“Oh, he has what he needs,” I assured her, getting a little warm just thinking about it. Or maybe it was the wine. Yep. That was it. I was blaming the wine.
“Well then, what are you worried about?”
We chatted for a couple of minutes before Hannah let me go to focus on getting everything ready. And by everything she meant lady maintenance.
By the time I was climbing into bed, I was over my freak out and ready to relax. Reaching into the bedside drawer, I pulled out my silver bullet, closed my eyes, and took the edge off—images of Luke in uniform fueling my fantasies.
My serenity didn’t even last twenty-four hours.
Luke was picking me up in half an hour, and I was second-guessing everything. No, that’s not true actually. Four hours ago, I’d been second-guessing everything. Now I think I was up to my seventh or maybe my eighth change of heart.
Tugging down the hem on my favorite little black dress, I turned and looked in the full-length mirror hoping this was okay. Luke wouldn’t tell me where he was taking me and it’d been driving me crazy. I didn’t know how to dress for a ‘good time’ as Luke promised. But every time we’d been out so far, I’d pulled on jeans or a pair of shorts and my plan for the night was to wow him right out of his pants, and this was the perfect dress to do it. The hem hit me mid-thigh. The front had a sweetheart neckline and it clung to every single one of my curves without making me look like an overstuffed sausage. Adding another spritz of perfume, one last wave of my mascara wand to help my eyes pop, and it was as good as it was going to get.
I don't know what was worse. Running around like a chicken with its head cut off trying to fit everything in, or running ahead of schedule and finding yourself with idle hands watching the clock.
Time was moving excruciatingly slowly.
Straightening the comforter, I made sure it was perfect. I was going with the whole, ‘if you build it, they will come’ mantra. In the dumb part in my brain, I was praying that if I make my bed some place I want to be, then maybe Luke wouldn’t mind hanging out there either. Then, if I play my cards right, one if not both of us would be coming.
Grabbing my phone, I checked the weather while I stood in front of my closet debating on whether or not I needed a jacket. My dress was a showstopper, and that was the whole reason I’d chosen it, but I didn’t want to be freezing my tits off all night either. No one likes a cold whiney bitch which is exactly what I would turn into if the breeze blew the wrong way. Choosing my bright orange trench coat, I shrugged it on and took another look in the mirror. I looked like a traffic cone. How had I never noticed this before? As quick as I could, I yanked it off, letting it drop to the floor and kicked it into the back of the closet where it belonged. Choosing a much safer black and silver coat, I tossed it over my arm as a knock at the door echoed through my apartment. Swallowing down my nerves, I slid my feet into the ultra-high, sexy as fuck black heels sitting beside my bed and went to greet my guest.
Holy fuck!
The man standing in my doorway was hot as fuck.
Wearing dark jeans and a light blue button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up showing off some impressive forearms, arm porn was my weakness. His hair was slicked back, and one look at his dimples almost dropped me to my knees.
“You look incredible, Charlotte,” Luke told me, his voice raspy, dampening the pathetic lacy excuse I was wearing in place of a pair of panties.
I’d forgotten my own name. I was too busy unashamedly ogling him.
Luke took a step forward, and his hand found my hip, sending a wave of warmth through my body.
I could smell his cologne and feel the warmth of his breath against my cheek.
“Ready to go?” he asked.
Realizing I’d been standing there completely mute since he’d appeared, “I just need to grab my coat,” I explained, making no attempt to move. If I wanted to get it off the back of the couch I had to move out of Luke’s reach, and I liked the feel of his hands on me. In fact, I was wondering how much more I wanted his hands on me.
“Charlotte …”
The way my name sounded as it fell from his lips had me squeezing my thighs together. Lifting my head, I looked up at him into his lust-filled eyes. They were dark and dangerous and filled with desire.
“Charlotte,” he repeated.
“Hi, Luke,” I replied breathlessly.
“I really want to kiss you right now.”
“I really want you to kiss me right now,” I replied, managing to stop myself from asking, begging for so much more than a kiss.
“But as much as I want to, I’m not going to.”
I felt like I’d just had a bucket of ice-cold water thrown over me, cooling my heated blood. Feeling the need for distance I took a step back trying to mask my disappointment. Picking up my coat, I shrugged it on and grabbed my purse.
“Ready to go?” I asked overly cheerily.
The last thing I felt like doing now was going out for dinner. I might’ve been being overly dramatic, in fact, I was well aware I was, but still, it fucking hurt. I wasn’t about to pretend it didn’t.
