Tanner

As soon as I walk into the apartment, it smells incredible. I walk over to the kitchen, where Jenna is hard at work on some pasta dish. "Mmmm, this smells amazing. What is it?"

Jenna smiles at me. "It's called linguini ai frutti di mare."

Was that English? "Uh, come again?"

Jenna looks me dead in my eyes and says, with a smirk on her face, "I'd love to, but I haven't come for the first time yet."

Holy shit! My jaw drops. No fucking way. Did I imagine that? That's more believable than her actually saying it, but did she? I think my brain just short-circuited because there's no freaking way those words just left her mouth. Right?

She smiles again. "It's called linguini ai frutti di mare. It's a seafood pasta dish with tomato sauce."

I regain my composure and tell her again that it smells fantastic, and I ask if she needs help with anything. She says she has it handled, and I can sit back and relax. I decide to take a quick shower to wash the day off and take care of the tent I now have in my pants.

Still not sure if she said that or not- 'I haven't come for the first time yet.' Christ! I need to get myself under control.

I step under the cold water and make quick work of my boner, thanks to the image of Jenna in that dress from earlier. I shower quickly after that, ready to eat whatever Jenna has on the menu. After toweling down, I pull on my dark jeans and a nice tee shirt.

She already has the table set complete with a lit candle in the dining room. This is fancy. Maybe I should have picked a nicer shirt. The food is already on the table, but Jenna is nowhere in sight.

I hear a door open and turn to see Jenna step out of her room. My jaw drops, and I swallow hard as my dick twitches in my boxer briefs. She's wearing that dress and her new heels. The same ones I bought for her this afternoon. She's let down her hair, so it frames her beautiful face in the most amazing way.

Jenna walks over and says, "I wanted to repay you somehow for buying me this outfit. The dinner is my thanks since you refused my money. And to go with the fancy dinner, I thought I'd dress up in the outfit you bought me."

She gives me a killer smile and sits down at the table. Just like that, I'm standing at attention again, and my jeans are suddenly painfully tight. When my mind starts working again, I join her at the table, trying to adjust myself discreetly.

Jenna's bright eyes find mine. "I hope you like it."

Oh, I like it. Fuck yeah, I like it. I clear my throat. "It looks incredible."

I take a drink of water before digging in. For some reason, my mouth is as dry as the Sahara desert. "Mmmm, Jenna, this is delicious!"

Her juicy lips curl into a beautiful smile. "Thank you! It's one of my favorites."

I can't take my eyes off of her as we continue eating. After a minute or two of quiet, I ask, "What are some of your other favorite things?"

Jenna peeks over at me. "You really want to know?"

I nod. "Of course."

She looks almost shy as she responds. I see a hint of pink creep onto her cheeks. It's fucking adorable. "My favorite color is blue. My favorite band is Queen. My favorite drink is herbal tea. And obviously, my favorite sport is ice hockey."

She giggles as she finishes naming off some of her favorite things. "What about you? What are some of your favorite things, Tanner?"

Now, it's my turn to feel shy. It's a foreign emotion. I'm never shy, but Jenna brings out all these new things in me, and I like it. "My favorite color is also blue. I don't have a favorite band. My favorite sport- now this may come as a surprise to you, but it's ice hockey."

Jenna starts laughing. I don't know what brought that out of me, but I felt like being playful. And I don't regret it. Making her laugh is one of my favorite things to do, but I won't admit that to her just yet. Instead, I continue, "And my favorite food is now this seafood pasta."

We continue talking until our plates are empty. She asks about my hometown and my family at one point. I get quiet and start to squirm a bit, then. "Eh, there's not much to tell. My parents are still married. I'm an only child, lived in Chicago my whole life until I moved here. Don't really talk to my parents much anymore."

Jenna's brows furrow. "I'm sorry. Why don't you speak to them anymore?"

Typically, if someone asked me that, I'd shut them down, but I don't want to with her. I want her to know more about me. "Um, my childhood wasn't that great. We didn't have much, and my parents never really wanted me. I was just a burden to them."

Jenna's face falls. "Shit! Tanner, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have brought it up."

I shake my head, trying to soothe her. I don't want her to feel bad about this. "It's okay. I don't usually like talking about it, but for some reason, I feel like I can with you."

At that, her eyes brighten slightly, and she quirks her mouth up on one side. She didn't ask for more, but I'm going to give it to her. I feel compelled to. "I used to keep in touch with them when I first got signed, but they only ever came around asking for money and trying to guilt-trip me over shit I have no control over. At first, I'd help them out, but then they stopped talking to me unless they wanted money. So, I haven't talked to them since I told them they'd never see another dime from me."

