3. The Next Two Rights, Beau

Dash's lips on mine were a beautifully enchanting thing. Everything wrong in my life melted away as I rediscovered the bond that held us timelessly in place. Dash's soft, full lips and sweet tongue caressed against mine, giving me the chance to create the rhythm of our kiss. I didn't hold back. I couldn't. My life's love was here in my arms, doing his best to wipe away the past.

The loneliness I lived with began to seep away at the realization that someone truly wanted me. My inner self-disgust vibrated quietly in the background but having Dash in my arms staved off its distraction. What he brought forward was a star-spangled banner style fireworks show exploding through my head. My body heated with desire.

Dash's palm slipped past my open jacket to rest close to my heart, his deft fingertips stretching to caress my hard nipple. The simple touch set off a cascade of tingles rippling over me. Eventually, the need to breathe won, and I pulled away. His lips followed before his mesmerizing face filled my view. Both of his hands were now in my hair, one gently stroking another unruly lock off my face. The other weaving through the longish length.

"Let's go home," Dash said reverently. Every syllable was laced with the implication that it was now my home too.

"I'm not ready to go the distance," I murmured, drinking him in. I was shit to do anything more than lay my palm on his shaven cheek. Dash grinned his gorgeous smile as my thumb traced his full bottom lip.

"Keep touching me like this at home." He began to scoot from the circle of my arms, and I didn't want to let him go. The further he went, the tauter our invisible connection became. My loneliness reared, creeping in around the fringes.

If I had smartness coded in my DNA, I'd reject whatever he offered. I'd be firm in the understanding that he didn't want me, not really.

Turned out I was neither smart nor firm. Of course, a relationship was out of the question, but I had no choice but to follow his lead. However, I promised the scared guy within me this wouldn't last much longer. Scott needed his truck, and I needed to begin my life.

I started the engine. The truck rumbled loudly to life. "Where do I go?"

"Take a right when you exit the parking lot, then take the central southbound on-ramp. My exit's the third one down." He swiveled in the seat to face me as he fastened his seatbelt in place. "You should know, today was the best day for me. I'm grateful you came. When I won the mock trial this afternoon, you were the only person I wanted to tell, but I was losing hope that you'd come back."

Dash spoke like he used to, filling in the silence until he drew me out of myself. It wasn't going to be that easy this time. My palms gripped the steering wheel tighter.

It bugged the shit out of me that I couldn't manage my emotions better where he was concerned. In every other situation in life, I'd kept my feelings locked down. Tucked so far away that no one ever suspected that I had them. I'd been so effective at keeping them secret, I barely registered they were there anymore. I shouldn't have kissed him like I did. It was just all his prettiness right there in my face. His lips alone were part of my wettest dreams.

My thoughts shifted to Dash's cologne. Damn, he smelled good.

"Are you listening to me?" His sharp tone snapped me out of my reverie.

The last thing I remembered… I scanned the street signs, trying to gauge the distance I had covered. I didn't know for sure. Dash caught me unaware, and I couldn't conceal it.

"I said to take the next exit and turn right at the light." His patience calmed me, and I did as he instructed.

"What else?" I asked.

"Oh, he speaks," Dash teased good naturedly. "Stay in the far right lane and take the next two rights. They come fast. My place is the third one down on the right. Let's see how well you listened." His sarcastic humor, evident since our first date, spoke of lots of things. Mainly, a happy life, which comforted me. Joyful people were rare to find, and no one deserved it more than he did.

The house resembled Dash. I pulled to the curb and surveyed the neighborhood. It radiated grandeur and wealth. Dash's home was two stories, maybe three, it was hard to tell.

The front yard was simply landscaped. Two expansive two-story windows took up a large portion of the front of the home. Designer stone, brick, and wood completed the fa?ade. It looked magazine-ready in a contemporary rustic and expensive way. Nowhere near the squalor I'd lived in the last five and a half years.

"Can I park here?" I asked.

"Pull into the right side of the driveway," he said absently, pulling out his phone. His thumbs danced over the screen at lightning speed as I maneuvered the truck into the driveway. Once parked, his phone vanished into his pocket, now forgotten. His full attention was back on me.

"Come inside. We have a lot to discuss." Dash popped open the truck's door then glanced back at me before stepping fully out. "Open your door, Beau. You're here for a reason. Give us a chance."

Something intuitive warned me that if I entered that house, I'd never want to leave. I glanced uncertainly at my hands spread on the steering wheel. They trembled. Fear of adding additional pain to my life began reinforcing the impenetrable internal barriers I'd created over my heart.

Nothing had changed except Dash was unaware of exactly how undesirable I'd become.

The sudden opening of my door startled the shit out of me. I clenched my fists as Dash approached, boldly reaching for my arm. "I understand you've faced unimaginable situations, but you're here now. You came for a reason. Come inside with me."

