“Let me know if you change your mind,” he says before walking away.
The girls and I just sit there in silence for a moment, watching him disappear into the crowd.
“Girl, what the hell was that?” Aspen asks. “I knew you were getting to know one another, but it seems things are progressing.”
“Yeah, when did shit change between you? I thought you guys were just doing this for the time being, but it wasn’t real,” Kim adds.
Son of a bitch.
I sigh as I turn to face my friends.
“I took their advice and decided to give things a shot with him,” I tell Kim, indicating Maggie and Aspen.
“Wow. Good. Ridge is a good man. I think he will make you happy.” Kim smiles at me.
“Thank you. I mean, we just had our first date. Things seem to be going well.”
“Like you two are bumping uglies? Having sex?” Aspen questions.
I roll my eyes and shake my head. “We aren’t doing anything physical, at least not yet. Although the thought has crossed my mind. The date he took me on was nothing like I had ever imagined possible.”
“Who planned it?” Kim asks.
“He did,” I admit.
Aspen laughs. “That dreamy look in your eye says that you are falling for that man. It looks good on you.”
I can’t help but smile as I think about the date. It was perfect. I had only wished he had kissed me at the end, but he let me set the boundaries, so it means I am going to have to cross them if I want to go further.
“I know that smile. It means he did something good,” Kim says, making us laugh.
“It was a really great date. Like, honestly, hands down the best date I’ve ever been on,” I tell them quietly. “It was everything I would have wanted, and I didn’t even have to tell him.”
“What did you two do?” Aspen asks.
I launch into telling them how he surprised me with rock climbing and how I kicked his ass more than once when we raced to the top. I tell them how, after that, we went to the beer spa place and had the room to ourselves. That we got to know each other while relaxing and drinking a little. Then he walked me back to my bedroom door and kissed me on the cheek before leaving me standing there.
When I’m finished replaying it, all three women look pleasantly impressed.
“Damn. Who knew he had it in him?” Aspen whistles.
“I love how he did something he knew you would like and something romantic,” Maggie chimes in.
“Doesn’t seem so fake now, does it?” Kim asks.
I shake my head slowly. “No, it doesn’t.”
“Are you okay with that? Are you good with the way your relationship is changing?” Kim questions.
I think about it for a moment and nod. “I am. It might have surprised me when he brought it up, but the longer I think about it, the more it makes sense. The more it feels right.”
“Good,” Aspen says simply.
Maggie nods. “I agree. This is a good thing.”
My eyes move to Kim and see that she’s already staring at me.
“What do you think?”
