“That’s not the same thing.”
“It is if you’re brave,” Blake counters.
“I’m not brave.”
“I am,” he says.“You can borrow some.”
I stare at him for a second. Then I take his hand.
Dancing with Blake feels easier than it should. He doesn’t pull me too close or try to take control of the moment in a way that would make me uncomfortable. Instead, he lets his hand rest lightly at my waist. At the same time, we move slowly together in the small open space near our table.
“You’re smiling,” he murmurs.
“So are you.”
“That’s because I’m winning.”
“This isn’t a competition.”
“It is if I’m trying to make you like me.”
“I already like you,” I say before I can stop myself.
He stills slightly.
“Good,” he says softly.“Because I like you too.”
When the song ends, neither of us moves. We’re standing too close, close enough that I can feel his breath when he laughs quietly under his breath.
“You’re thinking again,” he says.
“I do that sometimes.”
“Dangerous habit.”
“I know.”
He reaches up slowly. His fingers brush a strand of hair behind my ear with a gentleness that makes my heart skip completely.
“Can I kiss you?” he asks.
“Yes,” I whisper.
The kiss starts soft and careful, like he’s giving me time to change my mind even though I already know I won’t. When I step closer, instead of pulling away, his hand settles more firmly at my waist. It’s as if he’s been waiting for permission he never expected to receive this easily.
It isn’t just chemistry. It isn’t just attraction. It feels like something beginning. And when we finally pull back, I’m still smiling.
“So,” he says softly, his forehead still close to mine,“third date?”
“Yes,” I whisper.
Chapter 17
Blake
The second date ends with a kiss and a quiet promise of a third one. Still, realistically, it ends with watching Lisa walk away while pretending I am the kind of man who calmly returns home after something like that instead of the kind of man who immediately starts thinking about how long it would be socially acceptable to wait before texting her again.
I make it almost thirty seconds. Then I text her.
