“I am being myself, Clarissa.” His voice is a touch deeper as he leans over, his lips brushing against mine while he whispers, “You’ve been teasing me with that bare collarbone all night, so much that I’m surprised I haven’t spontaneously combusted yet.”
“Wait, what?”
I look down. My shirt has a loose neck that’s supposed to slouch down over one shoulder. I wore it tonight because the long sleeves would keep me warm without a jacket.
“I didn’t know collar bones were sexy,” I say, absentmindedly touching mine. “I mean, boobs, yeah. Obviously. But a bone in your shoulder?”
“Totally, unbelievably hot,” he says.
I give him a look. I know he’s trying to pull out the big guns with his compliments, but I’m not buying it.
He lifts an eyebrow. “Don’t believe me?”
I shake my head.
With one arm still around my shoulders, his other hand brushes my hair to one side. His eyes pour into mine as he leans closer, and then dips his head into the crook of my neck. I go completely still. I can feel his breath on my skin, hear my heart beat in my head.
Gavin’s warm lips press to my collarbone in a slow, seductive kiss. I close my eyes as his fingers slide across my shoulder, his rough skin sending goosebumps down my chest. He kisses a trail from my shoulder up to my neck, keeping his movements slow, sensual in a way that makes me stop breathing.
I’m not ready for this to end, but he pulls away, making me whimper in the back of my throat.
“Told you,” he whispers into my ear.
“Holy hell,” I breathe. Every nerve in my body is on fire, and it’s going to take me a minute to get back to normal. But deep down, I don’t want to go back to normal. I want him to wrap me back up in his arms and do that again.
After gazing out at the ocean quietly for a while, Gavin reaches over and grabs my leg. In one smooth motion, he pulls my knees across his legs, and then suddenly I’m sitting in his lap.
How the hell did he do that?
I wrap an arm around his neck for stability, and keep the other one in my lap, even though I really want to run it down his chest. When I’d poked him in the stomach earlier, all I’d felt was hard, smooth muscle. I want to know if the rest of him feels that way, too.
“I think there’s enough room on this bench for both of us,” I say playfully.
“I like this way better.” His hand slides down my thigh, sending a shiver down to my toes. His eyes widen. “I mean, if you don’t like this, we don’t have to—”
I shake my head. “It’s fine.”
He looks relieved. “You just tell me if I’m moving too fast. I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable.”
I know some guys say that shit, but right now with Gavin, it looks like he actually believes it. My heart warms a little more for him. And now I think I’m definitely in danger of falling for this guy. Like—hard. Head over heels, swoony-eye emoji, grinning all day, kind of falling.
“Thank you for this date,” I say, still holding back on the desire to run my hand across his chest.
“It’s after ten on a school night,” he says with a frown. “I should probably get you back home.”
I nod, knowing my mom and grandpa are asleep and probably won’t even care what time I’m back. But deep down I know I need to maintain a little mystery, be a little inaccessible. If I want him to keep liking me, I can’t become clingy.
And I definitely want him to keep liking me.
Before I know it, we’re in my driveway, and Gavin is walking me up to the door.
“You’re a real gentleman,” I say, batting my eyelashes at him. “Walking me to the door and everything.”
“I’m just making sure you get home safely. For all I know, a murderer could be hiding in those bushes.” He points to the mostly dead bush by our front door. The summer heat wave didn’t leave many of our plants alive.
I laugh. “Well, thank you for keeping the murderers away.”
I know what comes next—the awkward goodbye after a first date. I had this with Shawn, too, and he ended up pulling me in for a quick hug and then jogging back to his truck. Eventually, things got more normal for us, but the awkward first date phase is the worst.
