“What about your mother?” I ask curiously.
Kyle shrugs. “Don’t know. She ran off when I was little, and I never asked about her. It’s not like it mattered much. I saw a picture of her, once. An old photo of my dad and mom when they were young. They weren’t married, and they weren’t expecting me, but they still tried. But mom found a better life and left us behind, I guess.”
I’m not sure what to say to that. Kyle says it so matter-of-factly that it throws me off. I guess he’s had a long time to come to terms with it.
“I see,” I say. I rally myself again. “So, do you have any other interests?”
“I play the guitar,” Kyle muses. “What about you?”
I grin. “Poetry. I love poetry.”
Kyle laughs. “You’ll have to show me some time.”
“No way,” I say, making a face. “You’ll just laugh at me.”
We laugh again. This is comfortable, I realize. I’m enjoying my time out with Kyle. I’m really enjoying it. This was what I wanted to know, wasn’t it? If the date bombed, then it was never going to work out.
But I like finding out more information about Kyle and learning more about his life. It’s nice to be sitting across the table from him, watching his expression change with each story. I want to know more. I want to know everything.
I really can’t pull away from him. I smile slightly.
Maybe I was a fool to try.
I convince Kyle to come up to my apartment for coffee after the date, not quite ready to let him leave just yet. He grins, pleased, and follows me up the old stairs. My entire body is thrumming.
Coffee? Coffee sounds great, of course. But I want Kyle, right now.
The date went well. Very well. I found myself pulled closer and closer to him, drawn in by the magnetic attraction that I’ve been trying to escape. As he spoke, revealing more pieces of himself, I gave in. I’m never going to be able to escape him.
And that’s okay, I decide. Maybe I don’t want to, anymore.
On the ride home, I pressed the full length of my body against him, wrapping my arms tightly around his chest. There were too many layers, I found myself thinking. I wanted them all off. I wanted to reveal more of him, to strip him bare and learn more.
Now we’re back home, and all I want is for Kyle to touch me and for my hands to be on him once more.
“Did you enjoy yourself?” Kyle asks as he follows me into the apartment, closing the door behind me.
And, in a flash, I’m on him, pushing him up against the door. His eyes widen and then his arms wind around me, his pupils dilating in seconds. I’m not the only that has been thinking about it, then. I give him a slow grin.
“Yes,” I say into his ear. “It was a wonderful date. God, Kyle, do you know how much I want you right now? All the way home, I just wanted to slip my hands under your jacket and touch you.”
Kyle growls and reverses our position, so I’m the one up against the door, and leans in close.
“I wish you did,” he says huskily. “I wish we hadn’t been in traffic so you could. I can just imagine your hands all over me while we sit on my bike. How badly did you want me, Allison?”
“So much,” I purr. We’ve barely even touched each other yet, and my body is trembling with need, remembering what it feels like to have his hands on me. “I almost didn’t make it all the way up here.”
Kyle presses himself against me. His erection is already throbbing in his pants.
“Me neither,” he says.
I wrap my arms around his neck and press my lips to his. The door is hard against my back, and my leg lifts to curve around his hips, dragging him closer so that I can feel every line of his body pressed against mine. We’re both wearing too many layers, dressed as we were for the weather, and I scrabble at his jacket, pushing it off his shoulders. He unbuttons my jacket, too, his fingers rough and demanding, and both articles of clothing drop to the floor.
“It’s not fair, you’re wearing two jackets,” I say, breaking the kiss.
“Why don’t I take those off,” Kyle says, biting my ear. “And you can give me the show you promised me?”
It takes me a moment to remember what he’s talking about.