Unleashing Chaos

Chapter Twelve

Cannon took me to one of the nicest restaurants in Denver, and we are sharing the biggest slice of chocolate cake I've ever seen.

The date has been nothing but sweet from start to this moment. Cannon met me at the bottom of the stairs, dressed impeccably in tailored black slacks and a blue dress shirt that brought out his eyes, opened every door for me, got us the most private table in the place, ordered the most expensive bottle of wine, told me to order whatever I wanted from the menu, and actually fed me the first piece of this cake.

It's the nicest date I've ever been on.

Yet I still don't feel that spark I've been chasing.

It's clear Cannon spent a lot of time preparing for this date and dished out a lot of money to ensure I had a good time, and I appreciate that. And while the kiss we shared was unarguably enjoyable, I didn't feel anything remotely like fireworks. Which has me thinking, was it Cannon that turned me on or Jace instigating the entire thing that turned me on? Because I've tried...God, how I have tried because Cannon could be a perfect partner, provided that, you know, I told him what I really am, he believed me, and wanted to do it. He would likely let me rule peacefully with little to no chaos and support me in however I wanted to do things. He's handsome, witty, and fun to be with. But there are more sparks in the half-dead Zippo lighter Jace keeps in the kitchen drawer for lighting his favorite lavender vanilla candles.

"Desi?"

I realize too late that Cannon is talking to me, and I snap out of my thoughts. "Sorry, I was just zoning. What's up?"

"They just brought the check, and I paid. Are you ready to go?"

"Oh, yeah, yeah, I'm ready," I say, flashing him a grin and taking one more sip of wine as we stand and Cannon loops my arm through his.

As we drive back to the house, Cannon mentions he has to get up early to leave for yet another business trip, and I say, "What is it you do, anyway? I've never really asked, but you are always working whether at the office or out of town on a business trip."

Cannon turns down the radio and looks at me, his blue eyes shining with pride. "I'm in real estate. I've been busting my ass for years to get to the top, and I am so close I can taste it."

"Wow. You must have started young. You can't be more than, what, 24?"

"Close. 25."

"Impressive. Well, you certainly deserve whatever promotion you're working toward because you are always busy doing something for your career. I commend you on that. All I do is unload the dishwasher and look for a boyfriend," I joke.

"I'm sure all the chores and man searching will lead to bigger things. It sounds like your father will be happy if you pull it off."

"He will be, but the question is: will I be happy? How do you know you're doing the right thing for you in the end?"

"I just do what I want. And what I want is everything. If I'm on a path to make my dream come true, it doesn't matter what I have to do or not do to get there."

His enthusiasm makes me laugh. "So, you want to be President or something?" I say, a teasing tone creeping into my voice.

"President, King of the World, you name it," he shoots back with a wink.

Cannon wants to rule the world one day. What if he could rule his very own circle of hell? Maybe I shouldn't count Cannon out as an acceptable eternal partner. He might actually believe me, might actually take a chance and go to Infernis with me, even if just to check it out.