I thought back on the dates I’d been on before. They always consisted of dinner or going somewhere, but we couldn’t leave the house, and we’d already had dinner with Sophia. Instead of opening up and talking over dinner, we could do it over dessert.
While Sasha was bathing Sophia and tucking her into bed, I took the opportunity to find a dessert recipe and watch a video to learn how to make it. Then I moved into the kitchen and gathered the ingredients. The kitchen was fully stocked, so it was almost like I had my own grocery store—mostly thanks to having a professional chef on staff before Sasha came along.
I sprinkled some flour and started rolling out the puff pastry.
Sasha walked in and froze when she saw me holding a rolling pin. “Whoa, what’s going on here?”
I kept rolling. “We can’t go out to a movie or a concert. We’ve already had dinner, so I had to get creative.”
Her brows lifted. “Oh, you’re making this for our date?”
“I’m going to try.”
She started around the island, toward the sink. “Alright, let me wash my hands, and I’ll help.”
I smiled, my heart fluttering.
After rolling out the pastry, I cut it into squares. “What kind of pastry do you want?”
She walked into the pantry and came out a moment later, holding a can of apple pie filling. “Apple?”
“Sounds great.”
She opened the can and spooned some onto the squares of dough. Then we folded them into triangles and placed slices across the top before baking them in the oven. Leaning against the counter across from me, she crossed her arms over her chest.
“So, what’s all this about?”
“What do you mean?” I asked, tossing the towel onto the counter behind me.
“I didn’t take you as the sweet,let’s make dessert togethertype.”
I leaned against the island, facing her.
“I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing,” I confessed, rubbing my eyes. I let my hands fall back to my sides. “You deserve to have things done right. You’re young. You deserve all the effort any guy from school would put in to win you over. I don’t want you settling for less.” I shrugged. “But with our situation… It’s not like I can take you out for expensive dinners or weekend trips. But I still don’t want you to miss out on that side of a relationship.” I paused. “This is stupid,” I breathed, sliding down until I was sitting on the floor with the island against my back. I lifted my hands to rub my temples.
“No, it’s not.”
I looked up at her. “You don’t think this is stupid? That this isn’t the worst first date you’ve ever been on?”
She smiled and shook her head. “No.” She moved to sit in my lap, straddling me. Her hands moved to cup my face, and her eyes met mine. “I appreciate that you’re putting effort into this. But the thing is, we can’t do things like a normal couple because we’re not a normal couple. When it comes to us, we don’t get a rule book or guidelines to follow. We’re just going to have to figure it out one day at a time. And I’m okay with that.”
“I’m okay with that too,” I agreed, leaning in and pressing my mouth to hers.
When my tongue swept across her lip, she opened wider, allowing me inside. I melted beneath her as I deepened our kiss and pulled her closer. Her chest was against mine, and her weight was pressing in all the areas that were dying for her attention. I reminded myself to be patient with her. I didn’t want her to think that the only thing I wanted was her body.
I slowed the kiss and broke it off completely. “We should probably check on the turnovers.”
“Not yet.” She laced her fingers into my hair and pulled me back in. The moment her tongue swept through my mouth, she rolled her hips to grind against me. I felt my body become hot rapidly, but it was just my need for her.
She was making it harder and harder for me to control myself, but I managed to break our kiss once again by turning my head to the side.
“Sasha,” I breathed out. “Baby…”
Instead of pulling away, she pushed forward, kissing my jaw and my neck while fisting my hair. My eyes rolled back as every touch felt like a bolt of lightning shooting through my body.
“Fuck,” I whispered, my hands squeezing her hips as I rocked her against me again. She let out a moan that made my balls draw up in excitement.
“You’d better stop before I do something you might regret later.”
