by Becca Taylor
Instead of getting ready to pick Lexi up for dinner, I’m staring at this thing, wondering if I made the right choice in gifts. I should have stuck with the customary flowers and candy. I got those too anyway. As Lexi’s first Valentine’s Day with a boyfriend, I wanted to make a big fucking impression.
Placing it back in the bag that it came in, I pull the strings tight. I leave it by my keys and wallet, so I don’t forget to take it. It’s not often that I get dressed up—hell, I never do. I’m a jeans and t-shirt kind of guy. The reservation I made for tonight is at an upscale restaurant on Fifth Ave, a steak and seafood island-style restaurant, even though I prefer burgers and beer to fine dining. It’s a ‘dress nice’ type of place, without the need for a suit and tie.
For the first time in years, I got an actual haircut. I told her to do whatever, as long as the top was long enough for my girlfriend to pull. I gave her a wink and a smile through the mirror. Her eyes got wide, but it was the truth. She blushed, cleared her throat, and went to work. The girl talked me into buying this shit for my hair too. I’m standing in the mirror with a towel around my waist, trimming my beard down. I let it get a little long this winter.
After I clean everything up, I put that goop in my hair and get dressed in the clothes I picked out. Dark jeans, red button up shirt with white pinstripes, and clean boots. When I roll the sleeves, it makes me feel a little more like myself. I spray on the cologne that Lexi likes and take one last look. I clean up pretty good. I fill my pockets, keeping Lexi’s gift in the front one.
I jump in my truck to pick Lexi up. She texted me to say she was just about ready and even sent me a picture of the color of her dress. All I could see is that it’s red. I can’t wait to see what she’s picked out.
When she opens her front door, the vision I’m hit with nearly knocks me on my ass. Lexi stands there in a red dress that hugs every curve on her body. The straps angle in, showing off her shoulders that I instantly want to nibble. Her hair is down with a slight wave to it. It reminds me of the way it gets after a day on the beach when the wind has worked its magic. I look down, and even her shoes are sexy. They match the color of her skin but have a little opening at the front. Her toes match the color of her dress. She looks classy and sexy at the same time.
I swallow and hand her the flowers and candy. A smile spreads across her face as she takes them.
“You got my favorite chocolate. Thank you.”
I went to four different stores to find it, and I’m rewarded with a kiss from her red-painted, strawberry-flavored lips. It was worth the thirty-mile drive. She’s worth it. She pulls back and wipes the red from my lips.
She lets me inside. We walk upstairs where she bends to get a vase from under the sink. The view I get of her ass is phenomenal. Goddamn, that dress is amazing. That’s when I see her shoes more closely. The red on the bottom of them matches the dress.
“You look stunning in that dress, Lex. And those shoes are hot. I’m a very lucky man.”
“You look pretty good too, Big Boy. I love the hair. You clean up nicely.”
As she fills the vase with water, I decide to give her the last present before we head out. I hold out the little bag in my hand when she turns, still holding the flowers. With a nervous look, she lowers them to the island.
“Is that for me?”
“Yep.”
She takes it from my hand and slowly opens the bag, gasping when she pulls the bracelet out. As the smile spreads across her face, I know I did good. She studies each charm I picked out for her. The tiny letters BMB carved into one charm for where I first saw her. A surfboard, baseball, motorcycle, and crab—all for our first non-dates together. She looks at me when she sees the drumsticks and piece of wrapped candy.
“Hunter and Caramella Dolce.”
If it’s possible, her smile gets wider.
The last three are for our first holidays together. A little ornament, a champagne glass, and a heart with a keyhole.
“Where’s the key to the heart?”
“That’s mine.”
She hands me the bracelet back. “Can you put it on me?”
I open the clasp and lock it around her tiny wrist. She pushes up on her toes to give me another kiss. “I love it, Hunter. Thank you. You’ll get your present later.”
We reach the restaurant, and it’s packed. I was lucky to get a reservation. I open the door, guiding her in with my hand. She looks over her shoulder at me with an excited look. When we get inside, she locks her arm around mine, and it makes me feel like a king.
“I haven’t been here before. I have been dying to try it out since they opened.”
The hostess walks us to our table. Lexi might not be aware, but she’s the envy of the room. She may even be the cause of a few fights tonight. Men keep sneaking a look at her when she walks past them, but they’re doing a shit job at hiding their glances. It makes me walk a bit taller and puff out my chest a little more. I give them the ‘that’s right assholes; she’s mine, so fuck off’ look. The women look at her with envy in their eyes. She walks with a confidence that I’ve never seen in a woman.
I pull out Lexi’s chair for her, and she sits gracefully. I still can’t get over how beautiful she looks tonight. I help her push her chair in and can’t help myself when I bend down to kiss her forehead.
“Your server will be right with you,” the hostess says while I take my seat across from Lexi.
She’s looking at the bracelet on her wrist, fingering each one of the charms. The waitress comes to the table, handing us each a menu.
“Hi. I’m Brooke and will be your server for the evening. Can I start you off with a drink?”
