Sexy lady,
I’m very excited about tonight. And I’ll bring my nice ass along. I know how much you like it.
My mouth stretched into a wide smile. My cheeks were blushing and a laugh escaped my lips. I was embarrassed but I was glad he was being funny about the whole thing. I didn’t feel so ashamed. I walked inside the apartment and placed the rose on the kitchen counter. I wondered if it was the same rose from the night before.
Koku ran into the room and jumped up my le
g. I grabbed him and held him to my neck, letting him lick my skin and sniff my hair. I scratched his ears while I smiled. I felt like a school girl but I couldn’t help it. For some reason, I really liked Ethan. But I was still suspicious of him. I found it hard to believe that he was so stuck on me. There wasn’t anything interesting or amazing about me.
4
I decided to wear jeans and a long-sleeve shirt to dinner. I wasn’t sure where he wanted to go, but I hoped it wasn’t somewhere fancy. I didn’t care for overpriced restaurants with small portions. When I ate, I ate like a bear.
When the knock sounded on the door, I almost jumped. Ethan was
there. I looked at the clock and realized it was seven o’clock sharp. The man was punctual. I took a deep breath before I opened the door. I wasn’t ready to see his beautiful smile and his square jaw. I wasn’t ready to see that muscular ass either.
When I opened the door, he was holding a book.
I smiled at him. “What’s this?”
“A gift for my beauti
ful date.” He handed it to me.
I looked at the cover and felt the edges. “The Odyssey?”
He smiled. “It’s my favorite book of all time. I wanted to share something with you. Now you know me a little better than you did before.”
I was touched by the gesture. It was so sweet and so romantic. I loved books more than anything. While people interpreted different meanings from the same story, you still experienced the same adventure. It was an easy way to relate to one another. “That’s really sweet. Thank you,” I said as I held the book to my chest.
“You’re very welcome.”
Without thinking, I leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. When I pulled away, his smile was even wider. I felt a rush when I touched him. Even though the kiss was innocent, I still felt the fire ignite. I couldn’t believe this gorgeous man was so thoughtful.
“And thank you for that,” he said. “Are you ready to go?”
Koku ran to him and pawed at his leg.
Ethan leaned down. “Of course I didn’t forget about you, little man.” He pulled a small bone from his pocket and handed it to the dog. “I don’t know if your mother will let you have this, but don’t tell her I gave it to you.”
Koku took the bone out of his hand and started chewing on it. Ethan scratched his ears before he stood up.
Now my head was spinning even more. Food was the way to a man’s heart, but the way to my heart was through my dog. And I knew Koku liked him just as much.
“So are you ready to go?”
I nodded as I stared at him. He was wearing dark jeans and a gray shirt. It was ordinary, but I could see the lines of his body through his shirt. He was fit and his muscles were prominent. I fantasized about him without his shirt on for a moment, but stopped myself. I couldn’t go there right now.
He opened the door. “After you, m’lady.”
I smiled at him as I walked out the door. When we walked toward the elevator, he grabbed my hand.
“You look absolutely beautiful tonight.”
I looked down at myself. I was wearing jeans and a plain shirt. I didn’t look special or particularly dolled up. “Oh, thanks.”
“Why is it so hard for you to take a compliment?” he asked as we walked inside.
“I said thanks.”
“But you have this surprised expression on your face.”
I shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“Well, get
used to it because I think you’re damn fine.”
He caressed my fingers with his as we stood in the elevator. I liked feeling him touch me. It was innocent
, but it drove me insane with longing. I didn’t know if I could kiss him on the cheek again without moving to his mouth. I wondered what he tasted like.
He released my hand and turned around. “Do you want to get a good look while we wait?”
I blushed. “I wasn’t looking.” Well, I was looking now. It looked quite nice.
He turned around and wrapped his arm around my waist. “Just admit it. You were caught in the act.”
“I was not. I was making sure you didn’t get lost.”
“Who? Me or my ass?”
I laughed. “Both of you.”
He pressed his face close to mine as we
rode the elevator down to the bottom floor. I didn’t want the ride to end. I inhaled the scent of his skin. He smelled like a fresh shower. I wanted to lean in and kiss him but I stopped myself. He stared at my lips. I waited for him to kiss me but he never did. I was growing more disappointed by the second. Finally, when the doors opened, he pulled away and grabbed my hand. I felt my heart fall. Why didn’t I just kiss him?
He waved down a cab and we got inside. He said the name of a restaurant and the driver sped away. Ethan still
held my hand while he rested it on his thigh. I could feel the muscles in his leg just from resting on the surface. He was strong and powerful. I kept imagining him naked but I pushed those thoughts away. Just yesterday I didn’t want to sleep with him, but now that’s all I can think about.
Ethan leaned close to my ear. “How was your day?”
“Good.”
“
What did you do?”
“I went out to breakfast with my brother.”
He nodded. “You two are close?”
“Really close.”
“That’s great. I’m close with my family as well.”
“Don’t get me wrong. He can be really annoying.”
He laughed. “Yeah, my family can be too. But you gotta love em’.”
“Unfor
tunately.”
“So, did you tell your girlfriends the scoop?”
I laughed. “Maybe.”
“And how did I come off?”
I shrugged. “Good.”
“Did you tell them about my ass?
”
My cheeks were blood red. “It may have c
ome up.”
“Well, I hope both me and my ass
were heroes.”
“I think so.”
He rubbed my knuckles with his thumb. “Did I mention how beautiful you are?”
I blushed again.
“You really should get used to it. You’re going to be hearing it a lot from me. I’m sure you’ve heard it your whole life.”
“I’m just wearing jeans and a shirt.”
“And you still look amazing. What does that say about you?”
