Hold On To Me

by Towers, Terry

  After what seemed like an eternity of watching him try to make a decision, he settled on a brew that had a strong berry smell and was a maroon color. It wasn’t the typical look you’d expect from a beer.

  He took a sip and then nodded. “This is amazing. Want a taste?” He offered me the cup and I put up my hand. When I shook my head there seemed to be a look of disappointment that crossed his features that made me feel slightly guilty.

  “Thank you, but I don’t drink. If it’s any consolation, it smells wonderful.” On a whim, I gave him a side hug and then immediately regretted it since it made me want to hold on to him longer.

  “If you change your mind.” He took another sip and we began to make our way through the lines of vendors. There was every type of food imaginable here. Unfortunately, when it came to foods, I was a very, very fussy person. There were a lot of parts of my life that I was adventurous with, food wasn’t one of those things.

  “It all looks so amazing.” As much as I wanted to focus on the food and my stomach was verifying that I needed to eat, my attention was mostly on the man beside me. There was an attraction between us. At least on my end. And he seemed content to be with me, but it was too early to tell as of yet.

  “Okay, we need to eat before I end up going for another beer and you end up having to either babysit or carry me out of here…. Perhaps both.”

  Laughing, I rolled my eyes at him again. “I don’t know how capable I would be at carrying you out of here. You’re a little bit bigger than I am, even in these boots.”

  He made a little clucking sound and grinned. Damn him and that smile, would his smile always make me weak in the knees each time I saw it? “Then, I guess we had better start eating.”

  Our first stop was a place that had pork and chicken kabobs. While I grabbed the chicken, he opted for the pork. On our way to the picnic tables we were enticed by a booth selling poutine. With each of us grabbing one of those, we found a table and sat down across from one another.

  The two chicken kabobs were calling to me. Grabbing the first one, I bit at the first piece of meat and pulled it off the stick. Closing my eyes, I moaned softly as I savored the barbecue flavoring. It was exceptional. The restaurant that had made it was on the other side of town so there was no way I’d have tried it if it wasn’t for this festival.

  “That sounds pretty damned good.”

  Sounds? Oh shit! My eyes flew open and I stared at him, my cheeks beginning to burn realizing I’d made that sex-like sound out loud. “Yes, it’s really good. You don’t understand.” Offering the stick to him, I watched him tear a piece off and noted the look of satisfaction. “Told you.”

  He nodded. “All right, I’ll give ya that one. It’s pretty damned good.”

  “Right?” Grabbing my fork, I stabbed at the fries that were covered in cheese and gravy and brought a forkful to my mouth.

  “Perhaps not sex noise good, but pretty damned good.”

  My eyes widened in horror as I began to choke on the fries, not sure if I wanted to laugh or have the ground open up and swallow me whole.

  “I’m just messing with you, Riley.” Reaching across the table, he covered my hand and gave it a squeeze.

  Getting hold of myself, I gasped one final time grabbing a napkin, dabbing at the tears that had formed in my eyes. “If you think I get excited about chicken skewers then you haven’t seen anything yet.” The words were from my lips before I could stop them. I really hadn’t meant to be so provocative. As our eyes locked, I could see there was a flare up of desire in his gray eyes, turning them stormy.

  He opened his mouth to speak, but then closed it again and he cleared his throat. But he didn’t remove his hand from mine, the warmth and passion radiating between us from a single touch was astonishing.

  Once done with our first couple of food items, we went back in search of more. Ultimately, we ended up with four dinner type items and two desserts. All the items were samplings, but by the time we were done I was stuffed, and from the feel of it my feet were no doubt blistering in my boots.

  As the afternoon turned into night, the first band of the evening set up and began to play. “Do you like country music?” Grayson asked, not waiting for a reply, but leading me to the stage area. There was a massive grassed area where people were beginning to take a seat on the ground to enjoy the music.

  “I don’t mind it.” Even if I hated it, if it meant I got to spend another hour with him, then I’d happily do it. As luck would have it my music tastes were quite diverse and country music was on the list of styles I liked.

  We found an open spot at the back of the crowd and sat down just as the band began to play, using the brick wall of the building behind us to lean back against. Slipping his arm around me, he gently urged me into him. A smile touched my lips and a surge of happiness flowed through me. Maybe I was allowing my heart to get away from me, but I’d allow it for now.

  There were three bands in total and it was close to midnight before we found ourselves leaving for our vehicles. There was a great reluctance for both of us to end the date, so when my car finally came into view my heart sank just a little bit.

  “This is me,” I stated as I reached my canary-yellow Camaro. The Camaro was my mid-life crisis gift I’d guess. When people say men get them, I assure you they aren’t the only ones. I’d always wanted one and it had to be specific, it had to look like the Transformers’ Bumblebee with the only exception being that I wanted it to be a convertible. The summers here could get warm and there was nothing like driving down the highway with the top down and the motor purring.

  “Bumblebee.”

  I nodded, giving my girl an appreciative stare. “Indeed. Had to be Bumblebee or it wasn’t a deal.”

  “A Transformers fan then.”

