Perfect Love Story (Love 1)

“Me too,” I whisper as he comes close again and pecks my lips, leaving them tingling. He turns to get a baking sheet and then places the potatoes in the oven.

“Want to go sit outside? It should be ready in an hour.” I nod, and he opens the fridge. “Do you want something to drink? A beer, wine?”

“I’ll have wine if you have it.” He grabs a beer, then walks over to the other side of the island and opens another fridge, pulling out a bottle of wine. He turns to grab a wine glass.

We walk past the couches again, and he goes out another door off the side.

“Holy shit,” I say as I take in this side of the backyard. Its wooden roof covers the whole area, and the floor is all pieces of different rocks. To one side, there is a table with big brown chairs, and to the other side is a seating area with a matching couch set. Potted plants are everywhere. The barbecue is situated behind a half brick wall but is still covered. Tea lights are all over the place and slowly lighting up the area as the sun starts to set. He walks over to the table where he opens the wine bottle and hands me a glass. “Is that a hammock?” I ask him as I look in the yard and see two trees holding up what looks like a hammock.

“It is.” He nods as he opens his beer. “No one really uses it, though.”

“I think I would lie in it every single day. I love hammocks,” I say as he walks over to the couch and sits down. I walk to the edge of the rock floor and look to my left. “Is that a hot tub all by itself?”

“Yes.” He nods his head. “It’s right outside my room.” My stomach fills again as I picture him in it naked. I take a sip of wine to stop myself from asking him if he goes in it naked.

I turn and walk to him as I sit beside him and tuck my legs under me. “So tell me something about Jensen I don’t know.”

He laughs. “I sleep naked when Mila isn’t here.” He winks at me as my pulse speeds up. “What about you?”

I take a sip of courage, oh, I mean wine. “I sleep naked every single night,” I say as his jaw stays tight. I lean in. “Naked, naked.” I giggle when he glares at me. “Don’t play the game if you can’t handle the heat.”

“Oh, I can handle the heat,” he says and then looks out at the horizon. “This is the first date I’ve been on since Julia left.” He looks over as my mouth closes, and I swallow the feeling like something is stuck. “I just wanted you to know that I don’t do this”—he points to him and me as he takes a pull of his beer—“ever.”

“Why me?” I ask the obvious question.

“Because I know you won’t play games with me. I know that if you let me in, it’s genuine and real.” He puts his hands on my leg. “And honestly, I can’t get you out of my head.”

I take a gulp of wine, or rather, I finish the whole glass, then lean over him and place it on the side table as his eyes grow darker. “I won’t play games with you, and I know you won’t play games with me either. I didn’t come here expecting to find you.” I wipe my eye before a tear comes out, blinking the tears away. “I didn’t expect to find myself, let alone someone who makes my heart flutter.”

“I make your heart flutter?” His hand comes up to cup my cheek, and I lean into the touch.

“When you aren’t an asshole, yes.” I laugh as he smiles. “It doesn’t hurt that you’re easy on the eyes.”

“Were you checking me out?” He smirks.

“I can’t guarantee you anything.” I swallow, looking down at my hands as they tap together. “I don’t know when I’m going to be ready for the next step, but …”

He places his finger on my lips. “How about we just take this one day at a time?”

I smile and then kiss his finger. “I like that.” I lean in. “But with kissing, right? Because I really like kissing you.”

“Good.” He grabs my face as I lean over him. “Because there is a fuck load of kissing that will be happening,” he says right before he tilts his head and nips at my bottom lip. “In fact”—he kisses the side of my mouth—“I think we should practice right now.” He kisses the other side as my stomach pulls tight. “Actually, after dinner I think we should practice on the couch.” His tongue comes out to lick my bottom lip. His mouth devours mine, and my tongue dances with his. I climb into his lap, and we practice kissing till we are both breathless and itching with need. “I’m going to go check on the potatoes before I throw all the promises I made you out the window.”