Skye blushed. She realized that might sound a little strange, but she wasn’t sure about telling him why it had become such a sanctuary for her.
“I do. I love it here. It’s peaceful.” She watched the giraffe take a mouthful of straw.
“Thanks for bringing me.” He adjusted his sunglasses on his nose.
“You’re welcome.” She smiled as he hand moved until his fingers interlaced with hers.
“Show me the pandas. I hear they are the big attraction.”
“Right this way.”
Ben pulled forward and punched in the access code to the parking garage for his condo complex. After she took him home this morning to change, he offered to drive. They left her car in guest parking.
They had lunch at the park. Walked along the Mission Bay trails and got smoothies at a boardwalk stand. They tried to fulfill every tourist wish in an afternoon. They posed in front of the historic Balboa Park building with its famous domed roof. Ben made funny faces in the selfies, but he still looked sexy. You couldn’t hide eyes and a smile like that. Skye knew the day was winding down, but she wasn’t quite prepared for it to be over. The sun set over the city, and the temperature had dropped ten degrees. After this morning, she wasn’t about to stick her neck out again. Ben could ask her to dinner if he wanted it to keep going.
He turned the ignition off and sat staring through the windshield.
“I had fun. Thanks for thinking of the touristy day.” She reached for her purse.
“Wait.” He turned toward her, his light blue eyes dancing with questions. Maybe he was as confused as she was. “It was a good day.”
She fidgeted with her keys, knowing all along she was stalling. She wished his truck didn’t have a console. It felt like a mountain dividing them in the cab. “Yeah, it was a good day.” She reached for the handle on the door and stepped out of the truck.
Ben followed her to her parking space. “Do you want to do something later this week?”
“Sure.” Skye was ready to peel out of the parking lot. They had an amazing day from waking up together on the couch, to laughing at the penguins, to trading San Diego stories. Why was he ready for it all to end before the sun had sunk behind the ocean?
She inserted the key in the lock and opened the car door.
“Skye, before you go….”
She spun on her heels, meeting a pair of hot and urgent lips. His hands moved over her pulling and tugging her toward him. She dropped the keys and her purse, her hands wanted to touch him. Her mouth parted as his tongue danced against hers. He tasted like strawberries and she worried they might devour each other in the parking garage as he started to growl against her neck. He dotted her throat with her kisses. Her head rolled to the side. This is what she had waited for all day. His mouth, his breath, his hands. But before she could coax him into the back of her car or into the elevator he stopped.
“Whoa.” He breathed into her ear.
“What’s wrong?” She didn’t see anything in his eyes but what she was feeling, total lust.
“Nothing is wrong.” He played with her hair. “I just think we should take it slow this time.” He backed away from the car and retrieved her keys from the ground.
“Slow. Right.” She accepted the keys in her palm, but wasn’t quite sure she could do the same with his answer.
Had she somehow conveyed to him that she wasn’t interested in all the other things they did before the fight? She loved doing those things to him and with him.
“I’ll call you later.” He kissed her forehead and walked backward toward the elevator bay.
She slid into the driver’s seat. Her heart was still beating faster than normal, and her hair was tussled on all sides. She took a minute to steady herself before starting the car. Ben Hardcastle had totally turned everything upside down.
She steered onto Friars Road when an incoming call beeped through the speakers.
“Hello?” She pressed the button on the steering wheel.
“Hey, how was last night?” Kari was practically squealing. “Dave was disappointed but I took care of him. You were not kidding about Ben. Wow. I want to hear details!”
Skye thought how to answer. ?
??Want to come over?”
“Sure! I just bought a new moscato. I can be at your place in fifteen minutes.”