My date with Cain was going extremely well, but I couldn’t help but stare at the irony of the situation. I was finally with a guy that I would have eagerly given myself to, yet we were bound by the rules of the dating service to wait three months before we went through with it. I wanted him so bad my body was burning every time he was near me. I saw the same desire in his eyes too, but he was holding back. He didn’t want to break the rules, and I respected them, but that didn’t make the craving go away.
I can hardly focus on this puzzle. Every time I find a clue, I feel like I’m just dragging myself towards the final moment I get to spend with him tonight.
“Yeah, I can’t find anything.” Cain put his hands on his hips.
“Could the key be some sort of decoy? Would they do that?” I looked down at the key in my hand.
“Maybe…” He nodded. “Or maybe the lock is hidden and something else will reveal it.”
“That’s a good theory.” I walked over and began turning over some random pieces of armor that appeared to be casually placed on a table
“Wait, look at this picture.” He grabbed the picture that previously hid the key. “There’s a castle, but in the distance—there’s a guy holding up a sword.”
“A sword?” I looked over at the table next to me that had various dull weapons. “There are a few swords.”
“One of them is different though.” Cain walked over and picked it up. “It has a sheath.”
Cain pulled the sword out of the sheath and I immediately noticed that the blade itself had a slot that looked big enough for the key. I pushed the tiny key into the slot and the sword came apart. I had a sense of excitement as Cain started pulling on the bottom of the sword.
“Careful, don’t cut yourself.” I bit down on my lip in concern.
“It’s not sharp.” He wiggled the bottom half of the sword until it slid free, which revealed a key welded to the top half of the sword.
“Ah ha.” He grinned and held it up. “I think this one will fit the door.”
“Definitely.” I nodded and followed him over.
Cain unlocked the door and we were done with our second Escape Room. Part of me wanted to do another one, but I was also starting to get hungry. We decided to get something to eat and save the rest of the rooms for another day—I definitely wasn’t going to say no if he asked me to go there again. Solving puzzles with him was a lot of fun. I felt like it gave me a good perspective on the way he solved problems. It was methodical and it was a team effort—he didn’t try to hog the glory or do it all on his own.
“So, are you going to take me home before the sun goes down?” I looked out the window and sipped my drink once I finished eating.
“Not a chance.” He reached over and took my hand. “I’m going to spend every minute with you that I can.”
“Good.” I grinned and nodded. “I’m not ready to go home yet.”
We spent a couple of hours walking around the park, enjoying nature—and he couldn’t resist pulling me out of sight several times to devour my lips. That was definitely the best part. In between kisses, we talked. There was so much we had opened up about, but by the time we made it back to his truck, we had exhausted most of the interesting stories from our childhoods. I even found myself remembering things I hadn’t thought about in years—pieces of my past that weren’t entirely unpleasant but had been drowned out by the difficulties I experienced at a young age. The age difference showed some, especially in the pop culture of our youth, but it had really begun to feel like a non-factor entirely.
After the trip the park, we decided to catch a movie and grab some dinner. We took a long time talking as we ate our food, even though we had had worked up an appetite since lunch. By the time we left the restaurant, it was pretty late, and we had successfully spent most of the day together. I still didn’t want to go home—not unless Cain was coming inside with me. When he pulled up to my apartment building, I had a sense of dread swirling inside of me. The kind that told me I was falling hard for him because I didn’t even want to say goodbye.
“These rules are so stupid…” I turned towards him. “Why should we have to wait if we know it’s right?”
“Trust me, I’m fighting it every single minute that I’m with you.” He reached over and let his fingers brush against my cheek. “Couples rush into these things. I certainly want to—but then I remember how many relationships fail because desire becomes the only thing that drives two people together.”
“Do you think all of the people on the wall of success atWhat the Heart Wantswaited?” I sighed and leaned against his touch.
“Probably not…” He shook his head back and forth.
Cain pulled me close—he started kissing me. I melted into his arms. Every kiss felt like the first one—it made fireworks go off in my head while my panties got wet. I wouldn’t have been able to resist him if he pushed for more than a kiss. The fuse inside my body had been lit so many times that it was smoldering, even when I didn’t have his lips pressed against mine. When the kiss finally ended, I was gasping for air. Cain stepped out of the truck, opened my door, and helped me down.
“If you walk me to my apartment, I might pull you inside and lock the door.” I looked up at him and bit down on my bottom lip.
“I guess I’ll have to make sure you make it there from a distance.” He exhaled sharply.
“Yeah—that’s probably for the best.” I nodded quickly.
Cain escorted me to the elevator, and it took us to my floor. I was thinking up every scenario imaginable in my head—even a few devious ones. He was a firefighter—I had a few things I could burn if it would make him show up at my door. That wasn’t reality though—reality was kissing Cain one last time—walking to my apartment—and waving to him before he walked away. I stepped inside my apartment with the afterglow of the date plastering a smile on my face that couldn’t have been erased by anything—even the medieval torture devices we used to solve our puzzle at the Escape Room.
“You look like you had a good night.” Lola walked into the living room as I leaned against the door and stared at the ceiling.
