Chapter Seven:
Ian
When the car rolled to a stop outside the art museum I felt a little less tense. Asking Grayson to drive us was a bad idea. I felt uncomfortable the entire three-hour drive with him listening to our conversation, though he did chime in now and then. It should have felt like three old friends getting along for a short road trip of sorts, but it felt more like Grayson was horning in on my attempts to woo Lanie. Not that he was much of a threat. Lanie seemed enthralled with me in spite of Grayson's charm. The only reason I asked him to drive was so Lanie and I could have more time to talk without distractions.
"Here we are folks. I'm going to leave the car for you and hop a cab to the airport." Grayson pulled into a parking spot and put the car in park. The plan was for him to head home and leave us in peace, which I was never happier to enact. I booked a hotel room in case Lanie was open to it, but I didn't want to pressure her.
I slid out of the car on my side as soon as Grayson did. He handed me the keys and I shut the door while Lanie gathered her things, and I laid into him with a harsh whisper I hoped she didn't hear.
"What the hell are you doing, Gray? I'm on a date with the woman and you seem to be flirting with her." I hastily grabbed the key from him and glowered, and he backed up a step with both hands raised in defense, palms splayed out toward me.
"Woah, I don't know what you're talking about. I'm being myself." Grayson really was nothing but a player. Born to money with heaps in the bank, he had better things to do than pretend to be my driver. The man was so fucking rich he could have given me his driver for the night and hired a different one to crate him around. But he knew I didn't have that sort of cash lying around, and when I mentioned wanting a driver, he insisted. Strangely so too, as if he not only had nothing better to do--which I knew was not true--but that he wanted to be around Lanie again.
"Look, I know you're literally the definition of a 'player' but she's off limits. Got it?" It wouldn't have been the first time Grayson moved in on a woman I was interested in, though he'd never been so brazened as to do so while I was actively dating her--and never while I was on an actual date.
"Sheesh, it's cool, buddy." He patted my chest and winked at me and I could have smacked his hand away. His college-age immaturity and playboy tactics were so beneath him. This was the last time I asked him for help with anything regarding Lanie.
I walked around the back of the car and opened the door for my beautiful date and she stepped out. Her long dark hair hung around her shoulders, ringlets curling around the straps of her dress. She wore something more casual this time--a lavender sundress and white strappy sandals, but around her neck hung a silver locket. And her makeup had been done differently, only a touch of mascara and a hint of lip gloss. I liked it very much. It was very much what I assumed she looked like when she dressed herself instead of borrowing things from friends.
"What?" she said, smiling.
"I can't get over how beautiful you are. I don't even think I need to go in there and see the art. I could stand here looking at you all night."
Lanie rolled her eyes at me and chuckled as she looped a hand around my bicep and I shut the car door. A quick glance in Grayson's direction revealed he was heading across the parking lot far away from us, and for that I was glad. Clearly my lecture after the first date and the passes he made at her during dinner hadn't hit the mark. I hoped tonight's rebuke put him in his place. I'd hate to lose a friend over something so stupid. He should know better.
"Well you're just being silly now." She pressed her other hand to my forearm and leaned her head on my shoulder. Her purse dangled from her shoulder between us, creating a buffer I wanted to remove immediately, but I didn't have the heart to move her away for a second, even if it meant being closer to her afterward.
"I only speak the truth, Ms. Gray. You are stunning."
We floated toward the museum entrance and I hoped that my choice of exhibits was a good one. I never went all out for dates with other women, not like this. I'd maybe have taken them to a show or a club where we'd go dancing, but I never let them into my personal space or things I held close to my heart. Lanie was the first I'd ever taken up the mountain, and she was the first I'd ever driven three hours one way to tour a museum with.
Grayson questioned my choice of date and I told him it was for her, that she loved this sort of thing. Based on the little research I'd done of her--snooping on her social media to find out what she was talking about--I knew the Gullah Geechee people were on her heart, more so than the sea turtles and revitalizing the marshlands. Deep down though, I loved art. And I loved enjoying art with people who loved art.
"Woah," she gasped when we walked through the doors and the curator handed us brochures about the exhibit. She looked up at me with surprise. "You planned this yourself?"
I chuckled and nodded at the curator and took the extended brochures as I handed him our pre-purchased tickets. "I didn't plan the exhibit, no. But I did find it and plan this evening. I hope you enjoy it. I've been meaning to see it and this is the last weekend on exhibit here in Wilmington."
"Oh my god, Ian." Lanie's voice was almost a whimper, so full of emotion that I knew I hit the nail on the head. Then the hammer hit me. Guilt flooded me, making my gut churn. She was really impressed and wooed by this and of course my mind would remind me that the reason I'd asked her on that first date was to prove to Ward that I could make her fall in love with me. "This is so romantic."
Never in my life would I have said taking my date to a museum to view a cultural exhibit would be romantic but Lanie Gray wasn't a normal date. And that thought made me cringe again. I wasn't here because of the bet. I was here because I genuinely liked her and my conscience wouldn't let me rest. If I told her about the bet she'd hate me and it would be off. Ward would never give me the money. If I didn't tell her, things would evolve naturally and Ward would owe me big time, but I'd have to live with this guilt the rest of my life. Not to mention what would happen if Ward told Lanie or she found out some other way.
"You okay?" she asked and I stiffened.
"Yeah, just thinking how big of a dork you are." I joked hoping she would understand that I did, in fact, think this was romantic too. If someone had done this for me I'd have flipped.
"Oh my god, Ian. Who's the dork? You took me hiking on date two and then smeared your sweat all over me when you kissed me." Her jibe came with a jab to the ribs and I chuckled. It was enough to get me out of my head so we could enjoy this date.
"Admit it. You loved that part. You couldn't wait to get my sweaty body all over yours." Snickering ensued as we passed through the double doors into the first exhibit room and we fell into a natural conversation of banter and joking.
The entire exhibit was incredible. I had heard of the Gullah people of the low country but I hadn't done a lot of investigating, though it was something that generally piqued my interest. Each relic or artifact we stopped to look at came with a detailed explanation written on a plaque, but we didn't need them. Lanie could have curated this exhibit herself. She knew so much, and she wasn't afraid to gush over them with compliments and random facts. I loved watching her face light up, so much so that I got swept away in the moment and when no one was looking, I kissed her.
