by Dinah McLeod
I watched him cut another bite and when he held his fork out to me, I leaned forward and let him slide it into my mouth. "Mmm," I murmured appreciatively. I'd never eaten a medium-rare steak this juicy before.
"I know that you're full…" I detected the slightest hint of reprimand in his voice but to my relief, when I looked up, I saw that Kevin's eyes were dancing at me. "But I hope you at least have room for dessert."
"Depends on what they have," I retorted, and when he laughed I felt myself relax completely. It seemed as though things were back to normal, at least for the moment, and I couldn't have been more grateful.
Chapter Two
"So, tonight's the big night."
I turned to see Julie, a nurse who often shared a rotation with me, by my elbow. We'd been working together for almost two years, and while we were friendly, I wouldn't really call us friends. I didn't have many of those.
"The big night?" I echoed, only half-listening for her answer as I scanned the chart in my hand.
"Yeah, you know. The third date."
"I guess so. What about it?" I shrugged.
"Cara." Something about her voice made me give her my full attention. "You know."
I turned to her, shaking my head at her wordlessly. My blank stare must have convinced her that I did not, in fact, have the slightest idea what she was talking about, because she sighed heavily, rolling her eyes as she slapped the chart she was holding down on the counter.
"Geeze, woman, sometimes I get the impression you've been living in a cave!" she scolded.
"Julie, just tell me what you're going on about, please."
She flipped her bleached, strawberry-blonde hair over her shoulder and leaned in closer. "The third date is when a guy expects you to put out," she whispered, with a knowing gleam in her eyes.
"Put out?" I parroted, and only when she rolled her eyes at me once more did my confusion clear. When the implication of what she was saying hit me, my eyes widened and my cheeks began to burn with embarrassment. "No," I protested weakly, shaking my head. "No, Kevin's not like that. Besides, this isn't even our third date. I mean, not really."
She cocked her head to the side, scrutinizing me in a way that made me blush hotter. "I don't get it. Don't you want to sleep with him?"
"No!" I gasped, then seeing her eyes widen, tried to explain. "I mean, yes, but… it-it's not that," I stammered. "It's—"
"Is he hideous?" she pressed, her eyes gleaming. She seemed to relish the prospect of having some juicy tidbit to pass along the hospital corridors to entertain the other nurses. Just the thought of her spreading this conversation around—which she undoubtedly would—made me feel sick to my stomach.
"Of course not." But my protests sounded weak to my own ears, and sensing it, she pounced.
"What is it? Bad teeth? Hideous birth mark? Strange mole?"
"What?" I objected, shocked that she would think that any of those were good enough reasons not to make love to someone you cared about. "No, he's kind of perfect, actually."
"Oh. Well, good for you," she said, but I could see by the dubious glance she tossed my way that she didn't believe me.
"No, really, he is. He's cute, and funny. He's great. It's just…" I trailed off, unsure how to explain myself. How could I tell this vapid, vain woman that just because the world at large seemed to think it was a 'rule' it didn't mean that I intended to abide by it? Even though my feelings for Kevin were growing stronger each and every time I saw him, I didn't think I was ready to take that step just yet.
Not that my feelings on the subject mattered. Julie had already made her mind up about me, and when she called out a breezy goodbye and hurried away, I knew my coworkers would be speculating about my reluctance by lunchtime. I wished I could say that the prospect didn't bother me, but if I did, it would only be because I wanted so desperately for it to be true.
I tried to go back to work and pretend that the conversation had never happened, but every spare second I had, her voice would float back to me, along with the fear she'd planted. It couldn't be true. Kevin wasn't like that. Sure, we were still getting to know each other, but I knew that much about him: he was the perfect gentleman. Wasn't he?
I knew what my mama would have told me. She would have said that men only pretended to be gentlemen to hook the lady they had their eye on. Once they had, they'd reel in their catch and have their fun before casting them back out to sea.
But that didn't make it true of Kevin. He wasn't like that; I was positive. At least, ninety-nine percent positive. Well, maybe ninety-eight, but that was still pretty good, wasn't it?
