Stunned, Sienna couldn’t move, and Carson took advantage of yet another opportunity to lean in and place a small kiss high on her cheekbone. It was sweet, chaste, but full of promise. A promise that Sienna knew she couldn’t make good on. Ever.
Or could she?
She wanted to skip work and lose herself in the man who just took her on her first lunch date. Instead she asked, “Are you coming to the club tonight? I think I might like that.”
If her brain was winning before the tiny electromagnetic kisses still burning their way down her neck and her cheek, her heart was victorious at the moment. Shock waves ran through her body making her bold, asking and saying things she shouldn’t be saying. Now there was no way of retracting it.
“You know what,” he said, “I think I will. I leave tomorrow, and there’s nothing more that I would like than to see you dance.”
Uh-oh.
He gently put his arm around her shoulders, almost as if he knew she needed to be treated with care, and led her to the exit. It was the most divine feeling.
“Okay, see you there then. This was great, Carson. Really, so much fun. And thanks for making it easy. I’m going to see if Mike wants something. Actually, I’m going to see if he wants to go in with me. His legs could use a stretch, I’m sure.” She was rambling on and on, and she couldn’t stop. It was time to say good-bye. She slipped out of his embrace and gave him one last sweet smile.
One, she had to leave so she could breathe.
Two, she needed to get away so she didn’t ask him to move in with her or something ridiculous like that.
Three, she needed to escape before he kissed her anywhere again. Ear, cheek, neck, lips. Anywhere. Period.
Sienna knew Carson was watching her as she walked over to Mike’s car. Something about it felt so right and amazingly wonderful with his heated gaze on her back. She knew she shouldn’t wrap herself up in some false notion of security with him, but she couldn’t help it. She was so far gone already, unable to pull herself back to reality.
Right now she was a girl. A girl in “like” with a man who was far from a young boy, and she needed to get her head right again.
She tapped on Mike’s window and he rolled it down.
“You want a coffee or tea?”
“I thought you were coming over for relationship advice,” he teased, a big grin on his face.
“Ha, real funny, Mike! No, I actually have to run to the Meow before going home, and I thought you could just follow me down. I was being nice, you big jerk! I was going to treat you to a drink before we left.”
Sienna gave the sass right back to him while realizing Mike gave her the comedic break she needed. He must have noticed how deep in her head she was when she walked to his truck. Her new family knew her unlike the family she had been born into.
“Yeah, sure, babe. I’ll take a large coffee with cream and sugar. You sure you want to drive yourself to the Strip? I could follow you home and we could dump your car?”
She knew he was looking for an excuse to chat, but she wanted some time to herself to daydream about Carson. “I think I want to take my car, let the top down, and enjoy the day. Rain check?”
“Yeah, yeah. I got you, babe.”
He really does.
WITH A coffee delivered to Mike, the top down on her convertible, and iced green tea in the drink console, Sienna pulled out of the parking lot and headed toward the Strip. She let the wind blow her hair and her thoughts drift to the man from lunch.
For so many years, avoiding being discovered or revealed for who she really was commanded every one of her actions. She must have reached some breaking point, spurring her to fall for Carson. She was spiraling out of control and had no idea how to stop it, nor did she want to.
But she had to.
Sure, there were other men over the years who had watched her and gave signals they wanted to know more about the stripper onstage. She just avoided any real eye contact. Scanning the audience as she blew kisses to the crowd, her signature farewell each evening, she took in the smiles and pleased expressions, but gave nothing more.
Sienna never really interpreted any of the looks to be anything greater than wanting a good time, and she certainly never pursued any of the men like she had Carson.
Now she was deep in a situation that could prove to be disastrous. So, her mission to the Cat’s Meow was twofold.
She actually did need a wax in order to wear what she wore every night at the club, and she knew she could turn to Penelope, the always sassy, up-for-anything owner, for man advice. As usual, Sienna parked in the back of the Cat’s Meow and called the front desk for someone to let her in. She knew a little talk with the bikini waxer to the stars of Las Vegas was just what the doctor ordered.