She still got butterflies whenever he gave her a hug.
After he said that she owed him, she figured he’d have taken advantage by now. She’d said she’d wanted to take it slow but now she wasn’t so sure. It had been too long since he’d pinned her to the wall and kissed her like there was no tomorrow for her liking. She wasn’t sure what game he was playing. All she had to do was take one look at him and see he wanted her just as much as she wanted him.
He was treating her like a lady. He was being a gentleman, damn it. But she had to do something to get him to kiss her, really kiss her, curl-your-toes kind of kiss her.
She frowned as she was dusted. Everything was off, just a little bit. She’d gotten the trait from her mother that everything had to be exactly in its place. When she was younger, she used to love going behind her mother and adjusting knickknacks and pillows just a little bit. That’s what it seemed like had happened in her house. In fact, every day she’d seen something else that wasn’t in its right place. She sighed, thinking her brain must be on Noah more than she thought, going around rearranging stuff while her head was in the clouds.
“Speaking of head in the clouds, Pepper, Noah is going to be here for our date soon and I still need to get ready.” She awoke the morning before to find a basket on her back porch. It was filled with daisies and chocolate. Tucked under everything was a note inviting her to the Fourth of July carnival. She sighed and thought of Noah. “Focus, Lexi, focus.” Pepper cocked her head. “I know, I know. I’m going to pick something out that will knock his socks off. What do you think about that, girl?” Lexi laughed when Pepper woofed. “I’ll take that as a yes.” She patted her on the head. “Let’s see what we can find. Come on, girl.” The two of them raced up the stairs.
*
Noah was excited about tonight. This was their first official date. As he looked in the mirror, he rubbed his hand over his face, admiring how the beard was coming in. It wasn’t a look he’d ever gone for, but since he was going to be going out in public with Lexi, it’d be best to disguise his face as much as possible. Luckily, it was a little cooler than normal tonight so he could wear a long-sleeved dark grey shirt and t-shirt under it without standing out. With his face and tattoos covered, all he needed was a baseball cap to complete his look. The only thing that might give him away would be the jeans and his black biker boots but lots of men wore them, he thought as he put his wallet in his back pocket.
This past week had been hard on him. It took all he had to not ravish Lexi every time she turned around and he was lucky that writing new music was going so well for him. He could spend hours doing it and not be preoccupied with thinking of ways to be in her company. If he was with her he wanted to kiss her, deeply, madly. He sighed, placing his hands on the bathroom vanity. How he was going to get through tonight?
At first, it’d been a stroke of genius to ask her to the carnival in the next town over this weekend. Now, he wasn’t so sure. They’d be close together on the rides, her body pressed up against his. After what she’d told him and then allowing the ladies to practically attack him, his plan was twofold. One, let her know she mattered to him. He wasn’t about to use her and throw her away. Be the gentleman she deserved. Two, to torment the hell out of her. He knew she wanted him and by denying her kisses, he was bound to frustrate her to his own level of discomfort.
He made sure he had everything he needed and walked over to her house. Taking a deep breath to steady himself, he knocked on her door, shaking his shoulders and arms to release the tension. His breath whooshed out of his lungs and he swallowed hard. He could see Lexi coming towards him. Her hair was piled up on top of her head in that messy way where it looked like she had just climbed out of bed after being seriously fucked. Long silver earrings dangled from her ears, just grazing the top of her shoulders and she wore a deep-blue cami that hugged her curves and made his mouth go dry. With the light behind her, he could see her legs through her flowing white skirt that ended at mid-calf.
He’d seen her in a bikini and she was more covered now, so why did this turn him on so much? Her toenails were painted a cotton candy pink and she wore flat, strappy sandals.
“Hello, Noah.” She brushed her hand down her hip. “I’m ready if you are.” She picked up a light blue sweater and walked the rest of the way to him.
Noah realized she was talking about the carnival, not jumping into bed with him.
“Yeah, okay. I thought we’d take the Jag tonight. Are you ready? Of course, you’re ready, you just told me that. Are you going to lock up?” He wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans.