"I'm pretty sure I read it exactly the way you intended it."
"You know, my rules state no men allowed."
"It says no husbands, so I qualify."
"Come to think of it, you would make a good wife for someone."
He fluttered his eyes. "These hairy legs don't look great in heels, but I did get an A in home economics."
"Let me guess. You wanted to meet pretty girls."
"That's still my objective in life."
"Hmm. I bet."
"Judging by the woman sitting next to me, I do okay in that department."
I leaned over and nudged him with my shoulder. That's how the rest of our night went. Playful conversation, good food, and laughter, lots of laughter. Best night in a long time. So good, we lost track of time and didn't leave until well after midnight. Then Reed made it more adventurous-we drove home with the top down on his jeep, the heater blowing on me all the way home, the wind whipping through my hair. The twinkle-filled night sky made up for the chilly air.
I almost felt like a teenager again. Especially when the moment came. You know the one. The door scene. He insisted on walking me to the door even though I thought he should leave me and take off. I didn't want anyone to see us together. But since it was two in the morning by the time we arrived, he thought the gentlemanly thing to do was make sure no one was lurking in the bushes or my house. I assured him I had a great alarm system, but he wasn't taking no for an answer.
He walked around to get my door. Hand holding was part of the package again. And maybe there was a tingle there when he took it. And maybe I was a little too tired and not thinking straight, because I found myself staring up at him and wanting to run my hand across his stubbled cheek. Not only that, I longed to get lost in his eyes. Eyes that no longer held a mischievous boy's glint, but the look of a man who yearned.
"Thank you," I whispered into the still night.
"Let's get you inside." He was using hushed tones too.
I followed his lead, paying attention to the way his thumb brushed my hand and how close he walked next to me. The smell of campfire and his cologne made me feel some other things. Was that desire? It had been so long.
We walked up the porch steps, slow and deliberate, taking cover under the porch, landing at the door.
I looked down at our hands. He didn't seem in a hurry to let go. I lifted my head to meet his gaze. "I had great time."
"Me too." He drew closer and took my other hand. The space between us began to evaporate. What was he doing? He leaned in, his breath was warm. His lips, oh, his lips were-
A stupid, girlish giggle escaped me.
His head popped up in shock, maybe embarrassment.
I knew I felt both. I sighed. "I feel like I say this a lot to you, but I'm sorry."
In my defense, though, I wasn't expecting a goodnight kiss, and I never imagined us kissing.
He dropped one of my hands and inched back. Consternation flashed in his eyes. "Sam, I'm not a child."
"I know."
The yearning was back in his eyes, erasing the frustration from the seconds before. "Close your eyes."
My eyes did the opposite and widened.
His smile said he wasn't deterred. He edged forward, running his hand through my wind-blown hair. "Close your eyes, Sam."
As if hypnotized by the sound of his sultry voice, my eyes fell shut. With my eyes closed, my other senses were heightened. The finger he ran down my cheek left a trail of sparks in its wake. His lips took over where his finger left off. He blazed a path of soft kisses leading to the corner of my mouth. I held my breath in anticipation. He let it brew and stir while he hovered near my lips, teasing me with his warm breath. There was a passion and an angst I had never experienced before.
His hands went to work cupping my face. My own hands landed on his chest and instantly liked what they felt. They, of their own accord, moved over his defined chest. And before I knew it, Reed brushed my lips with his, testing the waters. After one more gentle caress, he pressed his lips against mine. My hands glided up his chest and around his neck. His tongue invited my lips to part, giving me a taste of what he had to offer. It was sweet and sensual. And over too soon.
When he backed away, my eyes fluttered open. The kiss ended so abruptly, I wondered if maybe I had done something wrong. Or maybe I was horribly out of practice and he hadn't reveled in it the way I had.
My eyes locked with his under the light of my porch. In front of me stood a man that left me wanting.
His penetrating gaze, his stance, they all said one thing-see me.
I saw.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
I was too old to be up this early reliving every moment, touch, and kiss with Reed. The kiss. Oh, the kiss. I don't remember first kisses being that good.
Except, I didn't think it was that good for Reed. After he kissed me and stared at me for a few seconds, he saw me to my door and made sure the premises were secure before saying goodbye, but that was it. No, I'll call you later, or wow Sam, that was amazing, it lived up to all my teenage fantasies about you.
Okay, so maybe I didn't expect him to say that. And maybe I hadn't fantasized about him, but that kiss was fantasy worthy. Like, relive over and over again. I had been doing just that for the past hour after a restless few hours of sleep.
The sun was barely up, but my room was bright since I hadn't replaced the curtains. I should get on that so I didn't have any "flasher" moments like Reed. He never did tell me if he'd had dinner at his admirers' yet. Perhaps he would never tell me because this was a one-and-done like I imagined it would be. So why was I suddenly disappointed by that? Had I offended him one too many times? Yes, the giggling before the kiss was lame, but I responded appropriately after that. Maybe my breath was wretched. The shrimp was tossed with garlic, but he had eaten it too, and I quite enjoyed the way he tasted. I could still taste him now.
This was so ridiculous. I was a mother of a teenager. I shouldn't be thinking like this. It was a date. I survived it, even enjoyed it. It's over. Period.
I held my stomach trying to stave off the flutters I felt there when I thought of Reed. I had already checked my phone, even though it was early, to see if he had texted.
I threw off my covers and stared down at my frumpy flannel mom pajamas with polka dots, and sighed. I was no longer the wannabe hot babe in silk nighties. Not like I would wear sexy pajamas even if I owned some. I had a teenage son in the house. But maybe that's why Neil looked elsewhere.
Reed probably instinctively knew I was the kind of woman who valued comfort and warmth over pretending to be nighttime eye candy. I used to figure, flannel came off as easy as silk, and it was less embarrassing for my son to see me in it. Cody would hate for me to ever mention it, but he was afraid of the dark for the longest time, and many nights he ended up sleeping on our floor until he was about nine years old. I would wake up and there he would be, curled up with a blanket by my bedside. I missed those days.
Reed's teenage fantasy had grown up to be a middle-aged, flannel-wearing, hair-dying, divorced mom. Now that he'd figured that out, we could all move on.
That's exactly what I was doing. I traded in my frumpy pajamas for another sexy outfit-oversized t-shirt and yoga pants. It went perfectly with my twenty-year-old workout video from back in the day. Who didn't love a little Tae Bo? No one had ever toned my butt and thighs like Billy Blanks. And bonus, it was in the privacy-or semi privacy, still needed to get curtains-of my own home. No little hard bodies running around reminding me why I was single at almost forty.
I kicked, punched, and squatted until I was drenched in sweat. Maybe I wore flannel to bed, but at least I knew there was a somewhat toned body underneath all the layers. That's what counted. At least that's what I told myself.
By mid-morning, I was ready and dressed to face the new day. Cody was ready too; he kept texting me the SOS emoji. I guessed that was his way of saying come and get me. He'd made it longer than I thought he would. I supposed that meant I would be buying another mind-numbing video game for him. I hoped he had some fun and was still talking to me.
During my drive into the city, I did my best to not think about anything that had happened in the last eighteen hours. I hoped the person I was not thinking about wasn't coming to Sunday dinner. I wasn't ready to laugh about it yet. Unfortunately, I kept thinking about how much I would have loved a repeat of what went down on the porch.
All these thoughts, or non-thoughts, had me mentally and emotionally unprepared to face what was lurking for me at Gelaire's.