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Nodding, she said, “That is really good. Filipino barbecue was a great idea.”
They finished the rest of the meal that way, sharing bites of food and listening to the band that had started playing. They were far enough away from the noise that they could still carry on a decent conversation.
Elle realized she’d done a lot of talking about herself tonight, so she steered the conversation back to him by asking, “So, you know about my crazy family. What about yours?”
“They don’t sound that crazy. They sound really funny actually. My family is typical upper middle class. My parents have been married for almost forty years now. My dad is a surgeon, my brother is a surgeon, and my sister is a surgeon. It was kind of expected that I’d go into the medical field. I’m the black sheep.”
He grinned now, and continued, “They all live in Florida, so that makes it easier. My dad mostly laid off me once JDC started making money. I still get it every so often, though. My mom still hassles me pretty regularly about it, though.”
“I’m surprised your parents aren’t more supportive. You’ve accomplished a lot.”
“It’s kinda hard to compete with a brain surgeon,” he said somewhat sardonically.
Elle blinked and said, “Seriously? A brain surgeon?”
He nodded, his grin falling back into place now and added, “Yeah. My brother is an overachiever to say the least.”
“Makes me glad I’m an only child,” Elle said.
As the sun began to set, Elle slid her jacket on, glad she brought it along.
“Cold? I packed an extra blanket if you need it,” Jim said.
“Later,” she said. “The jacket helps though.”
She watched as he rifled through the duffel bag he brought. When his hands emerged he was holding cups in one hand and a bottle of wine in another.
“Wine will help too,” he said, continuing to rummage through the bag until he located the corkscrew.
“While you do that,” Elle said, “I’ll go toss this stuff.”
Elle gathered the empty cartons and water bottles, then walked them over to the trash. When she got back, he had two plastic cups of red wine waiting.
“I grabbed some Merlot,” he said. Passing her a cup he grinned and added, “I hope it’s suitable for the lady.”
Snorting, Elle said, “Most of my wine comes from a box, Jim. I’m sure it will be fine.”
He grimaced now and said, “We’re going to have to do something about your taste in wine.”
Taking her first sip, she said, “I have to admit, this tastes a lot better.”
During the course of the evening, they moved closer to one another. Their knees touched now, as they sat partially facing one another, watching the sun dip below the horizon. They made idle conversation and sipped their wine. Elle couldn’t remember the last time that she had been so relaxed on a first date.
Looking up at him, she said, “This was a great idea. I’m glad we did this.”
Jim smiled, then reached up to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear. “Me too,” he said.
Elle felt his hand brush against her cheek as he pulled it away. She instinctively leaned into it not wanting the contact to end and saw instant awareness flare in his eyes. He watched her with intense concentration now and moved his hand to cup her cheek. Tilting her chin up slightly, he dipped his head down to brush his mouth against hers.
Setting her wine down, Elle slid her arms around his neck and sighed against his lips. When he pulled her bottom lip in between his and grazed it with his teeth, she pulled him even closer and opened her mouth under his, a silent invitation to deepen the kiss. As his tongue stroked against hers, she tilted her head with a soft sound of pleasure.
He pulled her partially into his lap and gave an answering groan. She moved one hand to his jawline, appreciating the rough stubble against her finger tips. Pressing herself against him, she felt his hands roam restlessly over her back now as he continued to devour her mouth.
When he eventually gentled the kiss and pulled away, they were both breathing a little heavily. He leaned his head against hers and said, “That was one hell of a first kiss.”
“You’re not kidding,” Elle said, a little breathless.
Jim reached over toward the duffel bag and picked up his jacket. Sliding into it, he said, “The temperature dropped really quickly.”
