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He took a deep breath. “I want to be a dad.”
I didn’t expect that. My stomach churned. He looked at me with such vulnerability.
“You know my dad left, and Fred is great and all, the absolute best. Who knows where I would be without him. It’s just…”
“You want to be the father you didn’t have,” I finished his sentence.
“Exactly.” His jaw tightened and flexed. His fork dropped to his plate with a clank, and he wiped his mouth.
“Is everything okay?”
“I’ve never told anyone that before. This is wild, but I think I love you.” He looked up, his eyes piercing me through the heart again. “Like I really love you, Em.”
A big grin crossed my face. “I think I love you too.”
“It’s only been a week.”
“I know.”
“This is crazy.” He reached across the table and opened his palm. My hand met it, and he squeezed. “I had no idea this was going to happen.”
“Me neither.”
His smile dropped, and I could tell what he was thinking. We were going to be apart. It would be hard, but I knew we could make it through. Everything in my gut and my intuition and my heart was telling me yes, yes, this is right.
He grabbed my hands and rubbed my knuckles with his thumb. “I don’t want to leave.”
I shook my head. “This is important to you. It’s two months. A drop in the bucket.”
“A drop in the bucket,” he repeated.
“We’ll talk as much as we can. I’ll give you my email,” I said. “I’ll have your number. I’ll make sure to fill up your voicemail so when you get back…”
“I can’t wait to be back here.” He stood up and leaned over the table, kissing me again, the tomato sauce on both our breath. I held his cheek as his tongue breeched my lips, and we heard a grumble from the table over.
He sat down and held up a hand. “Sorry. I’m absolutely gone about this woman.”
I was nineteen years old, almost twenty, not even old enough to have a drink. Still, the way Max looked at me, so hungry, his eyes telling me that he wants all of me. That he saw me, not just a gawky girl with frizzy, dull brown hair and freckles. It’s corny, but he made me feel like a woman.
I felt grown up, sexy, sultry. It was a new feeling.
“You know, my parents are gone for the night. The lake house is empty,” he said.
I covered my mouth so I don’t spit out my food. We’d kissed, and his hands had traveled to places no other guy has touched, but that’s it. While my friends lost their virginity left and right in high school, I always held out. “I want to be in love,” I told them, and then he happened. I’d been waiting for him. I may have been older than all of my friends were at their first time, but Max was worth the wait.
“I’m ready,” I said. He knew I was a virgin, and he’d been nothing but respectful. Before his hand palmed my breast behind my parents’ house, he asked if it was okay. Now, I was ready to give all of myself to him.
His eyes twinkled with mischief as he looked up. “You are?”
I nodded once, rolling my lips together.
He took a huge bite of pasta. “Well, we better finish up, then. Plus, my meal got cold.”
“Mine too.”
“I can’t wait.”
My cheeks heated to fire. “For tonight?”
