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“Heck yeah, I love barbecue. What place?” he asked.
“FNA’s.”
“Yeah, I know that place real well. I’m down. Let’s go.”
It was trivia night at FNA’s, and Aidan and I immediately teamed up. There was a twenty-dollar entry fee and ten teams playing. The winner took the entire two-hundred-dollar pot. It turned out that I was horrible at American history and Aidan couldn’t answer any pop culture questions to save his life. We came in third, so at least we weren’t last. Some married couple won the game. They were weekend tourists exuding sickly sweet love and optimism. I hated them instantly, but Aidan, on the other hand, seemed to be growing on me. He was easy to be around, and I found myself not trying hard to be anything with him but myself. It was a welcome change. Instead of the Jack and Coke Derek usually ordered for the both of us, because I let him think it was what I liked, Aidan and I drank beer on tap.
At the end of the night, Aidan walked me back to my car in the parking lot, and we leaned against it staring at each other.
“I had a nice time, Josette. Did you?”
I nodded.
“Do you want to do it again?”
I nodded a second time.
“Great, do you know what date number two is yet?”
I actually did, because I’d spent all night thinking about it.
“Yes, I was thinking about the aquarium?”
“Aquarium, huh? That sounds pretty boring, but I think I can do something with it.” He winked and nudged me playfully.
“It’s not boring,” I defended with mock offense. “The atmosphere is dark and mystical. I think it adds appeal to the date location.”
“Hmm,” he answered as he turned his head sideways to study me. “When do you want to go to the aquarium?”
“How about next Friday?”
“A whole week from now?”
“We only have four more dates so we need to stretch them out.”
“Okay, next Friday it is, but can I call you? I know it’s probably not part of your article research, but I was never any good at how many days a guy is supposed to wait to call a girl and?.?.?.” His voice trailed off as he looked away briefly and then back at me with sincerity. “I want to call you. Can I?”
“Yes, you can call me,” I said, finding it impossible to say no.
“Great.” He smiled. “I have one more question. Something I’ve wanted to ask you all night.”
“What’s that?”
“Can I kiss you?”
My breath caught. Did I want to kiss him? My eyes went right to his perfect lips, the same ones I found myself wishing I could lick barbecue sauce off a few times tonight.
“Yes,” I replied almost instantly because I absolutely did want to kiss him.
Aidan wasted no time reaching up to cup the side of my jaw and pull me close to him. He stared into my eyes for a brief moment as he licked his lips, his green gaze growing dark just before his mouth touched mine. His touch was soft as he lightly brushed my lips with his, and I parted my mouth as he slipped his tongue inside. The second we made contact, I had to stifle a moan as my body relaxed into him. He wrapped his free arm around my waist tightly, and I flattened my palms against his hard chest. He turned his head to get a better angle and deepen our kiss, and I sighed.
Everything in that moment was forgotten. All I could concentrate on was the way his tongue glided deliciously against mine, his familiar scent, how tightly he held me against his body, and how good he tasted. I finally had to pull back in order to breathe. Damn, he was a good kisser.
“How did you do that?” I asked, feeling breathless as I stared up at him.
“Do what?” He looked down at me with confusion, his eyes cloudy as he worked hard to clear his head and focus on me. I loved that I wasn’t the only person affected by the kiss.
“Nothing,” I answered, suddenly feeling idiotic for asking the question. “I’ll text you the details for the next date.”