By the end of the day I'd worked myself up into such a frenzy that I could hardly concentrate. Thankfully, I'd managed to avoid making any mistakes with my patients, but it was obvious to everyone—including me—that I wasn't at the top of my game. When three o'clock rolled around, I was grateful to be able to clock out and go home. I was hoping that a nice, long soak in the tub might relax me before our date… before what might turn out to be the 'big event' that Julie had alluded to.
Before I got around to bathing, I made the mistake of looking inside my closet again. It was no more promising than it had been on the day of our first official date. It was funny, I'd never thought of myself as boring and drab before, but looking at the row of coat hangers in my closet was starting to make me change my mind. God, when was the last time I'd even gone clothes shopping? Judging by the tags on some of the plain, nondescript blouses, I'd have had to say 2007; which was around the time of the last relationship I'd been in.
Typically, I followed a strict uniform of nurse's scrubs for work, or sweats on my days off, but I wanted to do better than that for Kevin. Not that I wanted to necessarily push the goods, but in my vanity I wanted him to at least know they were there. It wouldn't hurt to know that he liked what he saw, either.
Not that it had anything to do with what Julie had said. Not a thing, I told myself firmly, before slamming the closet door shut and going to the bathroom to turn the faucet on. I liberally poured bubble bath into the tub, inhaling deeply as the aroma of vanilla and orchids filled the air. The scent alone made me feel better. My mood improved even further when I sank into the warm, sudsy water.
There was nothing I enjoyed more after a long day than a nice, hot bath. It was my time to unwind and think, and after today I had plenty to think about. I'd done my best to push the nagging thoughts aside while I'd been at work, but now that I was in the sanctuary of my bathtub, I could let myself muddle over what Julie had said.
Maybe it was true that men expected sex on the third date. I was always behind on things like that, and it wasn't like I'd dated anyone recently, anyway. My mama would know for certain, but there was no way I was going to pick up the phone and ask her. She'd be only too delighted to clue me in, and that in itself was part of the problem.
And then say that she was right. Did tonight even count as our third date? Our first one hadn't been planned, so that really hadn't been a date, right? And even if it had been, that didn't necessarily mean Kevin expected anything but conversation. He wasn't like that. He couldn't be—he hadn't even tried to kiss me yet!
But there was still that voice in my head, the one that sounded so remarkably like my mama's, that told me that if something looked too good to be true, get the hell out of there, darlin'. The thoughts warred with one another, each vying to be heard, until I could hardly stand it. I slid down, sinking further into the tub and letting the warm water envelop me and all my worries. Then I closed my eyes and breathed deeply, forcing the thoughts out of my head.
I have to admit, when I want to forget my problems, I do a good job. Perhaps too good a job, because the next thing I knew I was being jarred awake by the sound of knocking at my door. I jolted upright in the tub, staring blankly at the bath water, which had gone cold.
"Oh, no," I groaned when it hit me what had happened. "No, no, no. Not tonight…" I leapt out of the tub, grabbed a towel and wrapped it around myself. I di
dn't even pause long enough to drain the water before running into my bedroom. "Just a minute!" I called over my shoulder, hoping my voice was loud enough to be heard outside.
Crap, oh, crap! I thought to myself as I raced to the closet. I threw open the door and my eyes were scanning the hangers wildly when a crazy, very un-Cara-like thought hit me. I shook my head, as though to dismiss it, but it came floating back.
"No, I couldn't…" I muttered aloud to the empty room. It was pure insanity, and so unlike me. But it would settle the question once and for all as to whether Kevin expected more from tonight than I'd allowed myself to believe.
Once I'd decided to go for it, I took a deep breath, summoned all my courage, and made my way to the door before I could change my mind. This is stupid, I scolded myself. What if it's a stranger?