Jenna clutches her heart. The devastated look has returned to her face. She leans over and grabs my hand. "Tanner, that's horrible. I'm so so sorry that you didn't have them there to support you. And for the way they treated you, that's terrible."

I squeeze her hand. It's so soft and small inside my own, but they fit together like perfect pieces of a puzzle. I start to run my thumb along the top of her hand, memorizing the feeling of her skin on mine. This feels so right. I have a strong urge to pull her into my lap and hold her close.

She eventually pulls her hand away and asks if I want some dessert. I snap out of my trance as she tells me she made tiramisu. "I'd love some."

I take our plates to the sink as she grabs a slice of dessert for each of us. We lean over the island and take small bites of the tiramisu while talking about some better topics.

I ask how her last trip to Vegas was, and she tells me that it was great. She shares stories with me about her mom and her mom's new fiancée- how happy they are and how glad she is that her mom has someone.

I ask where her dad is, and she looks a little sad. She tells me he died several years ago, fighting overseas. I apologize and try to change the topic to something happier.

Thinking it's a safer topic, I ask if she has any siblings. Again, a flash of sadness washes over her features. She says she had an older brother, but he died a few years ago in a car accident. He was hit and killed by a drunk driver.

Way to steer the conversation off a cliff, Tanner.

I apologize again and try to move the conversation to something I know is safe. I try to think of something that will make her laugh. So, I tell her about my meeting with the protein douche. "You've heard of ProteinMania, right?"

Jenna rolls her eyes. "Oh yeah, I've heard of them."

I chuckle. "Well, I had a meeting a while back with one of their reps who's been hounding my agent about meeting with me. I think his name was Max something."

Jenna interjects, "Max Beckham."

I look at her. Wow, she's good. "Uh, yeah, that's the guy. You know him?"

She wrinkles her nose. "Yeah. More than I'd like to."

I continue on. "Oh, well, he kept hounding my agent for a meeting. So, I finally agreed... to get the guy to shut up. He laid it on thick- took me to a really fancy steakhouse and brought a huge box of samples of their products. He tried to tell me how great everything was and that it was the best tasting stuff on the market, blah blah blah. Yeah, I've tried the stuff. It tastes like ass."

It works- my story made Jenna start laughing. It's a beautiful sound. I love hearing it. Maybe telling her the rest of that story will make her laugh even more. "Anyway, the guy was a total douche, but I figured since he insisted on the meeting, I may as well enjoy the dinner. I ordered the two most expensive things on the menu as well as the most expensive dessert."

Jenna is loving this. I smile at her before I finish my tale. "I figured the guy deserved it. He made the waitress uncomfortable and tried to pick her up during our meeting."

Jenna grimaces. "Yeah, he's a real creep. He tried to pick me up at my work conference in Vegas."

Hearing that pisses me off. "That son of a bitch!"

She shakes her head and tells me, "I told him off. He knows better than to try that shit with me anymore anyway, but he still tries every chance he gets."

Okay, there's more to this story. "Wait, am I missing something here?"

Jenna takes a deep breath and looks almost ashamed. "I used to date him."

My eyes bug out of my head. You've got to be kidding me! "What!? You dated that tool?"

She scrunches her face, looking like she could be sick after the admission. "Guilty."

My mind is blown. "No! Jenna! He is such a douche! Why?"

She shrugs. "He can be charming when he wants to be, but I know better now. He showed his true colors when I walked in on him fucking his personal trainer."

That guy is a moron. I shake my head in disbelief. "What guy in their right mind would cheat on you? Wow."

I shake my head again, letting my eyes drift to hers. "That guy is an idiot. Letting someone like you get away."

Jenna looks at me and softly asks, "You think so?"

I've never had a more sincere conversation in my life. My reply comes out, as soft as a whisper. "I know so. You deserve so much better than that, Jenna. You deserve to be treated like a queen- like you're the most precious person in the world."

I look at her lovingly, resisting the urge to lean in and stroke her cheek. She smiles softly back at me. The air between us is super-charged, and neither of us wants to break free of the bubble we've created.

After what seems like a lifetime, she breaks eye contact with a shake of her head. "We should probably get this cleaned up."

I nod in reply, not yet trusting my voice. We quickly clean up the dishes from dinner and put the leftovers away. I'm putting the last bit in the fridge as Jenna wipes off the island behind me.

I close the fridge and turn around, bumping into Jenna. We're face to face, bodies inches away from one another. I can feel my chest rising and falling faster as her breathing hitches.

Fuck.

A/N:

Soooooo, what do you think will happen in the next chapter?????

Tell me your predictions in the comments      :)

Tomorrow's teaser coming soon to Insta- posted in my story.

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