on dates; he can’t stop that. And everything else will come with time. I mean, we’re here alone now, aren’t we? Stop worrying about the future and live in this moment with me.” He steps forward, holding out his hands.
I begrudgingly place my hands into his, and he jerks me to my feet. I let out a squeak as he presses me to his chest. One of his hands stays on my lower back while the other cups my jaw, holding me to him as he kisses me, soft and slow. The way he is with me causes a shiver to run up my spine. He’s so soft but also forceful. It tells me that he’ll never hurt me, but he would kill for me. I have a feeling he’s just as addicted to me as I am him. I’m glad I’m not alone in this.
I kiss him back with everything I have. My breathing picks up and my heart races. Suddenly, I can’t think about anything other than getting him to his room where we can lock ourselves away and pretend the outside world doesn’t exist. I moan into his mouth, and my hand latches onto the waistband of his jeans, jerking his hips my way.
He breaks the kiss and looks into my eyes. His are full of hunger. His jaw is cocked, making it appear ever sharper. I swear you could cut glass with that thing.
“First, dinner,” he whispers, pulling way completely and rushing back to the stove.
“Should I change into something a little more fancy for our date?” I ask, sending him a smile.
He chuckles. “This place is casual. No black tie needed.” He gestures down at his T-shirt and basketball shorts. “Clearly.”
While he finishes up dinner, I set the table and open a bottle of wine. It doesn’t seem like any time has passed before he’s placing my plate down in front of me. There’s pasta with tomatoes, freshly grated parmesan cheese, spinach, and grilled chicken. The sauce on top looks to be some kind of wine reduction sauce made from scratch.
I cut into my grilled chicken and run it through the sauce before taking the first bite. When it hits my mouth, my eyes close and a moan escapes. “This is amazing,” I say around my chewing.
“Glad you like it.”
“How’d you learn to cook like this?”
He shrugs as he brings his glass of wine to his lips. “I took a cooking class back when I was in high school. I had already taken every other elective available. We had to create our own specialty dish. This was my midterm final.”
“You totally got an A, didn’t you?”
“I don’t want to brag,” he says, looking down at his plate.
I roll my eyes. “I never got an A in my life. I really fucked up my teenage years. I wish every day that I could go back and live them over, so I can make the right choices this time.”
“Everything you did back then made you who you are today. You never know. Changing one little thing could change your whole future. We may not be sitting here right now if it wasn’t for every single one of your mistakes.”
I wind some pasta around my fork. “I guess you’re right,” I agree. “Can I ask you something?”
“Anything.”
“Where do you see us going? I mean, I know this is all still new, and it’s impossible to know the future, but if things continue to move forward the way they’ve been going, where do you see us?”
He chews his food and swallows before taking a drink. “To be honest, I don’t even know where I see myself yet. For the longest time, I’ve had goals set for me. You know, graduate high school, join the army, retire from the army. I never thought past that because I didn’t realize that I’d be retiring so soon. After my last eye injury it was clear that my time in the military would be cut short. I expected to spend my life there. So now, here I am, and I’m completely lost and confused about where to go from here. I mean, I have a piece of property and enough money to build a rather nice house, but I’m living here for the simple fact that I don’t know where life will take me.”
I nod. “Say life takes you to L.A. or New York or Florida. Where do I fit in?”
He reaches across the table, taking my hand in his. “I don’t ever