But I knew no one but Kevin was outside, the same way I knew that I wanted to see for myself how he'd react. He'd just begun to knock again when I turned the knob and opened the door. My pulse was beating a rapid tattoo in my throat as I waited to see what he'd say. I knew exactly what he'd see; my long, blonde hair was dripping, and water was beading on my bare arms. The towel I'd wrapped around me didn't cover much. It barely concealed my breasts and stopped a few inches above the knee, leaving a nice view of my legs.
I eased the front door open, my heart catching in my throat at the first glimpse of him. "Hello," I said, quickly pressing my lips together to keep from smiling.
"Hi. Do you always answer your door in a towel?"
My cheeks flushed at the admonishment I could hear in his voice. "Oh, well, I—"
"You shouldn't make a habit of it," he advised, pushing me back away from the door with gentle hands before striding into the apartment and closing the door behind him. "The idea of some guy lurking in the hallway seeing you like that… I gotta admit, I don't like it much."
My skin tingled as his eyes ran over the length of my body. I was used to men looking at me, sure, but with Kevin it was different. He looked me in the eye and still made me feel like I was the only woman in the room. "You don't?"
"Of course not." He smiled softly. "The minute some Joe Blow gets a glimpse of those gorgeous legs of yours, he's going to forget everything but his own name. Now, you don't want to be responsible for that, do you? Think of all the problems it could cause."
The look he was giving me was both playful and stern, and my tummy knotted up pleasantly. "I guess not," I admitted with a little giggle.
"Now, we did say five, didn't we?"
"Yes. I'm sorry," I dropped my eyes, suddenly bashful. "I dozed off."
Kevin nodded, understanding as always. "If you go ahead and get changed, I bet we can still make our reservation."
I made my way to the bedroom with mixed feelings. On the one hand, he'd proven himself to be the gentleman I was so sure he was, and on the other, part of me wished he'd stripped that towel from my body and thrown it to the four corners of the world while ravishing me with his full, pouty mouth. The thought was enough to make me blush so hotly I couldn't cover it up with any amount of powder.
When I made my way back to the living room, dressed modestly in a pair of hip-hugger jeans and a light pink blouse, Kevin was still standing. "You should have made yourself at home," I said.
"I didn't think you'd be long." He grinned at me, his expression playful once more. "You look cute."
"Ouch." I responded with a wince before I had time to think better of it.
"What? Did I say something wrong?"
"It's nothing." I giggled. "Just… girls don't generally appreciate being called 'cute'. Unless it's by their sister," I added.
"Do you have a sister?"
"No," I admitted with another laugh. "I'm an only child."
"Ah." The way he said it, so knowingly and full of hidden meaning, made me furrow my brow.
"Ah, what?" I asked.
Kevin smiled sheepishly, as though he'd just been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "Nothing, just that it explains some things about you."
I knew the things most often said about only children were that we were selfish, driven people. I couldn't deny that the thought that he might be thinking the same thing about me, stung.
He must have seen it in my face, because he hurried to explain. "You're very insecure, Cara. I look at you, this beautiful, amazing woman, and it just doesn't fit. Now, though, I understand. It must be hard to have all your parents' expectations heavy on your shoulders."
"My daddy died when I was six." The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them. I didn't openly talk about my family, and I was shocked to find myself doing it this soon in our relationship. "Let me get my coat."
Before I could turn away, I felt Kevin catch my elbow. "I'm sorry for your loss."
"Well," I smiled tightly, "it was a long time ago."
"Still…"
"If you want to get going, I should…"
"Right." He released me, but I could tell by his furrowed brow that he was trying to figure something out.
I walked to my bedroom as quickly as I could, wishing I could erase my moment of vulnerability. I wanted to have fun, I didn't want our date to turn into a therapy session. I'd never dated someone like him before, someone who made me want to confide in him. But even though I wanted to, I knew I wasn't ready to cry on his shoulder just yet. Mama always told me that you didn't let a man glimpse your baggage until you'd made it down the aisle, otherwise you'd never hope to get him there at all. Not that I was suggesting we'd get married, but… her logic, twisted as usual, always made a certain kind of sense. And I really didn't want to ruin the evening, so with that in mind, when I walked back into the living room wearing a deep purple pea coat, I was also wearing a bright smile.
