“Hmm… the lamb shank looks good, but so does the salmon,” I muse as I look over the menu.
“Well, how about this. You order one and I’ll order the other and we can share both plates,” Riley offers. “That is, if you don’t mind sharing.”
“I don’t mind.” A smile grows on my face.
“Here we are, sir,” Jason says as he approaches our table with the bottle of wine and two glasses. After he uncorks the bottle, he pours one finger’s worth before handing the glass over to Riley. I watch in fascination as he swirls the red liquid about the big-bowled glass right before he tastes it.
“That’s good, thank you. Would you like a taste?” Riley asks, holding the glass out for me to take.
After my sip, I nod in agreement with him.
While Jason pours our glasses, he asks, “Have you decided on what you’d like to order?”
As I go to speak, Riley does the same, causing us both to laugh.
“Go ahead,” he says, letting me place the order.
“I’d like the lamb shank, please, with russet potatoes, hollandaise sauce, and roasted asparagus.”
“And for you, sir?” Jason asks as he sets our glasses down in front of us.
“The salmon with mixed greens and roasted squash.”
“Yes, sir. I’ll be back to check on you shortly,” Jason answers with a bow of his head before leaving.
“To a wonderful evening with a stunning woman.” Riley lifts his glass and tilts it in my direction.
I smile at him and clink my glass with his. “I’ll drink to that.” I chuckle. “How did you find out about this place?”
After he takes a sip of his wine, Riley answers. “A friend of mine brought his wife here for their anniversary. When I asked where I should take you, he suggested this place.”
I look around taking in the beauty of the restaurant and sigh. “Well, you made an excellent choice.”
“Tell me something about yourself?” Riley asks as he places his arms on the tables and leans on his elbows.
“What do you want to know?” I lean back in my chair and shrug.
“Something you’ve never told anyone else.”
Riley’s face is completely impassive, but his clear blue eyes are filled with sincerity.
No one has ever asked me a question like that. Most people want to know where you went to school, what’s your family like, what you do for a living. All the artificial shit that barely scratches the surface. But not Riley, he wants to dive right into the deep, but I wonder if once he’s down there, will he end up struggling to swim to the surface because he may not like what he sees.
“I’m afraid of ending up alone,” I whisper. It’s the most honest answer I think I’ve ever given somebody besides Jen, but even she doesn’t know my fear of loneliness.
He leans back in his chair and just stares at me with an intensity that I’ve never seen before. And looking back at my past, I’ve seen a few intense stares. But this one, Riley’s stare, also has another emotion mixed in that I can’t quite put my finger on. We have a meaningless conversation about how our past week has gone. His mouth opens like he’s about to say something, but then closes as the waiter appears and places our meals down in front of us. “Does everything look all right?” Jason asks.
“It looks great. Thank you.” I smile at him as I grab my fork, the heaviness of our conversation dissipating.
“I’ll be back to check on you in a few minutes.” He nods. “Enjoy.”
The rest of the dinner goes by quickly. Riley and I laugh and joke with one another. I don’t think he was expecting the answer he received from me earlier because no more heavy topics are brought up. We laugh about some of the things I’ve seen and heard at my job, about some of the places he’s seen around the world, and what he loved and disliked about each and every one of them. After the bottle of wine is finished off, he pays the bill. Instead of him taking me straight home, we venture out into downtown and walk around a few of the squares. Stars pepper the nighttime sky and the moonlight shines down on us, casting shadows in between the large oak trees. As soon as we pull up in front of my house, Riley helps me out of the car and leads me to the door. Which brings us to where we’re standing now, on my front step, my back against the doorframe, Riley’s hands braced on either side of my face.
“I had a really nice time tonight,” he murmurs a hairsbreadth away from my lips.
“Mmm-hmm… me, too,” I whisper.
“Do you want me to kiss you, Kelsey?”
My eyes flick between his cobalt beauties and his lips. “Yes.” The whisper comes out as a plea, even to my own ears.
