That was due to Enzo.
That man and his surprises. I had woken up to a knock at the door before my six-a.m. alarm went off. At the door was a delivery guy with a huge bouquet of flowers. A mix so beautiful it had left me speechless.
And smiling.
Gin,
Happy Valentine’s Day.
Can’t wait to see you tonight.
To our last first date.
-E
The note alone would have been enough to fuel my smile. Whatever had scared him away it seemed hadn’t been enough to keep him from jumping into whatever crazy thing was happening between us.
I had no idea what I’d done for life to cross my path with him, but I wasn’t going to question it. Life was an adventure, and I was going along for the ride.
Once the last student waved and walked out, I grabbed my purse and nothing else for the first time that school year.
Tonight wouldn’t have a pile of papers to grade or curriculum to plan or a special project to figure out.
Excitement bubbled up, and I giggled as I looked around my classroom. It felt like the moment I stepped out of the classroom would kick off the beginning of something bigger than I could put into words. I couldn’t wait.
I grabbed my purse and looked inside. I smiled, feeling quite naughty at the items inside. With that and a smile on my face, I rushed to the bathrooms in the teacher’s lounge to change.
ENZO
ALL THE STUDENTS had filtered out, and by the look of the parking lot, a lot of the teachers had left for the day. I had been waiting for a little bit. Too impatient to wait at home after arriving from the airport, I had driven directly to Ginny’s school. I’d waited patiently, or tried to at least, in my car, watching the activity of parents picking up their kids at the end of the day. But as amusing as it had been to watch, I couldn’t wait to see her. The side door of the office building opened, and there stood my beautiful girl in all her glory.
Mine, a caveman side of my brain muttered at the sight of her, and by the end of the night she would be.
As much as my trip had sucked, it had given me the time I had needed to really get my head on straight. By the end of the first night away, I had wanted to kick my own ass for hesitating. I was a real idiot sometimes, but I knew I would forever be grateful for the second chance she had given me. The fact she hadn’t completely shut me out had been a blessing in itself.
In San Jose, I’d realized just how precious the chance was. Regardless of where life could take things, I knew I needed to take a chance on us. She was like no one I had ever met.
We were only given one life.
One chance to make the most of it, and I would be damned if I let my past mistake of putting too much stock into a woman who hadn’t deserved it fuck up my future. Ginny was nothing like Karen. Ginny was everything I could have ever hoped for, and she wasn’t going to slip through my fingers. I wasn’t that stupid.
I was standing next to my Silver Bullet 1971 Corvette Stingray LS6 when I spotted her, and like a predator, all my senses homed in on her. I watched her step out. She looked like a fucking bright shining star in the daylight. The sight was almost blinding. She hadn’t seen me just yet, and I got to watch her. Unguarded and free. I could see the smile that played on her angelic face from a distance, and it only made mine bigger. Her eyes sparkled with mischief, and I wanted to be the one to know everything that put that light in there. I wanted to be the one who knew all her secrets.
There was something about her happiness that boosted my own, and it made me crave to make her happy for the rest of my days. Oh yeah, I was a goner.
But a goner who would own it and claim her before some other SOB tried to swoop in and take what was mine.
I pushed away from the muscle car and walked toward her, knowing the exact moment her eyes caught sight of me. Her body changed. Her smile lit up brighter, like the sky on the Fourth of July. Then there was the way she walked. If I wasn’t mistaken, the little minx added more sway to each step. Taunting and teasing me with those gorgeous curves and hips. Hips my hands missed feeling.
I watched and reveled in each step she took, my brain almost short circuiting by the time she was right in front of me, maybe less than three feet between us.
“Hi.”
“Come here,” I bossily ordered, and the nervous, shy smile melted away into something so beautiful I knew I would strive each and every day for the rest of my life to put on her face.
Once in my reach, I put my arms out and wrapped her up in mine, pulling her body into mine, PDAs be damned.
Just like that, just with her in my embrace, my world tilted on its axis and nothing could possibly be wrong around me.
CHAPTER TEN
GINNY
“FUCK, YOU SMELL INCREDIBLE,” he whispered on a groan, and my eyes closed as a delicious shiver moved down my spine. “You make my mouth water, Gin.”
“Talking like that isn’t fair,” I rasped quietly.
“Mmm,” he mumbled darkly into my neck, and I could feel a smile on his lips. “I don’t know about that. The goose bumps on your skin and the way those sweet little nipples are brushing my chest like diamond tips say you like when I talk dirty to you, sweetness.”
“Maybe, but we’re still on school grounds.”
“On that note, let’s get the fuck out of here,” he said, sealing it with a wet kiss over my pulse before pulling away, my hand still in his.
“This is your car?” I asked, looking at the beautiful car.
“What do you think?”
“Very Sixteen Candles of you.” I smiled, resting my head on his shoulder.
“Were you a Jake Ryan fan?” he asked, and I smiled on a shrug, because come on, who wasn’t once upon a time a teenage girl with a crush on Jake Ryan after watching the Molly Ringwold classic?
“I don’t know, but I am very much an Enzo Carlino fan.”