"Ready to go?" I asked, steering my tone towards cheerful.
Kevin scrutinized me, but if he had doubts about the sudden turnaround in my mood, he didn't say so. "Of course. And, Cara… you look beautiful."
My smile stretched, becoming a bit more genuine. "Thank you." As I moved toward him, he offered me his elbow and I slid my hand around it. "Am I underdressed?"
"No, not at all. I think your outfit is perfect for where we're going."
I gave him an appreciative glance, taking a moment to appreciate what he himself was wearing. Kevin had on a dark blue plaid shirt, left open to reveal a white t-shirt that couldn't hide the well-defined muscles beneath. Otherwise, he wore a pair of light blue jeans and brown cowboy boots. It was an outfit the boys I'd grown up with wore to this day, but on him it looked sexy—perhaps because I knew he was more than a stereotype.
To prove my point, when he walked me to my car door and opened it for me, I saw a stuffed teddy bear inside, holding a single long-stemmed red rose between its furry paws. "Aw! Kevin!" I squealed in excitement.
"It made me think of you," he said with a shrug.
I looked at it, then back at him again, and I couldn't help what came next. Instinctively, I leaned forward and our lips met. The kiss was short, but from the first moment of contact I felt my body begin to heat up. He might have been caught off-guard by the gesture, but he returned the kiss, and before I knew it, my blood was heading toward a rapid boil. When we broke apart, only seconds later, he had a goofy grin on his face, his coffee-brown eyes sparkling, and I felt like my insides had turned to mush.
When I picked up the teddy bear and took my seat, I felt a smug little smile slide over my lips. I felt so wonderfully delicious, from the top of my head all the way down to my pulsing crotch. Maybe, I thought lazily, Julie had been right. Gifts were typically a sign, right? As Kevin slid into the driver's side next to me, we exchanged flirty glances and shy smiles. He reached over and squeezed my hand before putting the key in the ignition, and I felt my pussy dampen with desire. God, maybe she was right. At this moment, I sure hoped she was.
We didn't talk much on the drive. We were acting like smitten teenagers—finding ways to initiate contact without making it seem overly obvious. I acci
dentally-on-purpose brushed my hand against his pant leg before snatching it back and putting it in my lap. He did the age-old yawn-stretch, and put his arm around my shoulders. With anyone else, it would have seemed ridiculous and juvenile, but as I was quickly learning, when I was with Kevin everything felt new and exciting again. Even this—maybe especially this. Every touch, no matter how casual, only stoked the fire that had begun to burn in my pussy. I was beginning to feel dizzy with it, and wondered whether it showed on my face.
When he pulled into a parking lot, we both took our time exiting the car. I'd just opened my door and stepped out when I saw him coming around from the driver's side.
"Tsk, tsk," he scolded gently, wagging a finger. For some reason, I found even this sexy. God, I have it bad. "You'll have to pay for that," he whispered huskily.
"Do you take Visa?" I asked saucily, tilting my head to look up at him.
His eyes darkened, his face as filled with wanting as I suspected my own to be. For a moment, he looked as though he was going to say something, and God help me, I wanted him to scold me further. I didn't know why, or what I even thought would happen if he did, but for some reason I couldn't explain, every time he looked at me with that firm, unrelenting gaze, I wanted to melt into a puddle at his feet. In moments like this, I truly believed I could happily spend the rest of my life as a puddle, so long as I was his.
The air between us was charged with electricity and I desperately hoped he'd kiss me again, but then his expression changed and he stepped back. "Shall we?"
Just then, I looked up to see where he'd taken us. To my surprise, I found that we were standing in front of a small building with a sign that read, 'Melody's Karaoke'. I turned back to him, arching an eyebrow. "Karaoke? Really?
"What?" he said and laughed. "You thought I was just wearing the boots for fun?"
With a snort of unladylike laughter, I took the hand he offered. He squeezed my fingers, his touch light and possessive all at once, making me shiver with delight. Little did I suspect that he would actually expect me to sing.