AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Thank you for such a lovely evening,” Hope said as we walked up Ninth Street towards her apartment.
“It was my pleasure. I’ve been wanting to try Parkers for a while and you gave me the perfect excuse.”
“Well, if you ever want to go back, just let me know.”
“What are you doing tomorrow?” I asked and she laughed.
“I said the evening was lovely, that doesn’t mean I want to see you again tomorrow, geez,” Hope said, and I knew she was teasing.
“What can I do to convince you that you do?” I whispered in her ear.
As I spoke, I leaned into her and she shivered. I knew it wasn’t because of the weather. A sense of excitement filled the pit of my stomach. I loved that she could tease me and I could turn the tables on her, though I knew all it took was a word from her and she would have the advantage again. I liked that about us. There was a good give and take between us that I knew would only make us stronger as a couple.
Hope stopped walking and turned to look at me. I did the same, keeping her hand in mine.
“Kiss me,” she said.
“Hope,” I said slowly.
“Before you try to say you would be taking advantage of me, or that I’m still too tipsy to think straight. I’m not. If you want me to go out with you again, you need to kiss me. Right here. Right now,” she said.
My eyes locked on Hope, and I could see that she was deadly serious. She wanted me to kiss her and if I didn’t, she looked determined enough to not go out with me again. It was the last thing I wanted. I smiled down at her and thought once again she had turned the tables on me in the most spectacular way.
“I thought you would never ask,” I replied.
Cupping her face in my hands, I brought her mouth to mine. I had wanted to kiss her all night. I had wanted to take her in my arms as soon as she had opened her door, but I had held off, because I knew as soon as I kissed her, I wouldn’t be able to stop.
I tried to keep the kiss simple, light, easy, friendly, but Hope had other ideas. Her tongue pushed up against my mouth, demanding entrance. I let her, as I would let her do all things. I moaned as our tongues moved around each other. Her hands went up and around my back, pushing me to her. My hands glided down her back and to her ass, giving it a good squeeze.
My body was on fire for her, and I knew that if I didn’t stop I would make a spectacle of us. With great effort, I dropped my mouth away from hers and took a slow deep breath. “How was that?” I asked huskily.
“A good start,” she said.
“Hope, you’re killing me,” I said with a sigh.
“Is that a bad thing?” she asked, and I could hear the laughter in her voice.
“It is when we’re in public.”
Hope stepped back from me and dropped my hands and put her head down.
“I’m sorry. I should have realized,” she murmured.
Quickly, I realized how my comments must have sounded. I stepped in front of her and took her hands back in mine and brought them up to my lips. She slowly lifted her eyes to meet mine. I could see the shame in them and it broke my heart.
“Don’t ever apologize for wanting to kiss me. I’ve wanted to do that all night. It’s just,” I said and tried to find the right words to tell her what I was feeling, and I realized that the best way to tell her was to be brutally honest. “I knew if I started kissing you, I wouldn’t want to stop. The last thing I want is someone taking a picture of you in some compromising situation and it blowing up.”
Hope didn’t answer me but got a faraway look in her eyes. I could tell what she was thinking as my mind had gone in the same direction.
“And you looking like that is not helping me keep myself in check,” I said.
Hope shook her head and then smiled at me. “Then, let’s keep walking.”
“Let’s,” I said and took her hand in mine.
We didn’t speak for a few minutes. I took the moment to calm my racing heart and think about what had just happened, but the whole evening had been like that. I wasn’t sure how much more I could take, how much longer I could keep myself in check when it came to Hope.
I could tell she was attracted to me and she wanted me, I would have to be a fool to not see that. It didn’t mean that she would want to nor was I going to try to sleep with her on our first official date. It wouldn’t be right. It wouldn’t show her how much I cared for and respected her. I didn’t want her to ever feel like she was just another woman.
