“Well, you'll just have to wait and see what I got you then, won’t you?” I replied cockily, hoping I’d made the right choice. I should've ordered half the menu.
When the plates arrived, Charlotte’s mouth fell open and her eyes went wide as the waiter sat down chocolate cake, pecan pie, vanilla ice cream and to top it all off, a selection of macarons.
“Wow!”
“Sorry, they didn’t have any pistachio.”
“You asked?” Charlotte asked, looking over at me like I’d done something right. It was an incredible feeling.
“Of course.”
“Thank you, Luke.”
“You’re welcome, Charlotte. Now, which one are you choosing?” I offered.
It took us almost an hour and two coffees before we rolled out of the restaurant unable to eat another mouthful.
“That was so good,” Charlotte murmured, rubbing her belly.
We were standing out the front of the restaurant, waiting for our Uber, enjoying the fresh air. The sun had long ago set, and the temperature had dropped, but it was a nice night outside.
“It was. That pie …” I swear I was going to have dreams about that pie.
“Nope. The chocolate cake. Oh, my god. And with the ice cream … I think I almost drooled.”
“Almost? You did. Lil bit,” I teased and like the childish relationship we’d fallen into, Charlotte poked her tongue out at me.
“I don't know why you’re mean to me,” she pretended to pout. The problem was with a pout, you couldn’t do it properly when you were trying to hold back a smile—something Charlotte hadn’t quite mastered yet.
“I’m not mean to you,” I defended.
“Ah-huh.”
“How am I mean to you?”
“Ordering all those desserts then trying to make me choose. That’s just mean.”
“You weren’t complaining when you tasted every single one of them.” I chuckled, taking a step toward her.
“Well, it’ll be your fault when I’m fat then.”
“You’re not fat,” I told her directly, my hands reaching for her hips.
“But when I am …” Charlotte countered breathlessly.
This was the moment. It was here. The only question was, was I man enough to take it. Did I have the balls to lean in and kiss the girl? The girl who had me acting like someone I barely recognized. The girl who had me throwing my rule book straight out the window after only one date.
“You’ll still be beautiful,” I promised her.
She didn’t answer.
Not in words anyway.
And the questions about the size of my balls and if I had big enough kahunas to take a chance evaporated when Charlotte’s arms wove around my neck and she pushed herself against me, crushing her lips down over mine.
She might’ve initiated it, but she sure as shit wasn’t controlling it.
This was our first kiss. The first of many I hoped, and I refused to be a bystander.
