He chuckles, shaking his head like he already knows how it sounds.
“I’m not sure whether I’m ready to jump back into dating again. I figured I just needed to put myself out there. Meet someone. Try not to get too deep in myself loathing and jadedness while I can avoid it.”
“I get that.”
And I do. And I also get that this, for him, tonight is probably only about sex. A trial run to see what’s out there after being out of the dating game for so long. It’s something easy. Something sure. Something purely physical. Something that won’t leave any bruises.
And if Gabriel hadn’t done what he did before I left…Maybe it could have been just that for me too. Sex without anything more. But I can’t ignore what we did. And even more than that, I can’t ignore that I don’t want just sex anymore. The entire point of this date was to get back intodating.
I shift again—another huge mistake because I feel it, feel Gabriel still inside me, a physical reminder that I let him have me before walking straight into another man’s presence. That I wanted him to bring me to orgasm before walking into a date with another guy.
What’s wrong with me? What am I doing?
And while I’m considering those questions, my phone lets out a loudping!from my purse stored underneath the table.
“Sorry about that. Let me turn it off.”
I fish it out from under the table while Chris takes another sip of his vodka tonic, not bothered at all by the interruption and distraction. My thumb hovers over the screen, ready to silence it—Until I see the name from the notification.
GabrielCarpenter.
My stomach tightens. My breath catches. My heart races. I swear, even my nipples get harder wondering what he could be saying.
I open the message. That’s the third mistake I’ve made tonight.
Gabriel: Having fun?
I swear I can feel his smirk through the screen.
I force myself to ignore it. Try to will away the heat that’s creeping up my chest. Try to forget the way my body is still responding to his, even though he’s not here.
But then another message comes through.
Gabriel: I can still taste you on my lips, smell you on my fingertips, and feel your cunt wrapped around my cock.
Gabriel: When are you coming back to me.
Chapter 21: Alessia
I draw in a sharp breath.?? And before I can think—before I can stop myself—I slam my phone face down onto the tabletop with a sharp, involuntary gasp.
Chris startles, looking at me with a confused look on his face.
“Everything okay, Aly?” he asks.
Great. Everything’s totally, completely great.
I’m really tanking this attempt at a first date. I don’t even know what my face is doing right now, but my body knows. My body knows it wants to leave and go back tohim.
“Yes,” I say too quickly, swiping my wine glass and taking a deep gulp. Half of this and I’m at my driving limit, even if Gabriel’s house is only a mile walk away.
“Yes,” I repeat, forcing a laugh and slowing down my sip. There’s no way I’m going to drink anymore. I’m too hot. Too flustered. “I just got a text from my new roommate that surprised me.”
That’s not a lie.
Chris tilts his head, eyes sharpening with curiosity. “You saidyou live with the owner of this bar? Everything okay there?”
I press my teeth into my bottom lip, rolling them under thoughtfully. How do I even begin to explain this? Do I want to? I don’t want to lie to him, but is there really any need for an explanation? This is a first and last date. I already know this. Plus. there’s nothing to explain.
