“You still with me?” Marina asks softly, giving my hand a gentle tug.
“I am. Just thinking about my current work in progress and the characters.”
“Ah. So, would you say this evening wasinspiring?” There’s a teasing lilt to her voice, and it makes me laugh.
“I would definitely say that, yes. You’ve done well.”
We reach her scooter and she drops my hand, sadly, to unlock the helmets. “Well, just so you know, I have more inspirational ideas. Other places to take you. I mean, if you need more.”
Do I need more? What a stupid question. Of course I need more. I don’t even take a moment to think about it. “I’m in.”
She glances up at me quickly.
“What, are you surprised?”
Her grin is sheepish. Maybe. The light is low and it’s hard to see, but I think I’ve made her happy. Which makes me happy. Ridiculously so. She hands me a helmet, then holds her thumb and forefinger scant millimeters apart. “Maybe a tiny bit.”
“Well,” I say, pulling the helmet on, “you shouldn’t be. You’re a wonderful date.”Hostess! Hostess! I meant to say hostess! Damn it.I clamp my mouth shut and concentrate on the chin strap, and I can feel my cheeks heat up. I’m glad for the dark. When I do finally glance up at her, she’s grinning like she just won the lottery.
“You’re a terrific date as well.” She says it softly and holds my gaze for a beat before getting on the scooter and making room for me. And this ride?
Oh, this ride.
She goes slower, I’m pretty certain. I wonder if it’s because it’s dark, but I suspect it’s to make the ride last longer. I’m holding on to her, wrapped around her just like last time, but I’m closer. I wasn’t sure I could be, but I’ve pulled myself up against her until every possible part of us that could be touching right now is. And it’s glorious.Can we just ride like this forever? Please?
She takes her time getting us home. I actually think she takes a different route. It’s hard to tell in the dark, but we pass a few things I don’t remember passing on the way there. We stop at alight, and she puts her feet down, then lays a hand over mine on her stomach, and it feels like the most natural thing in the world. We don’t say anything. My chin is on her left shoulder and we’re both looking off slightly to the left where there’s a café and a man with a guitar crooning a love song I vaguely recognize. We watch in silence until the light changes, and we’re off again.
Even though she takes a longer route and drives a bit more slowly, we still arrive back at my street eventually. It’s dark, and while there is less activity on the street, it’s by no means not busy. People milling up and down, a few shops still open, bars still have tables outside and we can hear muffled music coming from a few places. We park the scooter, lock up our helmets, and even after my protests—feeble as they are—Marina insists on walking me the short distance to the hotel.
Again, we walk hand in hand. Again, it feels like an old, comfortable habit.
We don’t say much, we just stroll. When we reach the corner of the building where the door of the hotel is, we stop, and Marina looks down the street. “You need to go get Reggie?”
“Yeah, Serena is up late, so I’m not worried about waking her.”
She nods, still gazing down the street. A beat goes by, like she’s thinking about something, and then she turns her head and her eyes catch mine, and she takes one step toward me, which makes me take a small step back, and then I’m leaning against the warm solidness of the building behind me. Her hand slides along the side of my neck and into my hair, and I’m not surprised or taken off guard at all when she kisses me. I think I’ve known all evening it was coming, and I welcome it now. In fact, I’m relieved.
Holy crap, she’s a good kisser.
I mean, it’s been a pretty long time since I’ve been kissed—and it’s been an extraordinarily long time since I’ve been kissedthis well—so maybe I just don’t remember what a good kiss feels like, but this? This is beyond good. Way beyond. This is, like, damn near fireworks territory. Marina’s mouth is warm and soft and just the tiniest bit demanding. Not overwhelming. Not control freakish. Just in charge enough to give me a little taste of what could be if we ever went farther.
The world seems to fade away. Yes, I know how clichéd that phrase is, especially as a writer, but there’s no better way to describe it. The street sounds muffle. The other people who I know are wandering up and down the street mere feet from us no longer exist; they just disappear from my awareness. There’s nothing and there’s nobody except Marina Troiani and her mouth on mine.
Neither of us push. We just kiss. I can’t speak for her, but for me, I know if I nudge anything along, if hands get involved and start to wander, I’ll be dragging her up to my room, and I don’t want to do that. Not yet. Not now. That’s not me. I don’t fall into bed with people, no matter how attracted I may be. I’m not wired that way. But Marina could be an exception, and that realization has me slowly and gently ending our kiss. For both our sakes.
We stand there in the shadows with our foreheads pressed together, as if we need a few seconds to recover, catch our breath. I do.
“Wow.” She speaks first, and it makes me grin as I open my eyes and tip my head back a bit so I can look at her.
“Agreed,” I say, and Jesus, she looks so freaking sexy right now. Her face is flushed. Her lips are plump and still wet and she’s smiling. Her eyes are sparkling, and I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a more beautiful woman in my entire life. And I’ve met several celebrities. I take a moment to gather myself, because this woman has completely discombobulated me. My hands are on her waist, and I use them to find my balance so I don’t simply melt into the cobblestones like I’m made of chocolate and wasleft in the sun. “Well,” I finally say, and gesture with my hand in the vague direction of Serena’s place, “I should go get my dog.”
She nods. “Yeah. Yeah, you should do that.” She clears her throat and looks around. For what, I’m not sure. Then she takes a step back, and my entire body feels her absence.
I grab her arm to stop her from going too far. “Listen, I had a great time with you tonight.”
“You did?”
“I did. Best time I’ve had in a long time. Thank you.Grazie.”