“See? Another upside to choosing a guy with a past.” Char she made a big kissy face. “You get to benefit from his finely honed skills. And if he can kiss good enough for you to get that dreamy look on your face, then he definitely has some moves he can show you in bed.”

“Okay, okay. Enough of the ‘I told you so’s.’ Help me pick out an outfit that will wow him, miss smarty pants.”

We rifled through my closet and dresser and finally decided on a black skirt and dark red sweater that I paired with black knee-high boots. I liked how the skirt and boots drew the eye to my legs. Years of dancing had made them my best feature, and Jackson had sure seemed to like them when he caught me wearing his shirt. Nothing wrong with using what I had since I was pretty sure that I was going to need any advantage I could get with him. There was something about him that left me feeling off balance and out of control. I usually hated losing control, but being around Jackson was a lot of fun, and I hadn’t had fun with a guy in a long time. I was a little terrified of the feelings I was having, but I guessed I would just have to wait and see what happens.

Before I knew it, six o’clock had rolled around and there was a knock at my door. I was impressed that Jackson had shown up right on time. Most guys weren’t as punctual for dates, and I hadn’t really expected him to be either. I was zipping up my boots, so Char grabbed the door.

“Hey, Jackson,” she greeted him.

He looked amazing in khaki pants and a dark blue button-down shirt. I loved how the blue made his eyes seem even brighter and that he’d actually made an effort for our date. I felt less awkward about having dressed up since he had too.

“Char,” he replied before looking across the room at me, his gaze zeroing in on my legs. It looked like I had been right in my guess that he was a leg man.

“I’m just about ready,” I said as I stood up and started to toss stuff into my purse. As I was looking down, trying to figure out if I was missing anything I needed for the evening, he walked over to me.

“Here,” I heard him say before a bunch of yellow roses moved into my line of vision. “These are for you.”

“Jackson,” I breathed out, stunned that he had brought them since he hadn’t really seemed like the traditional flowers-for-his-date kind of guy. Maybe he looked like it all dressed up, but hot tattooed guy underneath was still the same.

He flashed me a smug grin. “Consider the thank-you portion of the night over and done with. Just so there’s no confusion.”

“My oh my, you sure are a smooth one,” Char said. “Very well played. Why don’t I just take those and put them in water for Kaylie so y’all can head out for the date part of your night.”

Jackson reached out to grab my hand. “You heard the girl. Let’s get moving. I wouldn’t want us to miss our reservation.”

“You made reservations?” I asked, a little worried that maybe he had picked somewhere fancy where I would look out of place. I felt sexy in my outfit, but I hadn’t picked it with a super nice restaurant in mind. It was easy to forget that he came from money since he didn’t act like it. “Where are we going? Am I dressed okay for it?”

“No, you’re not dressed okay,” he answered and my heart dropped. “You look fucking amazing. So beyond okay that I’ll have to stick close to you all night just to make sure that other guys know you’re with me.”

I couldn’t stop myself from beaming at his compliment. He was damn good at this. It was hard to remember that most guys would say just about anything to score. “I’m not sure if I should trust you,” I said as we walked to his truck. “Are you being genuine, or are you just putting on an act to get so you can get me into bed?”

Jackson stopped and turned to me so that he could stare straight in my eyes as he answered my question. “One thing you can be damn sure about, Kaylie, is that I won’t ever lie to you. What you see is what you get with me, okay?” he asked. When I nodded that I understood, he continued. “I know this might piss you off because it makes me sound like a douche, but I don’t need to put on an act if I want a piece of ass. The real kind. Not the drink. If that’s all I was interested in, there are other girls on campus who would give it up if I looked their way. No need for dinner. No compliments on how they look.”

I pulled away from him a little, but he wouldn’t let me get far. “You’re right. That does make you sound like a douche because that’s exactly what you used to be interested in. How could I possibly think that I’m any different to you than all those girls? That if I decide to let this thing between us run its course that you won’t disappear the second the sheets get cold?”