Into The Fire (37 page)

“I’m sure we would.” When the waiter returned
with the wine, he sipped it and returned it to the table.

“How old are you, if you don’t mind me
asking?”

“I just turned twenty six.”

“Oh. Happy belated birthday.”

“Thank you,” he said with a nod.

“Where did you go to school?”

“South Carolina,” he answered. “I just
finished my master’s last spring so now I’m finally in the real
world.”

I did the math in my head and realized we
were four years apart. That sounded like a lot, but I didn’t see
what the big deal was. It wasn’t like I was eighteen and he was
twenty-two. “Congratulations. It sounds like you have a lot to be
proud of.”

He drank his wine again. “I suppose.”

I noticed he didn’t like to talk about
himself much, at least professionally. Maybe he was just humble. It
was nice to meet a guy like that for once. “Do you like
sports?”

“I’m a big sports fan—mainly baseball.”

“Cool. Who’s your favorite team?”

“The Yankees.”

I cringed. “I don’t think this is going to
work out…”

He narrowed his eyes. “Please don’t tell me
you’re a Giants fan.”

I shrugged in guilt.

He shook his head in disappointment. “Well,
the rest of this date is going to be awkward…”

“Maybe we should just end it now.”

“Maybe you’re right.” The affection in his
eyes told me he was kidding. “But I really like you so…I’ll see it
through.”

“I guess I can put this aside…for now.”

He released an exaggerated sigh. “Crisis
averted.”

The waiter brought our plates then set them
in front of us. I ordered the lasagna and he had the chicken
parmigana.

“That looks good.” He eyed my plate.

I took a bite. “It is good.”

He grabbed his fork then immediately dug into
my food. He looked me in the eye as he did it, giving me a playful
look. “You’re right. Maybe I should have ordered that.”

I stuck my fork into his food and did the
same thing. “Yours is good too.”

“I have an idea.” He pulled my plate closer
to him. “Let’s split our plates.” He gave me half of his dinner
then took half of mine. Then he pushed the plate back to me.
“Problem solved.”

“Everyone wins.”

He ate slowly and didn’t inhale his food like
most men I knew. He took breaks and sipped his wine.

“How was your day?” I asked.

“Good. But I kept getting distracted thinking
about this date.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” The sincerity was in his eyes. “I was
surprised when you asked me out.”

“You’ve never been asked out by a girl?”

He chuckled while looking down at his food.
“No, I have. I just didn’t expect
you
to ask me out.”

“Why not?”

“Not sure,” he said. “I just didn’t expect
it.”

I wondered if he got hit on all the time.
With his looks and success, he must.

“I’m glad you did,” he said. “It’s sexy when
a girl makes a move. It shows confidence—and confidence is a
quality I look for.”

“It’s a little unorthodox but I’ve never been
traditional.”

“And I like that.” He drank his wine as he
looked at me.

He stared at me a lot but I liked it. He gave
me his full attention and didn’t play games.

“I’m surprised you don’t have a
girlfriend.”

“What makes you think I would?” he asked.

“You’re easy on the eyes and charming.”

“And easily bored.” He ate quietly and didn’t
say anything more about the subject. Perhaps he had a bad breakup
recently and didn’t want to talk about it. Or maybe he just didn’t
have anything to say. “Where did you learn to bake?”

“My Yaya.”

He stilled. “Your what? Sorry?”

“My yaya,” I said with a laugh. “It means
grandmother in Greek.”

“Oh.” He nodded his head in understanding. “I
see.”

“She taught me everything when I was young,
and I just grew up on that knowledge. Now I make up a lot of my own
recipes and do things my way. But she started it all.”

“Did she work in a bakery?”

“No. She just knows her away around the
kitchen.”

“Very cool.” He finished his plate and left
it on the table. He wiped it clean and finished his wine. “I’m
pretty limited in my abilities. But I know how to order take
out.”

“That’s a good skill to have.”

He smiled slightly.

“Will you excuse me?” I rose from the chair
and set my napkin on the table.

“Sure.” He watched me walk away, his eyes
drilling into my back.

