. “Okay. Where are we going anyway? Or are you
still going to keep me guessing?”

I found a
vase in the kitchen cabinet and began filling it with water. “Patience. That’s
going to be the word of the day, Jake. You’re going to need a lot of it today.”

“Oh, I can
be very patient when I want something.”

I arranged
the flowers, peeking at him while I worked. His presence filled my small
apartment with an overpowering masculinity.
Damn
. Why did the very sight
of him have to leave my body tingling with excitement? I was practically
salivating just sneaking a glimpse of him.

“Let me just
get my purse and we can leave. Would you mind grabbing that tote bag by the
door?” I rushed into my bedroom and grabbed my handbag.

When I came
out, Jake was peering inside the tote. “Hand sanitizer? Baby wipes? First aid
kit? Now I am getting a bit nervous.”

I laughed at
his confused expression. “Don’t worry. First, we’re off to lunch to fuel up. I
thought we’d go to the local barbeque. Is that okay?”

“Sure.” Jake
was suddenly looking less than certain.

We headed
out to Jake’s truck. I saw that he was angling to open the door for me, so I
tried to beat him to the punch without looking comically childish in the
process. Unfortunately, his long stride beat me to the truck easily.

He held my
door for me, but then grabbed my hand and stopped me before I could get in. He
smiled rakishly. “Krista, this is officially date number three…”

I could only
nod mutely as I watched his lips lower slowly to my own.

It was crazy
how each kiss we shared was as electric as the first had been. The intensity
was almost frightening. I felt myself being pulled into the kiss with a
dizzying velocity, unable to think, only able to cling in desperation.

To my disappointment,
Jake’s lips left my own. I opened my eyes to see his satisfied smile as he
twirled his car keys around his finger. “Let’s go. I’m ready.”

We arrived at the family style barbeque
restaurant and joined the line of people waiting to order. After ordering, we
remained near the pickup counter waiting for our number to be called. Masses of
people pushed past us at the popular restaurant. The crowd was diverse, large
families, some in their Sunday best, men with huge guts hanging out of their
white armpit stained t-shirts and even packs of teenagers all strode past.

Jake raised an eyebrow. “You’re going to
have to do better than this to scare me away, Krista.”

I laughed. Finally our number was called.
We picked up our order and decided to eat at the outdoor picnic tables.

I nibbled at my pulled pork sandwich
careful not to spill barbeque sauce on myself. Cars flew past on the busy
street behind us. “The scenery at lunch was much better yesterday.”

Jake’s eyes didn’t leave me. “Mmm. My
view is still pretty nice.”

I tried not to blush, but I was eating up
the flattery like a starving person. I needed to stop acting like a giddy
teenager and get down to business. “I want to tell you about where we’re going
on our date. Where we’re going, or I should say, what we’re going to do is very
important to me, so I want to make sure you’re prepared.”

Jake smiled, “I’m intrigued.”

I realized how important his reaction was
to me, so I nervously took a breath and began, “I volunteer with several
organizations that work with troubled kids. Most of them have been in and out
of foster care and come from homes where they were abused or severely neglected.
Today we’re going to help chaperone them at a park outing. Are you still
intrigued?”

Jake chewed on his sandwich thoughtfully.
“I have to confess that I don’t know anything about kids or how to take care of
them. The thought is a little intimidating to me.”

“These kids are older, they’ll range from
about five to twelve years old. But believe me, they may look little, but they’re
some of the most street smart and savvy kids. The only thing you’ll have to do
is make sure they stay out of trouble and don’t get hurt on the playground.” I
was watching him expectantly.

Jake took a sip of water. “That doesn’t
sound hard at all. No problem.”

Of course, I was over-simplifying things.
It was damn hard. “The most important thing, though, is to listen to them.
Really
listen to them. Show them that there are people who care about them. And be
patient when they don’t behave. Because they won’t.

Many of them have behavioral problems or
social issues and they act out. Remember when they act tough or push you away, it’s
just a coping mechanism for them. They’ve been through a lot of heartache in
their short lives already.”

“Okay. Listen, be patient and don’t let
them get hurt on the playground. I think I’ve got it. And you’ll be there to
help out if I need it right?” Jake asked tentatively.

I couldn’t wait to see him in action.
“Absolutely. This is going to be fun!”

****

Jake was troublingly silent on the way
back to my apartment. I glanced over at him nervously. “Jake, would you like to
stay for a bite of dinner at my place? I could throw together a salad and a
quick meal for us.”

Jake snapped out of his daze. “I think I
could use a shot of whiskey right now. Do you have anything strong at your
apartment?”

“No. I don’t think so. I have beer, if
you want.” I held my breath, hoping he would agree to stay.

He grinned at me. “Beer will have to do.
And a back rub. Hopefully that will relax me. Too bad this is only date number
three, I could sure use some, uh, stress relief. That was fun Krista, but it
left me so stressed out.”

I rolled my eyes. “Beer and a back rub.
How typical!”

Jake protested, “You don’t know what
those little monsters put me through today. While you were off making those
bead jewelry things with those sweet little girls, I was getting the
inquisition from those hoodlums. It went all downhill when they found out you
were my girlfriend.”

I cut in, “You told them I was your
girlfriend?”

Jake shrugged. “Well, they asked. And I
figured, we
are
dating, so that makes you my girlfriend. No big deal. Wrong!
Then they were asking if we had sex, did we use condoms, did I know about oral
sex, were we getting married. And that was just in the first five minutes…”

“Oh my God, Jake! I hope you weren’t
talking about sex with them?” I giggled nervously.

Jake looked shocked. “Hell, no! But you
weren’t kidding. These kids know way too much for their years. Dodging their
questions was exhausting. I think they were doing it on purpose just to needle
me, too.”

“They definitely like you. I was really
impressed.”

Jake’s proud smile was beautiful. “I hope
this means I passed the test. And actually, I was the one who was impressed
today. You were amazing with them. They love you.”

I held up my hand to stop him before he
gave me too much credit. “Those kids latch on so quickly to anyone who shows
them love. They’re so needy for any morsel of attention. Every time I
volunteer, I tell myself I should come more often. But I don’t. I’m really not
so noble…” 

Jake grabbed my hand and held it. “Don’t
be so quick to sell yourself short or downplay your generous contributions. I’m
in awe of how kind-hearted you are.”

Luckily we reached my apartment just
then. Even though I was secretly beaming underneath Jake’s praise, I couldn’t
help but feel uncomfortable accepting it.

I busied myself preparing dinner with
Jake’s limited help; it was obvious he didn’t do much cooking. The conversation
didn’t come up again until we were both sitting at my small dining table
eating.

Jake must have worked up an appetite,
because he was eating fast. “Do you think the ranch could do something to help
those kids out?”

I thought it was interesting that Jake
was still thinking about the kids. I often worried about them long after I interacted
with them, too. “They don’t really need any money. What they need is guidance
and healthy role models. They need someone that cares for them on a steady
basis, not people who come and go.”