Club Endless Fantasy

“I should at least take you on a date first…” He took my hand and smiled. “You said this wasn’t one.”

“I’d be willing to reconsider that.” I bit down on my bottom lip and grinned.

“Let’s give it a little more time.” He reached for the door.

“Okay.” I sighed and nodded.

Ian held my hand while we walked to the car, and after we got back to the restaurant, we shared one more kiss before my Uber driver arrived. Ian offered to drive me home, but if he wasn’t coming inside, I didn’t want him to see the look of disappointment that was sure to be in my eyes.

The fire that was burning finally dwindled down to a simmer as my Uber took me back to my apartment—I spent the whole way there wishing Ian was in the car behind us. I even pretended that it could be him until my driver turned into the parking lot of my apartment building, and the car behind us kept going.

I was too wired to go to bed. I poured a glass of wine from the bottle in my fridge and sat down in the living room to try and calm down so I could sleep.

Ian did change my perspective—I threw every doubt I could come up with his way, and he still didn’t give up.

Visiting Ian’s grandparents wasn’t what made me believe that he was a risk worth taking. It was the fact he was willing to go to such lengths just to show me that my view of the world was skewed that truly opened my heart to him. Relationships were complicated, but that didn’t mean they were impossible. I used the one that I watched completely fall apart as a crutch to avoid putting my heart on the line. Ian wasn’t perfect. He held onto a love that was dead for far too long, but he had enough awareness to understand that he was just torturing himself. Both of us had a chance to leave our past behind and see what the future could hold.

I reached for my phone and loaded the Secret Santa Romance app. The icon next to Ian’s name was lit up, which meant he was at least looking at his phone, even if he didn’t have the app open. A smile spread across my face, and I started typing.

Ian may have dropped me off, but that doesn’t mean our night has to end.

Chapter Ten

Ian

My evening with Elly went a lot better than I expected. I wanted to show her that it was possible for love to survive a lifetime rather than fall apart when things got rough. Some relationships did fall apart—that was just human nature—but it didn’t mean that all of them would. Elly knew that, but she was afraid to admit it to herself because it was easier to build a wall around her heart than risk going down the same path that tore her world apart. One night wasn’t going to erase everything that had built up over the years, but it was a good start.

That kiss certainly was…

The moment felt right, and I went for it. It was a risk I had to take. It only took a moment for those beautiful misty gray eyes to storm wit

h the same desire that overcame me. I couldn’t resist putting my hands on her gorgeous curves, and I wanted so much more—but I didn’t want to rush it. If there was a future for us, then we needed to let our emotions settle down some before we moved forward. Elly and I had avoided so many serious discussions when we communicated through the Secret Santa Romance app. She was finally opening up to me, and I had shared my secret about Abigail with her. Those were important first steps, but there were still a few more to take.

No matter how bad I wanted to turn my car around the entire drive home.

It was well past my normal bedtime when I got back to my house, but I knew I would just toss and turn if I tried to go to bed. My thoughts were spinning, and the lust that filled my veins when Elly was in my arms still hadn’t faded. I decided to grab a beer from the fridge and find something to watch on television. I found something that looked interesting and casually watched it while I flipped through my phone. I was just about to put my phone down so I could pay attention to the television when I saw a message from Elly pop up on the Secret Santa Romance app.

Elly: I see you’re still awake.

Ian: Yeah, I haven’t made it to bed yet.

Elly: I’ve got a joke for you.

Ian: Okay. :)

Elly: What do you call a virgin on a water bed?

Ian: Uh, I have no idea.

Elly: A cherry float!

Ian: Okay, that one is funny, even if it’s a little dirty.

Elly: Do you have a water bed?

Ian: No. Why?

Elly: Too bad, we could turn that into more than a joke if you did…