***
Amanda had been warned that Dunc was likely going to come over and offer to take her out. That little bit of information had been exciting enough to get her moving. She needed to be prepared to go out, but she couldn’t look like she was expecting it. She opted for jeans and a simple t-shirt with purple butterflies decorating the left side. She made sure she had comfortable shoes on for walking.
When the doorbell rang, Amanda ran past a startled Sallie and Dew to answer it. She threw the door open and bounced out onto the porch grabbing Dunc’s arm, “I am so glad you’re here! I need to get out of the house before Sallie and Dew see you! They’ll have questions! So many embarrassing questions!”
Dunc was startled as she pulled him across the porch and down the stairs. “You would not believe what I had to tell them about last night. We forgot to clean up the den!”
“Huh, oh.” Dunc grimaced, glancing at her house and walking down the stairs with her.
“Yeah, so they think we had a big fight last night.”
“What? Why would you tell them that?” Dunc stopped and stared at her. “I don’t want them thinking I would hurt you. We need to go back and tell them something else.”
“Oh, they think I made it up.” Amanda rolled her eyes. “They think we were doing something else.”
“What?” His face turned bright red. “I would rather they know what really happened!” He turned and started back up the steps.
“No.” Amanda pulled as hard as she could and was still dragged halfway up the steps. “You can’t tell them! He’s not after them, just me! Let them believe what they want to believe!”
Dunc stopped and stared at Amanda. “I don’t like that. It’s not true. I’m not like that, and neither are you.”
“Please?” Amanda tugged on his arm. Dunc glanced at the door, then back to Amanda. He wanted them to know the truth. It made him queasy about turning the damage from his fight with Joseph into a sordid event with Amanda. That was not him. Then he sighed and gave in.
“When this is over, we tell them the truth.”
“We will.” Amanda nodded in agreement. “Huh, so why are you dressed up and over here?” She asked in an innocent tone.
“Oh.” He smiled, remembering why he was there in the first place. “I wanted to see if you were busy this afternoon. I’m going into town and wanted to see if you’d come with me. As you are.”
“Huh, you’re dressed up, and I’m not.” Amanda gave him a critical look. If he was dressed up, then she needed to change into something comparable. She had not been expecting to have to dress up since it was on the spur of the moment.
“Don’t worry about it.” Dunc smiled. “I want to do something nice for you today. Let me treat you to lunch and something nice to wear. Your choice. Something to take your mind off things. We are working on a solution.”
“What are we, Dunc?” Amanda scrunched up her face as she questioned him. “To each other?”
“If you get to stay. What do you want?” He offered her his hand.
“I don’t know.” Amanda stared at his hand, then took it. “Are you seriously buying me clothes? That jerk bought me clothes, but I hated them.”
“Should I not?” Dunc looked confused. “I want you to pick something nice out to wear on our date. Whatever you want. I have a friend in town who has the perfect boutique. I think you’ll like it. I would like to do this for you. Let me?”
“You bought me a sword, Dunc,” Amanda smirked. “Wasn’t that enough?”
“Let’s say I’m old-fashioned and I want to buy the woman I like something nice as a gift. No strings attached. I swear.” He waited. Amanda looked at him awkwardly and fidgeted with indecision. She didn’t have anything nice to wear. She had destroyed all the clothing Joseph had bought her.
Amanda had only packed her most basic comfortable clothing when she had left home. She didn’t even have a nice pair of shoes. Paying off Joseph was still draining her bank account. “If you would like to go in and change, I can wait.” Dunc tried not to look disappointed and was failing at it.
“So, you’re courting me?” Amanda continued pulling Dunc away from the house. “You want a real relationship with me? Not a ‘friends with benefits’ thing?”
Dunc’s face didn’t seem able to go to any other color that wasn’t a pink and red shade. “I am annoyingly traditional, Amanda.” He was losing his smile, and his eyes were full of sadness. “Do you want that, or do you want the other?”
“I don’t know what I want,” Amanda admitted. “I honestly don’t.”
“How about I be me, and you be you, and we figure that out as we go along? I am not interested in ‘friends with benefits.’ At all. I can be your friend. I’m fine with that.” Dunc stood firm and waited. “Are you going to change or go like that?”
Amanda made a face, then sighed. “I guess you can buy me something. But it can’t be expensive.”
“You owe me nothing, Amanda.” Dunc smiled again, this time broad enough that she glimpsed his teeth. It was cuter than he probably thought it was. They were slightly crooked, and that was it. They made his smile unique. “No benefits.” He smirked and took her hand to lead her to his car. Dunc made a mental note to be careful and precise that he did not want anything from Amanda. He was not that type of man.
***
Amanda stared at the price tag. It had taken her half an hour of wandering around the
