“Did you just take a picture of me?” I ask after the waitress delivers our salads and pizza.
“I did. For my contacts. I wanted you in that dress.”
I lift my phone and take a picture too.
He laughs. “Did you just take a photo of the pizza? Are you one of those foodies who photographs your meals?”
“Me? No. I just eat the food. The pizza photo is going to be your contact photo. When I think of you, I always want to remember that you ordered my kind of pizza—a large at that—without saying anything that made me feel guilty and weird.”
Dr. Hawkins nods in small increments, eyes slightly narrowed, lips turned into a tiny smile. He dishes up a slice for me and one for him. Then he folds it … JUST LIKE ME! And he eats it. I follow suit, easily shoving half of it into my mouth. We grin at each other over our full mouths.
Pizza.
Salads.
Fun.
Yes! I’m having fun with Dr. Hawkins. Not awkward-date-fake fun. Not crowded party, overstimulation fun.
Legit. Easy. Fun.
“I’d suggest ice cream if you didn’t have to work in the morning,” he says as we exit the restaurant.
The crisp evening air captures my breath, or maybe it’s his hand on my back. Dr. Hawkins possesses a touch that I can’t put into a particular category. It sparks anxiety, confusion, and maybe something else. The grazing my nipple kind of something else.
“Yeah. If I’m going to kick your activity ass in the morning, I need to get some sleep.”
“Well, in that case, let’s grab some ice cream since you won’t need a good night’s sleep because you have no chance of kicking my activity ass in the morning.”
He beats me to my car, opening my door. “Dinner was amazing.”
For someone who has issues sorting emotions, I feel that … the giddiness over good food with really good company.
He continues, “I can’t believe I’ve lived here my whole life and never eaten here. I mean … I’ve driven by it hundreds of times. It makes me wonder what other hidden treasures around Portland that I’m probably missing. I really need to stop being such a creature of habit. Get out more and try new things.”
“If you can do that, then you probably should.” I shrug. “Not me. I need my habits, familiarity, predictability.”
“And friendly exercise competition.” He shoots me a sexy grin.
“Yeah.” I nod, wearing my own grin as I start to slide past him to get into my car.
He rests his hand on the top of my car to stop me. “So … the pizza and salad were the best I’ve had. But…” he leans in, reducing the distance between us to approximately twelve inches “…so was the company. Roman excluded.” He winks.
“Okay.”
“Okay,” he repeats on a whisper. “Is okay good?”
I force myself to hold his gaze since he’s so close to my face. “It’s perfectly adequate.”
His firm, pink gums and nice teeth steal the show as he grins.
Yep, total flosser.
“I’m going to kiss you goodnight.”
“I figured. I wore the dress for it. And that’s why I ate that mint after dinner and offered one to you.” I rub my lips together. They’re still lubed from my post-dinner lip balm application.
He sure does smile a lot at me. It beats the usual snickering and eye rolls. When our mouths connect, he tastes like mint. I like mint. Peppermint, not spearmint. Cinnamon is okay in a pinch, but too much cinnamon irritates my tongue. Hot Tamales at the movies leaves my taste buds fried for days. But totally worth it.
Dr. Hawkins presses his hand to my neck and slides it up to cup my jaw, taking the kiss to the next level with a little tongue. French kissing isn’t usually my thing. Too much saliva. But he’s not salivating like a dog, or suffering from a painful case of dry mouth, so the kiss is acceptable. Such a Goldilocks moment. Dr. Elijah Hawkins is my just right.
When the kiss ends, he lets me slide into the driver’s seat. Then he ducks inside and kisses me again. A hungrier kiss. Instead of wondering how long the kiss will last or planning what I will say when the kiss ends, I cup his face and fully participate.
I let myself revel in the fact that the sexiest doctor at the hospital is kissing me. He smells good. Tastes even better. And makes me want sex, not something I want on a regular basis.