After I did my business in the bathroom I
touched up my make up. My heart was racing because I really liked
him. He had nice lips and a perfect body. But he was an interesting
person too. He had a good balance of various qualities. And he was
older. I liked older men. They were more mature than the guys I met
at school.

And he was scorching hot.

After I gathered my bearings and headed back
to the table, I saw Hawke talking to a woman. She looked his age,
and she was pretty. She wore a tight dress with nude heels. Her
hair was done in a classy way.

The closer I got, the more irritated I
became. Judging the way she was leaning close toward him and
flashing him flirtatious smiles, she was either hitting on him or
already knew him romantically.

I didn’t care, but it was pretty trashy to go
after a guy who was clearly on a date. There were rules for that,
especially between women.

When I reached the table, Hawke spoke. “It
was nice seeing you, Jessica.” Hawke didn’t seem irritated she was
there, but he didn’t seem particularly happy either.

She eyed me up and down quickly. The
disappointment on her face told me she didn’t like me one bit even
though I hadn’t said a word. “Call me.” She flipped her hair and
walked away.

The fact Hawke didn’t introduce me told me he
didn’t want to. “Sorry about that.”

“It’s okay.” I sat down and crossed my
legs.

Hawk didn’t mention his friend or how he knew
her.

And I didn’t ask.

The check sat at the edge of the table, and
it was clear Hawk had already paid it. “I asked you out.
Remember?”

That usual look of amusement came into his
eyes. “I guess I’m traditional in some ways.”

“Well, I owe you next time.” I shouldn’t
assume there would be a next time but it slipped out. It wasn’t
common for me to find a guy I really liked. Hawke and I had a
connection, and I knew it could go further if we took the time to
cultivate it. But I had no idea if that feeling was mutual.

“We’ll see.” His eyes didn’t give his
thoughts away like usual. “Ready to go?”

“Yeah.”

We left the restaurant and walked outside to
the sidewalk. Hawke hadn’t made a move to touch me, and I hadn’t
either. I already asked him out so I wasn’t going to make the first
move.

As we headed to his truck down the street,
his arm moved around my waist and he pulled me closer to him. His
torso was hard like a slab of concrete, and he felt warm like a
personal heater. His scent washed over me and I wanted that smell
to be ingrained in my sheets.

I gave him a flirtatious look that said I
liked his hold. His large hand fit completely around my hip. His
fingers squeezed me slightly, giving me a spike of adrenaline.

“I had a great time tonight.”

“Me too.”

He opened the passenger door to his truck but
kept his eyes on me. His lips were dangerously close to mine. It
seemed like he might kiss me but he was still unsure about it.

Without thinking, I leaned in and pressed my
lips to his. The second we touched I felt my lips burn. His full
and soft lips felt right against mine. I made the move, but he took
control the second we were combined. He gave me purposeful kisses,
breathing into my mouth as he did it.

Yum.

He slowly pulled away then rubbed his nose
against mine. “Ready to go somewhere quiet?” Then he waited for me
to get into the seat.

My hormones were doing all the talking.
“Yes.” I didn’t want the kiss to end but I knew standing on the
sidewalk wasn’t the best place to do it. I got inside and pressed
my thighs tightly together. His kiss was so good that I wanted it
to go on forever. Now I was hot everywhere, and I felt sweat form
on the back of my neck.

Hawk got into the driver’s seat and started
the engine. His hand immediately moved to my thigh and he squeezed
it through my jeans. His large hand took up most of the area. I
would love to feel those hands grab me everywhere.

He drove to my house without speaking. He
didn’t turn on the radio or initiate a conversation. His thoughts
were probably exactly where mine were. His hand stayed in a
respectable zone, but I probably wouldn’t swat it away if it went
somewhere else.

When we reached my house, he walked me to the
front door. His hand moved around my waist again, keeping me
anchored to him. The second we reached the porch, he grabbed the
back of my neck and crushed his mouth to mine. Now he was much more
aggressive, like this moment was all he’d been thinking about in
the car. He felt my lips with his, and he sucked the bottom one
like he’d done it a hundred times. His hands amplified his kiss.
One moved into my hair and fisted it. The other gripped my hip
aggressively, like I was his forever.

