by Laura Farr
I reached up, my hand coming to rest on his face. “I could never hate you.” I paused, knowing what I wanted to say but unsure about saying it on a first date, even if we had known each other forever.
“Say it, please,” he whispered, his eyes closed.
I smiled to myself, thinking he obviously knew me better than I knew myself. “Open your eyes Josh,” I said quietly, dropping my hand from his face. I waited until his eyes were open and fixed on me. “I could never hate you, because I love you. I’ve loved you since I was 15, and I will always love you, Josh Miller.”
“I love you too baby, more than you’ll ever know.” I’d waited so long to hear those words from him, I could barely breathe. I felt a tear slip down my cheek as I grinned up at him, and his fingers brushed my face, wiping it away. “I hope these are happy tears?” he asked with a frown.
“The happiest,” I told him, my hands reaching around his neck as I pulled his mouth to mine and kissed him, losing myself in him. He broke the kiss, dotting smaller kisses around my jaw and down my neck. I moaned as he kissed the side of my neck, heat building in the pit of my stomach. He kissed back up around my jaw, finding my lips again. Suddenly there was a knock on the door and Josh rested his forehead on mine. “Who’s that?” I whispered.
“It’s probably our bags,” Josh said, kissing me softly before heading for the door. I listened as he chatted with the bellboy before thanking him and closing the door. “Let’s go Sav,” he called from the other room.
“Why don’t we just stay here? We could try out that walk-in shower?” I suggested, poking my head around the double doors.
“Don’t worry, there will be plenty of time for that later. I want to take you out and treat you.” he said, grabbing my hand and pulling me toward the door.
“You don’t need to treat me Josh, you’ve spent enough!” I exclaimed, gesturing around at the room we were in.
“I’ve got years of spoiling you to make up for—let me, please?” I smiled and nodded, following him out into the hallway. “How do you feel about bats?” he asked cryptically.
“Bats?” I exclaimed as we walked down the long hallway. “As in the small black flying things?”
He nodded, grinning at me. “Yep, you got it.”
“I dunno,” I replied, wondering why the hell he was asking me about bats. “How do you want me to feel about bats? You don’t have some sort of weird bat fetish or something, do you?” I watched as he threw his head back and laughed.
“No Sav, no weird bat fetish, just checking that you weren’t terrified of them,” he said mysteriously as we waited for the elevator to arrive. “You’ll see later on.” I looked over at him, wondering what he could possibly have planned that involved bats. It really was a first date I’d never forget.
Walking hand in hand with Josh was a relatively small thing, but it was something I never thought would happen, and I was loving every minute of it. We’d eaten a slice of pizza for lunch as we walked through downtown Austin, and although I went to school there, there were still huge parts of the city I’d never explored.
Josh took me to a maternity store and insisted on buying me a bunch of clothes. I tried to pay for them myself, but he handed over the cash before I could stop him.
“Thank you,” I whispered in his ear as the assistant folded and bagged the clothes.
He turned and kissed me softly on the lips. “You’re welcome, beautiful,” he murmured against my mouth. Just then, my stomach rumbled loudly and he chuckled. “Let’s get you some food,” he said, taking the bag from the assistant and guiding me out of the shop.
We stopped at the nearest bakery, and I ordered a huge piece of key lime pie. I was starving—it was after 4 in the afternoon, and I hadn’t eaten since the pizza earlier in the day. The restaurant was booked for 8pm, so I just needed something to keep me going until then. Finding a small booth in the back of the bakery, I sat down and Josh squeezed in next to me, his hand finding my bare leg. I was wearing a short skirt, one of the few things I could still fit into, and I shivered as his fingers drew lazy circles on my skin.
“Cold?” he asked with a wink, knowing exactly the reaction his touch had on me.
“You know exactly why I’m shivering,” I sassed, and he laughed and squeezed my leg.
“I love how your body lights up when I touch you,” he murmured, kissing me on the cheek. The waitress arrived at the table with our order, placing the pie in front of me.
“Are you not eating?” I asked Josh as I picked up my fork.
