He stopped her just inside the doors and smiled down at her. “Really? An arcade?”
She laughed. “It’s much more than just an arcade. Come on.” She tugged his arm again.
Three hours later, he was not only exhausted, but starving again. She’d run him through the laser tag arena three times, each time kicking his butt until finally he’d caved and asked if they could try the go-carts outside. He was proud when he’d lapped her small red go-cart, and he’d finally beat her at something. He’d convinced her to run another round, this time on the slick track where he annihilated her once again.
They played a round of miniature golf and tied, then went inside to order a slice of pizza and a Coke. They ate at a large picnic table outside under an awning, and he couldn’t remember ever having this much fun on a first date.
They laughed and joked with each other over the pizza, and then she pulled him into the arcade again. They won enough tickets between them to get a large stuffed dog, which she carried down the boardwalk proudly.
By the time they walked through the doors of her place, his mind was made up. He was going to tell his father next time he saw him that his new scheme wouldn’t work and, more important, he would have nothing to do with it.
When Cassey walked into her place with the large, stuffed dog on her hip, she couldn’t help but smile. She couldn’t deny it, even to herself; she’d just had the best day since…well, since she could remember.
Being with Luke was easy, almost too easy, but she wasn’t going to think about that just yet. The place was pretty empty, which was to be expected on an out-of-season Monday. But it was even more empty than she’d come to expect. She wasn’t too worried since her brothers weren’t expecting anything extra from her for a while. Still, it would have been nice to pay the bank the extra she’d gotten used to paying. If she could have stuck to her plans, she would have had them paid off in less than five years. Now, however, she was looking at adding at least a few months to that.
“I hope you aren’t planning on skipping out on me for dinner,” he said next to her ear, causing little bumps to rise down her neck.
Shaking her head, she turned back and smiled at him. She found herself doing that more often around him, and it was almost becoming natural. There had been few other men in her life that had made her smile this much—her brothers, an occasional boyfriend—but no one had ever made her feel this young. Even as a kid, she hadn’t felt this carefree.
“I just want to shower and change first,” she said, waving to Wendy as they walked by.
“A shower sounds good.” The way he said it had her mind whirling and heat spreading throughout her entire body.
She stopped on the first step and turned to him. “Maybe I’ll let you wash my back, again.” She wrapped her arms around his shoulders as he leaned up and placed a soft kiss on her lips.
“Mmm.” He wrapped his hands around her waist and pulled her closer. She felt his desire pressing against her hip, and her pulse jumped at the thought of him inside her.
Smiling, she turned and rushed up the stairs, holding his hand and pulling him along quickly.
After the shared shower and some very steamy sex, Luke left her alone in the bathroom to get ready for dinner. For the first time that day, she had a moment to herself.
Her mind played over the time spent with him in the last few days. Maybe she was building him up to be something bigger than he was in her mind. She tried to be as rational as she could, remembering how he’d treated her, how she was around him. She kept coming back to the fact that all she could think about was spending more time with him.
By the time she was dressed and ready for an evening out, she was determined to enjoy the time she had with him, no matter what.
He surprised her by walking her to his car, an older model classic, which he said he’d rebuilt with a buddy of his a few years back. When she sat on the leather seats, she felt like she was riding in a new car instead of one built in the early sixties.
She hadn’t planned on him driving towards Emerald Beach, or on them going to Crystal Shores for dinner. She’d never been to his family’s hotel before, nor had she ever been to a restaurant quite this fancy before. She felt a little out of her element when the maître d’ looked her over as they walked in.
“Good evening, Mr. Callaway,” the man said with a slight accent. “I trust your drive was pleasant.”
“Yes, thank you, Andre.” Luke took hold of her hand as they followed the man to a secluded table near the bay windows.
After they were seated, Luke ordered some wine and they were left alone to look over the menus. She set hers down and looked across the table at Luke.