"I want you to go upstairs and wait for me. I'll be up in a few minutes."
"We aren't going out to dinner?" she asked, confused since I'd made a point to tell her all week how much I wanted to take her out tonight.
"No, but I promise you won't be disappointed."
For a few seconds, she gave me that adorable pout that never failed to charm me, but then a tiny smile lifted the corners of her mouth. She walked around my desk and sat across my lap, threatening my entire plan because I might take her right there and ruin everything.
"I'm never disappointed, Mark. I don't want you to ever think that."
I pulled her to me and kissed her long and deep, my cock getting harder by the second and making me want to abandon my entire plans for the night. "If you don't go upstairs right now, I'm going to fuck you right here, which sounds great but I have other ideas for us tonight. Please don't tempt me."
"Okay. Should I just wait for you in bed?" she asked sweetly.
Shaking my head, I lifted her off me, instantly missing the feel of her body against mine. "No. Wait for me in the kitchen."
She expected me to tell her more about what would happen, but I merely smiled and pointed toward the door. "Upstairs right now. I'll be there in a few minutes."
Emma leaned down and kissed me. "Okay, but I'm going to be hungry after, so you're going to have to feed me real food."
"I promise. Now go."
As she trotted off to follow my orders, I closed my laptop and waited for the delivery person from Emma's favorite Italian restaurant. We'd worked hard that week, and in addition to my usual treating her to dinner, I intended to make this night one she'd never forget.
Right on time at exactly five, he followed my directions to the letter, knocking once and leaving the food I'd ordered outside the front door. As soon as I picked up the box, I smelled the buttery lobster and risotto that Emma loved. With a smile, I inhaled a deep breath and closed the door behind me.
I slowly climbed the stairs as a hint of lemon wafted up toward my nose, and suddenly I became nervous about what I planned. Was it enough? I'd never said those three magic words to any woman. Emma was the first woman I'd dated for more than a few nights. She meant the world to me, and I wanted this night to be perfect.
I pushed those worries down inside me and opened the door to my apartment. The scent of our meal reached the kitchen before I did, and I found Emma on her feet waiting for me when I walked in.
"Oh, Mark! I'd know that smell anywhere. You got us that lobster risotto I love from Caravaggio's, didn't you?" she squealed.
Placing the boxes on the counter, I nodded. "I know it's your favorite, and you did say you're hungry."
Emma got dishes and silverware, and I plated the food. The mouthwatering combination of butter, lemon, garlic, and wine filled the air around us. Thrilled by the first part of my surprise, she leaned over the table to kiss me before bringing the first forkful of lobster risotto to her mouth.
Closing her eyes, she moaned sweetly, "Oh, this is better than sex."
I smiled, happy to see she was pleased, and she opened her eyes and gave me a cute grin. "Well, not better than sex with you, but better than sex with every other man on the planet."
"Eat. I have two other surprises after this."
Her blue eyes grew wide in anticipation. "Ooooh, two more surprises. For me? What's the occasion?"
I almost let those three words spill out of my mouth at that moment, but I wanted to save that for a little later. Shrugging, I answered, "Just a Friday we get to spend together."
Emma gave me a skeptical look that told me she didn't believe that, but she wouldn't have to wait much longer. "The second surprise is dessert, but that can't happen until you finish this."
With a cute pout, she nodded. "Okay. You're twisting my arm to eat my favorite meal ever, but I can't wait for surprise number two and three."
She quickly finished her meal and leaned over to kiss me again. "Thank you for that. No matter what else comes next, that was delicious. It was so sweet of you to get me the lobster risotto, Mark."
I brought over a second box from the restaurant and placed it in front of her on the table. Before I opened it, I whispered in her ear, "I had them make this especially for you, Emma."
Turning to look up at me, she had tears in her eyes. "Why? What's this about?"
Without answering her questions, I lifted the top of the brown box to reveal a heart shaped panna cotta dessert in the shape of a heart. Drizzled over the top were ripe red cherries and the largest, most succulent looking blackberries I'd ever seen. I'd told the man at Caravaggio's that I wanted something they could make into a heart, and they hadn't let me down.
"Oh, my God!" she said, her eyes wide as she looked at the dessert and then at me. "It's beautiful. I'm afraid to eat it. Did you get one for yourself?"