A look of surprise crossed her face. He leaned toward her and kissed her soft lips. It was a sweet, gentle kiss but it still sent tingles shooting through him. She smiled at him and her cheeks turned a pretty shade of pink. He didn’t think it had anything to do with the sun either. He felt his heart swell up with tenderness, a totally foreign feeling.
“So?” He waited for her answer, hoping it was yes.
She looked a little dazed and confused. He was glad he affected her too. He didn’t want to be alone in his feelings for her. He was already anxious letting his guard down.
“Can we go out on a real date?” He smiled, letting his fingers trail down her smooth cheek. “I was thinking of this nice, romantic Italian place in Morehead. It’s about a twenty-minute drive from here. We can talk and get to know each other.”
She looked like she was going to say no, but then to his relief she smiled. “That sounds nice, Drake. I’d love to go.”
“Good. I will check my work schedule and call you. In the meantime, can I beat you at bike riding again? I feel my strength coming back,” he challenged her.
She stood up and ran for her bike before he realized it. She hopped on it. “Catch my dust, deputy.”
“Cheater,” he muttered and ran after her.
Chapter 8
“This is a great place,” Jasmine told him. She almost told him no but something made her give in and now she was glad. She really liked Drake Lopez.
She loved the romantic feel in the small Italian restaurant. R
ed and white checkered cloths covered the small round table. A vase filled with fresh red roses was placed in the middle of the table. Soft instrumental music played in the background. She had been really nervous about tonight. She hadn’t dated in a while. Grant’s idea of romance had been ordering dinner in and having sex. She was glad she wore a nice dress with long sleeves. He never mentioned her piercing or tattoos, but she could at least cover the tattoos for tonight. She hated that feeling inside when she wanted someone to like her. She felt like that little girl in school desperate for someone to be her friend.
Drake smiled back at her. He reached for her hand from across the small table and she felt like a giddy schoolgirl. “I have never been here but Noah recommended the place. Alana loves coming here.”
“She’s really sweet. I have had so much fun helping her with her nursery,” Jasmine commented. “It seems like they have known each other forever. They are just so comfortable with each other. It was awesome to see.”
Drake nodded. “Noah, Ray Garcia, and I all went to high school together and have been friends too. Noah and Alana have always been attracted to each other but he was hesitant because she is so much younger than him.”
“Age shouldn’t matter. I didn’t ask her age but she seemed really mature,” Jasmine said. She picked up a breadstick. They were waiting for their food to be served. She had skipped lunch because she had been so nervous. She had picked up the phone to cancel several times but her aunt had shook her head and made her hang up.
“True, age is just a number. She is twenty-six, I think. Noah finally wised up but not before she found herself in the middle of a robbery and was hurt,” Drake said with a shake of his head. “It was a bad time for all of us, wondering if she was going to pull through or not.”
Jasmine gasped. “Oh how terrible. I thought Red Hook’s crime rate was low.”
“It is. It was a set-up by one of Noah’s ex-girlfriends. She wanted Alana out of Noah’s life for good. Alana wound up being stabbed but it brought them back together,” Drake explained grimly. “We caught both of them and they are in jail where they belong.”
“Wow.” Jasmine could imagine how terrible it had been for Alana. Jasmine had gotten mugged once years ago and it had been a scary experience. “It’s nice to see they got their happy ending. That doesn’t happen for many people.”
Drake arched his eyebrow. “So cynical for one so young.”
“Twenty-eight and a bad relationship behind me. Youth is long gone. That’s just life, I guess.” Jasmine laughed.
“What happened?” he asked with real interest.
Jasmine shrugged, not wanting to go into to many details. She hated thinking of Grant now. “I was naïve, I guess. I was so desperate to not feel alone after my mom died. We weren’t close but she was always there. I fell for Grant and before my common sense could take over, we moved in together. I didn’t want to believe he wouldn’t cheat on me but his mistress came to see me. I broke it off but he thought I should forgive him. But if I can stay faithful, why can’t he?”
Drake nodded. “Yeah, if you lose interest in the person you’re with, you should tell them. There should be honesty between two people.”
“Exactly.” She nodded.
The waiter placed their food down before them and left. Jasmine took a sniff of the smell of her lasagna. “Looks so good.”
She picked up a fork and took a bite. “Delicious.”
Drake tasted his veal and agreed that the food was good. Jasmine had enjoyed the ride over to the neighboring town. Drake told her about his parents. His dad was a retired firefighter and his mom had been a traditional stay-at-home mom. He told her that he and Eva had a happy, uneventful childhood. They fought a lot but now that they were adults, they got along well.
She wondered how he would react if she told him about her own unstable youth. Her mom had been gone all the time and Jasmine found it easy to hang with the wrong crowd and get into trouble. A counselor in high school had set her on the right path and she finished high school with excellent grades.