  “Since I was a kid. Come on now, you can’t tell me you didn’t watch it as a kid.” Stepping into him, I looked up and deep into his eyes, hating that the night was ending.

  “Guilty.” Slipping his arms around my waist, he pulled me into him.

  As I slid my hands up his muscular chest to wrap them behind his neck, I pressed my body flush against him, melting into him. Grayson lowered his head and ghosted his lips across mine, practically taking my breath away from the slight contact.

  Time stopped in my mind as the kiss deepened and everything around us seemed to disappear, leaving only and me Grayson and the feelings he was generating within me. His hands began to move up and down my back, his thumb just barely grazing the underside of my breast fueling the desire building between my legs.

  It was as though he’d touched me a million times before, yet it was brand new at the same time. The swirl of emotions that coursed through me was intense and addictive. His tongue teased mine with masterful skill; the evidence of his desire was both in his kisses and the thick, hard bulge that was pressing against my pelvis. Each time we’d break away, I couldn’t resist from going back for more until I was in a near frenzy. It was a damned good thing we were on the side of the street and not at his place or I’d be putty in his hands.

  The only thing that could tear us apart was the sound of a siren and the flashing of red and blue lights.

  You’re got to be fucking kidding me! I groaned inwardly as I pulled away from the source of my pleasure to see a police car had pulled up behind my Camaro.

  4

  Grayson

  Oh, for fuck’s sake. Of all the things to have a cop coming after me for, me making out with a girl was not what I’d expect. Not that I was some sort of bad-ass lawbreaker—far from it. I was an average dude. But at the same time, this wasn’t the way I would have wanted one of the best dates I’d had in a long time to end. In reality, I should have ended the kiss and parted ways with her a bit ago, but fuck man; her body was so soft and curvy. Her lips were delicious, and the soft moans were turning my dick into a sledgehammer and making my balls painfully tight.

  I’d been tempted to invite her back to my place so we could finish what we’
d started, but this girl was special. She wasn’t like most of the girls I’d met online, she was smart, sexy and to boot seemed to be an amazing mother. A man would be a fucking idiot if he were to jump the gun on the sexual side of the relationship and jeopardize what could be something pretty good.

  With the lights still flashing on the car the cop got out.

  I found cops were hit and miss. Some were okay guys and others were complete dickwads. Stopping a couple who were making out on a Saturday night at midnight seemed to lean toward the latter in my mind. It’s not like I’d thrown her over the hood of the car and was fucking her in front of an audience.

  “Could I see some ID please?” the cop, whose nametag read Reed, asked.

  With a sigh, I pulled my wallet from the back pocket of my jeans while Riley dug through her purse for presumably her wallet. Despite it being dark, I could see her face was bright red.

  “Is this seriously necessary?” I asked, pulling my driver’s license from my wallet and passing it to him, not even concerned that there was agitation in my voice.

  “Public indecency is a crime, sir.”

  I fucking rolled my eyes at that. Public indecency my ass. Kissing my girl after having a good night out was hardly indecency. “I can’t say giving her a goodnight kiss qualifies in my book as indecency.”

  The cop didn’t reply as he accepted Riley’s license. “Just stay where you are, I’ll be right back.” He turned and went back to his patrol car.

  Whoa…. Wait…. Did I just call her my girl? Hmm.

  Seeing how embarrassed she was, I couldn’t help but try to lighten the mood. I wasn’t overly concerned about this situation; I was more pissed off than anything else. “How many of your dates end up with the police being involved?” I asked, giving her a wink when she looked up at me.

  “I don’t have words right now. This is so embarrassing.”

  I huffed, waving a dismissive hand at the car. “It’s nothing to worry about. Just an inconvenience.”

  Laughing she asked, “I have never had a date end with police. Makes me wonder though, do you have a habit of involving the police in your dates?”

  “Only the good ones.”

  Her mouth dropped open, but no words came out, making me chuckle. She was so fucking adorable. I really would have liked to get her into bed tonight, but it could wait.

  “Besides, this is going to be an amazing first date story to tell people at our wedding.”

  “I…. Ummm….” The poor girl was absolutely at a loss for words.

  Slinging my arm over her shoulders I leaned down and kissed the top of her head. This time however she didn’t melt into me like she had previously, her body remained stiff, but she didn’t try to get away so that was something at least.

  After five minutes or so the cop came back and handed us our IDs. “All right, you’re both free to go. Please refrain from lewd acts in public in the future.”

  “Thank you, Officer,” Riley said, stuffing her card back into her wallet. I could see the tension in her fade as the stiffness in her body evaporated.

  “I’ll see what I can do.”

  The cop and I locked gazes for a moment before he muttered, “Have a good evening,” and sauntered off.

  Yes, he was definitely one of the douche ones. There were real crimes going on in the city and he was concerned about a couple kissing. Complete bullshit.

  We watched the patrol car drive off before I turned back to her. She was giving off some serious signals to not attempt another kiss and so I respected that boundary.

  “Well, I guess that concludes our night,” I chuckled, reaching out to her and running my index finger along her jawline.

