Going to her, he picked her up off her chair ignoring her squeak of surprise, carried her to the sofa, and sat. “What’s up?”
Dawn stared up at him with her eyes filled with uncertainty. Crap. Had he put that there? He really needed to get his shit together and figure out what he needed and wanted, and then make sure he stuck with it.
“You,” she said with a huff after a good ten minutes of staring at him.
“What do you mean me? I’m the same.”
“Ha, you are not. You’ve been acting weird all week.” Her forehead wrinkled, and her lips trembled. “You haven’t been around as much and… the kiss… uh… when you are around, you’re acting strange.” She sniffled. “If you don’t want to be my friend anymore… Look, I understand if you’ve had enough of me.”
Dawn hadn’t gotten out of his embrace, and Gordon enjoyed the simple contact. He had been acting strange but only because he’d been trying to figure things out. He didn’t want to make any more mistakes.
“I’m sorry. And, of course, I’m still your friend. I just have a lot on my mind. Look, why don’t you relax while I order pizza, and we’ll sit and talk, and then watch some movies.”
The smile that spread over her face was breathtaking, and he refrained from sighing at the loss of her warmth when she eased off him. She then picked up the remote from the coffee table and got comfortable on the sofa. As he got up and went over to her computer to order the food, he berated himself for being such an idiot. For not seeing the woman who had become not only one of his best friends, but what he’d been searching for all along.
****
Gordon came back, and they sat together on her sofa watching TV until the pizza came. Once the food arrived, they each grabbed a piece of pizza, and she watched Gordon devoured slice after slice, taking big bites and barely chewing whilst staring blankly at the TV like he was deep in thought. Once he was down to his last slice, he picked it up and almost shoved the whole thing in to finish it quickly. Once finished, he wiped his face with a napkin and mumbled, “I’m going back for my birthday.”
“What?” Her heart felt like it was about to explode. Surely, he wasn’t talking about going back to America.
His blue eyes studied her, and she knew that look. It was the look her parents gave her when they were gauging what they could safely say before she got upset because they were going to move again. It was the look that said I told you that you could have the toy, but now we can’t afford it and just don’t know how to tell you. Unease flooded her.
Gordon cleared his voice. “A friend is throwing me a huge fortieth. My parents want to see me, too. I miss…” He looked around the room then his gaze came back to rest on her. “Come.”
“Hah, what?”
“Come with me.”
“I can’t go to America.”
“Why not?”
“Well, we… I… I don’t have a passport.” Dawn was so tempted, but she couldn’t just pack up and leave. Dawn wasn’t like her parents, and leaving the country with barely any notice was something they would do.
Gordon’s gaze narrowed and she knew she was getting to him when the corner of his left eye twitched. “If you had one, would you come?” He ran his fingers through his hair, and she clenched her fist because she was dying to do the same thing with her own fingers to him. “I want you there for my birthday. You’ve become a close friend who I want to share this with. Come on, it’ll be fun. It’s a party in Vegas.” Wow, Vegas. Who didn’t want to at least go there once in their life? Gordon must have seen something on her face because he grinned. “I have some, uh, savings. I’ll pay for you.”
Crap, now how did she get out of that. She could go. It would only be a holiday. She thought about her savings and knew she had just enough if she watched herself and didn’t go wild over there. The problem would be work. She didn’t want to leave them in a lurch. “Okay, I’ll go if I can get time off from the tattoo shop and have my passport.”
The smile that spread over Gordon’s face had her heart beating faster and her stomach fluttering. “Great, I’ll book our plane tickets.”
“Wait to see if I can get time off and a passport in time first.” Standing up, she cleaned up the mess from dinner. Gordon didn’t say anything, and Dawn had a feeling he was going to do what he wanted.
****
Gordon didn’t want to move. Dawn was asleep on him, and her sweet baked vanilla scent surrounded him. Her hair was in its usual messy bun, and she wasn’t wearing anything remotely sexy, but damn if he didn’t spend ninety-nine percent of his time telling his dick to stay down.
The problem he’d been fighting with himself these last few days was she was only twenty-two, and he’s less than two months away from turning forty. Could he tie her to someone his age? He’d tried to find other women, and they just weren’t cutting it. They had wife potential, but the sprite in his embrace was the only female he’d been able to think of for months now, and he couldn’t—didn’t want to deny it anymore. It had gotten so bad that he even woke up thinking of her. Tracy had thought he was being considerate not sleeping with her, but the thing was, he just couldn’t. He was done fighting.
Gordon had almost five weeks to give him and Dawn a try before he went back to America and his old job. He didn’t lie when he said he wanted her to come to Vegas. They had become friends, and he hoped if things didn’t work how he wanted that they could still be friends. Dawn was nothing like what he envisioned for a wife. She was young, quiet, and liked terrible music. She looked like a gothic sprite with her small height, jet black hair, white skin, ruby red lips, black nail polish, dark clothes, and tattoos. But, damn, if she didn’t do it for him. Dawn had the most important things he wanted. She loved her family fiercely; she was loyal, caring, and great with children. She also had major bonuses—a great sense of humor, an amazing laugh, and she was the best cook. Ha. Who was he kidding? When he put it all like that, she was more perfect than he thought, and there shouldn’t be doubt they would work.
What worried him though and had made him hesitant was his real world would eat her alive? They would pick on everything from her clothes, tattoos, education, and family to her weight. She would be a piece of meat thrown to the lions. He would help her and be there for her, but he could only do so much.