With one final scorching kiss, Callie climbed into the car, and waved goodbye to Jake.
A few minutes into her drive home, a text message came through on her phone. Callie was not that surprised to see it was from Jake.
Hot Bartender: Hope you get home safely, babe, you left me and my little friend wanting a whole lot more than just a kiss. But to show you that I do have some restraint, I want to invite you on another real date, before I take you back to bed. Would you like to come to the Portland Craft Beer Festival with me this weekend? I can guarantee good beers, good food, and me.
She smiled, loving the idea of checking out the beer festival. In all her years of living in Portland, that was one event she had not yet been able to attend. Callie took a moment to craft a flirtatious reply.
Gorgeous: You present an intriguing offer, Hot Bartender. I do enjoy good beer and food, but what appeals the most is that third item. My participation in this date is contingent on one thing. You, in bed, with me. All. Night. Long.
Hot Bartender: You missed your calling as a lawyer, Gorgeous. Your counteroffer is accepted. Sleep well.
Callie heart skipped a beat at Jake’s response, then she turned to look out of the window as her driver sped through the city. Portland was such a beautiful city at night, all lit up and full of life. Moving away from her family home in Salem had been a monumental change all those years ago. Tonight, after a wonderful day, Callie was so glad she had made the difficult choice to settle in Portland, going against her parent’s demands. If she hadn’t accepted the job offer at Oakville Memorial and stayed in the city, what would her life have been? Would she have a home of her own with a new pet to keep her company, wonderful friends, a rewarding job, and now Jake? Or would she still be in Salem, living a life dictated by her parents ideals and ambitions.
As she thought about how her choice to stand up for the career she had always wanted had led to such a fulfilling life, Callie questioned if she could do the same for her relationship. Could she ever be truly free from her internal need to appease her parents, or would she eventually feel compelled to give up her happiness, to step into the life she knew her mother and father expected of her.
Chapter 12
The day of the Portland Craft Beer Festival was sunny, but cold. October was ending and the leaves were glorious shades of red and orange as they fell from the trees and lined the streets with bright patches of color.
Jake zipped his leather jacket shut as he jogged up the path towards Callie’s door. He hadn’t seen her since she had come to the pub in the evening of the day she adopted Fred the cat and was blown away by how much he missed her. He was so wound up from not seeing her for a few days, he chose to walk the five or so miles to her house, in hopes of expending some of his pent-up energy. He knew neither of them would be driving after the festival, so there was no need for his truck. And, since neither one of them had to work that night, Jake hoped their date wouldn’t end until the next morning – if not later.
Callie opened her door and flung herself into his arms. She smelled like fresh air and sunshine, and her hair was as soft as silk as it cascaded over her shoulders. Jake wrapped his hands in it and pulled her face to his for a scorching kiss.
“Hey, Gorgeous. Damn did I ever miss you.”
Callie buried her face in Jake’s shoulder and soaked in his warmth. She responded with a voice muffled by his jacket, “I missed you too. I think I’m going crazy; I can’t stop thinking about you.”
Jake smiled tenderly at Callie and framed her face with his strong hands before he said, “Well, I am definitely going crazy thanks to you. You kept me up way too late last night, imagining everything I want to do with you. I almost wish we didn’t have plans today, because I want nothing more than to enact your third condition and carry you off to bed right now and keep you there forever.” He paused, with a teasing look of regret as he pulled away. “However, I did promise you restraint, and I really should go to this festival and scope out new breweries to feature at the pub.”
Callie laughed and poked him in his rock-hard abs as she replied, “I appreciate that you remember my conditions for accepting this date. I know I was promised good food and good beer, but when this festival is over, I absolutely expect you to deliver on condition number three.”
* * *
The festival was a sea of happy and relaxed people enjoying the best of Portland’s breweries. Callie and Jake wandered through the festival hand in hand, indulging in samples of all the unique craft beers and the food from popular food trucks stationed around. Callie watched as Jake networked with various breweries, and her admiration for his business sense grew. He seemed to instinctively know how to approach each potential partnership, and tailored his pitch, and his personal approach to each team. She noticed how he paid as much respect to the smaller breweries as he did to the more established name-brand companies. In between his networking chats, Jake made sure to get Callie’s opinion on a wide variety of beers, from a deep dark lager, to a light hefeweizen. Her favorites tended to be the fruit infused ales, with a raspberry lager topping them all. When Callie proclaimed it to be as good as the peach ale she always drank at the Lucky Strike, Jake promised to make sure the raspberry lager would be on tap as soon as possible.
Over a lunch of porchetta sandwiches with hand cut waffle fries, fresh from a gourmet sandwich truck parked at the edge of the festival, their conversation flowed easily as it always did. When a gust of cold wind made Callie shiver, and lean closely into his side for warmth, Jake reached over to tuck back a piece of hair that had blown into her face.
“Are you cold? Maybe after the festival we should head back to my place and warm up in the hot tub.”
Callie grabbed his arm in surprise, her eyes shining, “Wait. You have a hot tub? How did I not notice that!”
Jake got a wicked look on his face before he leaned in and whispered in her ear, “Because the one time you came to my house, I kept you far too distracted to notice something like a hot tub.”
Callie shivered at the memory of the day she had spent at Jake’s home. It had been equal parts passionate and sweet having him take care of her between her night shifts. His eyes blazed as Callie turned sideways on the bench so that she could press herself into his arms and smile at him with a sexy glint in her eyes.
“Hmmm well a hot tub sounds divine, but I don’t have a bathing suit with me.”
“You know the best part of having my own hot tub? I can make a rule that bathing suits are not allowed.”
The image of Jake, naked, had Callie instantly feeling damp and hot in her core and she knew from the hard length she could feel pressing against her that he was just as affected by their connection and the sparks flying between them.
As they finished making the rounds at the beer festival, Jake kept Callie close to him. She giggled to herself as he positioned her slightly in front of his body, knowing that he was trying to hide the evidence of his arousal as he continued to speak with different breweries and work out the details for trialing the new beers at the Lucky Strike. His relaxed demeanor in front of the vendors didn’t fool Callie, as she could feel the sexual tension thrumming between the two of them, thick and heavy.
* * *
The ride back to Jake’s house was filled with an electric silence. Jake’s hand rested on Callie’s thigh. Much as he wanted to inch his hand higher and tease her, he held back, not wanting their Uber driver, a college student named Rick, to catch them.
When at last they pulled into his driveway, Jake thanked Rick and climbed out of the car. Once the car drove away, he pulled Callie up to his front porch, and paused. His voice was rough and gravelly, and he knew his eyes were filled with heat.
