“That sounds like a great idea. Let me go change.”
****
Dante looked forward to spending the day with Madison. There was so much to learn, and little by little he was peeling back the layers as they spent more time together. Madison went to the bedroom to change clothes, and he followed to grab a shirt for himself.
He decided to change into jeans and dropped his pants before he put on boxer briefs and then pulled up his pants. When he turned around, Madison’s eyes on him and they were heated with desire. It made him feel good that she wanted him, but he wanted to share some things with her as they built up more trust between each other.
“Come, let’s go.” He held out a hand out for her, and there was no hesitation, she placed her hand in his. He curled his fingers around hers, careful not to hold too tight.
“It’s down the street. Let me grab some bags to put our finds in.”
Hyped as they left and went to the farmer’s market, he could feel her excitement as they moved through the stalls and looked at various produce, as well as some people’s stalls that displayed their crafts.”
“Oh wow, isn’t this painting pretty?”
Dante nodded. Not as pretty as her.
“I’m a sucker for a sunset or sunrise picture. I just love them.”
He decided to come back and get it for her. Maybe see if the guy could make a special one for her. He had noticed the sunset and sunrise pictures tacked to the walls at her place in between her designs, it looked like she had taken them herself.
They walked hand in hand through the market and stopped to chat at various interesting finds in crafts and food items. They filled their bags as they went.
“We better get home,” Madison said.
“Why?” He had a warm feeling in his chest that she called his place home.
“The bags are getting heavy; we won’t able to carry them soon.”
She smiled the most beautiful smile at him, and he wished this wouldn’t end, and could go on forever.
“Let’s stop at a couple more stalls. I want to check out the cheese and honey vendors.”
Holding hands still they traipsed back and forth from one end of the market to the other and added to their finds. Dante knew he had to find a way to make this relationship work.
He had started to care for Madison. Even still he wasn’t willing to put a name on what he was feeling or allow his plans for the future to take hold. He didn’t want his dreams to be shattered. And he could see a future with Madison.
And that scared him. He hadn’t considered the possibility of marriage since Monica, and even then the feeling hadn’t been as intense as it was with Madison.
“Ok, I think we stopped at every stall and you almost bought something from everyone. This was an expensive trip.” Madison smiled up at him.
“I guess, I did, didn’t I? But I like to support local businesses and some of it was your fault.”
“My fault? How?” She brought her hand that wasn’t holding his hand to her chest.
“You liked something at every stall, so I had to buy it. I couldn’t resist giving you what you want.” And that was true. He would move mountains to give her what she wanted, and he hoped one day she would realize she wanted him. But this was the second time she mentioned something being expensive. Was she enjoying his money more than him?
She rose up on her toes and pressed a kiss to his mouth. He knew she meant it to be quick, but he couldn’t resist and deepened it and even with all the packages he held. He still wrapped his arms around her and drew her closer to him.
When they came up for air, her eyes were dazed and glassy and he couldn’t wait to get her home. He knew she was still on her period and would be for the entire weekend visit, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t kiss her.
And kiss her he would.
“Come, let’s take our purchases back to my place.”
Something like a frown passed over her face and disappeared. “Sounds like a plan.”
Dante was curious if something had changed? It seemed like they had both enjoyed their time out. They walked hand in hand toward his car. He carried all the packages in one hand. They were cutting off circulation in his fingers as they twisted up around his fingers with movement.