He had ordered a coffee and as he added some sugar, he shook his head. “Well, I thought we could share since that piece of pie is big enough for two.” He nodded toward my plate.
Horrified, I pulled my pie toward me, breaking off a piece with the fork and eating it. “You can’t take food from a pregnant woman,” I told him around a mouthful of pie. I watched as he burst out laughing.
“I’m joking sweetheart, I wouldn’t dream of taking your pie.”
Feeling guilty, I looked down at the piece on my fork and held it out for him. Leaning across the table, he opened his mouth, and I fed him the pie. “Only because I love you,” I said, blowing him a kiss.
“I love you too,” he replied, his face lighting up with a smile, and I couldn’t help but grin back at him. I would never tire of hearing those words, words I’d never thought he’d say to me.
After finishing our drinks and with my pie long gone, he stood up and pulled me into his arms. “Should we do that boat ride now?” he asked, gazing down at me, smiling. I nodded excitedly. “I just need to…” He trailed off as his head lowered and his lips found mine. I reached my arms around his neck, lacing my fingers through his hair as I pulled him closer toward me. He growled against my mouth and as his tongue swiped across my bottom lip, I opened up to him and his tongue crashed against mine. He kissed me like I was the air he needed to breathe, and I kissed him back with the same intensity. We stood wrapped in each other’s arms, the world around us disappearing as we got lost in each other. Suddenly remembering where we were, I broke the kiss and rested my forehead on his chest. I could feel his heart pounding, and I knew mine was pounding just as hard.
“Wow,” I whispered into him, my cheeks flushing with heat, knowing the whole bakery had seen our kiss.
“I’ve wanted to do that all afternoon,” Josh said quietly, kissing me on the head.
“Is everyone looking?” I asked, too embarrassed to raise my head and look myself.
He chuckled and stepped back, forcing me to look at him. “Let them look. I want everyone to know you’re finally mine.” He smiled at me and reached for my hand, guiding me out of the bakery and into the street. “Come on,” he said. “I know just the place for a boat ride.”
We walked back toward the hotel, stopping to drop the shopping bags off at the reception desk. Walking down to the lake, we saw there was a hut at the water’s edge where you could rent small boats. While Josh was organizing the rental, I looked around in awe. Hundreds of trees lined the edges of the river, and beyond the greenery, buildings of all shapes and sizes made up the Austin skyline. Looking out over the water, there were quite a few boats like the one we were getting, as well as people canoeing, kayaking, and paddle-boarding. The bridge to the right of us was filling up with people, and I wondered what they were all looking at.
“Ready sweetheart?” Josh asked, his arm snaking around my waist. I nodded and walked with him to the edge where the boats were. He climbed into the wooden boat and held his hand out to me. “Be careful,” he warned as I began to climb in. Sitting down, I watched as he slipped his sweater off and passed it to me. “Put this on Sav, I don’t want you to get cold.”
“Thank you,” I told him gratefully. There was a slight chill in the air, more so on the water, and the sunlight was beginning to fade. I pulled it over my head, still able to feel the heat from his body, and I inhaled deeply, his scent enveloping me. Looking up at him, I saw him smiling at me, and I smiled
back.
He took the oars and began rowing us out into the middle of the lake. I couldn’t help but stare at his arms and chest as he rowed, his muscles flexing and tightening under his t-shirt, and with each movement of the oar, my mouth watered as I watched him. I was exhausted after spending the afternoon walking around town, but watching him now, I couldn’t wait to get him back to the hotel room.
Dragging my eyes off him, I looked around, seeing other boats heading in the same direction as us, and after a few minutes, everyone stopped. Josh clipped the oars to the boat and looked over at me. “What’s going on? Why is everyone stopping here?” I asked, glancing around to see people in the other boats waiting with cameras.
He smiled. “Wait and see,” he said mysteriously.