He moved me to the door and pressed me
against it. The definition of his cock was through his jeans, and I
could feel it against my stomach. It was impressive. The idea of
him stretching me made the area between my legs immediately pool in
desire. While I was confident and aggressive, I wasn’t an easy
girl. I liked to take my time and cultivate a relationship. The sex
was much better that way.

But now I wasn’t sure what I wanted.

His lips continued to devour mine, and his
hands slowly guided up my waist until they reached my chest. He
groped my tits aggressively, squeezing them and massaging them.

It felt so good
.

His lips moved to my neck and he lathered the
sensitive area with kisses while he continued to feel me up. His
lips moved to my ear. “I’ve been thinking about this all night. And
it’s much better than I imagined.” His lips moved back to my neck
and his hands moved under my shirt, feeling the skin of my
stomach.

I wanted this. I really wanted this.

But I had to stop it. It was too quick.
Sometimes rushing into something killed it before it could really
begin. And I really liked Hawke. We’d only been on one date but I
knew there was something special between us. I couldn’t sabotage it
for a night of passion. I wanted it to go somewhere. “Let’s save
something for our next date…” I grabbed his hands and pulled them
down.

He pulled his lips away from my neck and
looked into my eyes. There was obvious heat there, like he didn’t
want it to end. He glanced at my lips like he was thinking about
kissing me again.

“This is where I say good night.”

If he was disappointed, he hid it. “I hope
you aren’t one of those girls who believes in the third date rule.
Because it’s a stupid rule.”

“No…but I believe in taking it slow.”

He tilted his head slightly like he was
confused. He stared at me in a way I’d never seen before. His eyes
usually gave everything away, but now they were blank. Perhaps too
many thoughts were going through his mind for me to decipher. He
stepped back slightly.

His words echoed in my mind, and seeing his
masculine outline in the dark was giving me second thoughts. We had
a connection, and we both felt it. Was it stupid to wait out of
principle? So what if we hardly knew each other? Lots of
relationships began that way. “Actually…want to come inside?” I
pulled my keys out of my clutch.

He understood that I changed my mind, but
there was no distinct reaction on his face. He didn’t come closer
to me, remaining at a short distance. “Actually…I just remembered
I’m taking my mom to the airport at 5 a. m. Better get home.” He
stepped away and headed to the sidewalk. “I had a great time
tonight. I’ll see you around.” Then he turned around and headed to
his truck. And not once did he look back.

My keys were still in my hand, and I was
suddenly aware of the light breeze that moved through my hair. The
moment had changed so quickly, so intensely, that my brain couldn’t
keep up with the pace. Hawke’s engine roared to life, and then he
drove down the street. The red tint of his taillights shined in the
darkness.

And then he was gone.

Laundry Day

Francesca

“Has he called?” Marie asked.

“No.” A week had come and gone and I hadn’t
heard anything from Hawke. After the way things ended at the end of
our date, the ball was in his court. I still wasn’t sure what
happened.

“Not even a text?”

“Nope.” I leaned against the counter and
crossed my arms over my chest.

Marie straightened her apron while she had a
concentrated look on her face. “What happened?”

“Our date went really well. We had a great
time and really got along. I even got a little jealous when I saw
some girl talking to him.”

“What girl?” she asked.

“I don’t know…but it was clear they’ve been
romantically involved. Or she
wants
to be romantically
involved.”

Marie held up her hand. “Whoa, hold on. This
cunt hit on him while you were on a date?”

“Pretty trashy, huh?”

“Uh, yeah.” She shook her head with an
irritated look on her face.

“In her defense, I was in the bathroom. But
still…pretty rude.”

“Tell me about it.”

“But when we got to his truck we had this
kiss…”

“Yeah?” She leaned forward like she wanted to
hear the details.

“And it was…really good. Maybe he’s just a
really great kisser but there was so much chemistry there. I’m
pretty sure he felt it too. Then when we got to my place, we
started going at it against the door. Things got weird when I ended
it.”