“So, you come here often?” I surmised.
He chuckled. “I wouldn’t say often. Not exactly a healthy option, but it’s damn good food.”
“How do you two know each other?”
He shrugged. “I helped Curtis out of a scrape once.”
“Did that boy just say a scrape?” Curtis’s incredulous voice moved closer as he walked out of the kitchen to stand beside our table, spatula in hand. “This boy”—he pointed his spatula at Travis— “walked in on me being robbed at gunpoint. He took those knuckleheads out with his bare hands. He eats free for the rest of his life.”
Travis leaned toward me as though sharing a trade secret. “But I always leave a big tip.” He winked.
More than enough to cover the meal, I presumed.
Curtis wandered back to the kitchen, and I stared at Travis, wondering just who was sitting in front of me. “Your bare hands, huh?” I asked.
He shrugged. “I had the advantage, they didn’t see me coming.”
“Is now the part where you say you did what anyone would?” I asked quietly.
He offered a soft smile. “Maybe we have that in common.”
“Maybe.”
Once the food arrived, we lapsed into comfortable silence. I for one was far too busy enjoying the best burger I’d ever had.
As he drove me home, I couldn’t fight my disappointment that the best date of my life was coming to an end.
“Okay?” he asked, glancing over at me before his eyes returned to the road.
“Yeah, I had a great time,” I replied honestly.
“I did, too. If this date could go on longer without me taking things farther than I intended, I’d invite myself in,” he replied, his voice an octave deeper as we pulled to the curb and he cut the engine.
I swallowed hard. “Oh?”
“Yeah, oh.” He nodded, opening his door and coming around to my side, helping me out. “But I think my self-restraint can handle walking you to your door.”
I wasn’t sure mine could.
We walked hand in hand through the dark until my cottage came into view. “You using the flashlight I gave you?” he asked, squeezing my hand.
“I am, thank you.” I smiled as he followed me up onto my little porch, stepping immediately into my space.
His fingers swept the loose hair from my face as he stared at my lips with such intent that I forgot everything but the need coiling deep in my belly.
“You’re so beautiful, Em,” he murmured reverently.
Under his gaze I felt like the most beautiful girl in the world. Until he kissed me and then I ceased to be… anything. I was nothing but sensation.
His soft lips took mine with barely controlled desperation. When his tongue met mine, I had to clutch at his shoulders as my knees gave out.
His arms wrapped around me, pulling me as close as two people could be while fully clothed. I got the sense both of us yearned to ditch the material separating us.
It was on the tip of my tongue to invite him in. I knew instinctively he would accept if I did. Somehow, I found some restraint and pulled back and rested my forehead against his firm chest.
He wrapped me up, pulling me into an embrace so intimate it shocked me that we’d just met. “Night, Em.” He kissed the top of my head.
I pulled back, my fingers lingering on my swollen lips. I knew I’d feel him there for days. “Night, Travis.”
My only consolation as I walked into my cottage alone was that I’d see him again as soon as I closed my eyes.
