11. Team Dane

11

TEAM DANE

D ane pulled in front of Sloane’s house. It was a cute two-story. Looked to be older but nicely maintained. He’d bet it had some handcrafted character inside of it too.

Unlike his new build in a development.

The house that Mel had been dreaming of since they’d first gotten married. He wanted her to have it.

He’d been willing to give her the house in the divorce on top of it because he was going to be the nice guy and he wanted his kids to be comfortable and not uprooted.

She didn’t want it. Said she needed her parents’ help and would live with them. That the new home was too big and hard for her to maintain. There wasn’t anything he could say to that and let it go. His ex lived there for a year before she bought her own house.

There wasn’t enough equity in the house for him to even give her half and she didn’t want it. Mighty nice of her in the end, but he would have taken more of a loan out if he had to .

Mel never asked for anything in the divorce. They split custody and she didn’t argue once about that.

She never asked for alimony either. No child support. Nothing.

He felt like shit and had been told more than once he shouldn’t.

She wanted the divorce. He’d done nothing wrong and was willing to try to make things work.

He wanted to give her everything she wanted during their marriage and he knew that might have been his biggest mistake.

No more though.

He wasn’t going to harp on it anymore either. He made sure he paid for everything for the kids. Their daycare, the medical bills. He gave her money for school clothes on top of buying them too.

She always said thank you but never asked for more.

She had a good job and didn’t need it, but he knew her life would have been different had they still been married and her divorce lawyer had made a point of saying that and trying to go for the jugular.

His parents and sister worried he’d get taken and had been stunned when it didn’t happen.

As upset as he was over the end of his marriage, Mel was good about it all.

They handled it in the best and most mature way possible and maybe that was why they were able to co-parent as well as they did.

And now he was going on a second date with the first woman since his ex-wife that he hoped he could actually look forward to more than a few dates with.

His last few first dates ended after one shot and he was fine with it. He didn’t want things with Sloane to end .

He got out of his SUV and walked to the front porch and up the stairs. He was glad he’d gotten out of work on time and could go home and shower and change.

They’d decided on just a casual pub so he put on jeans and a black and gray polo shirt with sneakers that looked a bit like shoes. Ones he liked to wear to work, as they were more comfortable on his feet.

Her door opened before he got to the last step.

“You’re early,” she said.

“I want to say it’s a bad habit, but it doesn’t happen often. I always feel like I’m running late, but luck was on my side.”

And it sure was when he looked at her in a pair of tan jeans that stopped at her calves and were fitted to her body. Not skin tight, but they didn’t leave much to the imagination either and seemed to have some stretch to them.

Her top was peach with white trim around the sleeves and neck. Nothing fancy other than the material looked soft and fit her well but not clingy. It was tucked into her waist and he got a better idea of just how thin she was.

But he knew there was strength behind her. There had to be with her job. He’d felt it on top of it.

“You look different,” she said. “More relaxed.”

“Thanks,” he said. “Not everyone wears suits anymore, but I don’t feel right going to my office in jeans.”

She laughed. “Do doctors wear jeans?”

“Some,” he said. He’d seen different departments where doctors were in jeans. In his mind, if he was going to dress down that much he might as well wear scrubs, which were more comfortable.

He had plenty in his closet and had worn them before. He would again.

Most times he didn’t need them though and tried to find a happy medium. He even gave up on a tie unless he was in meetings. Kids tended to pull on them anyway.

“That might be my type of doctor,” she said.

“I’ll have to remember that. And you look nice.”

“I figured I should put something more colorful on than my black wardrobe. I find it’s easier to wear that because I tend to get lotion or oils on my clothing.”

He’d noticed that not everyone wore black. “Do you have a dress code?”

“Not really. I’ve asked that they wear solid toned-down colors. Blacks, blues, browns. We are supposed to be soothing there. Most don’t want to get their clothes dirty anyway and do the same thing. I don’t care so much at the desk though. But I’d like them to be presentable. No jeans or shorts or T-shirts.”

“You’ve got an image,” he said.

“I do. I don’t want to be so fancy that people are intimidated but not so casual we aren’t taken seriously either.”

“You have managed it well,” he said.

“I’m ready if you are,” she said.

Which meant he wasn’t getting a glimpse into her house.

“You said you didn’t care where we went,” he said. “But I’ve got a few places picked out.”

“You choose,” she said. “I’m serious. Something tells me maybe you didn’t do that much before.”

He squinted one eye at her. No reason to dispute it. It was only dinner.

They went to his SUV and when he climbed in he glanced at the booster seats in the back.

“I cleaned the car out before I came here. You wouldn’t believe what is thrown in the front seat.”

She laughed and got in, then buckled up. “I know you’re a father, Dane. I’m fine with it. No explanations. How about for the next few hours you’re just the guy I’m on a date with? If you want to talk about your kids, that’s great. If not, don’t worry about trying to make sure I know you’ve got them.”

Guess she saw right through what he was trying to do.