“See what?” I asked, looking around. “Tell me Josh!” I exclaimed. I wasn’t the most patient person and generally hated surprises, I didn’t like being the last to know. Josh burst out laughing and I tried my best to give him a dirty look, but he looked so sexy sitting there in his tight t-shirt, his gorgeous laugh washing over me. I found myself laughing with him and I reached over the side of the boat, scooping some water in my hand and throwing it at him. He gasped, and I watched as the water soaked his white t-shirt. Licking my lips, I gazed at his abs through the now see-through fabric.
“My eyes are up here Sav,” he joked, the amusement clear in his voice.
“I know where your eyes are Josh, I’m just enjoying the view a little farther south at the moment,” I told him with a wink.
“If we weren’t in the middle of this damn lake…” He growled, his eyes raking over me.
“Well what are we doing in the middle of this lake?” I exclaimed, forcing my eyes off him to look around again. Turning toward the bridge behind us, I heard a rustling, followed by hundreds of bats flying out from under the bridge in what seemed to be a never-ending cloud. I gasped as my head swung from side to side in an attempt to try to see them all. I had never seen anything like it; there must have been thousands. “Wow Josh, this is incredible. I’ve heard about the bats in Austin, but never realized it would be this amazing!” I told him, still in awe of what I was seeing. Glancing over at him, I saw that he was staring at me rather than the bats.
“You don’t mind them flying all around you?” he asked, a little unsure. “I didn’t know if you’d hate it.”
“Ah, so that’s why you were asking about bats,” I said, his weird questioning from earlier suddenly making sense. “I grew up on a ranch, so I’m pretty used to bugs, insects, and even the odd bat,” I told him with a smile. “There must be thousands of them!” I exclaimed, gesturing to the bridge where the bats were still emerging from.
“Try over one and a half million,” he said, finally looking away from me and up at the bats.
“One and a half million! That’s crazy!”
He nodded. “They live in the supports under the bridge. The pregnant females migrate here to have their babies.”
I looked at him in surprise. “How do you know all that? You sound like you know a lot about it, have you been before?”
“My dad used to bring me here when I was a kid. We’d always rent a boat like this one and sit and wait for them.” He looked sad and I frowned, reaching across and taking his hand.
“You never said anything to me or Brody,” I said, puzzled as to why he’d never mentioned it.
He shrugged his shoulders. “It was always something me and my dad did together. Every few weeks, he’d take a Saturday off work and we’d come here. My parents worked so hard when I was young, my dad especially, and I barely saw him. I spent most of my time as a kid at your place, and I thought he just liked being at work. The older I got, the more I began to realize he had to work the long hours to pay off all the medical bills from when I was ill.”
I squeezed his hand, feeling the tears welling in my eyes at the mention of his illness. “You have a great dad. He obviously loves you very much.”
He nodded and smiled at me. “I know it probably seems like a strange thing to do on a first date, but this place means a lot to me, and I wanted to share it with you. I always hoped I’d be able to bring my kids here one day, to show them what my dad showed me.” He looked sad again and my heart broke for him.
“Well now you can,” I whispered, waiting for him to look at me. “You’re going to make a great daddy.” His face lit up with a smile and I smiled back at him.
“Thank you, Sav,” he whispered, bringing my hand up to his mouth and brushing his lips across my skin.
“What for?” I asked him, puzzled, goose bumps erupting up my arm as he kissed my hand.
“For giving me a chance. I know I’ve hurt you in the past.”
“I can’t pretend I’m not scared of getting hurt again, but I love you. It’s only ever been you.”
“I swear to you, I’ll never hurt you again. I love you too, and I can’t wait for us to be a family.”
“I want that too,” I whispered. “That’s all I’ve ever wanted.” He smiled and dropped my hands. Reaching for the oars, he unclipped them from the edge of the small boat.
“I think I’m done sharing you with all these people.” He paused and looked up. “And these bats,” he said with a smirk. “I want you to myself for a bit.”
“What do you have in mind Mr. Miller?” I asked, biting on my bottom lip as I watched the muscles in his arms flex as he rowed us back to the bank. His hooded eyes dropped to my lips and he gripped the oars tighter, his knuckles turning white.
