I spent the rest of the drive with my heart pounding and both hands wrapped around the steering wheel so tightly that my knuckles were white. The drive between my parents’ place and Bas’s apartment was less than fifteen minutes, and I was still a little shaky as I pulled into his parking space and cut the engine.
At this rate I should probably just stop driving altogether.
Grabbing my bag off the seat next to me, I climbed out of the car to find Bas standing in his open doorway.
His hair was wet, his feet were bare, and he was wearing a pair of jeans that were practically indecent if you knew what was under them.
“Hey,” I called out as I walked toward him. “I hate to be presumptuous, but I brought a toothbrush this time.”
He smiled, and my stomach did a little flip.
Backing out of the doorway, he took my bag and let me into the house.
“You look beautiful,” he greeted, leaning down to give me a kiss. “Take off the coat so I can see the dress.”
“It’s just a dress,” I said with a little laugh, a bit nervous that I’d somehow overinflated it when we’d talked earlier. I took off my coat and set it on the edge of the couch. Before I turned back around, Bas was at my back, his hands running over the curve of my ass.
“I like this,” he whispered in my ear.
“The front’s even better,” I joked.
“Let me see.”
I turned toward him and felt my belly flip again as his eyes flared, tracing down my body and then up again.
“I feel like shit for makin’ you dinner here,” he said, his eyes coming back to mine. “Shoulda taken you out and shown you off.”
“Oh, this isn’t a going-out dress,” I assured him, wrapping my arms around his neck. “This is a dinner-at-home dress.”
“Didn’t know there was such a thing.”
“There is.” I nodded, trying to hold back a smile. “A dinner-at-home dress doesn’t have anything under it.”
His smile lit up the entire room. Bringing his face close to mine, he started bunching the dress up my thighs inch by inch until he could slide his palms against bare skin. One hand stayed on my hip while the other slid over my ass, the tips of his fingers sliding down the center.
“See? Nothing under it.”
Bas’s eyes fell closed as he groaned. “Dinner.” He let me go slowly, kissing the end of my nose as my dress fell back down to my knees.
“What did you make?” I asked as I followed him over to the kitchen area.
“I bought steaks,” he said with a huff. “But when I got home, the smoker wouldn’t heat up.”
“Oh no.”
“So, I improvised,” he continued. “Taco tater tot casserole.”
“Interesting choice.”
“Don’t knock it until you try it,” he warned, offering me a beer. “It was my favorite growin’ up, so I always have the ingredients in the freezer. We’ve got four minutes left on the timer.”
“Thanks,” I said, reaching over to get a bottle opener magnet off the fridge. “I’ll reserve judgment.”
“It’s gonna blow your mind,” he replied, leaning against the counter.
I looked around the kitchen. When I was in there that morning getting dressed, it hadn’t been messy or anything, but since then he’d washed the few dishes in the sink and wiped down the counters. I could still smell whatever lemon-scented cleaner he’d used.
“I like your apartment, by the way.”
