Unexpectedly Yours (Private Relations 3)

He brushed a kiss across the top of her head and said, “I’ll call you later. Unless you’ve got a job tonight?”

“Nope. It’s my day off. Just reading and laziness. What’s on your agenda?” she asked.

“Laundry,” he said, “and then some paperwork.”

Elle opened the front door and they stepped out onto the porch. She dryly said, “You’re out of control.”

They walked down her sidewalk to the driveway where his car was parked. When they reached the driver side door, he bent down and gave her one last slow, thorough kiss.

“Drive carefully,” Elle said.

“Always. Talk to you later,” he said, climbing into his vehicle.

He watched her walk back to the porch, then turn to watch as he backed out. When he pulled out of the driveway, she gave him one last wave and then stepped inside.

Last night had been pretty amazing. Elle was an intriguing woman. She was completely different than anyone he’d ever dated before. He was very much looking forward to getting to know her on a more personal level.

Chapter Seven

As Jim drove away, Elle went back inside. Once the door had closed, she leaned against it and grinned. Holy shit, she thought as she went over the events of the last twenty-four hours in her mind. Had that really just happened?

She walked over to her purse and pulled out her cell phone. As suspected, there were several text messages from Sara. She scanned through them and laughed. They started with subtle prying like, “Hope your night went well,” but soon lost all subtlety. Her favorite of the bunch had been, “Details! Call me!”

Laughing, Elle picked up the phone and dialed Sara. Sara immediately picked up the phone and said, “Hello?”

“Holy shit,” Elle said without any preface. “Jim just left.”

“Oh, really?” Sara asked.

“Really.”

“Um. I really hope you’re going to give me more information than that, Elle,” Sara said. “I listened to you agonize all week about this date.”

Feeling suddenly closed in, Elle said, “Are you at the office or home?”

“Office. Come hang out with me. I’m stuffing mushroom caps. That sounds fun, right?” Sara asked, her voice laced this sarcasm.

“Not really, but I’ll come hang out anyway,” Elle said.

Fifteen minutes later, Elle walked into the Edible Innovations kitchen. Sara immediately looked up at her and said, “Details. I need them.”

Elle laughed and said, “So we went to the movie in the park thing that I told you about. We got dinner. It was Filipino barbecue. You’d have loved it. Anyway, we’re sitting there and waiting for the movie to start. He brought a bottle of wine, so we were drinking and talking. He said something about how it was nice to finally be out on a date and then suddenly we’re all over each other. I’m practically sitting in his lap. There’s lips and tongues and teeth and hands.”

Sara raised her eyebrows but said nothing. She just gestured for Elle to continue with a wave of her hand.

Grinning now, Elle continued, “Eventually we were forced to acknowledge that we were in a public place, so when the movie was over, he took me home. When he walked me to the door, I invited him in. I know it’s not my normal style but I couldn’t help myself. He’s so freaking sexy. So he comes inside and we end up in bed. A good time was had by all.”

“I’m not getting any more detail than that?” Sara asked, obviously disappointed.

Elle laughed and shook her head. Sobering now, she said, “Sara. It was absolutely perfect. He was perfect. I couldn’t have asked for more.”

Sara’s face softened at that statement. She said, “I’m so glad, honey. All of your experiences should be like that.”

Elle knew Sara was thinking about the stories she’d shared about her ex when they’d gotten drunk one night. He’d been pretty selfish. Back then, the big “o” had been a rare thing unless she was on her own.

“Oh, no. This story takes a really fucked up turn. Don’t get all mushy just yet.”

“Do I even want to hear this?” Sara asked, a leery look on her face.