“I understand that. It’s hard to wrap my head around things.”

“Nothing to worry about with me,” she said. “We all have baggage. I know you said that the other day, but when push comes to shove, I’d say mine is just as big if not bigger.”

It was the sarcastic way she said it. “You could be right.” He paused at her smirk. “I don’t mean any insult.” This wasn’t starting out right.

She reached her hand over. “None taken. Relax. Maybe I’m as nervous as you. The last date was last minute and neither of us had time to overthink it. I bet you’re a champion overthinker.”

“I’ve got two trophies and three medals in it,” he said drily.

“That is one extra medal than me,” she said, laughing. “So let’s start over. Where are we going to dinner?”

“An Italian restaurant.”

“I love Italian,” she said. “I eat just about anything.”

“I’m not too fussy,” he said. “I get that enough with my daughter.”

“Oh boy,” she said. “Is she one of those kids that wants the same thing all the time?”

He laughed and wished he hadn’t brought it up, but it was hard to not when it was so much of his life.

“It was spaghetti for a while and now we are onto beef. There is some variety there now.”

“At least she is eating home-cooked food and not fast food. ”

“Very true. They are good eaters, but it’s like a game to figure it out and make it feel like it was their decision.”

“Do you do that a lot?” she asked.

He turned his head. “I think children, even as young as mine, have to learn to make decisions in life and not always be told what to do.”

“Oh,” she said. “I one hundred percent agree. Remember my history. I won’t even tell you some of the places we got food from.”

“Sorry,” he said. “Do you want to talk about it or not?”

“I don’t normally,” she said. “There are things I’d like to forget, but I’ll say that everything we ate we raised or found. Nothing went to waste on an animal and if you’ve never been dumpster diving, I don’t recommend it, even if it’s turned into a game.”

“Yikes,” he said. He had nothing to complain about in his life at all and would think twice before he made any comments.

“Hey,” she said. “I don’t want you to be guarded. I’ll tell you if something is sensitive or better yet I might not say anything at all.”

She was grinning when she said that, but he knew it was the truth.

“I’m not a bad cook,” he said. “How about you?”

She laughed. “I think I’m pretty good. Maybe we can try that next time at one of our places.”

“I’d like that,” he said.

He pulled into the restaurant not that far away. It wasn’t that busy and he didn’t expect it at close to seven on a Monday night.

They got a booth quickly and sat across from each other.

“My employees know we are on a date right now,” she said .

“Oh,” he said.

“I didn’t say that to put any pressure on but just letting you know. Our server the other night.”

“Nicole?”

“Yes. Nicole. She is friends with Elle and on Fridays we order lunch. Nicole was working.”

“So she mentioned something. What was everyone’s reaction?”

“I don’t think I need to feed your ego.”

“Oh, please do,” he said, smiling. “It’s hungry.”

She laughed, her eyes softening. “Vanessa remembered you. She thinks you’re hot.”

“Phew,” he said. “At least it’s not that I’m old.”

“No,” she said. “I think you’re the right age.”

“Since it’s the age I am I’m glad to hear that.”

They gave their drink orders and placed their food at the same time. They both got water and iced tea again. No alcohol for either of them.

He’d been known to have a beer now and again but not when he was out or driving. He didn’t want to worry about his reputation.

“They were all happy for me. I don’t talk about my personal life often, but they know I don’t date often either.”

“So it’s Team Dane there?”

“Oh yeah,” she said. “They don’t even know you and it’s your side they are rooting for.”

“I can’t remember the last time it was Team Dane. It feels good.”

“As good as my massages?” she asked, lifting her eyebrows up playfully.

“No way,” he said. “I’m already counting down the days for the next one. ”

“Always good to hear.”

An hour later they were leaving and he was sad the night was ending, but he had some work to do tonight and both of them had to work tomorrow.

He was feeling old thinking that but no reason to push this even more.

When he pulled back into her driveway, he got out to walk her to the door.

“Do we get to go on a third date?” he asked.

“I hope so,” she said. “You’re getting your kids on Friday?”

“And on call next week starting Saturday.”

She pulled her phone out. “My last appointment on Thursday is at five.”

“Can I pick you up at six?” he asked.

“How about you come here for dinner?” she said. “Then if you’re running late, no worries.”

“I can do that,” he said. They were on her front porch. “Thanks for being accommodating.”

“Oh, that’s me,” she said, winking.

She’d made the first move with the kiss days ago and he wasn’t going to let her do it again.

He put his hand around the back of her neck, dropped his head down, their lips touched and he wasn’t going to keep it light.

She’d said days ago she hoped for more and he was going to give it to her.

His mouth opened, hers followed, his tongue slipped in and they stood there making out for a solid minute, maybe more.

He might have felt like a teen, but it was a good feeling. One that maybe he should have more of in his life .

When he leaned back for a break, she reached up and pulled his head down for another.

Yeah, this was what Team Dane felt like and it was one hell of a boost that he definitely needed.