Lucy's Wolverine (Lilly Town Shifters) (9 page)

Chapter 15

             
Lucy sat on her couch as she waited for Mike. She knew she was ready early, but she was really hoping he would arrive early. She was getting nervous. Spending time with him was nice, but she hadn’t been on a first date in so long that she couldn’t remember what you talked about or what you did.

             
She looked at the clock – 5:45. Maybe he’d be there soon? She looked out the window and saw a set of headlights. Maybe he was sitting in her driveway? What if he’d changed his mind? What if he didn’t like her after all? Taking a deep breath, she knew she needed to calm down. It wasn’t even six yet. He still had time.

             
Another car was coming down the road. She hoped it was his. She knew she didn’t need to be so nervous. They drove past the house. It was probably just a neighbor or something. She stood up and started pacing. She couldn’t sit still any more. She needed to do something, anything, to get her mind off of Mike, at least until he got there. She was stressing herself out. She looked at the clock again. He had thirteen minutes to get there before he was late.

             
Was that another set of headlights? She watched as the vehicle slowed down and pulled into her driveway. He was finally there! She was so excited. She looked at the clock and he was eleven minutes early. She hoped that meant he wanted to see her and spend more time with her.

             
Taking a deep breath, Lucy tried to calm herself down and waited for the knock on the door. She didn’t want to come off as too eager. It might scare him off or make her look desperate. She liked him too much to risk that. Taking a deep breath, she moved away from the window and waited for him. She heard a knock and had to force herself to walk and not run to the door. Opening the door, Lucy got a look at Mike and her jaw dropped. He was wearing only jeans and a black tee, but he was mouthwatering.

             
"You… you look wonderful," Mike said, stepping inside. She looked down at her gray cotton dress and wondered what he saw. There was no way she looked wonderful. She didn't look bad, but she wasn't ready for a high end restaurant or anything. She was afraid if she really dressed up she'd be over-dressed, and Mike hadn't told her where they were going, so she’d settled for something in the middle.

             
"Thanks," she mumbled. She knew she could have looked better, but whom was she kidding? Part of the reason she picked it was because it was easy to get on… and off.

             
"Ready to go?" he asked.

             
"Yeah," she said with a weak smile and grabbed her purse. She was still a bundle of nerves. She hoped that once he arrived she'd calm down, but nope, now she felt like both throwing up and jumping up with excitement at the same time.

             
Before Lucy could walk out the door, Mike took her around the waist and pulled her toward him. His lips were on her in seconds. She moaned at the contact. She could taste the mint of his toothpaste and something that reminded her of fresh air. That was not something she expected, but maybe it had something to do with him being a shifter. When he pulled back, he was breathing just as hard as she was, and her lipstick was smeared around his mouth.

             
"What?" she asked, when he wouldn't take his eyes off her.

             
He smiled and said, "I just can't get over how beautiful you are." She could feel the blush creeping up her face. She'd never been told she was beautiful before. She was always just plain with her brown hair and eyes. She was never the one who stood out in any crowd.

             
"Thank you," she said, feeling her face heat up.

             
They drove to the restaurant in silence. She was still very nervous, but she knew she really shouldn't be. There was no reason to be. It was clear he wanted her. She guessed it was because it had been so long since she'd been on a date. Her palms were sweaty and she was shaking a little. She couldn't tell if he was feeling the same thing or not, but based on the lack of conversation, she had a feeling he was.

***

              Mike pulled into the small Italian restaurant just outside of town. He looked at Lucy, hopping she was okay with it. He had no clue as to what she liked to eat. Most people liked Italian, though: if nothing else, there was pizza. If she didn't like it, they could go to the diner in town or something. He was just hoping to take her some place nice, and where they lived you had to drive a few towns over for that.

             
"Is this okay?" he asked her.

             
She looked at the small brick building with small tables outside and said, “It's perfect.”

             
"I'm glad," he said, and came around to her side to help her out of the truck. They walked into the restaurant and waited for the hostess to show them to a table. It was a quaint place, but the food was great and it was homey. It was one of the reasons he always came here.

             
"Hey, Mike, just you?" the hostess asked.

             
He was offended, ready to tell her that he was happily on a date, when he realized she hadn't really looked up. They were just so used to him being alone. "No, I have a date tonight," he said with a smile.

             
The girl looked up and her jaw about dropped. "You? You have a date? The only other person I've seen you here with is Bill."

             
"Yes, me on a date. This is Lucy," he said with a frown. Now he was offended. What? Didn’t they think he could ever get a date?

             
"Mike, I didn't mean it that way. You just always seem to keep to yourself."

             
"I guess he comes here a lot?" Lucy asked, walking up to the girl.

             
"Yes, all the time," she said with a relieved sigh.

             
"I'm Lucy," she said, holding out her hand.

             
"Mary," the girl said.

             
"Nice to meet you," Lucy said, shaking her hand.

