––––––––
Her lips were soft, and her tongue was smooth. I softly kissed her, nipping at her bottom lip and watching her smile as I did it. Our tongues gave way and accepted each other instantly. I was hard, and I knew she could feel it pressing against her as she moved up and positioned herself perfectly on top of me. I fisted her hair as she held my face in-between her hands. Our breathing was rapid, and our hearts pounded at the same pace. I wanted to be inside her and feel her skin against mine. I removed the clip that held up her hair and let it fall over her shoulders. She was a sexy, beautiful person, and I needed and wanted more of her. My hands traveled down the back of her dress and over her ass. I caressed every bare spot until I reached her thong. I ran my hands up and down her back as we kissed deeply and passionately. It felt incredible to be underneath her, but I wasn’t sure if this was the right time. I wanted us to make love for the right reasons. I didn’t want to be a one-night stand with her, and I’m sure she didn’t want to be one with me, so I broke our kiss and looked into her eyes. She had awoken something in me—something that’s been dead for a year.
“What have you done to me, Lily?” I asked her as I ran my fingers through her hair.
“The same thing you’ve done to me,” she responded.
“As much as I want you right now, I think we should wait.”
Lily looked at me and nodded her head; then I pulled her into me and held her tight.
“I’m scared. I don’t know where this is going. There’s so much I don’t know about you, and there’s so much you don’t know about me. I don’t want us to have sex on a whim and end up regretting it later. That’s not who I am, Lily, and I need you to trust me.”
She whispered in my ear, “I do trust you, and I agree with you.”
I tightened my arms around her, knowing that this woman before me was truly perfect. She slowly got off of me and sat up on the couch, so I sat up next to her and ran my finger along her shoulder, making small circles. “Will you go on a date with me tonight?”
“I don’t do dates.” She smiled.
“I don’t either, but I thought maybe tonight we could both make an exception.” I smiled back.
She took my finger from her shoulder and tenderly kissed it. “I think maybe I could make an exception this one time.”
“Me too.” I grinned.
I got up from the couch. “I’m going to go now, before it gets any hotter in here,” I said as I pointed to the door.
Lily got up and followed me. “Maybe I should call my maintenance guy over so he can cool me off.”
“Somehow, I think your maintenance guy will make you sweat.” I smiled as I leaned into her and kissed her lips. “I’ll pick you up at 6:00 p.m. We’ll go to dinner and then figure it out from there.”
“That sounds great. I’ll be ready,” she said as she closed the door.
***
“Dude, where the hell were you?” Sam asked as I walked through the door.
“I was over at Lily’s,” I replied and headed towards my bedroom.
Sam followed behind me. “Bro, your hair’s all messed up. Did you have sex with her?!”
“No, we didn’t have sex. We almost did, but I stopped it.”
“Dude, are you crazy? Why did you stop it?”
“Maybe I am, but I’m not thinking with my dick. I’m thinking with my head and my heart, and I want to—no, I need to know her better. I have too much hurt going on and so does Lily. Neither of us needs to just have a sympathy fuck just for the sake of it.”
“I get it, and I’m proud of you,” Sam said.
“I asked her out on a date tonight. I’m going to take her to dinner and then I think I’ll take her to the cove so we can really talk to each other without anyone else around.”
I heard the door open and little footsteps running around the apartment. I walked out of my bedroom and saw Charley in the kitchen. “How’s my favorite niece?”
“Uncle Luke!” she exclaimed as she ran to me and hugged my legs. “I’m your only niece, silly.”
I kissed her on the head as Maddie walked over to me. “Hey, do you think you can watch Charley for a few hours while I go out with some friends?”
I looked at her, and she could tell something was up. Immediately, Sam spoke up. “Your brother isn’t available tonight, but I am, and I would be more than happy to look after Charley for you.”
“Not available?” Maddie asked as she looked at me, surprised.
Sam walked over to her and whispered in her ear, “Luke has a date with Lily tonight.”
Maddie put her hand over her mouth. “Oh my god, yay!” she exclaimed.
Charley walked up to Sam. “What are your plans for tonight, Uncle Sammy?”
He bent down and looked at Charley square in the eye. “Well, little one, if you must know, Gretchen’s coming over, and we’re going to grab some chicken fingers and fries for dinner; then we’re going to go for ice cream and maybe play a little miniature golf.”
Charley’s eyes widened. “Can I come?”
“You sure can!”
“Thanks, man. I owe you,” I said to him.
Maddie motioned for me to follow her into my room. “I’m so happy for you. I can’t believe you actually asked her out.”
“Me neither, but both of us still have a lot of personal issues that we need to work out.”
Maddie hugged me. “It’ll be ok, Luke. You’re a great guy, and from what I can tell, Lily’s a great girl. Charley loves her.”
We walked back to the living room, and Maddie kissed Charley goodbye. “Thank you, Sam. It’s a school night, so I’ll be back by 9:00 p.m.”
“We’ll be here, waiting.” He smiled.
“Uncle Luke, where are you going that you can’t watch me?” Charley asked.
“I’m going on a date with Lily.”
A beautiful smile graced her face. “I hope you have fun.”
“We will, peanut. Make sure you give Uncle Sammy a hard time.”
“Stop being silly, Uncle Luke.” She giggled.
17
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Lily