Where Would I Be Without You - By CJ Hawk Page 0,23

was remembering fond memories of his sister while talking to me, and that touched a soft spot in my heart. At one point in our lives, Bethany and I were great friends, not just competitors in our mom's love and affection. She won out at an early age, so I quickly gave up trying. I still loved Bethany as a sister, but Marion and I had that sister connection that kept us best friends as long as we have been.

"Hey." I pulled his arm over to the table. "I'm starved. Let's eat this cake."

He let me lure him over to the table, where he quickly pulled out a chair for me to sit down in. My small oak wood dinette and chairs were a simple thing, but with the cake and candles, it felt grand. He pulled a lighter out of his pocket and lit the candles. "I have to confess. I don't smoke, so my sister bought me this to have on hand to light the candles she bought. Does it seem weird? You know. That my sister did this?"

"Not at all." I replied as I watched him sit. "Just the fact you told your sister was enough for me. If she did all the sidebar work to make it happen for you, I think that is really sweet. However, you are setting the bar a little high on our second date."

He laughed and grabbed my hand to hold. "Then perhaps I had better take some notes on what is expected of me and keep my sister on standby for help."

"That would be a wonderful idea." I smirked with a glint of sparkle to my eye. "You are going to love this cake. The bakery down the street makes a wonderful chocolate cake. You should taste their muffins too. To die for. And their holiday pies, they are about the only thing I insist I get to bring to holiday parties."

Then he looked me in the eye, leaned forward out of his chair, gave me a soft simple kiss on my lips and said the next thing that made me make that ah sound. "Nothing is sweeter than you."

Then he sat back down in his chair and took a bite of cake; he muttered out before he swallowed. "I think we need to make a muffin run there this weekend, maybe Saturday if you are free."

Well, not only would I make myself free; I was already thinking about what to wear and which booth I wanted to sit in that was quiet and cozy. However, I never responded so I finally took a bite of cake, and as soon as I swallowed it with a drink of the milk in the glass on the table I replied. "Mason, that would be really nice."

"So this is date two. Tomorrow after your work is date three. Perhaps I should give you Thursday and Friday off and make Saturday date four. Then if you are up for it..." He paused as I was giving him the pouty sad girl face.

"What's wrong?" His voice held genuine concern. I was good, no great, at the pouty girl face. It even won me a part in the high school play for a, don't laugh, poor sad girl.

I let him off the hook quickly with a teasing laughter. "Who says I need a night off? Work goes so much better if I know I have a boyfriend to come home to."

"Then we should make plans for Thursday and Friday." He smiled over at me with a serious look to his face. Could he be feeling what I was feeling? It was as if neither of us could not get enough of each other.

"That would be nice." My voice trailed with the word nice on an elongated note.

We did not decide right then and there about what to do; it was as if just knowing we were going to do something together that made both of us relax and polish off two pieces of cake and two more glasses of milk. When we were done, he cleared the plates and glasses and began to wash them off in the sink with dish soap and set them on the dish rack next to the sink.

I had to tease. "You know, watching you do dishes is like porn for a woman, only it would be more erotic if your shirt was off."

He stopped washing a glass, set it back in the sink, and took his shirt off and flung