We drove around for little bit until we found a sports bar that didn’t have many cars in the parking lot. That was definitely my version of upscale because it wasn’t fast food. We got a table, ordered two waters, and when I opened the menu—I didn’t see anything fancy at all.
“Much better…” I traced the list with my fingers. “They even have steak!”
“Yeah, and I’m pretty sure it’s going to be a real steak here—I even get to choose what cut I want.” Cain chuckled.
“Look at those appetizers. Everything is deep fried!” I struggled not to lick my lips in anticipation, which would have definitely smeared my lipstick.
We ordered mozzarella sticks for our appetizer and I was able to get a burger, with double fries. Cain ordered a steak with a fully loaded baked potato. The entire meal was probably going to cost less than the glass of water we would have gotten at The Hawthorne. Our waiter was a lot less rigid, told a couple of jokes, and made a big fuss when he found out that it was our first date. By the time our food arrived, my nerves had leveled out and I was actually having a lot of fun.
Cain told me all about his life, especially the parts that weren’t covered in the letters. His sister, Bridget and his niece, Abby, were a huge part of it. His sister had struggled a lot over the years after becoming a single mom before she got her driver’s license. Cain might as well have been a saint in my eyes for stepping up and helping them after he got out of the Navy. It seemed like he was more of a father to Abby than the one who knocked up his sister, that was for sure. If someone like him had come into my life when I was dealing with everything after my parents’ divorce, I might have believed in something other than disappointment.
We finished our food and it was time for dessert, but I was seriously stuffed. The burger was enormous, the fries were bigger on the plate than in my head—especially since I got a double serving—and all I really wanted was a long walk to work off a few calories. Unfortunately, I was wearing murder-heels so that wasn’t going to happen.
“Well if we aren’t in the mood for dessert, I guess we should head out.” Cain sipped his water and put the glass down. “We’re making good time.”
“Good time? Do we have to be somewhere?” I glanced at my watch.
“Yeah, I got us tickets for the Helium Comedy Club, but we’ve got two hours to kill before the show.” Cain shrugged. “I thought we would be at The Hawthorne all night waiting for our food.”
“We probably would have been.” I chuckled and nodded. “Two hours—hmm.”
“I’m sure we can find something to do near the club—something that doesn’t involve much walking since I nearly pulled you out of your shoes earlier.” Cain grinned.
“Yeah, I borrowed them and regret it every time a take a step.” I nodded and grumbled under my breath.
“Let’s go shoe shopping then.” Cain pushed his chair back. “The Helium Club isn’t going to mind if you show up in flats.”
“Uh…” I glanced away nervously. “I don’t think I can afford a new pair of shoes.”
“I was planning to spend a fortune at The Hawthorne. Let me buy you a pair.” He reached for my chair and helped me stand.
“You don’t have to do that.” I shook my head back and forth. “I’ll be fine in these.”
“Nonsense. Come on.” He took my hand and led me towards the door—walking a little slower than before.
He’s really going to take me shoe shopping…
I might not have been in love, but god damn—Chloe was fucking gorgeous. The way the dress hung on her curves—and the curves themselves. They were a mesmerizing sight. When I helped her into my truck, it was hard to look away. I was fighting everything inside me not to just go for a kiss when we pulled up to the shoe store. The chemistry between us was off the charts. I had never met a woman so easy to talk to—so easy to get along with. I chose The Hawthorne because I thought she would expect me to take her to a nice place, and she wanted burgers and fries.
Hell, I might propose to this woman before the end of the night.
I wasn’t really going to propose, despite feeling like she was the most perfect woman I had ever spent part of an evening with. If we were going to follow the rules, we couldn’t even consider intimacy until we had been together for three months. That didn’t stop me from liking everything I saw. It also didn’t distract me from the fact that I hadn’t held a woman in my arms outside of a mistaken one night stand shortly after I left the Navy. Three months with a woman as gorgeous as Chloe was going to be torment. It was enough to make me consider just breaking the rules—it wasn’t like they were going to bind us.
I’m sure a lot of people don’t follow Grace’s rules. If it’s right—it’s right. Fuck, why have I always been the guy who tried to do things the right way?
“Alright, let’s find you something that won’t cause you to fall on your face by the end of the night.” I opened her door and extended my hand to help her down out of my truck.
“Funny, I said the same thing to my roommate.” She chuckled.
