Loving Dallas(16)

She’s obviously trying to kill me.

Except, she doesn’t even seem to notice the effect her carnal seduction is having on me.

“You have to try these,” she says, her bright eyes shining with excitement. “Seriously.”

My steak salad thing wasn’t terrible, which was surprising. But I am still hungry. Fucking starved, actually. But not for food.

“Sure. I basically had grass for dinner, so why not add some oats to it,” I say, teasing her just a little because I know she can take it. “Maybe I’ll sprout bunny ears and a f*cking tail.”

“Here. Open up,” she commands, aiming a forkful of pancake squares dripping with syrup my way.

I do as I’m told and she presses forward into my mouth.

If any other woman on the planet ordered for me and then hand-fed me over the table in a public place, I would bail out before she could blink twice. But this is Robyn . . . and Robyn is . . . special to me. So I guess part of the special privileges package includes allowing her to do whatever she wants to me. And I have been a spectacular * version of myself the last few times I’ve seen her, so I owe her this much.

“So? Good, right? And they’re gluten-free.” Her face is lit up with excitement as she waits for my response, but I’m too focused on her to really pay attention to what was in my mouth. My train of thought has derailed into a dirty part of town and all I want in my mouth is her.

“Not bad,” I tell her as I swallow. “I have no clue what gluten is and they’re not as good as Nana’s were, but they aren’t completely disgusting.”

“True,” she says, nodding in agreement. “But no one could top Nana. They’d be crazy to even try.”

The mention of Nana prompts Robyn to offer her condolences again about my grandfather passing and we reminisce for a few minutes about meals we’d shared when she’d come over, before I can’t keep quiet anymore.

“So . . . you and Wade. There something going on there I should know about?” He mentioned her a few times after the show and I saw them during the meet-and-greets. The way he watched her like he was stalking prey put my blood pressure at a seriously nuclear level.

Other than the shit in my head, there’s no segue that leads me to blurt this out and I can plainly see the surprise on her face at my invasive inquiry.

Her eyes narrow as the surprise turns to anger.

“That you need to know about?” She lowers her fork and leans back in her seat. “Tell me, why exactly would you need to know if there was anything going on with me and Jase Wade?”

I know one thing. I f*cking hate the way his name sounds in her mouth.

“Well,” I begin, sitting up straighter and clearing my throat. “For one, I’m on tour with him. And for two, I—”

“Mom! Oh my God! Mom, look! That’s him! That’s Dallas Walker!”

Hearing my name—well, part of it at least—I turn to see a group of girls who appear to be around twelve assaulting their moms with the announcement. A few of them have their cell phones out and are already heading this way.

Robyn looks as if she just remembered there were other people on the planet with us.

“Can I have your autograph?” A blue-eyed blonde with a pink-streaked side braid hands me her iPad mini in a Hello Kitty case and a stylus. My how times are changing. So much for napkins and Bics.

“Of course you can, darlin’. What’s your name, pretty girl?”

“Rebecca,” she says, smiling at me with bright pink braces. Girl likes pink apparently. “I play guitar, too.”

“Do you now? That’s awesome. I—”

“I am so sorry, Mr. Walker,” a woman interrupts as I’m signing Rebecca’s tablet. “We were just at the concert and the girls convinced us to stop in for cheese fries. I told them to leave you be, but they—”

“It’s fine. Really.” I hand Rebecca’s tablet back and a few others hand their items over to be signed. “I’ve always wanted to meet my prettiest fans. And here they are.” I wink at the group and giggles fill the diner.

Five concert tickets, two iPad minis, and a Rosa’s Diner menu later, I’ve signed and smiled and had my picture taken to their hearts’ content. The two moms thanked me profusely. One of them slipped me her number.

“Looks like you have that effect on women of all ages,” Robyn mutters under her breath. “Well, most of them.” She nods to a girl lagging behind the group.

She seemed shy, more reserved than the others, and she didn’t hand me anything to sign. Her dark curly hair in a low ponytail reminds me so much of Dixie, of how she had to wear my hand-me-downs, of how withdrawn she was after mom and dad died, and how I swore to myself that somehow, one day, I would make it better, that it’s almost painful to look at her.

“Can I sign something for you, sweetheart?” I ask her once the other girls have followed the two women with them toward the door.

She regards me warily, like I might bite. Then she shrugs, clearly not as impressed with me as the rest of the group was.

“Actually I’m more of a Jase Wade fan. But thanks. Great show tonight.” With that, she turns and leaves and I gape at Robyn. Who immediately bursts out in hysterical laughter.

“She just . . . totally . . . put . . . in your place,” she barely chokes out.