“Chinese Takeout. Can’t ever go wrong with that, right?” he says, two bags in hand.
He makes way for me to unlock the door, and I hold it open while he sits the bags on the kitchen table. The aroma causes my stomach to growl, realizing I never ate lunch today, because I let myself get too busy worrying about my lesson plan.
My purse lands on the table, and I kick my wedges off before I head to the fridge to pour myself a glass of wine.
“Would you like some?”
He nods, and starts to take out the food.
“What did you get? One of everything?”
“Pretty much. I wasn’t sure exactly what you would want.”
“We are going to have leftovers for days. Not that I’m complaining.”
Some girls won’t be themselves in the first month of seeing someone, but not me. If I’m hungry, then I eat. If he didn’t like me because of the way I eat, then he isn’t the right guy for me, anyway. I never understood the point of acting like someone else, or as many people say, let them see the crazy side before things are serious. How can someone fall in love with you, if you aren’t being yourself? Then that contradicts everything, and they fall in love with someone else. Right?
We both dig in, starving, after a long day at work. His will always be worse than mine. Poor guy has to deal with burning buildings, rescuing people, and sometimes the fact that he can’t save them.
“Any calls today?”
“Yeah, a couple fires,” Liam responds.
“Lose anyone?”
“Not today, thankfully. You’d be able to tell. It really screws up my whole day, and I can’t help but run through and think if I could’ve done something different.”
He didn’t lose anyone today, but a family lost their house, and everything in it. When he talks about it, I can feel the pain through his voice, and how much he wants to be able to change the outcome, but he can’t. That’s when he tells me more about why they acquired the duplexes, and that he offers them to move in until they could get back on their feet. Another thing that just amazes me about him is how kind he is, and his dedication to helping the community in multiple ways. This is a man I could be proud of.
After dinner is consumed, and two glasses of wine later, we move to the couch, and we continue talking about things he wants to do for the community and some programs he hopes to implement one day. Our fingers are interlocked and I’m laid back against his chest, feeling his hot breath on my neck.
“Do you think it’s weird that I already can see a future with you?” I ask.
“No, cause I can, too. I’ve been waiting for a woman like you to come into my life and I have no plans on letting you go,” he says, running his fingers down my arm.
A real relationship is what I’ve been craving; someone to share my life with, and at this point, it’s only fitting that I give Liam all of me to make sure that we could make it. Sometimes, I want to hold back, guard myself so I won’t get hurt, but it won’t do any good. Keeping walls up only hurts the relationship.
“I think fate brought us together after seeing how much we wanted something real,” he says, brushing a strand of hair out of my eyes, “I was about to give up, and then you walked into my life and showed me that it really does exist.”
He really knows all the right things to say, and it terrifies me. How do I know he won’t completely shatter my heart with a hammer? My heart beats faster when I’m around him, and as cliché as it sounds, I get this feeling in my stomach, and nervousness sets in.
“You mean a lot to me. Finding you after searching for someone for years is just what I needed. I’m happy, and even my family can see it.”
When you are falling head over heels for someone, it’s quick like a roller coaster, and most of the time you don’t even realize it until you reach the end.
I move to sit on top of his lap, gazing into his beautiful eyes, and just smile. I did want to take things slow, and maybe we should talk about it. Is he freaking out, too?
“Listen, I don’t mean to sound like I’m not enjoying my time with you, but do you think we are moving too fast? I mean, both of us had bad luck trying to find someone, and then bam we found each other and have been seeing each other every day.”
“Are you wanting to slow things down?” Liam asks.
“It’s just you slept over on our third date. Normally, that wouldn’t happen with me. But I find myself wanting to break all my rules for you, and I don’t know if that’s healthy.”
“If you want to slow down, let’s do it. No pressure.”
Why does he have to be so understanding about everything? Hell, I don’t even know what I want? Speed up or slow down?
Sitting on his lap, my hands around his neck, gazing into his eyes, make me want to go faster, and feel him inside me, but I know it’s too soon. “Let’s just play it by ear.”