Ex-Daredevil by Zoe Lee

Chapter 19

Eliott

After our night at my place with fried rice and a sexy bubble bath, work for Gavin picked up again because Barley and the band had to go to L.A. to meet with their label.

Because our… whatever we were doing was so new, I’d been unsure what to expect while he was gone, but we’d kept texting like we always did, and I got a lot of pictures. Surfing, Barley and men I assumed were his bandmates in the background. A fire in an enclosed pit with a dozen marshmallows on sticks roasting. Gavin with half his face squished into his pillow, his hair like some painting of a mermaid’s fanned out in beautiful disarray all around him. A shot of him driving what looked like a very cool car, obviously not taken by him but by whoever was in the passenger seat. A brownie sundae once.

By the time he was back and it was the night of my first Boring Date, I was nervous and second-guessing myself. Part of it was that we hadn’t seen each other in a little bit. But the bigger part was that this bet gave me a very fine line to walk. While I wanted to win, to do so would mean I bored him to death, which was the diametric opposite of what anyone wanted on a date. Well, if they liked the other person at all, anyway. And I did. I did like him.

But I’d gotten tickets and it was too late to do anything but be confident in my choice.

He drove to my condo and put the motorcycle in the garage, then hopped into my station wagon and patted the dashboard like it was a faithful old horse. I’d told him to wear something nice—since all boring things require wearing something nice, he’d texted me sarcastically. He was wearing navy dress pants and a black shirt, very carefully only partially tucked in, and the fabric was incredibly soft and thin, so I thought that it would be see-through under direct lighting. I couldn’t help but stroke my hand up his thigh, appreciating the quality of the pants only half as much as I appreciated his lean muscle.

Shifting under my touch as if he couldn’t decide if he wanted to allow it or not, he taunted, “Whatever you planned, I’m so prepared. I barely slept last night and I ate an entire turkey, so I’m super tired. But I drank a quadruple espresso. That should even it out, right?”

“If you fall asleep, I’m counting it as a win,” I said mildly.

I could tell he was actually, maybe nervous, so I waited him out.

“You stubborn ass,” he finally gave up and exclaimed. “Where are you taking me?”

“To the ballet,” I said coolly. “You really should’ve guessed. I was going to take you to the Lyric, but I’m not a big fan of the opera they’ve got running right now. Be grateful.”

He groaned dramatically and slumped in his seat. “You better feed me first.”

“I thought you ate an entire turkey.”

“I’d be dead if I did that,” he grumbled. “I’m going to need the best conversation of my life to make this up to me, Eliott. Scintillating. Fascinating. Engaging. You hear me?”

“Sure, sweetheart,” I taunted right back, stroking up his thigh a little higher to make him squirm again. “I don’t want to do something formal for dinner, so I thought we’d just get sandwiches and milkshakes close by the theatre. How about you scandalize the clientele and tell me all about this extensive list of kinks you have,” I offered blandly.

“If they horrify you enough, will you go to the ballet without me?”

“Hey, I’m playing fair, don’t try to whine your way out of this,” I rebuked him.

That made him hum thoughtfully. “Do you have a favorite ballet?”

Startled that he’d stopped being petulant so quickly, I answered, “Sheherazade. I don’t even know if it’s performed anymore, but I found a video of it online. It’s very sensual, and Najinsky, who is one of the most famous male ballet dancers, was in the original.”

“I love ice skating at the Olympics and I feel like I’ve heard that music used,” he said.

Somehow that somehow segued into us discussing our favorite movie soundtracks and scores. Before I knew it, I’d parked and we were in line for food. Gavin was pleased by the place, low-key with a very stoned college kid playing guitar and warbling something unintelligible. We took a table outside because the weather was holding, and because there weren’t many people around in case he wanted to take me up on my half-joking kinks idea.

He tossed his dress shoes up on another chair, slurped his chocolate shake, and studied me while he deep-throated the straw. Eventually he came up to gasp a wet breath.

“I like spanking, super light bondage like a tie around my wrists, getting pinned against walls, exhibitionism as long as no one tries to touch me, and watching porn while I’m fucking,” he then rattled off as if he were telling me his favorite meal, so blasé that it took me until he was completely done to even register the meaning of any of the words.

“Holy shit,” I croaked.

“Can’t handle it?” he asked innocently, eyes gleaming in challenge, sure I couldn’t.

So I hooked an elbow over the back of my chair, stroked my jaw, and tried not to sound like this was the first time I’d ever said all of this out loud. “I like dick pics, lap dances, men in panties, light bondage with silk ropes, comeplay, and me clothed while you’re naked.”

“Whaaaa—” he choked.

“Any deal breakers?” I asked coolly.

“Hang on, hang on,” he said, flapping one hand a little frantically. “You—for real?”

Shrugging, I tried not to blush or sweat under his slack-jawed inspection of me.

Finally he gave an epic groan and took an enormous bite of his sandwich, chewed it like he was going for a speed eating record, and then accused me, “That’s sabotage, Eliott!”

“If anything, I’m helping you out. If the ballet is so boring, now you’ll have something to think about,” I countered philosophically, carefully picking up my sandwich.

He snorted.

“It’s auspicious that our kinks seem to match pretty well in style and intensity,” I commented, and although I had to work to keep the tone casual, it was completely true.

“‘Auspicious,’” he repeated deadpan. “I’m going to have to look that one up.”

I surveyed him thoroughly and murmured, “I don’t think you will.”

He flashed me a smile, quick like lightning in a bottle.

As if by agreement, we ate in sexually tense, but otherwise comfortable silence. I appreciated it, like a good wine, rolling it around in my mind to taste all of its nuances. There were not many people I enjoyed spending time with, and my mom was the only one who I would be quiet with like this, if we were in the mood for it, without it being weird.

Once we were done eating, we walked over to the theatre, where I retrieved our tickets from will call. Under the lobby lights, a sort of old-fashioned yellow that I’d always thought was trying to mimic lamplight, Gavin’s purple streaks shone like amethysts around a grande dame’s neck. It was in some sort of French braid, but bundled up at the back of his neck so that the interwoven design looked almost geometric, like a Fabergé egg.

“So tell me about ballet,” he said as the lights flashed politely.

“You’ll be shocked, but I love that every single movement is perfectly precise. But somehow, it’s still emotional,” I explained in a quiet voice, already feeling the excitement that was expressed in theatres in hushed anticipation.

His eyes locked on mine, shifting side to side minutely as if what I’d said had solved some great mystery to him.

Clearing my throat, feeling vulnerable for some reason, I added, “The Joffrey Ballet is an amazing company, very famous. They perform classic and modern ballets. Tonight’s a classic one.”

He let out a delighted “Oooh”when we walked into the theatre, which was ornate, gold leaf everywhere and the seats and stage curtains all rich red velvet. The space was large, but everyone’s fancy fabrics rustled, creating this undertone of graciousness.

While we waited for the show to start, Gavin craned his neck around from our seats, commenting on people’s outfits and couples who looked mismatched. I considered myself observant, but the way he saw things was fascinating to me, taking in details and painting stories about the people based on them. I was almost sorry when the lights dimmed.

But as soon as the curtains opened and the music began, I was swept up in the ballet.