Tell Me You Want Me (Search and Seduce, #2)(28)

But Dex was different. He told her to be proud. And more, he looked at her like he believed she could succeed.

“Is that why you have all those lists?” he asked. “A way to organize and check off all the things you want?”

She thought about that for a moment. “I guess it is. I figure if I write it down, it makes it real. If I can tackle a certain bullet point, I have physical proof that I can do it.”

He nodded. “That makes sense. It’s like taking a concept and turning it tangible.”

She smiled. “Exactly.” Which was why she was so stuck on this independence idea. All the things she’d listed, from sex, to success, to desires, it was all part of checking off reasons she was okay. Competent. Whole. Something to cling to when she was worried failure was creeping in.

“Will you tell me something on your list that you haven’t done yet?” he asked. “And just assume that I have all the bedroom stuff covered.” He gave her a wink, and she couldn’t help but blush a little. But his eyes were serious for a moment. “Something important to you,” he said.

She bit the inside of her cheek and debated telling him one thing she’d been dying to do. One that would horrify her parents and would make her feel more free than anything else she could think of.

“I want to fall,” she said.

He frowned. “Fall? Like trust buddies at camp? You fall back, and I’ll catch you kind of thing?”

“No,” she laughed. “Like fall from a high place. I don’t care if it’s skydiving or bungie jumping… I just want to look at the world below me and fall.”

He raised a brow. “Is that right?” The way he said it made her think his mind was working on a wicked idea. After a second of him obviously cooking up something, he nodded and took another bite of his food. “Noted,” he said with a full-on smile, dimples and all.

“Now it’s your turn to tell me about you,” she said.

“Not much to tell, princess. Pretty simple guy.”

“You know it’s the guys who call themselves simple who are the most complex.”

He laughed. “I could poke holes in that theory all day long.”

She was grinning like a fool again. This man was so easy to talk to. He held her attention and looked at her like he was listening.

“Come on,” she pushed. “I told you about my lists and all that. Give me something here.”

“I give what’s asked of me,” he said casually, but there was definitely more behind those words.

“Okay.” She could see that. He was a serve and protect kind of guy. “But what do you want?”

He looked at her like he didn’t understand the question. “I’m pretty happy,” he said. For some reason, Michelle didn’t one-hundred percent buy that. “I’ve been here my whole life. I have good friends. Good job I enjoy. Well, for the most part. Family.” He glanced at his plate and took another bite.

“When you grow up somewhere, you get a reputation,” she said carefully. “What’s yours?” She didn’t mean it in a bad way, but she knew this to be true. She was known back home as her last name, not as a person. If Dex had grown up here, sure, he had good friends and family, but what kind of reputation did he have? Her mind shot to what Natalie had said about him being a good guy…but a one night at a time kind of guy as well.

“It’s no secret I have a reputation,” he said. “But it’s not an overly bad one.”

“Is it an honest one?”

He hit her with that searing gaze. “I guess. I’m a product of a scandal, so that kind of thing tends to linger. But in terms of women…” Her brows peaked, and he shrugged. “In terms of women, there’s a certain expectation.”

“What expectation?”

He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “That I’m a good time for one night at a time.”

It was her turn to glance down now. Dex was strong and fun to be around. He was a self-proclaimed tough guy with a sense of humor, but did no one stick around for longer than a night with him?

Isn’t that what I’m doing?

Wasn’t that what she’d done?

Thanks to her ex, relationships were something she needed to stay away from. Besides, Dex didn’t seem interested in a relationship, either. But tonight felt…nice. Talking, getting to know him, and him getting to know her. It wasn’t serious. Definitely not a relationship. But it was…refreshing.

“All right, enough about me. I want to hear more about your business and what you’re wearing under your dress.” He tossed her another wink.

Speaking of what was under her dress…

“I love running my shop, but honestly, I want to do more…” she admitted. In the back of her mind she was a tad worried about the longevity of her shop. She needed to sell more. But she also wanted to pursue her dream in its entirety.

“Oh? Tell me.”

She glanced at him, and those green eyes looked genuinely interested. She would regret it later, but why not tell him? This was all going to end anyway.

“I want to design lingerie.”

His fork clinked against his plate. “I fully support that idea.”

She laughed, but he was dead serious, and the praise in his voice and eyes did something funny to her chest.