The host smiled, then grabbed two menus from a shelf nearby. “Follow me.”
Brynn had gotten home a little over an hour ago, and she’d gone straight to her bedroom to shower and get ready. If she hadn’t, there was no way they’d have made it out of the apartment.
A decision that she’d been wholly affirmed in when, a few minutes before they’d needed to leave, Hallie had walked out of her own bedroom, looking so beautiful that Brynn could have just sat on the sofa, staring at her all night. She was dressed in a pair of black, high-waisted slacks and a black top that left a small sliver of her stomach exposed. Brynn’s mouth had watered at the sight. It hadn’t helped that Hallie’s shirt was cut low, an enticing amount of cleavage on display for Brynn to stare at during dinner. Because apparently she was the type of person who did that now. At least, with the only person who’d ever captured her attention enough to drive her wild.
And to complete the look… “This blazer looks perfect on you,” Brynn had said, as she’d indulgently run her fingers down the silken lapels. She’d already been thinking about easing it off of Hallie’s shoulders later and peppering kisses against all the expanses of skin that would become available to her.
If Hallie’s goal tonight was to give Brynn a test of endurance, she was succeeding handily.
Especially when she’d given Brynn a slightly embarrassed smile and run her fingers over Brynn’s cashmere sweater. “You look beautiful. So, so beautiful.”
The words had been so soaked in earnestness that Brynn’s stomach had fluttered chaotically. All she’d meant to do was give Hallie a kiss to show her appreciation for the thoughtful compliment. Also, maybe a little bit because she hadn’t kissed those lips since the morning, which had felt way too long in the grand scheme of things.
Had it been Brynn’s fault that she’d backed Hallie up against the front door, not breaking the kiss? Or had it been Hallie’s fault that she’d inched her fingers under Brynn’s sweater so that she had Brynn by her hips, pulling them closer together?
Maybe it was one of life’s great mysteries that would never get an answer. For once, Brynn was okay with that.
Either way, she couldn’t find even an ounce of regret. Especially as she’d finally pulled back—only because she knew that, deep down, Hallie would be devastated if they missed their reservation—and stared at Hallie’s wet lips and lidded eyes.
Hallie was the most beautiful person, inside and out, that she’d ever met. She was going to be the most beautiful woman in that restaurant tonight. And the craziest part was that this gorgeous creature had agreed to be Brynn’s girlfriend!
The thing was, Hallie could have been dressed in a pair of sweats and a hoodie, and Brynn would have felt the same way. She just wantedHallie. No matter what she wore. No matter what they were doing. No matter what else was happening around them.
Still, she was glad they’d made it out of the apartment. The restaurant was gorgeous and surprisingly big, on prime real estate, right on the wharf. At the back of the restaurant, running along the wall, were dozens of tables. Directly to the left of where they had walked in, a few steps led up to a lounge area, which housed a bar that ran across the length of the restaurant.
They were taken to the bar area, with two high-top chairs situated at the end. “I hope this is okay,” Hallie said as the host was placing their menus down. “I wanted us to be able to sit next to each other, but I didn’t actually know if you were a ‘sitting on the same side of the booth’ kinda girl.”
“I’m a ‘want to be wherever you are’ kinda girl,” Brynn answered honestly, her body buzzy with excitement. Hallie’s whole face broke out into a beautiful smile.
Brynn would never get tired of that smile. Or Hallie’s genuine excitement about everything they were experiencing together. Because Brynn was feeling exactly the same way.
Going on a date like this was so much better because of the relationship they already had with one another. There was no anxiousness about what they’d talk about. Or finding out halfway through that her date was actually conservative.
Brynn couldn’t wait to update Hallie on her day, and vice versa.
“Very chivalrous,” she teased as Hallie waited for her to get seated before sliding into her own chair.
Hallie bit her lip and maneuvered her chair even closer. “It’s so I could do this,” she said, their knees able to slot between one another.
Brynn tapped her fingers against the menu that she hadn’t bothered looking at yet, her focus entirely trained on her date. “I feel like you’ve given this a lot of thought…”
This earned Brynn a lopsided smile and another blush, which she loved. “Maybe.”
“I missed you today.” She watched the way Hallie’s face changed with the admission, like it was the best news she’d ever gotten. It encouraged her to continue. “I mean, it would be pretty weird not to miss my girlfriend, wouldn’t it?”
On top of the bar, their hands had found their way to one another, their fingers interlaced. Hallie looked at their clasped hands before shifting her attention back to Brynn. “I missed you, too. A lot.” She groaned with laughter when she said, “Greg and Candace are in another spat, so I had to use the feelings wheel without you. And trust me, you make it look a lot easier than it actually is to corral those two when something’s wrong.”
Brynn burst out laughing, imagining Hallie sitting the two of them down and trying to reason with them. “You didn’t tell me that.”
Hallie blushed. “Well… we were talking about other, more important things. I didn’t want to distract you.”
She couldn’t help it; her eyes dipped down to Hallie’s lips before meeting her stare again. Because shedefinitelyremembered what they’d been texting about earlier. Namely, how much she liked Hallie’s lips. She liked everything about her, really, but there was something so enticing about the perfect pout she had whenever she was thinking about something. Or the way that they could take over her entire face in a vibrant smile. And yeah, she was also desperately curious to know what those lips felt like on every single part of her body.
And soon, she would.
A thrill shot through her at the realization. Inconveniently, as it were, because at the very same time the bartender made his presence known. It took all of the willpower Brynn could muster to pull her eyes away from Hallie.
“Brynn? Do you want a drink?” Hallie asked, which made her realize that she hadn’t actually done a great job of adjusting her focus.
