“I didn’t mean to, but the subject just came up and I couldn’t very well say they were dead.”
“You’ve told that lie to other people.”
“I know…” I put my head in my hands, “but with Dalton it’s different. I don’t want to lie to him.”
“Did he freak out?”
“No, actually he was quite calm about it and even wondered if they couldn’t be right.”
“That’s a red flag right there,” Jennifer said. I rolled my eyes.
“It’s not a red flag at all and it’s not enough to put me off. In fact, he’s coming over for dinner soon.”
“No way! Look at you broadening your horizons and getting out there.”
“I know, it’s scary.”
“You’ll be fine,” Jennifer gave me a reassuring smile. “Just
remember to go with the flow and everything will happen naturally. I’m happy that you’re finally breaking your dry spell, because it’s been going on for far too long.”
“Hey, you don’t know that I’m going to go that far with him. It’s just dinner.”
Jennifer narrowed her eyes and spoke in a low, sultry tone. “It’s never ‘just dinner’,” she said with a wicked smile. She always found it so easy to be sexy. And, to be fair, she had a point. It wasn’t as though the thought of sleeping with Dalton hadn’t crossed my mind, I just didn’t want to make too many plans inside my head, in case they all fell by the wayside. After all of the disappointments I had suffered, the last thing I needed was to get my hopes up for something that wasn’t going to happen.
But, on the night of the date, I did find that I was pampering myself, just in case we conjured some magic. I plucked every errant hair from my body and lingered in the bath, once dinner was cooking. I chose to make him some simple chicken pasta, with my own twist on the makeup of the dish. I came out smelling of lavender and wore a comfortable, yet chic, dress. Since I wasn’t going to the Blue Lagoon, I wasn’t wearing anything skimpy, rather this dress was long and flowed all the way down to my ankles. It hung on my shoulders with two thin straps and I wore my hair up, exposing my slender neck. I wore a simple silver band around my neck and some glittering earrings. As I waited for Dalton to arrive the nerves inside me rose and I found myself anxiously cleaning the place; readjusting cushions and checking the sides for specks of dust to keep myself busy. I was so focused on my distractions, that when the buzzer sounded, I almost leapt out of my skin.
I waited by the door. This time Dalton wore a cream-colored shirt and black pants. The air was immediately filled with the scent of his aftershave and, when he kissed me on the cheek, I felt myself go weak at the knees again. Inviting him into my home was something that I hadn’t considered doing for a man, until Dalton had come along. When I looked at him I saw something so irresistible I couldn’t explain it, I just knew I wanted him in my life for as long as possible.
“Smells good,” he said, and when I told him what I was making he seemed impressed. “I have to admit that I’ve never been much good in the kitchen. My hands aren’t delicate enough for baking,” as he said this, he flexed his fingers in the air, and my gaze drifted to his palm. I was tempted to reach out and hold them tightly, but I managed to hide my desire, wanting to play it at least a little cool while he got settled in my apartment.
“Food is one of the few things I like to indulge myself in. When I was growing up, we never had extravagant meals. Mom and Dad always had other things to worry about, so they just threw things in the oven and didn’t worry about the nutritional value or the taste. I grew tired of eating the same things all the time, so when I moved out on my own, I made a vow to myself that I would learn to cook. It made for a few messy disasters to start with, but eventually I got the hang of it.”
“Give me an example of one of these disasters?”
“Oh, well, that’s easy. I tried making my own pizza from scratch, even the dough, but I forgot to put flour on the rolling pin so it ended up sticking all over the place, then when I did put flour out, it coated everything in a white cloud. I put the pizza in the oven and I didn’t put nearly enough toppings on or sauce, so I ended up having basically dry bread for dinner that night. There’s nothing that can inspire you to improve your cooking skills than eating unpalatable food, and then, there’s all the cleaning up of the mess afterwards, as well,” I shook my head, “I’m glad those days are behind me, although I’m probably still a little too messy for my own good.”
“It doesn’t look that way,” he nodded towards the lounge.
“Keep it between us, but I tidied up especially for you,” I winked at him.
“Well, I’m honored that you went to so much effort for me. Is there anything I can do to help you prepare?”
“Nope, everything is in the oven and the table is set. All I’ll need to do is dish it up when it’s ready.”
“Then I suppose it’s time for the tour.”
I gave him a quick tour, and it really was quick, because my apartment wasn’t massive. I blushed when he peeked in my bedroom, because of the erotic thoughts I’d been enjoying of him in there. It was as though my private fantasies and reality, were colliding and blurring together, and I started to wonder if my deep desires would come true.
We ended up back in the lounge and I told him to put some music on while I went to get him a drink. I’d bought a six pack of the beer he’d been drinking in the bar, while I had some more wine to help ease my nerves.
“So, I want to make a rule about tonight,” I said, as I folded my legs under myself and sank onto the couch. I took a sip of wine and rested my hand on his arm, once again enjoying the heat of his skin. He seemed warmer than most people and I found I didn’t want to take my hand away, because he was just so comforting.
“Go on,” Dalton said, arching an eyebrow.
“There is going to be no talking about parents. I’m sorry for how snappy I got the other day, but they really just trigger me and I don’t want them to ruin any more of my life, so let’s just have a nice evening and talk about each other. There’s still so much I want to learn about you.”
“I think I can follow that rule. What would you like to know?” he asked. The question almost stumped me, because there was just so much, I didn’t know where to begin.