“Great freaking answer.” He winked, and I forced myself to look serious, unable to stop myself.
“I do have one problem with this car though.”
“What’s that?” he asked, and I closed the small space he had put between us. Lifting to the tips of my toes, raising my head so I could reach right below his ear, I whispered, “That sexy car of yours doesn’t have what I’ve been thinking about all day long.”
“What’s that?” he hissed, and I smiled before answering, knowing very well I was playing with fire.
“No back seat,” I pointed out and felt his chest rumble with a muted growl and myself get even slicker.
“Jesus,” he bit back, his body tense like he was trying to fight from touching me. God, I wanted that control to break and for him to ravage me, but we were in front of the elementary school I taught at.
“Maybe later you can show me how far the passenger seat rolls back,” I whispered before moving, not allowing enough time for him to get his arms around me. By the bulge I felt in front of me I knew I had done my job. Fair play and all that.
“Bad girl. Come on, let’s get this date on the road.” He opened the door to the passenger side of the muscle car, and I folded my body into it. It was cozy but comfortable. I watched him round the car, adjusting the thick rod between his legs. I couldn’t wait for what he had in store.
“HOLY SHIT,” I whispered in awe as I took in the sight in front of me.
“Does that mean you like it?” he asked sounding obviously amused.
“Enzo.” I looked up at him with wide eyes. “You didn’t have to do this.”
“I know.”
“It’s beautiful, and I don’t mean to sound ungrateful, but... this is our first date.” I looked back at the table setting in front of us.
“And it should be something to remember,” he responded confidently.
“This is like something out of The Bachelor,” I whispered, and he laughed.
“It’s not that elaborate.”
“Oh, but it is,” I announced, taking a step closer to the pretty red-linen
-covered table.
We were inside of Beech Grove’s Easy Strike Bowling Lanes.
Almost completely alone.
The place was literally closed and available to just us. The only people in the large place were two bowling employees and the two-man team from my favorite food truck.
“How did you even know about?” I pointed toward my favorite cooks in Beech Grove. I felt Enzo lean in, his lips hovering over my ear.
“Your twitter account.” I looked up at him searching his eyes for what he meant.
“Baby.” His lips looked like they were fighting from smiling. “You retweet them so much, I’m pretty sure you’re their number-one fan.” He wasn’t wrong. I loved the Gettin’ Saucy BBQ truck and wasn’t shy about sharing them on my social media anytime they posted where they would be in Beech Grove.
“Probably.” I laughed softly as I stared into the warmest eyes I’d ever seen.
“Happy Valentine’s Day, Ginny,” he said, something about the tone in his voice different.
Monumental.
Before I could come up with something to say, he leaned in, and my eyes fluttered shut. His mouth met mine, and I got swept away in one of the most tender kisses I had ever been given. So tender and sweet, it made every other set of lips wash away. Like a wave crashing on the shore, erasing any pre-existing footprints, leaving nothing but us. A rush of emotion hit, solidifying something so deeply and so soundly it left me with nothing but a beautiful calm.
The only set of lips I would ever think or care about would be Enzo Carlino’s.
“You ready to bowl?” he asked the moment he pulled away, his forehead resting against mine.
“I have to warn you,” I whispered, and his brow rose. “I’m competitive,” I shared, and his gaze flared as heat flashed behind his dark irises.
“Bring it on, baby,” he challenged, and a giggle bubbled out of me.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
GINNY
THE NIGHT WAS A BLUR. Like a movie montage playing out in real life. Laughter and heated gazes. Playful teasing and lingering touches.
It was the best first date of my life, and that had nothing to do with the fact the bowling alley was open just for us or the money he had dropped to give me it. For all I could have cared, the bowling alley could have been jam packed, and it would have been amazing.
I knew that to the center of my bones. The amazing night had everything to do with the man who looked at me like I was an ice cream cone in the middle of August. We talked and bowled and ate amazing food. All while great music played in the background. I found out we had similar tastes in music when we exchanged cell phones without batting an eye so we could compare our Spotify playlists.
If I had any doubts about our chemistry being a fluke, it had faded away from existence by the end of the night. The air in the car on the way to his place was filled with thick anticipation. There was no wondering what was happening. Not really. I had an overnight bag and knew I would be spending the night. He would take me back to school in the morning.
He held my hand tightly on the way from the car and up the elevator ride to his apartment. Never letting me go but not getting any closer as the seconds ticked away and we neared the front door of his apartment.
He took his keys out of his slacks and turned to look at me as he unlocked the door.
“Fuck it,” he muttered, and before I could ask, his body caged mine against the side of his door and our mouths met. Key still in the handle, the door left open, we were like two teenagers kissing furiously, unable to get enough of one another. “I should stop,” he quickly said, pulling away, as breathless as I felt. “Take things slow, make tonight special.”
“It already is,” I panted before our mouths joined again and our tongues met.
We found a way to move from the hallway of the apartment building and fumbled into his place. Hands roamed. Mouths fused together in what felt like an endless kiss. He was fun and passionate, and for some reason he thought the same thing about me.
Teeth scraped.