  “It does,” she whispered. Grabbing her keys from her purse she unlocked the car door and opened it up. “It was a good day. Thank you, Grayson.”

  “My pleasure, Riley.” I gave her a little half-bow and a wink.

  We exchanged a smile before she slipped into the car and closed the door behind her. Stepping away from the vehicle I watched her start the car and drive away before making my way back to my truck, which was parked six blocks away.

  ~*~ TT ~*~

  Riley

  “Ohmygod!” I groaned the moment I was in the car and Grayson was nothing more than a silhouette in my rearview mirror. I was so embarrassed. We were having a beautiful, hot, sexy moment and all of that ended in an instant the moment the blue and red lights began to flash. This was definitely going to be a date for the record books.

  And the way I left him…

  Damn, I totally played that wrong. I’d been so embarrassed I couldn’t have gotten away from him any quicker. There he was, handling the situation all cool and collected and I was acting as though I were a teenager caught with a joint. The good news was that I knew he wasn’t a criminal, otherwise he would have been waving good-bye to me from the back of the police car—so that was something, right?

  Cancel the criminal record check, I thought to myself with a chuckle.

  Would another quick peck have been that big of a deal? I asked myself, but knew the answer. It sure would have been because I would have wanted more. The cop had been the equivalent of throwing cold water onto a couple of horny teenagers.

  Would I have slept with him tonight? I wasn’t entirely sure. There was something there, I know he felt it too and the last thing I wanted to do was rush it. But still, just thinking of his kisses set my pussy on fire with anticipation. I was suspecting this was going to be one of those situations where I spent a fair amount of time masturbating. That is if he wanted to see me again. I felt as though he did, but you never did know. I’d been on dates where I was sure the guy was into me and nothing, and on the other hand I’d been on ones where I though the date was a complete crash and burn and they’d called the same night. You just never knew what was going through people’s heads and I wasn’t the type to plan on assumptions.

  By the time I was pulling into the driveway of my one-story bungalow home on the north side of town there was a beeping on my phone signaling a text message. My house was one-story, but the basement was finished and that was where my two eighteen-year-olds resided. They were fraternal twins and like most siblings they had a serious love-hate relationship going on.

  Pulling the car into the garage, I shut it off and pressed the button to lower the garage door before pulling my phone from my purse.

  Grayson: I had a wonderful night tonight. Just got home. *smiley face*

  Grinning, I felt that familiar flutter in my chest.

  Riley: How did you get home so quickly?!? I just pulled into the garage.

  Grayson: Maybe you drive Bumble Bee like a granny.

  I ran my tongue along the inside of my lips. The guy was cheeky, I’d give him that. Part of his charm, I supposed. He seemed to be the kind of man who would joke and tease, but not to the point where it was passive aggressive or in any way hurtful, which was so sweet and refreshing. Could I really have met such an incredible person on a dating site that I had no desire to be on in the first place?

  I didn’t know the answer to that.

  One thing I did know was that I liked him—a lot—and that scared the shit out of me, because liking him meant that I could be hurt. God knew I’d been hurt way too much in the past to take another hard fall.

  Getting out of the car, I exited the garage and walked down the short path to the back door of my house. Opening the back door, my reddish-brown bloodhound came bounding up the stairs from the kids’ floor and straight to me, a long string of drool flopping in the wind as he ran.

  Putting a foot out I stopped him before he could slime my outfit. I loved the dog, but when you were dressed up you needed to keep a wide berth between yourself and him or suffer the consequences.

  “Hold on buddy, let me get changed and then you can have some loving.” He sat before me with such soulful eyes that it made me feel like a complete asshole for not giving him pats. But the love would come, after I changed.

 
Leaving him behind, I went into my bedroom and placed my handbag on the dresser and stripped out of my clothing, slipping a cotton short-sleeved t-shirt over my head. The one beauty of being single and sleeping alone was that you didn’t have to worry about looking all sexy—comfort has got to be king.

  Grabbing my phone again, I looked back down at his message on the screen and smiled again tying my reply.

  Riley: I drive the speed limit thank you very much, one encounter with the police tonight was more than enough. *winkie face*

  I waited several minutes for a reply, but none came back to me. My heart sank just a little, but it was late perhaps he was already in bed. He did text so there was that at least.

  Plugging my phone on the charger, I left my bedroom to give my hound some goodnight cuddles and then head to bed. Though considering how badly Grayson was monopolizing my thoughts I wasn’t sure how quickly sleep would be coming to me.

  5

  Riley

  I’d been correct. The previous night I’d tossed and turned throughout the night as I thought about Grayson and analyzed our date. Obsessive? Probably. Could I stop myself? Not a chance. Most dates I wouldn’t really care, and I sure as hell wouldn’t spend the night obsessing, but when you go out on a date with someone that really matters then you can’t help but have your mind spinning.

  The phone on my nightstand buzzed as I was starting to finally drift off to sleep. Oh for heaven’s sake. I groaned, opening one eye and staring at the phone, which was sitting upright on its charger. For a minute there was a little debate in my head as to whether or not I should check the message, but curiosity got the better of me.