“Only if you’ll go out on another date with me.”
My eyes fly to his, where they seem to get stuck, searching for what, I don’t know. I’m not one of those girls that sit around and wonder why this amazingly sweet, sexy, and domineering man is with me. No. I’m a catch, and I know it. I know my worth, but have insecurities, just like any other woman. So if this Adonis of a man standing in front of me wants to take me on another date, why the hell not.
“Okay.” I nod.
“Okay,” he repeats just as his lips meet mine.
It’s not hard and punishing, as if I’m his air and without me, he can’t breathe. It’s so much better than that. This kiss is filled with promises. Promises of more dates. Promises of getting to know each other. Promises of the possibility that there could be an us. He doesn’t try to sneak his tongue into my mouth. No. His top lip closes over my bottom one, barely sucking it into his mouth before showing my top lip the same attention. We stand there for who knows how long before he pulls away, both of us slightly out of breath.
“Tomorrow. I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?” he whispers in a husky timbre.
He’s left me completely speechless, to the point that all I can do is nod. Riley leans in and chastely kisses my lips one more time before he turns on his heels and leaves.
With nimble fingers, I reach behind me, fumbling for the doorknob. As soon as I make it inside, I’m startled.
“Holy shit!” Jen shouts from the window.
My heart lurches in my throat as I jump. “Are you trying to give me a heart attack?” I ask, my pulse pounding out a new rhythm. “Were you spying on me?”
“What? No.” She laughs.
“Liar.”
“So? Are you going to tell me about your date?” she prods as she moves to sit on the couch.
“Nope.”
“Well, you’re no fun. What about the kiss?”
My fingers touch my lips as I sigh. I look to Jen. “It was the best kiss I’ve ever had.”
“I bet. Hell, I was standing there watching.” She holds her hand up to stop my retort and continues. “There’s a real fire burning between you two.”
I think back to how our date went tonight. Simple touches, handholding, Riley’s strong, warm hand pressing into my lower back, and that kiss. My God, can that man kiss, and he only used his lips.
I nod. “Yeah. But you know what they say. Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.”
She crosses her arms over her chest and tucks her legs underneath her. “Yeah. The real question is though are you willing to get burned?”
“I don’t know yet. I’ll just have to wait and see,” I reply with a shrug.
I’m up to my elbows in suds washing dishes when I get a feeling that someone is watching me. I ignore it. In a trance, I continue to sing Billy Currington’s We Are Tonight. My hips sway back and forth to the beat until something soft hits me in the face. Water flies everywhere when I drop a pan.
“Shit!” I whisper yell, yanking out my ear buds as I turn to look at Dante from across the kitchen. He’s in a fit of uncontrollable laughter as I glare at him. “What was that for?” I yell at him from across the kitchen.
“Please, don’t stop. I kind of like your version a little better than Billy’s.”
When my eyes fly to the owner of the voice, a deep-rooted blush takes over
my face. It’s been a couple of days since I’ve seen him and my memory did not do him justice.
“Riley?” I gasp. There he stands in his flight suit, arms crossed over his chest as he leans against the doorway, staring at me. “I, uh… uh… didn’t expect to see you t-tonight.” Oh my gosh, and now I’m a blubbering idiot. I’m an embarrassed blubbering idiot. I take a deep breath as I try to regain some of my dignity. “What are you doing here?”
“Technically, it’s not tonight. It’s this morning.” He looks down at his watch, looks back at me, and chuckles.
“You know what I mean.” I roll my eyes at him.
“I was wondering if it was time for your break.” He steps into the kitchen, grabbing the towel that Dante threw at me and begins to dry off my hands.
“Why?” My eyebrows scrunch in confusion.
“I wanted to see you. I was wondering if you’d like to have breakfast with me, seeing as you get off in a couple of hours and I just got off.”
I swear my heart just beat a little faster at his request. I look over at Dante. “You got this?”
