She pats my chest in a “there, there” motion. “Sure you did, Gio.”
“I did! Just the night before I left, Micheletto brought his graphic novel supplies, and there were crayons everywhere.”
Tessa gasps in fake horror. “Crayons? I’ve heard they make quite the spill. Nearlyimpossibleto get the stains out of the floor with those things.” She brings her hands up toward her face and cups her cheeks, aghast. “Tell me, tell me! Then, what happened?”
I roll my eyes. “Fine. I bleached it for you.”
She smiles and wraps me in her arms, squeezing my body in a tight hug. “Ha! I knew it!”
Squeezing her back, we both sway in my apartment. I’ll drop Tessa at her place tomorrow, but there was no way I could just bewithout herour first night back. And she didn’t want to be without me, either.
I know it’s time to talk about where we stand. I’m ready for a real relationship with her. And I want to do this right.
I place my hand on her shoulder. “Go to dinner with me. Tonight.”
Shifting on her feet, she asks, “Like a pretend date?”
“No.” I slide my hand down her side near her ribs.
She sucks in a sharp breath and leans into my hand. “A work thing?”
“Not that either.” I bring my other hand to her chin, gently pinching the bottom between my index finger and thumb.
“As friends?” she asks.
With her chin between my fingers, I gently turn her head side to side. “Wrong again.”
“Thank God,” she mutters.
My hand slides to her back again, underneath her shirt this time. Her body responds to my touch, leaning toward me, pressing her chest into mine.
“Gio.”
“A date. A real one. I want to take you out to dinner at Hotel Black… maybe make a night out of it.”
Realsounds so wrong. The “pretend” dates I’ve had with her have already felt very real to me.
“Thank you for asking me.” A shyness comes over her that I’ve never seen before.
I give one last stroke down her side before removing my hand from her shirt and taking a step back. She groans.
I frown. “We’ll go on our date, and then I’ll take this off after, okay?”
She nods. “After a nap.”
* * *
“Wow,” Tessa says, taking in the picturesque setting of the restaurant. The host leads us to an outdoor dining pavilion. Green, lush plants surround the heavy wooden tables. Creeping grape vines wind up the sides of a freestanding pergola, which is decorated with upside down, hanging flowers.
“This is the nicest hotel I’ve ever been in. It’s beautiful.”
“I agree,” I say, not taking my eyes off of her.
Pink blooms across her face. I love how easily I can make her blush, so I share a thought that’s almost always in my head at any given time.
“You look breathtaking, Tessa.”
She’s stunning in every way, from the slight wave in her hair, to her ultramarine slip dress, to the maroon polish on her nails. As I look into her deep brown eyes, I think about what we could be together. With as much as I love her, it will be?—
