“We’re going back to your house?” I asked, a little confused as Nick pulled his bike to a stop in his driveway. I slid my legs off the back, trying to keep as much covered as possible while I adjusted the midnight blue dress I had picked out.
I loved riding on the back of Nick’s bike, my arms wrapped around his waist, my head resting against his back. Plus, the ride itself was always a thrill, but it wasn’t the first thing I would pick to ride in a dress. Judging by the way Nick’s eyes were raking over my body, his lips twisted into a smirk, he enjoyed it way more than I did.
And he didn’t look so bad himself.
I could tell he had come straight from work to pick me up, but he looked sexy as hell in a pair of fitted black pants, and a black dress shirt rolled to his elbows with just a hint of his tattoo peeking out.
I asked him multiple times before he finally told me what it meant. Really, it was just some sort of tribal design that he found in the book at the tattoo shop he went to with Danny when they turned eighteen. I found it pretty amusing that Leah and I had done the same thing when we had gotten our matching star tattoos.
His dark hair was a mess, and there was light stubble covering his face, something I loved but didn’t like that often since it tended to cover those dimples of his.
“C’mon.” He laced his fingers through mine, but instead of going into the house, he pulled me around to the back.
The small deck that overlooked the ocean was covered in hundreds of twinkling white lights, making it look like tiny stars against the blackness of the night. The table that usually sat in the corner was in the middle of the deck, covered with a lacy white tablecloth, and a single white daisy in a clear glass vase sat in the center. The speakers that he had wired into a sound system were playing soft music in the background as he led me over to the table, pulling out the chair for me, and helping me sit down, before taking the seat across from me.
All of this, along with the sounds of the ocean, the water gently lapping against the sandy shore, was almost overwhelmingly sweet. He didn’t take me to some fancy restaurant, where everyone was stuffy and the pricing was outrageous, because he knew that I didn’t like places like that. This, this was perfect.
“How did you do all of this?” I kept glancing around, still amazed by all of the lights. I was pretty sure I was going to make him leave them up forever. He pulled out a bottle of wine from beneath the table, along with two glasses and slid one across to me, his fingers lingering on mine as he brushed his thumb over the top of my hand.
“Believe it or not, Danny helped me. We put up all of the lights last night, and he came over while I was at work and set everything else up. Were you surprised?”
“Very, especially that Danny helped.” Something like this wasn’t really his thing. I took a sip of wine, and Nick stood up, heading towards the patio door.
“I hope you’re hungry,” he called over his shoulder. “I made just about every Italian dish you could think of, and then some. Sit tight, I’ll be out in a minute.”
Nick had done exactly as he promised. His Italian heritage came from his mom’s side of the family, and since she didn’t have a daughter, she taught Nick every recipe she knew while he was growing up. He started the night off with salads, bruschetta, and minestrone. I was pretty much stuffed after that, but I knew how hard he worked on everything, so I had to eat everything, or at least try everything.
“When did you find the time to make all of this?” I asked in between bites of homemade ravioli. I was seriously ready to marry this man on the spot. Chase had nothing on him, when it came to a guy knowing how to cook. “They’re all so good, but this one has to be my favorite.”
He shrugged his shoulders, smiling as he watched me eat another bite. “I’ve been getting everything ready the past couple of days, and putting it in the fridge so I just had to heat it all up. Are you ready for dessert yet?”
“Well, depends on what it is. My stomach’s saying no, but my head’s telling me yes.”
He laughed as he stood up and grabbed our now empty plates. “We can wait until later, then. Be right back.”
We spent most of the night just talking and laughing while sipping on wine, and listening to the sounds of the ocean. It was so peaceful here. I could just sit in silence with him by my side and be happy.
“You ready for dessert now?” he asked, wrapping his arms around me from behind, and brushing his lips against my ear, the stubble on his face tickling me. “I have cannoli and panna cotta. I figured I’d skip the tiramisu since I know you’re not a fan of coffee.” Always so thoughtful.