Inseparable

I grinned at her. “I have no doubt that you are. And I’m glad you enjoyed yourself. I had a good time, too, but I think part of it was watching your reactions.”

Jess groaned. “Oh man, was I so obvious?”

“You don’t have a good poker face,” I said. “You told me that once before, and you weren’t kidding.”

She smiled and shook her head. “Okay, fine. Underestimate me. One day you’ll realize how crafty I can be.”

She laughed, which made me laugh. Without thinking about it, I put my hand on her thigh, the same way she'd done to me in the theater. It wasn't much, as far as sexual touches went, but it was enough to make my cock stir in my pants. Jess looked so sexy in her dress, and when she smiled, her whole face lit up. It was difficult to focus on driving with her sitting next to me.

Things between us had been far better than I'd expected. She was fun, surprising, and so sexy it almost hurt to look at her. Only one thing wasn’t perfect. She’d made it clear early on that she wasn’t the kind of woman who just hopped into bed with anyone. She wasn’t just being modest or coy. She had been telling the truth. There had been kissing and some making out, but nothing beyond that. I hadn't been so sexually frustrated since high school.

The fact that I was still dating her, even though she was making me wait, surprised the hell out of me. With any other woman, I would have walked away. I had in the past. The world was full of attractive women who wanted a quick fling. There was no point devoting so much time to just one of them.

I was a man with needs. My sex drive ran harder than a jet engine on one of my planes. If I hadn't been dating Jess, I probably would have slept with several different women in the last month, just to keep my needs satisfied. But I was with Jess. No matter how deep my urges ran, I refused to cheat on her. That wasn’t me. Not now. Not ever. So, that left me in a difficult situation.

She was making me wait. The more she did, the more I wanted her. Each time she went home after a date, I wasn't sure I would be able to take it any longer, but I also knew I wasn't going anywhere. Unlike so many other women, Jess was worth the wait.

“Hey,” I said. “You want to come to my place? Have a nightcap?”

“No hanky panky, right?” She laughed and squeezed my hand to show that she wasn’t trying to be mean-spirited.

“Nope, don’t need to worry about that,” I said. “Not until you’re ready. You know that.”

She nodded. “I’d love a nightcap. Lead the way.”

We drove the rest of the way to my loft in silence, my hand still on her leg, and each of us in our own little worlds. It wasn’t until I had the key in the lock that she spoke again, and it was to say something that surprised me, as it usually was.

“Have you ever realized that we’ve never gone to my place?” she asked.

I frowned, thinking about it. "No, that's not true. It can't be. Come on. I've got a really good bottle of champagne chilling."

"No," she continued, following me into the loft and flopping down on my couch as if she were a resident and not a visitor. "It's true. You’ve been there to pick me up, but the front door is as far as you ever get. You've never actually been inside my place."

“Shit. You know, I never even realized it until just now. Does it bother you?”

“No, not really,” she said. “It’s just sort of curious. Do you think that kind of thing is normal?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t thought about it. I guess it’s all been about convenience.”

“What do you mean?” she asked.

I shrugged. “All of the dates I’ve planned have been around here, probably because it’s the area of town I know the best. So afterward, it just makes sense to come to my place. It’s nothing against yours.”

“No, I know. That makes sense.”

I handed her a glass of champagne, and she accepted it with a beautiful smile. I sat on the couch beside her, sliding my arm around her as I did so.

She had a point, although I'd never considered it before. I had made a habit of keeping us in my area of town. Maybe because I didn't want the idea of going to her place to come up. Going to her place would mean meeting her kid, and I wasn't sure I was ready for that.

Even after agreeing to the Fourth of July thing, I wasn't sure I was ready for it. The second I met Jess's daughter, I no longer had the freedom to deny that there was something real going on between Jess and me. It was a big fucking step, to say the least.

“Did I push it too far?” she asked.

“It takes a hell of a lot to push me too far, Jess.”

"Come on. You know what I mean. Was it too much? Asking about the Fourth of July and about why you don't come to my place on the same day? I'm sorry if it was. I don't know what's going on with me today. I don't seem to be able to control the things that come out of my mouth."

“You don’t need to control your mouth, Jess,” I said, shooting her a warm smile. “You don’t need to control anything, as far as I’m concerned. And in answer to your question, no, you didn’t push me too far. You’re allowed to ask questions, Jess. You’re allowed to have feelings. I’m not interested in dating a mannequin.”