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Her eyebrows went up, but she clinked her bottle against mine and matched my smile.
“That’s fine with me,” she said.
She seemed to relax after that, and the conversation flowed naturally. I didn’t even keep tabs on what we were talking about, just responded when she spoke, laughed and reacted in all the right places. I let the nostalgia flow over me.
There did seem to be some sort of party going on, a couple of groups of people kept yelling, and the music got turned up. It made conversation a little harder, but we each finished our first bottle, and both of us got a second. We had a nice, low buzz going, both of us letting go and speaking of only unnecessary stuff.
We stopped at the second bottle. She needed to go home, and so did I. I already knew I wouldn’t be driving. I could hold my liquor well, but there was no point in taking stupid risks. If I couldn’t get someone to drive me home so I wouldn’t have to leave my car behind, then I’d just take a taxi and come back for it in the morning.
I paid the bill, ignoring Alessandra’s insistence on paying her share. We stepped out of the bar and stopped at the curb.
“I hope you don’t plan on driving back,” Alessandra said. “You came with your car, right? Sorry, I should have thought that part through. We could have had a coffee instead or something…”
A smile spread on my face at the thought of her worrying about me.
“It’s fine. You asked me for a drink at a bar; I knew what I was getting myself into. And how will you be getting home?”
“Taxi,” she said, waving vaguely toward the road.
“Okay,” I said.
I dawdled. I didn’t know what to say, but I didn’t want just to walk away, either. I knew what I wanted to say, but inviting Alessandra back to my place with me might not be the best idea. She stared back at me, seeming in the same situation as me.
“I missed you,” I blurted out. I couldn’t hold it back anymore. This much should be safe, right?
Alessandra stared at me for a while longer, then smiled.
“I feel the same way, too,” she admitted, her voice quiet. “Joshua, I missed you.”
I dragged in a harsh breath, feeling an ache in my chest. I so badly wanted to reach out to her and pull her into my arms. I tried to hold her close and never let her go. My eyes dropped to her lips, and I wondered when the last time I kissed her was?
My body went through the motions on its own. Well, no, not on its own; after all, I very much wanted to put my arms around her waist and d
rag her closer to me, then cup her face with one hand and tilt her face up for a better angle. Alessandra didn’t resist. She looked like she wanted exactly what I did. I lowered my head, slowly, keeping my eyes on her.
Her eyes slid closed first, and I closed mine as well as I took her lips in a kiss.
It started out soft, chaste. But that wouldn’t be enough for me. My arm around her waist tightening, I pressed harder against her and licked along the seam of her lips. Alessandra opened for me with a gasp, and I let out a groan as I slid my tongue into her mouth to taste her.
Right then, I’d forgotten where we were, right in front of a bar, on the damn street, in the darkening night. People were moving all around us, but I didn’t care.
We broke apart after a long moment, breathless. I rested my forehead against hers as I caught my breath.
“That was so sexy,” I said in a low groan.
It had been so long since I’d been this close to her. My body couldn’t help reacting, and I was half-hard in my pants, from just a kiss. I was tempted to ask her to go back with me now.
Before I could, I felt a light pressure against my chest. Immediately, I froze and opened my eyes. Alessandra was looking up at me, expression apologetic. I took a step back.
“I’m sorry,” she said, smiling, though it looked painful. “I just need some time. Is that okay?”
Time for what, I wanted to ask. We’ve already had time.
“Is there someone else?” I asked.
She shook her head, and I could feel my heart start to relax, but then she paused. Her expression twisted into something strange, and it felt like something was piercing my chest.
“I…guess you could say there is someone else. I’m sorry, Joshua, I have to go.”