             
"You too. Let me show you to a table," Mary said, and grabbed some menus.

             
"Thank you," Lucy said as they followed her to a table.

             
"Thanks," Mike whispered in her ear as he helped her into her seat.

             
"No problem. I had a feeling she didn't mean anything by it. I saw her face when you reacted."

             
"I guess I'm a little nervous," he said with a weak smile.

             
"Don't worry, you aren't the only one."

             
"Okay, let's figure out what we want and try to relax," he said with a smile, feeling a little better knowing he wasn't alone in his feelings.

             
"Sounds good," Lucy said, and picked up the menu.

             
Mike tried to figure out what he wanted, but kept looking at Lucy. Her menu was on the table and she was looking at it so intently. Her face was scrunched up like she was confused. She was so cute.

             
"How about pizza?" she asked.

             
"Huh? Oh, pizza sounds good," he said distractedly.

             
"Are you sure? You can get something else if you want to."

             
“I’m sorry, I was distracted. Pizza sounds great. Do you want an appetizer?”

             
“What were you distracted by?” she asked, sounding a little confused.

             
“You,” he said simply.

             
“Oh, do I have lipstick smeared or something?”

             
Why would she ask that? “No, you look perfect. That’s what distracted me.”

             
“Oh.”

             
“Why do you sound so disappointed?” he asked.

             
“Because no one’s ever thought of me that way. I can’t help but wonder if you’re just saying it.”

             
Mike walked around the table to kneel in front of her. “I’m not just saying it. I think you’re the most beautiful person in the world.” Lucy’s cheeks turned a nice shade of red. She tried turning away from him, but he stopped her and gave her a quick kiss before returning to his seat. “Now, back to dinner. Would you like an appetizer with your pizza?”

             
“Bread sticks, please,” she said, lifting her menu to cover the smile he could see forming.

             
“Cheese?”

             
“Yes please.”

             
“Okay, now that you have that settled, I think there’s something I should tell you about myself.”

             
He watched as she put the menu down and the merriment of earlier faded. “What? Do you have a secret girlfriend hidden somewhere?”

             
“No, I didn’t tell you everything about my parents. My mother specifically. It’s nothing bad, just something I thought you should know.”

***

              Lucy’s heart dropped with his words. Was something wrong? His mother was gone, so what could he tell her that would be so bad?

             
“What is it?” she asked.

             
“My mother, she was a writer.”

             
She just looked at him. That was it? That was what was so bad? Wow! Why would she care? To her it was great that he knew what he was getting into. But still, really? “Okay.” He kept looking at her as if he were expecting a reaction. All she wanted to do was laugh. “What was her name? Maybe I’ve read something of hers,” Lucy said with a big smile. She was so proud of herself for not laughing at how serious he was being.

             
“Sarah Talon,” he said with a frown.

             
“Sarah Talon? Wow, um, I hate to tell you this Mike, but…”

             
“What?” he said, before she had a chance to finish.

             
“Well, she’s one of my favorite authors. I’ve read all her books. She’s actually the one who got me to start writing.”

             
“You met her?” he asked.

             
“No, but she was inspiring. I was really upset when her books stopped coming, and I’d always wondered why,” she said sadly.

             
“I’m glad she was able to do that. She was a great person.”

             
They sat in silence until the waiter came over to take their orders. It wasn’t an uncomfortable silence, just reflective, which probably wasn’t something great for a first date.

             
“How’s Lexi?” Mike asked, breaking the silence.

             
“She’s Lexi. No, she’s fine and wants me to come up and visit her soon.”

             
“I think you should. You two seem really close,” he said with a smile.

             
“I will, I just don’t know when. Definitely when this book is done.”

             
“You know after this one’s done, there’s going to be another, so don’t wait too long. From what it sounded like when you were talking to your dad, it’s been a while since they’ve seen you.”

             
“I know, you’re right,” she said with a sigh. Why did he have to be right?

             
“So, how’s the book going?”

             
That was something she could talk about for hours. She loved talking about her books. She didn’t know if Mike knew what he was really in for. “Good, but I took a little bit of a break from it. I ended up having this great idea for a short story. I wanted to get it down on paper before I forgot it, so that’s what I spent all afternoon on.” That wasn’t too bad. What she really wanted to tell him about was the war that was currently going on between her characters, and how much she was loving it.

             
“Really? What’s it about?” he asked.

             
“You’ll have to wait and see. I’ll give you a copy when I’m done,” she said with a smile.

             
“I’m looking forward to it,” he said, and she really thought he was. It was a welcome surprise.

             
“The book I’ve been working on is almost done. I think I keep saying that, but it really is. I’m working on the final battle – well, war – and I can’t wait to be done with it. I’ve always wanted to do some novels for adults. I love writing young adult, but sometimes you have to censor things. I keep trying, but I can’t seem to come up with any ideas for it.”