We keep chatting as we work our way through dessert, conversation flowing just as easily as always. I was worried that going on a date would make things awkward, but it’s as easy to be around him as it always has been. He insists on paying when the bill comes, and I let him. I haven’t been on a date in forever, and it’s been even longer since I’ve been on a date I actually enjoyed. I can bear to let him spoil me, just this once.
“I don’t want to let you go, but it’s getting late,” he says ruefully as we head back out to the car.
“We’ve still got the whole car ride,” I remind him, bumping our shoulders together.
It feels a little too vulnerable to admit that I don’t want tonight to end, either. So much has changed already, and I’m a little scared to ask for more.
He opens the door to his truck for me and waits until I take a seat and buckle in before closing the door behind me. It’s both familiar and so very different. I’ve been in the passenger seat of his truck more times than I can count, and I know the cracks in his dash like I know the back of my own hand.
The hum of the engine is a comforting drone as we chat on the drive back. He purposefully takes the scenic route andjust barely hits the speed limit, drawing our time together out further.
It’s unbearably sweet.
When he can’t pretend to take any more wrong turns and pulls up to park in front of my apartment, I want to cry a little. Tonight has been magical, and I’m not ready for it to end.
“Let me walk you to your door,” he says after parking.
Butterflies riot in my gut, and I nod in agreement. I’m pretty sure Bo could ask me for damn near anything and I’d say yes.
We walk to the door, hand in hand, both of us smiling so wide we probably look ridiculous. I can’t bring myself to care. I can’t remember ever being this happy in my entire life.
“I had fun tonight,” Bo says as we stop in front of my door. “Had the prettiest girl in the whole world on my armandan amazing dinner.”
I shake my head and laugh, blushing violently. Leave it to him to make me feel like some fairy tale princess instead of just… me.
“I had a good time too.” I take a step closer to him, trying to be braver than I feel. “Think we should do it again?”
My voice shakes a little, but I’m not surprised. I’ve never been more nervous for the answer to a question.
“A million times over, if I get my way,” Bo says, reaching out to run his hand through my red curls. “I’m not letting you go anywhere, Kenz.”
I melt into his touch when he steps closer and wraps his hand around the nape of my neck, so close I can smell the woodsy scent of his cologne and see the shadow of stubble growing on his chin again.
His hand is warm on the side of my neck, the scratch of his calluses enough to make my mind cloud. As if I could think straight with him this close, anyway.
“Can I?” he asks, his lips barely an inch from mine.
I don't bother answering him.
I just close the distance between us, my brain shutting off the second our lips meet. He hums against my mouth, pleasure radiating off him as he pulls me closer. I melt into his touch, breathing in his cologne as my hands twine into his hair.
I've never wanted anything so badly in my life, and it's like the whole world just falls into place all at once.
His tongue slips between my lips, and I moan at the feeling, the taste of him. I catch the remnants of cheesecake on his tongue, and I chase the flavor to every corner of his mouth. His body pressed against mine causes me to gasp.
He's warm and solid against me, every inch of his body corded with muscle.
“You should come in,” I say, fisting my hands in the collar of his shirt.
We're both panting, and I can feel the flush building on my cheeks as Bo stares down at me. A grin twitches at the corner of his lips, and the hand on my hip squeezes slightly.
“Yeah?” he asks breathlessly.
“Yeah.” I giggle and tug him in for a series of sloppy, distracted kisses as I fumble my key into the lock. “Spend the night.”
I'm not quite bold enough to say the words out loud, at least not while we're both still dressed, but I don't want there to be any doubt about what I want. What Ineed.
As soon as I get the door open, I tug him inside. He doesn't give me a second to breathe, taking control the second we're past the door. He spins me and walks me back against the door until it closes behind me, his mouth ravenous against mine.
