The rawness and sincerity in Smasher's voice when he asks to stay melts my heart in to a puddle of emotions. I could tell he didn't do this a lot by the look on his face, unsure and  pleading. "Sure. Stay here."

A light shines in his eyes and he places a hand gently on my thigh, making me want to scream out in excitement. His touch was so pure it made me feel whole again after so long of feeling broken.

"Let's get to know each other." He looks at me with an intensity that would make it hard for anyone to say no, not that I wanted to say to no anyways. I wanted to get to know him too.

"How do we do that?" I ask, unsure how he meant for us to learn about each other. Was he meaning physically or did he want to talk? I didn't want to say either one and sound stupid. I shocked myself when I discovered I was down for either. I was ready to risk it all for this guy I just met. I didn't care that I was still married to Landon, or what people thought of me. People always say I can't be single regardless so what do I care? Maybe I should take it slow with Smasher, but I would let him decide that. I wasn't going to stop him. I guess his choice would teach me a lot about him, what kind of person he is.

He focused on my face, making me feel as though he could read my thoughts and was seeing right through me. "All you have to do is talk about yourself."

I squinted, blurring his handsome face a little. This felt like a trap. "You want me to talk about myself."

"Yep. Until your out of breath." He nodded. "There's so much catching up for me to do."

I push my hair behind my ears. "Why don't you talk about you first?"

He shakes his head. My leg is still tingling from his touch. "No way, it's late, I'm not risking you falling asleep before I learn anything about you."

This guy was such a romantic. I wondered why he decided he wanted to get to know me, he could have anyone he wanted, why settle on the damaged girl? For some reason I started feeling guilty for ever pursuing Blade, if I'd just waited a little longer I'd have something even better, something that was mine.  Don't get me wrong, Blade was great, but his friend is something else entirely. It felt wrong to have crushed on this beautiful man's best friend.

I played with my hands, a nervous habit of mine. "I don't even know where to start."

He sensed my nervousness and rubbed my shoulder. "How old are you? Let's start there."

"I'm 21 years old." I smile, leaning closer. All I wanted to do was kiss him, but I refused to make the first move with anyone ever again.He initiated the conversation, but it didn't completely count. I couldn't backtrack on my word to myself. If I couldn't trust myself, who could I trust?

He looked pleased with my answer. "Good. Now when's your birthday?"

"Good?" I questioned him. "I was born August 19th. What about you?"

He pointed a finger at me. "Hey, I'm the one asking the questions, you'll get your turn."  He kept repeating August 19th in a low voice.

"I guess this is your game." I grin at him.

He takes a sip of his glass of wine. "This is way too serious to be a game. What do you like to do for fun, like hobbies and such?"

"I'm glad, I'm so over games." I take a deep breath, blowing a piece of my hair that had escaped from behind my ear up into the air. I feel frustrated as it falls back down and I tuck it back neatly. "Umm, I like cooking, reading, long walks, ice skating and I'm sort of a movie fanatic."

Smasher gently reached for my ears and removed the hair from behind them. "One of those things is not like the others, ice skating. All of your other hobbies are a very chill."

"You don't think Ice skating is chill? You're literally on ice!" I chuckle. "I've been skating since I can remember, I'm pretty sure I was skating before I could walk. I used take lessons all throughout school."

"I want to see you skate." The way he spoke told me there was no debate, he would one day watch me skate. I just hoped I didn't get nervous and embarrass myself while he's watching. "Where did you go to school?"

I adjusted myself on the couch, trying to get comfortable. "I went to Ransom Everglades High School in Miami. It's really well known for really preparing its students for college, which is why my parents sent me there. After I graduated, I moved here to Arizona."

"How was your college experience then? Did that school actually help you?"

I laugh humorlessly. "Practically nonexistent. I went to community college for just a semester and then I dropped out and got married, my parents were thrilled as you can imagine"

"Everyone's path is different, you shouldn't feel bad about that. There's nothing wrong with not going to college and getting married young. It's made you who you are and if I were you, I'd be very proud of that person." His pep talk helped me see my failures through a different lense. He's right, my choices have molded my into the person I am today, which I'm so glad is a person he would be proud of.  I think about it, if I'd never dropped out of college I never would've moved to Dream Apartments and I never would've met Amaya, Blade or this guy who may or may not be my soulmate. My failed marriage has made me stronger, more sure of myself and what I want/deserve and I'm more independent. My failed marriage has prepared me for someone like Smasher. I like this life a lot better than a life where I pretend to thrive at college but am I actually miserable. My parents might be disappointed, but it's my life, they aren't the ones who have to live it.

