Sawyer burst out laughing. “I don’t think so, but we can try if you really want to.”
After pretending to think about it for a minute, I shook my head. “Nah. That sounds exhausting.”
He looked at me then, and the way the sun hit him made my heart speed up. When Sawyer walked into my life, it was like he brought the sunshine with him, and I realized that I didn’t want this date to end.
“I want to do this again,” I said.
“This? The boat?”
“All of it. I want to take you out again.”
Color splashed up in Sawyer’s cheeks. “Our first date isn’t over, and you’re already asking for a second date?”
I simply shrugged. “I know what I want.”
His blush deepened, and he gazed out at the water before looking back at me. “I’d like that.”
From shore, an airhorn let out three short blasts, making both of us flinch.
“That’s our signal to get back to shore,” Sawyer said, his smile unwavering. He looked like joy personified, and I couldn’t wait to get him back to shore so I could kiss him again.
TWENTY-ONE
SAWYER
My legs wobbledwhen we made it back onto dry land, but I thought that some of my unsteadiness might be from the fact that Lukas asked me for another date, and we weren’t even finished with the first one. I’d never had that happen before. Sure, I’d been on second dates, but not with anyone I liked half as much as I liked Lukas.
Being around him was incredibly easy. Maybe it was because he was a little older and ran his own company. Both of those things gave him a certain level of maturity that I hadn’t yet come across in the men I’d dated.
On our way to the car, Lukas fell into step next to me and grabbed my hand. God, but every touch he gifted me with made me greedy for more. We’d agreed to take things slow, and I respected that, but I knew I was going to fantasize later about the way his hand felt in mine. And wasn’t that the saddest thing ever? Fantasizing about holding hands.
“I had a great time,” Lukas said as we came up to his car. Instead of opening the door, I found myself trapped between him and the car.
“I did too,” I replied, moving closer to him. I didn’t know how slow he wanted to go, but he leaned in and brushed his lips against mine. Whenever Lukas kissed me, it was like my insides set off fireworks. I moved closer, pressing my body flush against his, needing all the contact I could get. All the touch. Lukas wrapped an arm around the small of my back and held me even tighter.
Lukas took a step forward, and I took a step back, then another, until I was up against the side of his car with my arms wound around him. There were so many things I wanted to do to him. To experience with him. If we weren’t in public, I’d have slid my hands under his shirt to feel the heat of his skin. If we weren’t taking things slow, I’d have given in to the urge to grind against him and beg him to please touch me.
But we were in public. We were in public where there were people watching us, probably, and I stiffened. Lukas pulled away and looked at me, concerned.
“People can see us,” I murmured and understanding washed over him.
“Sorry.” He pecked me on the lips and then put distance between us so suddenly that it left me cold. I wanted to call him back and curl up in his arms.
“There’s nothing to apologize for,” I reassured him. “I like kissing you. I’d like to do a lot more than kissing, if I’m being honest.”
The smile on Lukas’s face could only be described as radiant. Joyful. “I’d like that too.”
“But not here,” I told him and his smile widened.
“Not here,” he agreed and reached for the door so he could open it for me.
I slid into the passenger seat, buckled up, then tucked my hands under my thighs so I wouldn’t be caught doing something silly like touching my lips to see if I could still feel his kiss lingering there.
On the drive back to my place, I asked him about the band we’d seen play earlier. “Did you have any idea they would know my favorite song, or did you take a wild stab in the dark?”
“Blue can put a beat to anything, and the other guys know a lot of different songs. It was an educated guess. Well, it was actually a whim that played out in my favor.”
“It was sweet of you.”
