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“Really?”
He nods.
“I bet the girls were all over you,” I tease. “Is that how you met Ava’s mom?”
He nods. “Yeah. I met her my senior year at a gig we were playing a few towns over. I saw her and I thought she was the most beautiful girl I’d ever seen. She watched me play all night and when the show was over, she came up to me and asked me out. Of course I said yes. We started dating and it was all downhill from there.”
“What’s her name?”
“Allison, but she went by Ally. That’s also why we named our daughter Ava. She wanted their names to be similar.”
I take a deep breath. “That must have been hard. I mean not only did you lose your high school sweetheart but you had this little girl to raise all on your own.”
He nods. “Well, what about you?”
“What about me?”
“The night we met, you said you’d only been with one other guy. That you were just getting out of a relationship.”
I take a sip of my wine. “Yeah.”
“Was he your high school sweetheart?”
I laugh at my term being used against me. “He was. He was a childhood friend. We grew up together. He told me he’d had a crush on me for years before finally asking me out. We started dating and everything was perfect. We experienced a first date, first kiss and first love together. We went off to college together. Dated the whole four years.”
“So, why’d you break up?”
I shrug. “I felt like I owed it to myself to see what else the world had to offer. I was worried that if I ended up marrying him and having kids I’d wake up as an old woman and regret my life.”
“So, do you regret breaking things off with him?”
I shake my head as a smile. “No, I’m really enjoying the way my life is going right now.”
He returns my smile. “I’m happy to hear that.” His blue eyes lock with mine and I feel that tingle starts to form in my stomach. It grows stronger and stronger, feeling as if it’s tugging me toward him. I can’t resist the pull. Eventually, I find myself leaning in. His hand cups my jaw as he meets me halfway. Our lips touch and start moving as one. Still, I need to be closer. I need more of him. I pull myself onto his lap, straddling him and lacing my fingers into his hair as our kiss grows in urgency.
The longer we’re intertwined, the more my body responds. My heart starts to pound against my chest and I feel breathless, like all the air has been sucked from my lungs. The butterflies in my stomach come live, tickling me from the inside out. My blood begins to boil, warming my entire body until it feels like I’m on fire. “Linc,” I whisper his name against his lips.
He leans back only slightly, his eyes locking with mine. “What is it, Emery?”
“I need you.”
His mouth crashes against mine again, this time his kisses are more urgent, harder and faster. My hips take on a life of their own as they rock against him. The pressure between us is enough to have me seeing stars every time I roll my hips forward. Tightening his hold, he stands with me in his arms and a second later, he’s carrying me up the stairs to his bedroom.
* * *
“So, you two are like dating now?” Anna asks as she sits on my bed, watching me get ready for our dinner date.
“Yeah, pretty much. I mean, we’re moving slow and we’re not putting any pressure on labels or anything, but yeah. We’re going to dinner tonight.” I put my earring into my ear and then turn my head to put in the other.
Her brows lift. “Going slow? What’s that mean? You’ve been over there basically every night this week. That doesn’t scream slow to me.”
“I know, but I swear: we are going slow.” I laugh. “Neither of us are in any hurry to make it official. We’re not talking about our future or anything like that. We’re just enjoying spending time together and seeing where it takes us.”
She rolls her eyes. “I mean, as long as you're happy with this arrangement, then so am I. It’s just so weird. I always thought my neighbor was a dick.” She giggles.
“Yeah, he can be,” I say, speaking from experience. I stand up and smooth down my red dress. “How do I look?”
She smiles and nods. “Oh, he won’t be going slow tonight. That’s for sure.”
