Cierra nodded, hopping out of the car before she had a chance to change her mind.
Once inside Cierra’s apartment, they didn’t waste any time taking advantage of the privacy. Cierra didn’t even get the wine bottle open before she felt his body behind her. First, his hands gripped her hips as he gently kissed her neck and nibbled at her ears. Then his hands roamed further upward, desperately exploring her mid-section and then groping her sensitive breasts.
“I’ve wanted to do this for a long time,” he said in her ear, the warmth of his breath giving her chills.
“Me too,” she said, turning around to look at him. He cupped her face with both hands and again leaned down, kissing her indulgently. “If I have that night cap, I probably won’t be able to drive home, you know. It wouldn’t be safe.”
Cierra smiled. “I guess you’ll have to stay the night then.”
With a sly grin, Cierra released herself from his grasp. She let the spaghetti straps fall from her dress, allowing the cherry-red garment to drop to the floor. Julian’s mouth hung agape, and she began to walk out of the kitchen before turning around; he was frozen.
“Are you going to stand there all night?” she said. Cierra had no clue what newfound siren-confidence was taking over — but she gladly welcomed it. Julian followed her to the bedroom, pressed her against the wall and dropped to his knees. He took his time kissing her stomach, lightly biting her inner thighs, until he looked up, smiling deviously. Standing up, he took his shirt off in a flash before tossing her onto the bed, closing the door behind him.
The next morning, Cierra woke up to Julian turned on his side, lightly stroking her curls, which were undoubtedly in a state of unruly bed head, given their activities the previous night.
“Hey there,” he purred, giving her a light kiss on the forehead.
“Morning,” she said, curling into his chest.
A sense of déjà vu came over Cierra; lovers in bed on a slow weekend morning was a familiar scene — albeit the setting and characters had changed. Lying next to Julian felt natural, and their chemistry was undeniable. Invigorating. With him, she was feeling emotions again that she didn’t realize she had long forgotten: anticipation, uncertainty, passion. She was ready to tell him how she really felt. If Harry was moving on, why couldn’t she? It had been months since their breakup. She’d gotten a better job and had her own place. Wanting something more with Julian didn’t make Cierra feel like she was rebounding; it felt right. And she didn’t want to lie to herself — or him — about what she wanted. Especially when he obviously felt the same way.
“You hungry?” she asked. “There’s a southern brunch spot that just opened up a couple blocks from here.” Julian was checking his phone as she asked, and when he went to respond, he winked and gently brushed the side of her cheek. Instead of immediately taking her up on the offer, he hopped out of bed and began searching for his clothes.
“Normally I would love to, but I need to head home.”
“Oh, yeah. Of course — no worries.” Suddenly aware of her nakedness, Cierra began getting ready herself.
Julian went over and hugged her from behind. “But maybe I could stay for coffee, if you’re making any?”
She smiled weakly at him. “Yeah, that’d be nice.”
They both made their way into the kitchen. Julian was sitting at the small table by the window as she brewed a fresh cup.
“I was thinking about what you said, that time in Central Park? About going at my pace?”
Julian put his mug down, listening. “Mm-hmm.”
“Well, um,” she floundered, unsure of how to word it. “What do you want us to be?”
His earlier look of curiosity was now being replaced with narrow eyes. “Like, as in us dating?”
“Yeah.”
“Oh, uh, I guess what I want is what we’ve been doing? Just, enjoying each other?”
“Right. You know, I’m not sure what I was trying to say,” she said, laughing nervously and shaking her head. This conversation was not going in the direction Cierra thought it would. At all.
“I’m really into you, like, seriously — I want to keep seeing you — but just so you know, I’m not sure if I’m ready for a relationship. I just want to be as upfront as possible.”
“Yeah, yeah. Of course.”
“I thought we both wanted that?”
Ugh, why did I bring this up?
“It’s cool. And I did. I do. We’re both still relatively fresh out of long-term relationships . . . no need to rush,” she said, trying to appear as blasé as possible. Like she hadn’t made a miscalculation so off base she was questioning her sense of reality.
Julian smiled with relief and gave Cierra a kiss on the cheek, but it didn’t leave the same warm feeling it had that morning: more like skin on skin. She wondered if any other women were receiving the same treatment.
