“You never heard of a champagne brunch?” he asked. “Well, a sparkling cider brunch in your case.”
“Okay. Let’s do it,” I said enthusiastically. “We’re CEOs now. We can do what we want.”
“Already breaking the rules.” He tsked.
“Just for today.”
“I’d love to play hooky with you, partner.”
He grabbed me by the hand and led me out the door, as we practically ran toward the elevators. I was so blissfully unaware of the stares we were most likely getting from the employees in the office. We could deal with that later. Now, we were about to celebrate our future.
Chapter 50
Chandler
“A bottle of sparkling cider,” I told the server who looked pleased to have a table on an early Wednesday afternoon. The lunch hour hadn’t hit yet, and not a lot of people were necessarily enjoying a champagne brunch on a weekday. But Gabriella and I were. She smiled at me from across the table as I continued placing an order for chocolate chip pancakes, over-medium eggs, bacon, and an assortment of fruit and breakfast pastries.
Gabriella and I handed the server our menus and she looked at me with that curious smile of hers, tilting her head just so that her hair fell across her face slightly.
“What?” I asked, matching her head tilt.
“Are you sure you don’t want to indulge in somerealchampagne?” she asked.
“I can’t very well drink a bottle all to myself. I want to be coherent when I take you to bed.” I lowered my voice at the last part, amused by the way she adjusted slightly in her seat.
“I’m not sureI’mgoing to be coherent with all the food you ordered.”
“Hey, baby’s gotta eat.” I shrugged. “Plus, you’ll need your stamina.”
She gave me a small kick under the table, her eyes growing wide. “Chandler!”
I laughed out loud. I loved the way I could make her squirm, in her seat and in between the sheets. I wondered why I had come up with this plan for brunch in the first place, when all I wanted was to get her home. But she deserved a proper celebration, and brunch would have to suffice for now.
“You know what?” I asked, a thought popping into my head.
“What?”
“This is our very first date.”
She looked confused for a moment, as if she didn’t quite believe it. I hardly could either. We had been through so much already.Hell, we were going to be parents. But the entire time, we had never gone out on a date.
“You’re right!” she said.
Just then, the server came by with our bottle of amber-colored sparkling cider. She twisted the top off with a little pop and poured it into two champagne glasses. It almost looked like the real thing. When she left, I raised my glass, Gabriella following suit.
“To our first date,” I said, smiling across the table at her.
“And to many more,” she said, clinking her glass to mine.
We both took a long sip, the sweet juice dancing on my tastebuds. Soon our food came and we ate from the plates family style. We talked excitedly about work and her pregnancy and plans for the apartment in preparation for the baby. It was the best first date I had ever had. It was completely backward, but it felt right. So right.
With full stomachs, we decided to walk home, enjoying the slightly brisk breeze that had orange and brown leaves floating toward our feet. Her hand was clasped in mine and her head rested on my shoulder, the perfect spot where I could breathe in her familiar scent. My heart was as full as my stomach. We walked in comfortable silence, the sounds of the city buzzing around us.
When we got back to the apartment, my nerves were dancing in my stomach for some reason. I knew what I wanted to do. I could see it in her face too, but we didn’t ravage each other like we had in the past. It was like wekneweverything had changed, and things were different. Different, in a good way. In a way that we were more careful, tender, and slow. We had all the time in the world, but it didn’t make me want her any less.
It was her who made the first move in the entryway of my apartment. She wrapped her fingers around my tie and tugged it gently until I was just a few inches from her. She looked up at me, her teeth digging into the flesh of her bottom lip. My eyes were immediately drawn there and my cock throbbed at the sight. I ran my thumb over her teeth, pulling her lip free just so my lips could enclose around it. I sucked on it gently and felt her suck in a breath as her eyes fluttered closed.
She gripped my tie even tighter, closing the distance between us. My body pressed against hers as she led me down the hallway to my bedroom. As we walked, she kicked off her heels and I kicked off my wingtips. With every couple of steps, more items of clothing came off. Her blazer. My jacket. Her skirt. My pants. We left a trail of laundry behind us on the dark, hardwood floor.