I looked him straight in the eyes—the hue of my dreams—and spoke my truth. "If I go inside, it'll only make it harder to leave. You have to realize, I'm not the same person I used to be…"

The shame instilled by my father surged, forcing my eyes shut and my head to bow. It was the jingle of the truck's keys that opened my eyes. The key fob was gripped in Dash's hand. All the man unto myself deal faded as my glare pinned him. "Give me back the keys."

"Come and take 'em." The cocky words accompanied a swagger-filled pivot as if he held ultimate control. And in a way, he did. He rounded the hood and started up the walkway before glancing back with a sly grin. "Is this where I add, I win?"

I had forgotten how persistent he could be in getting his way. Seemed the trait had only intensified.

"You're stunning," Dash called louder from the porch, keeping my retort on my lips. "You've grown into a handsome man despite the scowl you've worn all the way home. You're taller and stronger. Do all those muscles on your arms get heavy?"

I had no choice but to leave the truck and follow, my frown deepening. Dash laughed me off, not something people usually did with me. As I drew closer, I added, "You haven't grown an inch more."

His response was to lift the key fob to initiate the truck's locks.

"All the ways I envisioned this to go…" Dash moved closer to the front door under the bright porch lights.

Before this moment, I hadn't been able to stare openly at Dash. My thoughts drowned him out as he left me stunned speechless. I never imagined he could be any better looking than the young man I remembered.

Boy, was I wrong. He exuded easy charm and effortless sophistication, and his matured masculine features held a captivating allure. From the sweep of his now sandy blond hair, almond shaped eyes, straight nose, and strong jaw framing perfectly plump lips, he made it hard to turn away.

How could I have thought I'd be able to see him and walk away? That drove me to the bar for one last glimpse. The reason I stood in front of him right then.

My savior. The only hope I'd had for years.

"What did you think would happen?" I asked, picking up the conversation from the last thing I remembered hearing. I tucked then fisted my hands into my down jacket issued by the university's athletic department.

"Remember, I have a vivid imagination. My dreams had you hoisting me over your shoulder then going caveman on me. Or I'd do that to you. Either way, neither of us left the house for a month." Dash shrugged and stepped backward to the front door as I grew closer. "That's usually as far as I got. I kept envisioning the different ways we'd spend the month."

"You consider that a vivid imagination?" I countered.

Dash opened the front door. His smile widened as he extended a hand, gesturing me inside first. I stepped through the entry, immediately surveying the open floor plan. It was the nicest house I'd ever seen, but also the oddest.

It had a western vibe yet also ultra-modern. Lots of color, fine matching furnishings and glass walls. I was drawn deeper inside as I cocked my head to look up the curved staircase, sweeping up to the second floor from the left of the entry.

"Those are my roommate's rooms," he said. The front door closed behind me, the lock clicking in place.

"Think that's gonna keep me in?" I teased, casting a quick look over my shoulder.

"I hope I'm what keeps you in," he replied with his usual quick wit.

With deliberate movements, Dash came to face me. He lifted on his tiptoes, cupping the back of my neck. With the pressure he applied, my head bent. Not that it took much effort on his part; I was a willing participant. His body pressed against mine. We stared at one another, internally communicating like we used to do.

"You can do much better than me," I whispered. My gaze drifted down to his lips.

"So you've said for years now."

I dipped, he lifted, our mouths melded together once again. This kiss wasn't exactly chaste. The strength and manipulation of my lips held passion, but I also didn't allow it to escalate. We returned to our silent stare.

His conveyed concern.

Everything I had ever felt for him was back in force.

"I waited for you, but it was becoming difficult." I wasn't sure of his meaning, but I suspect it had to do with sex. My assumption seemed correct, judging by the way his arms crossed over his chest as if struggling to maintain composure.

"You don't have to explain or justify anything to me." Yet it hurt. The pain swiftly lanced my heart. I didn't want to hear more about his sex life and stepped around Dash, heading into the living room. Long windows also lined the back walls of the house. The dark night beyond captured my full attention until I took a full turn, taking the house in from this direction. "What's goin' on with this place? I haven't ever seen anything like it."

Dash's tone regained its humor. "A couple of years ago, the house was a Christmas present from my family," he explained and moved to stand in front of me again. "I remodeled based on something I saw in France. It's an ultra-open floor plan on both floors. In this part of the house, the walls are glass. I thought it was cool. Maybe not as much now as I once did. My guests can't resist touching the glass in awe, which means Amelia have to work full-time to help me keep them smudge-free." He nodded toward the rear of the house. "My area's back there. It's more private."

"Your area has real walls?" I asked and grinned.

"There's the smile I adore. Come back and see."

I trailed Dash through the living room, dining room, and kitchen, all the same space. Tastefully decorated, masculine, comfortable.

"This part of the house is shared space and who knows when he'll be home."

At the hallway's entry, Dash stepped aside and swept out a hand, urging me to go first again.

"I don't know the way," I replied.

"You're a smart guy. You'll work it out."