He shrugs. “Yeah. Go have some breakfast. What do y’all want?”
“I’ll just take some biscuits and gravy with sausage.” My eyes go from Dante to Riley. “What do you want or do you need to see a menu?”
“I’ll just have what she’s having.” He looks at Dante.
“All right, then. Get the hell out of my kitchen, you two.” He laughs. “I’ll bring it out as soon as it’s ready.”
“Thanks,” I offer with a smile. “You want to sit at the counter?”
Riley interlaces his fingers with mine and pulls me out of the kitchen. “Nope.” He shakes his head as he guides us towards a booth in the back corner and ushers me in. “I want to sit in a booth with you, next to you, just the two of us.”
“You’re smooth,” I comment with a smile on my face.
As he slides in next to me, his thigh touching mine, he angles his body towards me before tipping my chin up so that I have to look him in the eyes. He barely shakes his head. “Not smooth, babe, just honest.”
My heart beats a little faster at his words. Yes, we’ve talked on the phone and been texting pretty much since we’ve met but not once has he called me babe. I like him. I do. I’ll admit it, but I won’t let him see how that one term of endearment affects me. How it gives me hope. “So about this date? Where are you taking me?”
He drops his hand from my face as a mischievous smile graces his perfect lips. “Just know that every other date you’ve been on will pale in comparison.”
“Ahh… huh… the mysterious type of date. Well, what do you think I should wear?” I ask, hoping he’ll give me a little glimpse.
“Whatever you want. Whatever makes you comfortable.”
I turn sideways in the booth, looking at him, propping one leg on the worn leather as I lean my back against the wall. “Really? So, what if I wore a pair of cheetah-print leggings and a neon orange tank top? That would be okay?”
“Babe, you could wear a sack and I wouldn’t care.” He chuckles.
“Huh?” I am completely dumbfounded. The entire time I dated Todd, he always made it a point to tell me where we were going and what to wear so I wouldn’t embarrass him. Even the few dates that I’ve been on since I left Todd, the guys have told me where or what we’d be doing on our dates.
“What? Have none of your other dates just surprised you?” he asks.
“No. But then I haven’t been on a lot of dates in the past two years either.” I shake my head.
Now it’s his turn to be flabbergasted. “Really?”
“Yep,” I answer with a nod.
“Why not?”
“My first real boyfriend, well, let’s just say, turned me off of dating for a while. When we split up, I wanted to do my own thing. You know, be free for a while.”
“Want to talk about it?” His question is sincere and I can tell he really wants to know. But some things are better left in the past. And that’s exactly where Todd and my parents belong. In the past.
I loved my parents.
But they turned their backs on me.
Two years ago, I was forced to make the hardest decision of my life.
Them and their image, or me and my happiness?
Turns out, when I walked out of that church, it was the best decision of my life.
“So, how was work?” I ask, hoping that he drops any other questions he may have about my past.
Riley looks at me for a beat, his eyes narrowed and mouth screwed up in concentration as he stares at me. It’s as if he’s trying to see into me, see the real me, and it causes me to shift under his gaze.
“Nice change of subject. But it was work,” he finally says.
“I know you’re in the Army, but what is it that you do exactly?” This is a man I’ve already been on one official date with. We’ve discussed things like where we’re from, when our birthdays are, how old we are, –and I was right, he’s thirty-, what’s our favorite types of foods, but nothing in particular about ourselves. Not that I plan on going there. The last thing I need for him to find out is that my dad is a congressman, or that I left the governor of Virginia at the altar. One day, I’ll have to tell him, but until that time comes, I want him to know me, the real me, not some façade.
“Well, you know I’m a pilot. I’ve been deployed to Afghanistan twice in the six years I’ve been in the military, and I love every aspect of my job.”
“What made you want to join the Army?”