“You’ll find out soon enough,” he murmured as we reached the rental hut. The guy
we’d rented the boat from was waiting for us, and he grabbed the side, holding it while Josh jumped out. He reached his hand out for me and I climbed out of the boat then he pulled me into his side, his arm wrapping around me. The sunset was fading as we made the short walk back to the hotel, and as I finally dragged my eyes off Josh, I noticed that the Austin skyline was beginning to light up as darkness fell. Pressed up against the most gorgeous man I’d ever seen, his arm tight around me, I had never been happier. It felt like I had waited forever to be in that moment, and I never wanted it to end. He’d promised to make this a date I’d never forget, and so far, he was keeping that promise.
Stopping at the hotel reception desk, we collected the bags we’d dropped off before renting the boat then headed up to the room. Opening the door, the smell of fresh flowers hit us and I smiled, still overwhelmed by the effort Josh had put into the date. Walking through the lounge area, I flopped down on the bed, exhausted after an afternoon of shopping and exploring.
“How about a bath?” Josh asked, sitting down next to me. “You’ve got a couple of hours to relax before dinner.” I turned onto my side, propping myself up on my elbow.
“Mmmmm that sounds good,” I said, smiling at him. “Will you come keep me company?” I asked, raising my eyebrows in question.
“Of course I will—after all, you did promise me I could wash your back,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows.
“More like I was tickled into submission!” I exclaimed as I yawned.
“Ah details, details,” he joked, waving his hand before leaning down to kiss me. “Relax and I’ll fill the tub.” I nodded as my eyes began to feel heavy, thinking I’d just close them for a few minutes. I rested my head on the pillow, watching Josh cross the room and enter the bathroom, before I succumbed and closed them.
My eyes fluttered open and I turned my head to see Josh staring at me, a smile tugging on his lips. “Hey sleepyhead,” he whispered.
“I’m so sorry I fell asleep, you should have woken me!” I said, mortified that he’d planned a romantic night and I’d gone and fallen asleep.
“It’s fine, you’ve only been asleep for half an hour.”
“I’m sorry,” I said again, sitting up and pulling Josh’s sweater over my head.
“Stop apologizing, you obviously needed to sleep. If you want to stay in tonight, I’m good with that.”
“No!” I exclaimed, not wanting to ruin any more of the date he’d planned. “I want to go to the restaurant.” Biting down on my lip, I looked at him. “Do we still have time for that bath?” I watched as he smiled.
Standing up, he reached for me, picking me up bridal style. “I think we can fit it in,” he murmured, carrying me into the bathroom and sitting me on the vanity next to the sink. The room was dark, the only light coming from the glow of what seemed like dozens of candles. He crossed the room and put his hand in the water, checking the temperature before returning to where he’d left me. With his eyes locked on mine, he reached for the edge of my t-shirt and I lifted my arms in the air, allowing him to gently pull it up and over my head. He dropped it on the bathroom floor and stepped closer, his hands coming around to my back where he undid my bra, slowly dragging it down my arms. He tossed it next to my t-shirt, his eyes dropping from mine to my exposed chest.
“You are so beautiful baby,” he said, lifting me off the vanity so I was standing in front of him. His hands reached for the waistband of my skirt and he pulled it down my legs, kneeling in front of me as I stepped out of it. Feeling a little self-conscious standing there in just my panties, I tugged on his arm and he stood up. I dragged his t-shirt up and over his head, exposing his tanned, toned skin. A smattering of dark hair covered his chest, and my eyes followed a line of hair that disappeared into the waistband of his barely visible boxers. He popped the button on his jeans and slowly pushed them down his legs, kicking them away so he was standing in front of me in just his tight black boxer briefs. My mouth watered as my eyes roamed his body, and I felt a familiar tingle start between my legs.
“You okay?” he asked, reaching for me and pulling me into his arms. I nodded as I felt his fingers at the hem of my panties, and he pulled them down, kneeling on the floor in front of me as he removed them. His eyes never left mine as he threw my underwear on the floor with the rest of my clothes. My hands rested on his head and my fingers threaded through his hair. I closed my eyes as he moved his head closer to me and I felt his mouth between my legs.