Page 110 of The Draft
“No. It’s actually very inconvenient, because I decided I really wanted to surprise you on our date tonight with that news.”
I pushed out a laugh, looking to the side. “You still think we’re going on a date tonight?”
“Do you really think I’m going to give you any other choice?”
With our hands still resting on his chest, he interlaced our fingers, and dropped his forehead to rest on mine.
“Dash, we’re in public.”
“I know.”
He dipped down so his lips ghosted mine.
“Then you might want to back away.”
“I’m never backing away from you again, Madison.” He caught my lips with his, and when he kissed me, I felt it all the way down to my toes. I knew at that moment that he wasn’t lying. I could feel it with every swipe of his tongue and every squeeze of his fingers. This was it.Iwas it.
As he pulled away from me, his dark eyes took me in. “It’s always been you,” he whispered. “I’ve never seen another girl except for you, and I never will.”
“Ditto.” I rolled my eyes and shook my head a little. I’d always want Dash, and the idea of holding back to make a point felt ridiculous considering how he just laid out his feelings to me. “Guy, of course. I’ve never seen another guy except for you. Well, unless you want to count Henry, which I still view as a severe lack in judgment during my teen years. Or Tate Sorenson, but I guess you’d call him a celebrity crush more than a reality thing. Also, I think he’s like ten years older than me, so it’s not like it would work out, anyway.”
Dash’s hands cupped my face, forcing me to stop talking and focus my attention on him. “Madison, will you please let me take you on our first date tonight?”
That was all he had to say to take my breath away.
“Yes,” I said without hesitation.
“Great, then I need you at the hockey dorm at seven.”
I looked at him quizzically. “The hockey dorm? What about the rest of the guys?”
“They’re going out for some surprise birthday party for Scotty.”
“And you’re not? Won’t they be angry if you miss it?”
“No. I’ve attended too many parties over the last few months. Scotty will understand. He probably won’t even notice I’m not there once he realizes that Erik managed to convince the girl he likes to come.”
“He has?! And you don’t want to be there to see how that goes down?”
“Like I said before, Madison, you’re all I want to see.”
My lips quirked the tiniest bit as I tried to hold back my smile, but it wasn’t working. There was just something about the way he talked, all gruff yet assertive, that made me melt.
“Okay.I’ll come over tonight, but until then, I’ve got class. Care to walk me?”
“Gladly.”
Unlike yesterday, Dash offered me his arm, and I looped my hand through it, happy that it felt like he was almost proud to show us off to the rest of campus.
When we passed other students, he didn’t hide or cower away from anyone, and I liked that feeling. This was his apology, and I was happily accepting it.
Standing in the hockey common room, it was the first time I’d ever felt out of place. Usually, I was here to see my brother, but tonight, I was here to have a date with Dash, and it was just us.
Well, I thought we were on a date, at least. It didn’t feel like the kind of date I was expecting. I couldn’t lie. I’d just assumed when Dash invited me up here that we were going to have filthy, dirty sex all night, so I didn’t bother wearing panties. Now, as I admired the perfectly set dinner table, I was feeling bad for completely misreading his intentions, and a little cold.
With the kitchen island acting as a barrier between us, I didn’t know what to do with myself. Dash was standing on the other side, reading off a handwritten recipe, making me dinner, which was in itself swoon-worthy, but he was also wearing this black leather apron that was doing things to me it shouldn’t.
I was hot, and Dash didn’t help the situation when he licked some sauce off his thumb.