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He parks at the restaurant and leads me inside Carantino’s. The place is done in deep reds and blacks. It’s an intimate setting with a candle on each of the small tables that are situated around the space.
We’re led to a table in the back and I wait until we’ve placed our drink orders before I start a new conversation.
“How are you liking Sunny Bend so far?” I ask and he smiles.
“It’s a cool little town. It’s been a real change from being deployed overseas or on a military base. I think I’m still getting adjusted,” he admits and I nod.
“I’m sure you’ll get the hang of things soon,” I reassure him.
“Me too,” he says, giving me a grin.
“Were you deployed a lot?” I ask him as our drinks are set down.
“Yeah, I was on a cycle so I would be in the states for six months and then overseas for six months. Sometimes longer if they ended up dispatching my unit somewhere else.”
“Did you like it?” I ask quietly, afraid that I’m prying too much.
I couldn’t imagine moving around like that, from one extreme to the other, but maybe he likes it. It’s fascinating and so different from the life I’ve led.
“At first I did. Over time it got old though. That’s why I got out.”
The waitress comes back and drops off some bread and I thank her as I grab a piece.
“What about you? When did you open Book Addicts Bookstore?”
“I’ve always loved to read and when the old owner was ready to retire, she sold it to me.”
“Sounds like you lucked out,” he says with a warm smile, taking a bite of his own piece of bread.
“I did,” I say.
The conversation turns to our pasts and I tell him about growing up in Sunny Bend with my grandparents. My parents passed when I was a teenager and I lived with them until I went away to college.
I had just graduated and moved back to Sunny Bend when they passed. They left me their house and some money and that’s how I was able to buy the bookstore.
He doesn’t really mention his parents and I can tell that it’s a sensitive subject for him. I don’t want to pry. It doesn’t feel appropriate on our first date. He just makes some disparaging comment about deadbeat parents and I leave it at that. Maybe I’ll get him to open up to me more later on.
He fills me in on some of his deployments and the bases that he’s been stationed at over the years. I’m enthralled by his stories and how many places he’s been to. I’ve always wanted to travel but never found the time or the money so it’s nice to live vicariously through him.
The waiter comes back and we place our orders. The next two hours seem to pass by in a flash and before I know it, he’s paying the bill and we’re headed outside to his car.
“Thanks for dinner,” I say as I step closer to his side on the sidewalk.
“It was my pleasure,” he says, wrapping his arm around my waist as he leads me to his Jeep.
He opens my door for me again and we talk more about places that we’ve been and want to go as he drives me back to my place. It’s already getting pretty late by the time that we pull up to my front door.
“I had a lot of fun tonight,” I say softly and he turns the car off and turns to face me.
“Me too.”
The air crackles and sparks between us, tension building with each passing second. I’m not sure what the protocol is here. Do I have to wait until he walks me to my front door to ask for a kiss? What if I want one now?
We both move at the same time and our lips collide, fusing together as his hands get tangled in my hair. I tug him closer and he goes eagerly, his hand cupping the back of my head as I open under him and he slips his tongue inside my mouth.
He tastes like the coffee and chocolate tiramisu that we split for dessert and I moan, wanting to eat him instead.
Before I can put that plan into motion, we’re cut off. His phone rings, breaking into my thoughts and we pull back, breathing hard.