Lexi asks for a suggestion. After a ten-minute conversation of oohing and ahhing over the different tropical drinks on the menu, she finally picks one—some pineapple and coconut champagne drink—and for me, a fancy beer.
“I can’t wait to try that. This place is nice. I like the island vibe it’s giving off.”
“Have you ever traveled to any islands?” I ask her. I know about her life being more structured, but she’s never said much about the fun parts. The only vacations she mentioned were down here growing up.
“I’ve traveled to Europe but never to an island. I’ve always wanted to go to Hawaii.”
“Wow, I’ve never been out of the United States. Why Hawaii?”
“I’d love to see a dormant volcano, the waterfalls, go kayaking. Maybe swim with sea turtles. Even go for one of those helicopter rides. I’d love to explore the jungle. It looks so gorgeous there.”
“I went there once when I was a teenager. Mom took me to a surf competition. I was so focused on the beach; I don’t think I paid attention to the sights around me. I barely remember going anywhere. I got up every morning at dawn to watch the surfers. I do remember thinking the air was so clean compared to here.”
“That sounds perfect. I could go for lazy on the beach.” She closes her eyes like she’s picturing it in her mind.
“Let’s go then.” I say it before even thinking. I just know I’d love to take her on vacation, just the two of us.
“Are you serious?” Her head snaps up.
“Why not? Let’s pack our bags and go. I haven’t taken a real vacation in years.”
“I can’t go on vacation. I’m about to start back at Spring Training with the team.” She chuckles like I’m joking.
“Then after. Late October or November is the perfect time to go.”
She gets this stunned look on her face. For a second, I think she’s going to run. Brooke comes back with our drinks. Lexi takes a long sip of hers. I pick up my beer, not even bothering to pour it into the glass, and take a long pull from it.
“You two ready to order?” Brooke asks.
“Not yet. Can you give us a few minutes?” I ask her. She moves on to the next table. I keep studying Lexi. She’s playing with her drink glass to avoid eye contact with me.
“Lex? What’s going on?”
R
eluctantly, she looks at me. “I can’t make that kind of commitment.”
“To a vacation?” I’m trying to sound calm.
“October is a long time away,” she says quietly.
“I know, but you are supposed to plan ahead.”
“I can’t commit to that.”
I feel it in my chest, a quick jolt. Because what she’s saying is she can’t commit to me. I lock the feeling down tight when Brooke comes back over. We still haven’t looked at the menu. She notices the menus haven’t left the spot where she put them and moves on again. I hand Lexi the menu, wanting to move on from the conversation for now. We will talk about it again, just not today.
“No vacations for now, Lex. Let’s just order. Someone just ordered a sizzling steak platter, and I’m hungry.”
After dinner and another round of drinks or two, we both relax from the earlier conversation. We take a walk down by the beach at her parents’ house.
“I had a really great time tonight. You made my first Valentine’s Day one to remember.”
We head back inside. I grab two drinks from the fridge and hand her one. We make our way out on the deck like we do most nights. It’s my favorite time of year. There is a slight chill in the air, but it’s not overly cold.
“I’ll be right back. I want to change into something a little less formal,” Lexi says as she walks away.
I take a minute to think about what happened over dinner. Everything between us has been incredible the past five months. Since she’s been back to her old routine, we’ve spent more time outside the bedroom doing other activities together. I wanted to give her the high school dating experience she never had. I’ve taken her on every cheesy date possible. Mini golf, bowling, the batting cages, and even out for ice cream. There was a charm on that fucking bracelet for each of those moments too.
Lexi comes back out with a sweater wrapped around her body. She climbs between my legs. I wrap my arms around her and pull her against me.
“What’s wrong, Hunter? Did you not have a good time tonight?”
I decide to get it off my chest. If she’s going to rip my heart out, it might as well be now.
“What did you mean when you said can’t commit to me?”
She sits up. Facing me, she gets on her knees.
“I didn’t say anything about you.”
“My misunderstanding. A vacation.”
“My parents are retiring and moving here full time,” Lexi says.
“What does that have to do with us going on vacation?” I cross my arms over my chest, but she pries them apart.
“They are moving down then, and I have to look for a new place to live. I can’t stay here with them, Hunter. I’m a grown woman.”
I don’t say anything.
“Did you think I was saying I couldn’t go … with you?”
I’m a fucking idiot. And it seems I can’t talk anymore either. I’m just looking at Lexi because that will help.
“Hunter?”
“Yeah.”
“I’d love to go to Hawaii with you one day but just not while I’m in the middle of baseball season or getting ready to move.”
“Okay.” I guess while she’s still learning about relationships, I’m still learning how to trust a woman to stick around.
“Do you want your Valentine’s present now or later?”
“Now.”
She jumps up again and goes to the kitchen. She grabs a huge box off the table and brings it to me.
“I hope you like it.”
I open the wrapping, tearing it. Underneath is the Harley Davidson insignia on the box. I open the lid to find a new riding jacket. Not leather, but one that’s perfect for Florida winters.
“I got myself one too. I figured with the weather being so nice, we could take some rides before it gets hot again.”
