“Thank you for dinner.”
“I
had a really good time.”
“I did too.”
Pressing my lips to hers, I thrilled at the feel of her melting against me as her mouth opened. The world stopped every time we kissed. All other sounds except the ones coming from her disappeared. Nothing else mattered except this moment, and I never wanted it to end.
As soon as the thought entered my mind, she broke the kiss. “You should probably go before I try to lure you inside.”
My body instantly reacted, and I tried like hell to ignore it. “That’s not really a good way to get me to go.”
“I know, I know.” She grinned. “Forget I said it.”
“Not a chance. But you’re right, I should go. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Her eyebrows flew up. “Tomorrow?”
“Yeah. For date two.”
“Oh.” She rolled her eyes. “You’re just trying to get to date three quicker.”
I bit back my grin, playing dumb. “What happens on date three?”
“No idea,” she said, laughing as she smacked my arm. “I know what happens on date fifty, but I think date three is fairly uneventful.”
“Good night, Claudia.” I dropped a kiss on her head before giving her one more on the mouth. God, those lips were going to be the death of me.
“Good night, Frank,” she said before heading toward the door of her building.
I watched to make sure she got in safely, but before she reached the door, she turned around and ran back to me. Her arms looped around my neck as she pulled my mouth to hers.
“I just needed one more kiss.”
That kiss lasted even longer than the one before, leaving me breathless as I watched her until she disappeared through the doors of her building.
Shaking my head, I couldn’t remember ever feeling happier and more content. I was one lucky son of a bitch.
No offense, Mom.
The Third Date
Claudia
Frank called and texted me often when we weren’t together. He was sweet, attentive, and caring.
Long gone were the days when I thought Frank Fisher was a shy, reserved guy who was afraid to make a move on me. In his place was a man who was in touch with his emotional side and not afraid to show it. He was confident in what he wanted, and was one hell of a man’s man. The many facets of his personality were almost as hot as he was.
Coordinating our schedules so I could spend time with Frank had never even occurred to me. I could have smacked myself for not considering how difficult it might be to date someone who owned a bar until I was knee-deep in it. Not that I would have changed a thing, but I might have been more mentally prepared for it. Frank worked long hours and spent the majority of his time at Sam’s, which I understood completely, but it meant I spent a lot of time there as well.
He came over to my place on Thursdays, his only evening off, but fell asleep as soon as his head hit my lap on the couch. Instead of waking him, I let him sleep while Britney and I watched our TV shows around his snores. He apologized profusely once he woke up, but I assured him there was nothing to apologize for. The man worked hard, and if he wanted to sleep on my lap every night of the week, I’d gladly let him.
If I hadn’t been spending so many of my evenings at the bar, then I wouldn’t have met Jess as soon as I did. I was beyond thankful that Nick’s girlfriend was nice and welcomed me with open arms.
“I’m so happy to meet you,” Jess had said, her eyes bright. “And thank you for making Frank smile again. I’ve never seen him so happy. But then again, I haven’t known him very long, so maybe I’m not the best reference,” she said with a laugh, and I liked her instantly. She was career-driven, motivated, and smart. And she adored Nick just as much as he adored her.
We spent a lot of time together while our guys worked, and she filled me in on her history with Nick. Amazed, I asked her no less than ten times if she was joking, or maybe making up parts of their story, and she assured me that she wasn’t. I wouldn’t have believed it if I’d heard it through the grapevine, would have been sure that the truth must have gotten lost somewhere in translation like a bad game of telephone. Nick and Jess’s story was insane, but in the end, it only proved to strengthen my belief in the power of love and what it was capable of.