Libby nodded as she glanced down at the table, trying to figure out how to answer the burning question she herself didn’t fully understand. “She’s always been bossy. My entire life. She’s a matriarch. Even my father lets her run the show. She dictated a lot of what everyone in the house did while I was growing up. At some point, I knew I wanted something different for myself when I moved out on my own.”
“And did you accomplish that?”
“Yes. I worked my ass off to put myself through college even though I had no idea at the time what I wanted to do with my life. I coveted that degree mostly because my mother thought it was frivolous and unnecessary. She refused to pay for it.”
Jason frowned. “You paid for everything on your own?”
“Mostly. My father slipped me money as often as he could, but I worked a lot of hours waiting tables to cover most of my expenses. I’m proud of my accomplishment, and I have a nice diploma from UT Dallas to show for it, but along the way, I met Christa and Destiny through mutual friends and grew more interested in becoming a flight attendant.”
“Nothing wrong with that. I hear it’s decent money.”
She shrugged. “It’s okay. More importantly, it allows me to travel a lot. I get to see so many places, and being out of town often keeps my mother off my back.”
The waitress arrived with their meals. After she wandered away, Jason spoke again. “You can’t live your entire life letting her dictate your every move.” His expression was one of concern, probably more for himself than her. Understandable. What did it say about her that she let her mother get under her skin?
“I know,” she murmured. “Christa tells me the same thing often. And I get it. I’m just not ready to confront her.”
“Look, I’m trying to understand. Not going to lie; it bothers me. On the other hand, we haven’t been seeing each other very long. If I’m reading you correctly, you’re thinking why rock that boat for no good reason. It makes sense that you’d rather wait until we’ve known each other longer before you talk to your parents. I’ll give you that. Not forever, but for now.”
“Thank you. You said exactly what I’m thinking. Can we just see where things go for a while?”
“Absolutely.” He gave her one of his gorgeous smiles and then speared a piece of broccoli from his beef broccoli.
She took a bite of her chicken fried rice and then sipped her iced tea. “How has work been?”
“Good. Busy. Jake has more jobs coming in than we can cover. It can sometimes be feast or famine when running a consulting firm, but considering how fast technology is changing, I don’t see computer programming dying off any time in my life.”
“True.”
“I got together with several of the guys from work Tuesday night. Poker night. Kraft’s house.”
“That’s cool. Do you do that every Tuesday?”
“Not always. Random days. Four guys from work. Me, Kraft, Sweets, and Tank.” He sounded animated as he spoke of his coworkers.
“Trent mentioned them to me once when he came to see Destiny. You explained Kraft’s name to me, but what’s the origin story for the others?” She smiled, lifting a brow.
“Tank is actually my boss. I told you about him. His real name is Jake Robinson. His nickname is self-explanatory. Big guy. Broad. Tall. Muscular. Sweets, on the other hand, that’s a funny story. The guy’s idea of unwinding includes making delicious pastries, cakes, and any other dessert you can think of. He’s hilarious when he puts on an apron and pulls out the flour. Apparently, his team gave him shit until they realized they wouldn’t get to devour his sweets if they didn’t stop making fun of him. After that, the name began to hold great reverence.”
Libby laughed. “And these guys all work with you?”
“Yep. Jake snagged each of us when we got out of the army. Kraft and I were on the same Delta Team.”
“Wow. Impressive. I didn’t realize you’d been on a special forces team.”
He shrugged. “No big deal. I’m not sure why I even mentioned it.”
“It is a big deal. You must have done some incredibly dangerous things over the years.”
He shrugged again and then winked at her. “It’s in the past.”
“Got it. What’s Sweets’ real name?” She’d rather not burn these nicknames into her mind. It was too confusing.
“Bracken Turner. Great guy.”
She shot him a cocky grin. “Are they single?” she asked.
He lifted a brow, smirking. “Why? One dominant military guy isn’t enough for you?”
She chuckled. “Asking for a friend. Several of them, actually.”
He laughed. “I don’t think you can use that phrase when you really mean it. But yes. They’re single. It’s tough dating while serving in the military. Lots of women think it’s romantic—you included—but it’s hard to build a relationship and even harder to keep it going.”
“Yeah, I’m guilty of thinking it would be romantic. Little did I know it would knock me on my ass.” She smiled.
He set his fork down, leaned over the table, and cupped her face. “I love knowing I knocked you on your ass. I also love that I ran into you again now that I’m more available. Am I still attractive to you now that I’m not active?” he teased.
“Very.” She tipped her face into his palm, caught his thumb with her mouth, and sucked it in between her lips.
He groaned. “That was hot the first time you did it, and it’s even hotter now.”
She released his thumb with a pop. “As I recall, you didn’t give me a choice the first time. And you’re right, it was damn hot. I think that was the moment I knew for certain you were going to rock my world and leave me spinning out of control.”
Jason