I put the box on the table next to us. I pull Lexi across my leg. “I love it, Lexi. I’m sorry about the vacation misunderstanding.”
She puts her finger over my lip to stop me. “Let’s forget about it. I have one more present for you.”
“This is enough, Lex.”
She stands from my leg, and I think she’s going to the kitchen for something else. She takes a few sips from her drink. When she reaches for the tie on her sweater, I decide I want this present.
“Are you sure?”
I’m practically panting. She’s still wearing an oversized knit sweater, and I have a hard-on the size of Texas because I know what lies beneath it. Her fingers undo the knot, and she pulls. I thought I was prepared, but the woman is trying to give me a heart attack. The sweater falls to the floor. Lexi stands before me, still wearing those fucking heels. I don’t know how I didn’t notice that. It’s what she has on her body that might send me to an early grave.
Red ribbon. Somehow, she tied it around her like a present. My present. The wide strip runs between her legs covering her. A bow covers her tits, but barely. She reaches for my hand to have me grab each one of the dangling pieces, and I’m sure it will fall to the floor as soon as I pull them. I give them a tug, and I was right.
“Happy Valentine’s Day, Hunter.”
I pick the ribbon off the floor and then toss Lexi over my shoulder. I head straight for her room.
“What are you going to do with that?” she asks, but she already knows.
“I’m kidnapping you, tying you to the bed, and making love to my woman all night.” I give her ass a smack, and she moans.
“It’s about time you made good on that comment. I think this is the best Valentine’s Day ever, Big Boy.”
Damn straight it is.
LEXI AND I went from having a lot of time with each other to barely seeing each other since baseball season started. The construction business is always busy in the spring. On the side, we’ve been pitching in to help Bentley get his and Aly’s house finished. There never seems to be enough hours in the day.
Lexi has been spending more nights at my place than not, since our time is limited and because her parents have been visiting more and more as their retirement is drawing near. They decided to push up the date to this summer instead of the fall.
I got to meet them a few times. It wasn’t by choice. In fact, one of those times was by accident. We were coming back from the beach, and I had Lexi pinned to the front door. Her parents decided to surprise her and drive straight through. When her father tried to open the front door, it wouldn’t open. Lexi had to stand in front of me for a while until I got myself under control, which wasn’t easy with her bikini-covered ass rubbing against my junk.
She’s lying in my bed after a good morning workout. The first one was a run on the beach. The second one, we gave each other after we got back. She’s draped the sheet around her, while her legs are exposed. She flips over to look at me, exposing the curve of her ass.
“I’m going to take over Aly and Bentley’s apartment.” She said she was going to start looking for a place to live, but I thought I’d have time to talk to her first. I found the perfect home for her. And it’s close.
“When did you decide this?”
“I talked to Aly, and with their house so close to being done, they were talking about renting it out instead of selling. It’s a great house, and I’ll be close to here. You can sneak over any time you want without my dad walking in.” She laughs.
“Why not just move in here instead? Then there would be no sneaking at all.” I’d planned to ask her later tonight, but I guess it’s the time now, especially since she sprung her news on me.
“You’re joking, right?”
“Do you see me laughing? I’m serious, Lex.”
“No.”
“I bet I can convince you to.” I raise my eyebrows.
“I’ve never dated a man let alone lived with one.”
“I’ll make it worth your while.”
“I bet, but I can’t.”
“Yes, you can, and you will,” I say as I go to touch her leg, but she stands, taking the
sheet with her. As for me, I lie here completely naked.
“I can’t move in here.”
“Why not? You’re here every night when your parents are in town anyway.”
“We already talked about this.” Frantically, she starts searching for her clothes. Her panties are hanging on the doorknob. I point.
“No, we haven’t. This is the first time I mentioned you moving in.”
“Jesus Christ. How did they get there?” she yells and tries to pull them off the knob, but they get stuck. Finally, she gets them undone with one good tug and yanks them up her legs. She’s standing there in her tiny panties, and I instantly go hard.
I put my hands behind my head and enjoy the view. I knew she would most likely say no if I asked her, but I’ll get her to say yes. Her bra is on the arm of the chair, so I point there next.
“You really need to stop throwing my clothes all over the place.”
“You seemed to like it an hour ago. What’s the rush, Lex?”
“I just need to go.” She puts on her bra and tank top and finds her shorts.
At first, her panicking is cute, but when I realize that she is, in fact, going to run out on me, it’s not anymore. I stand up because there is no way I’m letting her walk out that door without talking to me. “You’re not going anywhere, Dolce.”
“Don’t call me that. And would you put that thing away. It’s very distracting.”
Like hell, I will. “Are you going to answer my question?”
“No.”
“No, you aren’t going to answer, or no, you won’t move in?” I ask, starting to get annoyed when she won’t look at me.
“Both.” She’s hopping on one foot, putting on her sneaker.
“Why not?”
“Hunter, I can’t do this,” she pleads.
“Can’t do what, Lex?” This is not going as I planned at all. She was going to say no, but while I took my time relaxing her again, I was going to have her screaming yes from all the mind-blowing sex.