I didn’t say anything. I didn’t know what to say.
He shook his head. “You’ll realize it eventually, Sadie.”
“Realize what?”
“That you are really exceptional.”
The cab driver pulled over and parked. Ethan paid the driver then we left the car. Ethan held my hand again as we walked to the small café on the strip. There were tables outside covered in white table cloths and it looked peaceful, serene. I was just glad it wasn’t a crazy fancy restaurant. I hated it when guys took me to those. I couldn’t care less how much they had to spend on one meal.
“How does this look?”
“It’s perfect.”
“Good.”
We walked inside then took a seat outside. The sun had set and it was slightly chilly
, but it wasn’t too bad. When Ethan looked away, I stared at his face and chest. My thoughts always turned lustful when I looked at him. I shook the thoughts away because I was starting to feel guilty about it. I was just as bad as the womanizers in the bar.
He returned my look. “Thinking about my ass?”
I laughed. “You caught me.”
“It’s okay. I get that a lot.”
“It is really cute.”
He shrugged. “Well, you know.”
“Why haven’t you complemented my ass?”
“Because I haven’t looked.”
“I thought you weren’t a liar?”
He laughed. “You caught me. It’s very beautiful. I would like to see it up close.”
“Is that what this dinner is for? To get me into bed?”
He shrugged. “Well, I wouldn’t mind if it led to that, but no, that was not my plan.”
“Yeah, okay,” I said sarcastically.
“I don’t know why you don’t believe me. Is it that hard to
believe that I just think you’re a gorgeous woman and I want to know you better?”
“Yes.”
He laughed. “Why?”
“Since we met in a bar, I doubt that’s what you were looking for.”
“You’re right. I wasn’t. But when I saw you, I knew I had to have you—not just in a sexual way.”
His words made my spine shiver. It was territorial, almost possessive. “And why is that?”
“I have no idea. Sometimes you just know. When I saw you, my heart raced. I started to sweat. I was hard instantly—excuse my vulgarity.”
The idea of him being hard made me hard. I didn’t know why. If any other guy said that to me, I would have gotten up and walked away. “You’re excused.”
“Thanks.”
The waitress came over and we ordered our meals. Ethan ordered a bottle of wine for the table and poured me a glass.
“Another tactic—getting me drunk,” I said as I sipped the wine.
“Damn, I’ve been caught.”
I finished the glass. It was really good.
“
What do you do for fun, Sadie?”
“I like to read.”
“Anything else?”
“I write book reviews for a few magazines. I just do that whenever they ask. It’s extra money.”
He nodded. “That sounds interesting.”
“I like it. What do you do
for fun, Ethan?”
“I like it when you say my name.” His eyes
were heated for a moment. I could almost see into his mind. I knew what he was thinking about. I was thinking the same thing. He took a drink of his wine before he put it down. “I enjoy seeing my niece and nephew—my sister’s kids—and I enjoy playing ball with my friends. I like to read, but I doubt I read as much as you do, and I love fantasy football and all Brad Pitt movies.”
“You sound like every guy I’ve ever met—except
for the niece and nephew part.”
“Well, there isn’t a lot of variety to us. We are all obsessed with the same things: sports, sex, and food.”
“Women are the same way. Just exchange sports with shopping.”
“They are obsessed with sex?” he asked with a smile.
“Some.”
“Are you?”
I looked away from him. “No.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“Well, I’m not.”
“
We’ll see about that.”
“And what is that supposed to mean?”
He stared at me. “Nothing, Sadie. Nothing.”
“I said I wouldn’t sleep with you.” I had no idea why I kept saying this. I wanted
to have sex with him on the damn table.
“I know what you said.”
“So you don’t believe me?”
He leaned forward and lowered his voice to a whisper. “I’m not with you just to have sex, despite what you may think, but I am going to be inside of you one way or another. I’ll wait as long it takes, but it’s going to happen.”
His words made my heart palpitate. Such a threat should have left me frightened and paranoid, but it didn’t. I wanted him to keep his word. I crossed my legs and squeezed my thighs together. I felt the burn.
Ethan leaned back and stared at me. “No rebuttal?”
I shook my head.
“Good.”
The waitress brought our food and we ate in silence for a while. I felt the tension from his earlier words. I had never been more attracted to someone than I was to him. A part of me wanted to sleep with him even if he did drop me like a hat. He ingrained a neediness inside me that I couldn’t satisfy. I hadn’t even kissed him but I wanted to jump to home base. Maybe I
was
one of those girls that I claimed I wasn’t.
When w
e finished our meal, Ethan slipped some cash into the folder. I didn’t offer to pay or leave a tip. I could tell what type of guy Ethan was. He would never let me pay for anything. I didn’t need to do the check dance to figure that out.
“Thank you for dinner.”
He nodded. “You’re welcome, Sadie.”
My spine shivered when he said my name.
“Are you ready to go?”
“Yes.”
He stood up first then pulled my chair out, helping me to my feet. He grabbed my hand then guided me down the sidewalk. He didn’t call for a cab, and we walked down the street together. I didn’t mind. I just liked being with him, feeling his hand in mine. “Would you like some dessert?”
I touched my stomach. “I don’t think I could eat another bite.”
“I’m not surprised. You ate more than I did.” He laughed softly.
“I like food.”
I nudged his arm with my shoulder.
“I like it when girls like food. None of that house salad with no dressing bullshit.”
I laughed. “Well, that’s a relief. I’m definitely not like that.”
“And I’m glad.”
We went back to my apartment building and I couldn’t believe our date was already over. I felt like time passed so quickly when we were together. We stood side by side in the elevator as it ascended the floors. Anytime I was alone with him, I felt the sexual tension in the air. I wanted to jump his bones so bad I could have screamed.