I wanted it all.
With her.
But for now, I’d settle with just a kiss.
Which I would be collecting tonight.
I watched out of the corner of my eye as she downed her beer and then ordered another one. I continued to watch as she tried each and every piece of dessert on the plate, but always seemed to return to the chocolate cake and the brownie.
I ended up gravitating toward the ones that she wasn’t liking as much—and that was okay with me. I didn’t care what kind of sweet it was, as long as it was sweet.
I also eyed my brother’s steak, wondering if it would take too long to order it after the meal.
“Excuse me,” I heard Candy’s husky voice call out. I looked up to find her staring at the waitress with a smile. “Can he get a steak?” She turned to me. “Medium rare?”
I nodded once.
The waitress smiled, but her face looked strained.
“Is that it? Just a steak?” she asked.
I nodded.
“Okay, it’ll be about another ten minutes,” she apologized.
“That’s okay,” I said just as Codie raised her hand. “I want to order a piece of the chocolate cake. And Desi wants a brownie sundae.”
“Hey!” Desi cried.
Callum pressed his hand over her mouth.
“Shut up,” he growled. “You know you want it.”
Candy snickered.
My attention went back to her.
That was when Mack’s woman said she’d like a piece of cake as well.
Her voice was so soft that I almost missed it.
The waitress for sure did miss it.
Candy didn’t, though.
“And another piece of chocolate cake,” Candy said.
The waitress looked at her skeptically.
“It’s not for me this time,” she said, pointing at Mack. “It’s for him.”
Mack grinned at the waitress who looked frazzled.
“I think this should be a company expense,” Desi said. “I can totally write this off.”
“I can get the other half,” Candy offered. “We talked about the house, didn’t we?”
The house being the one that my brothers and I were building to move into, so we didn’t have to stay in the much too small one we were currently occupying anymore.
“Negative,” I said. “Your dad isn’t paying for this meal.”
Candy opened her mouth to object, but I held up my credit card. “The reason we were coming here tonight anyway was because of me. I’m supposed to show my face more because they sponsored me. What the sponsorship doesn’t cover, I will.”
Candy narrowed her eyes.
I handed the passing waitress my card so there wouldn’t be any more discussion.
“Rude,” she said, sounding pissed.
“Not rude,” I corrected her. “Right.”
Candy rolled her eyes and went back to her cake.
I went back to the pies, and then to the leftover melted ice cream before snagging one more piece of the cake before she ate it all.
“Did you want anymore?” she asked, taking a large bite.
“Yes,” I said. “That one.”
She looked at the fork that was holding a hunk of brownie that had melted ice cream soaked into it.
Then she moved until the fork was closer to my face.
I leaned forward and sucked the piece off, keeping my eyes connected to hers.
She drew in a deep breath and looked away, but not before I saw the heat in her eyes.
“That was kind of hot,” I heard someone mutter.
I turned to see my brother, Darby, staring at me with a look of mischief on his face.
I rolled my eyes just as Candy said, “What are you talking about?”
Before Darby could open his fat mouth, though, the waitress came rushing up with a steak and placed it down in front of me.
“The desserts will be right out,” she exclaimed, then rushed away before we could give her any more orders.
I laughed at her abrupt departure then looked back at Candy who was staring at me with an odd expression on her face.
“What?” I asked.
She took a gulp of her newly refreshed beer.
“Nothing,” she said. “Just haven’t seen you laugh in a while.”
***
“I’m not sure that I really need a ride home,” she said. “But thank you anyway.”
I held the passenger side door of my truck open for her and waited for her to climb inside.
She got about halfway before she got stuck, the truck too tall and her pants too tight.
“A little help there, Banksy,” she teased.
I walked over to her and lifted her by the hips, helping her move her butt into the seat.
When she was settled, I closed the door and prayed for patience as I walked around the truck.
I also quietly made a list of what I needed to do tomorrow chore wise before I left for Houston, hoping to keep my brain occupied so I didn’t let my dick get any harder when I thought about how right my hands felt on Candy’s hips.
“I had the biggest crush on you in high school,” she said.
I knew she wouldn’t have said these things had she not had four beers. But she was drunk on chocolate and beer. I had no doubt in my mind that she wouldn’t be capable of saying those things without her verbal filter being impaired.