Lips were nipped.
Primal animalistic sounds escaped from both of us, and the whole thing was utterly and completely ungraceful. But fun. Perfect even. We laughed and smiled between kisses. Groaned and growled in frustration when buttons wouldn’t give. We stumbled toward his room until he couldn’t wait any longer. Enzo lifted me up, my legs wrapping around his narrow waist as he carried me into his room, dropping me onto his bed. I rested on my elbows as I watched him tear his shirt off, letting it drop on the floor, his sole attention on me. I could feel his eyes as they soaked in my body.
My legs, my breasts, my lips. My skin felt like it was on too tight and warm. I ached all over, and I knew the only thing that would help was his touch.
“Jesus, baby,” he finally spoke with awe clear in his voice. There was something about the way he was looking at me. Something different than the last time I had been here with him.
“Enzo?”
“You were made to be in my bed,” he said, and I licked my lips trying to calm my heart down. “You were made for me.”
“Enzo, baby, we don’t have to rush this and say—"
“Crazy-as-fuck shit?” He took the words out of mouth or the sentiment at least. I smiled softly at him, and his eyes flashed. “I know I don’t have to.”
“I’m a sure thing, honey.” I tried to lighten the mood, but he wasn’t going to let me. I could see the determination flaring through his eyes.
“I gotta tell you, babe, never, not one fucking time, have I ever felt half of what I do when I’m with you,” he shared, and I swallowed hard trying to process what he was saying.
The way he was holding himself and looking at me had me aching. His eyes dark and heated, his body coiled up tightly like he was fighting from pouncing on me. But this was him trying to rein in a bigger need. It was more than just sex and the search of an orgasmic release.
He looked like he wanted to claim me. Mark me as his. And I’m going to let him.
“I know,” I admitted, sitting up. His hand reached for mine. Holding hands, looking into one another felt intimate on a whole other level. Right there and then, we were completely naked, and it had nothing to do with the lack of clothes. “I feel it too.”
“Good.” His jaw clenched. “You’re mine, Ginny Black.”
“I like the sound of that as long as—“
“What?”
“As long as you’re mine too, Enzo Carlino.”
“Only yours,” he hissed through his teeth, moving in close enough I could feel the heat from his body. “I’m serious. I am not letting you go, Gin.”
“Good.” I bit my lower lip and felt his eyes move to the freshly wet flesh.
“Tell me you’re mine,” he growled, and goose bumps filled my skin as a shiver ran down my spine.
“You’re being bossy,” I teased, and I pulled him closer and lay back down on the bed. His chest touched mine, his hands caged my body.
“You fucking like it when I’m bossy. Now tell me,” he grunted, the tip of him at my entrance. I moved my hands to cup his face, and without blinking, I gave him what he was asking for.
“I’m yours.” I hadn’t finished saying it when he filled me completely.
That night was more than our last first date.
It was the official beginning of the most beautiful chapter of my life.
EPILOGUE
I WALKED INTO THE CLUB, the beat thumping away loudly. The bouncer winked at me, and I grinned, leaning in, giving the big lug a kiss on the cheek.
“How’s Desi?” I asked, knowing all eyes from the kids waiting in line were on us.
“Going crazy, but what else is new?” he joked, and I smiled.
“She has her hands full. You need to give her a girl to try and balance out all that testosterone at home.”
“Not from lack of trying, beautiful.” He winked, and I laughed before slipping a bill into the pocket of his jacket. “See you later,” he called
from over his shoulder as I waved behind me.
My hips swayed more than usual, the heels on my feet making me feel different. Feminine. Powerful. Seductive.
They weren’t the same ones I’d worn the first time I’d strolled down this particular hallway; the heels of those were unfixable after that first time.
But the dress. The dress was the same as the first time. I usually changed it up; after all, tonight was my night.
Just for me.
As I strolled toward the bar, I could see the people around me. It was busy. But then again, it usually was right before Valentine’s Day. Pheromones clung to the air, mixing with perfume and cologne and sex. Tonight was different. And not just because it was for me.
I reached the bar, and the bartender quickly came over.
“What can I make you tonight? We have a special line of Valentine-themed cocktails,” she offered. The girl was probably in her early twenties. Wide eyed and pretty. I was tempted to look at the list, but maybe later.
“Not right now, thank you. Can I have whatever top-shelf tequila you have? On the rocks, please?”
“I like a woman who knows what she likes. Make that two,” the deep voice behind me said, and I smiled, my pulse picking up.
“A drink says a lot about a person,” he said, and the tone of his voice sent shivers down my spine.
I turned and looked into the eyes of the man I’d fallen in love with five years before, right on that very stool.
A man who knew how to make me smile and laugh.
A man who knew how to make my body sing and writhe below his.
A man who was so generous and kind it moved me to try and be a better person.
A man who was all mine.
“You’re late, Mr. Carlino,” I pointed out, pretending to be huffy when I really wasn’t.
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Carlino,” he said, and just like four and a half years ago, when we’d made it official by going to the Beech Grove court house, I loved when he called me that.
Little Black Dress (Beech Grove Book 7) Page 6