said.
“You will,” I assured her. They rushed giggling from the room, leaving me in silence.
I slid down onto my pallet with my legs crossed under myself and my heart skipping.
It’s a wonder we haven’t met, I said.
Yes. Thank goodness this incredible app brought us together.
Truly, I wrote. It’s probably matched you with many beautiful women.
I only swiped right on one.
A sound like a puppy whining escaped me and I clutched the phone tighter, glad nobody was around to see my jig.
Then I am a very lucky lady.
And I would be a very lucky man if you would let me make you dinner.
I’d love that. I beamed. When?
Tonight. Seven?
Sweet Lord! Tonight! I was shaking and couldn’t stop smiling as I typed: I’ll be there.
Should I have been this nervous? I’d known Silas a year and we’d already had sex and been on a date, although that seemed like a lifetime ago now. But the situation was different now. Everything felt new.
I quietly gasped when I pulled up at his condo complex on the river. The waters looked so peaceful at dusk, and the view of the city was spectacular. But my nerves were shot as I walked on shaky legs up to his number, wearing chunky heels and a flowy black skirt that rested above my knees. I knocked, wishing I’d put on a fourth layer of deodorant. When Silas answered my breath stalled. He held a checkered hand-towel. His light jeans looked worn in and perfectly fitted around his strong hips. The vintage Metallica T-shirt was very nearly too small for him, as if he’d been working out like crazy but refused to retire it. And most precious of all, he was barefooted.
His eyes roamed down me, and he blinked twice before swallowing and tossing the towel over his shoulder.
“Excuse me, Miss, but you’re almost ten minutes early. I was about to get dressed.”
I smiled. “Please don’t change.”
“At least let me get shoes on.”
I shook my head. “Nope.”
He grinned and opened the door. “All right then. If you insist. But I feel like a bum next to you.”
“Don’t.” I walked in and was not at all surprised to see his place was tidy and he was a decent decorator. I’d expected dark colors, but most of his furniture were tans and creams with light wood. It reminded me a little of beach furniture at places we’d stayed on vacations. It made me happy.
“This place is amazing,” I said as he shut the door behind me.
And then there was an awkward moment when Silas leaned down, and I didn’t realize until a split second too late, that he was just going in for a cheek-kiss greeting. But it was too late. I’d taken his cheek in my hand and sort of forced his face over to my mouth. Embarrassment filled me as our lips softly brushed.
“Oh,” I mumbled. “Sorry, I thought—”
His response was to kiss me back, walking me until my shoulders were against the door. I let my purse fall to the floor. Silas dropped the towel and took my face in both of his hands. Every single thought left my brain and I was thrust back into that moment in the crew bathroom. Silas’s mouth on mine. His shocking aggressiveness. A wave of arousal unlike anything I’d ever experienced. The musky, manly scent of him. His strong hands grasping at my hips, then lifting me up with a masculine growl.
I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and felt his hardness against my soft. I didn’t want to start thinking again. I looked into his hooded eyes as I reached between us and yanked the denim material to unbutton his jeans. His gaze was animalistic. He pulled back just enough to let me push down his zipper and pull his girth into my hand. We were running on pure adrenaline. My muscles shook from gripping him tightly and holding myself up. Then I pushed the damp silk of my panties aside and aligned us. He pressed my back into the door for better leverage.
Grasping his shoulders again, we both let out a shout when he pushed inside of me.
“Yes,” I said, moaning as he arched his hips to alter the angle, hitting a sensitive spot. His mouth took mine again and we kissed hard, my heels digging into his lower back. Silas walked us to the couch and slowly sat so that I was straddling his lap.
In that moment, the way he looked at me, the heat in his eyes