I smile at him, feeling on cloud nine with this new revelation. "Thank you, I needed that."

"Of course, I could sense it was bothering you. Next question, what's your favorite dish to cook?" He didn't miss a beat with these questions, he was really focused on this interview.

I consider his question. "Hmm, I like to cook pastas, like lasagnas and creamy garlic noodles with cheesy garlic bread."

"You're making my mouth water, I'll have to try those dishes sometime, I love noodles." He licked his lips, tempting me to kiss him, but I restrain. "Tell me about your pet experience."

I smile at him. "I've had a lot of dogs growing up. My parents were really into big dogs, like German Shepards, Great Danes, Labradors and breeds like that. I love dogs, but my ex husband wasn't an animal person so I haven't one since I moved here."

He looks at me incredulous. "Let's puppy shop right now!"

I laugh. "Yeah, I wish."

"I'm serious! Why not?" He pulled out his phone. "What breed are you looking for? I know you said you'd had a lot of bigger dogs, but I wasn't sure if that was your choice or your parents."

Adrenaline kicks in, I'd never done something so impulsive before. "I want a husky, it's always been my favorite breed."

"Okay, husky it is. Boy or girl?" He asks, typing quickly on his phone.

"I want a girl." I scoot closer to him, trying to get close enough to peer at his phone screen but he has a blackout screen so it's not use.

He scrolls for a few minutes and the stops suddenly. "How about her?" He hands me his phone, exposing the most adorable little husky I've seen in my life.

"She's perfect." I reply, dreamily.

He reaches for his phone, presses a few more buttons, then sits his phone down and looks up at me. "Then she's yours. We pick her up tomorrow."

I squeal and clap my hands together. "No way, really?! I'm so excited!"

He nods. "It's about time you had your own puppy." 

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" I hug him as tightly as I can.

He hugs me back, smiling for the first time since I've met him. "You're going to be a dog mom, how does it feel?"

"So amazing! I can't wait to meet her and squeeze her little face." I say squeezing the pillow beside me. "By the way, you should smile more you have the best smile I've ever seen."

His eyes get wide and he looks a little embarrassed. "Ummm, thank you." He says softly.

"It's really nice." I grab his hands. "This is the kindest and most spontaneous thing anyone has ever done for me, it means a lot to me."

"I'm happy to do it, the drive will give us more time to get to know each other."

I smile up at him. "How long is the drive?" I ask, curious.

He checks it on his phone. "An hour and a half."

"Oh my gosh, you don't have to come with me all that way, that's a long drive and I'm sure you have stuff to do. I can pick her up." I offer, though a long car ride with Smasher sounds like so much fun.

He finishes off his wine. "No way I'm missing you guys meeting. I'm coming and I'm driving."

"Okay, if you're sure." I say, knowing there's no debate, he wants to come so he's coming.

"I'm sure." He smiles, looking away. "I should go, we have an early day tomorrow. I'll pick you up around 10am."

"10am is early for you?" I chuckle. I get up at 5am every morning, so this comes as a shock.

He nods, standing. "Very, I like to get up no earlier than noon, but we have a decent drive so I want to make sure we make it on time."

"Can we not tell the others? I want to surprise them with her." I ask, already envisioning Amaya's excitement.

"Of course. That's a good idea." He walks closer to me. He hesitates , looking unsure then leans down and hugs me. "Goodnight Nikayla."

I want him to stay, but I don't want to be clingy. I tell myself I'll see him tomorrow. "Goodnight Smasher. I hope you realize that tomorrow I get to interrogate you."

"Fair enough." I feel him smiling against me before he leans back with a serious expression on his face. We make eye contact, then he looks down at my lips. I lean in, hoping he'll kiss me, but he doesn't. He looks away and moves back. Without a word he is out the door, leaving me breathless and confused. Why didn't he kiss me?