“Ever since I was a kid, I’ve loved war movies. Whether it is Pearl Harbor, Saving Private Ryan, Blackhawk Down, you name it, I’ve seen it. And ever since then, I’ve wanted to be in the Army. When I was young, my mom would tell me that I was always trying to save something or someone.” He shrugs. “So why not try to save the world?”
“That’s very selfless of you.”
“I don’t do it for notoriety, medals, or selflessness. I do it because I believe in humanity.”
“Even people like terrorists?”
“Even them.” He nods.
“But why? They kill people every day. For what?” My eyebrows rise as I ask, really trying to understand his reasoning.
“Because, at one point in time, they too had a heart. They were children who were naïve and innocent. Yes, to us they are evil and heartless, but to some of their people and to themselves, they believe in what they are doing.”
“I learned a long time, Riley, that even if what you think you are doing is the right thing, not everyone will see it that way.”
When I left my fiancée behind, I was forced to leave my family there, too. What I thought was right, they thought was wrong. In the end, I had to do what was best for me.
“I’m nobody’s judge. We all will meet our maker one day, and that will be the true testament to see the burden of our sins and where our fate lies. All I can do is try to save as many people as I can, whether it’s Americans, Muslims, or Turks. It doesn’t matter. Everybody needs saving at one point or another.”
“Here y’all go.” Dante places our food down in front of us. “We only have another hour until it’s time to go, Kels.” His subtle hint that he needs me to hurry up and eat doesn’t go unnoticed.
“Give me ten minutes and I’ll be back there.” I nod with a smile as he starts to walk off.
“So what are your plans when you get off?” Riley asks after swallowing a mouthful of food.
“Sleep,” I deadpan.
“Well, no shit. But I was wondering if you’d like to come to my place after you get off.” He chuckles.
“I don’t know.” I shake my head. “I need a shower and—”
“I have a shower.”
“You have women’s clothes at your place?” I ask, my fork suspended in the air and an eyebrow raised.
“No,” he smiles, “but you can sleep in something of mine. I know it’s weird for me to be asking you this after one official date and two coerced da
tes, but I promise it’s to sleep, only sleep, and maybe a little of me holding you in my arms.”
My eyes flick back and forth between his. And it may seem odd to someone else, but I think it’s sweet that he wants me to come over and sleep with him, and not in the I-want-to-fuck-your-brains-out sense, but literally sleep. He’s not asking me to come back to his place after we’ve gone out and had way too many drinks. It’s not some spur of the moment thing where two consenting adults just want to feel for a little while. To me, it’s because he wants me in his space and by his side.
A slow smile spreads across my face. “Okay.” I nod.
As I follow Riley up a dirt road, I’m surprised when a house comes into view. I don’t know why I assumed he lived in an apartment, but I did, and now, I feel like an idiot because the house I’m staring at couldn’t be further from an apartment. Set behind a massive oak tree is a house raised off the ground by cinderblocks. Below the main level of the home is a two-car garage. Riley parks on one side, directs me to park next to him, and when I do so, he opens the door for me.
“So this it, huh?” I joke with a smirk on my face.
“Yep, my shack.” He laughs.
Stairs lead up to a wraparound, cherry-stained porch that’s bare except for a wooden porch swing that hangs on one side. Colonial in style, white shutters, and evenly spaced, white pillars make the otherwise dull shade of pale grey siding pop.
“I know it’s not much, but it’s mine and it’s peaceful,” he replies.
Pushing the front door open, he grabs my hand and ushers me into his house. Dark, polished, mahogany wood floors spread all throughout the spacious floor plan. The dining room to my left has a pub-style table with what looks to be a granite top and two leather chairs placed around it. A few feet in front of me is a state of the art kitchen with a bar separating it from the living room. A large cream-colored sectional takes up one corner of the room while a chaise lounge sits in front of one of the windows. Hanging above the mantel is a decent sized flat screen TV and on each side are built-in bookshelves that are bare except for the stray picture frame or two.
“Would you like a drink or something to eat?” he asks as he drops his keys on the bar.
Smoldering Page 6