And then, as if fate itself decided to intervene or the devil had a dirty trick up his sleeve, she caught the edge of her heel on the running board—and fell. I had one of her hands for support, but that wasn’t going to break her fall. Her foot hit the ground so hard the heel cracked on the pavement and she went tumbling. I reacted with quickness that would have made my old commanding officer proud. I snatched her arm towards me and went down to a knee as I caught her waist. Her hand hit the pavement as I grabbed her waist, but she stayed suspended in the air without kissing the pavement before I had a chance to plant one on her lips.
“Fuck!” She flushed red as I lifted her back and held her hand as she tried to balance on one heel.
“Ah, so you do curse.” I kept her steady with my hand.
“Only when I get excited or angry—a little of both right now.” She reached down and took off her broken shoe with the hand I wasn’t holding. “Lola is going to kill me! She wanted to wear these on her date…”
“It might be repairable.” I took if from her hand. “Got some chewing gum? We can glue it back on.”
“Maybe they can do something with it inside.” She exhaled sharply. “It’s not scuffed too bad.”
I noticed she was trying to hold her bare foot off the ground, and not let her toes touch the sidewalk. I was already holding onto her, so I decided to just scoop her up and carry her into the shoe store.
“Hey—what—oh!” She grabbed my neck when I lifted her off the ground.
“Don’t worry. I’m a firefighter. I carry people all the time.” I grinned and walked over to the shoe store, hitting the door with my back. “We’ve got a shoe emergency!”
“Oh god, now I’m even more embarrassed.” She squeezed her eyes shut, but she couldn’t suppress a giggle.
“What can I help you with?” A salesman, with a tag that indicated his name was George, came walking towards us in a hurry. “We’re about to close…”
“You’re going to have to give us a few minutes.” I turned Chloe towards him. “I’ve got a woman who has already broken one shoe, definitely shouldn’t be wearing heels, and is in dire need of some flats—can you help?”
“Um, uh—yes sir.” George nodded quickly.
“Okay, please fix this shoe.” I pushed the broken one into his hand. “We’ll go find a new pair while you work.”
“You’re too much.” Chloe shook her head and giggled again.
I carried Chloe over to the shoes and put her down on a bench. I knelt down to remove the remaining heel and did my best not to stare at her long slender leg—too long. After both shoes were off, she hopped up to her feet and walked over to the selection that was lining the walls.
“Yeah, these are way too much.” She shook her head back and forth. “Let’s look at the clearance section.”
“Seriously, pick out a pair of shoes.” I walked over and grabbed the first one on the display rack that I saw. “These look fi
ne.”
“Um, those cost more than the ones I wore in here.” She put the shoe back. “Let me look at the cheaper stuff.”
Chloe looked up and down a couple of aisles and finally found a pair that she was comfortable with me buying—actually, I think she just wanted to find something she could afford herself because she insisted on buying them when she brought them over to try them on. I had to pull the George aside and tell him that even if she tried, he was charging it to my card. He was happy getting the sale either way, and it was a few minutes past time for him to close, so he didn’t seem to mind either way.
“I think these will work.” Chloe stood and started walking up and down the aisle to test them out. “Yeah, they feel good.”
“Were you able to repair the other shoe?” I looked over at George.
“Yes sir. It’s waiting for you at the counter.” He smiled and nodded.
“Perfect. Ready to go?” I picked up her discarded high heel.
“Yeah, but let me pay…” She dug a hand into her purse.
“We already have a card on file.” George held up his hand. “You can pick up your other shoe and be on your way.”
“A card on file—Cain…” Chloe glared at me.
“Come on.” I took her hand. “We can actually go for a walk now before the show.”
“I guess so.” She nodded and walked with me towards the door. “I still wish you would let me pay for my shoes. I’m not a charity case.”
“Says the woman with no job…” I winked at her.
We drove to the Helium Comedy Club and found a parking spot that was close enough to walk to the club and the park nearby. I held her hand as we walked, and it felt so comfortable. We talked, cracked a few jokes, and were both laughing after one lap around the park. Her new shoes held up a lot better than her heels, but she never let go of my hand, even when she no longer needed it for support.
“Watch it, there’s a pebble in front of you—might slip and bust a kneecap.” I chuckled and pointed out the tiny rock.
“I didn’t expect you to be this playful…” She stopped and turned to look at me. “Your letters seemed so serious.”
“I live with a ten year old—I kind of have to be playful.” I shrugged and nodded. “Abby almost convinced me to play Minecraft last week—after I learned what Minecraft was.”
“I can’t envision you hunched over a computer.” She shook her head back and forth.
“No, definitely not my thing.” I smirked. “I know how to be serious when the moment calls for it.”
“Do you?” She bit down on her bottom lip and looked up at me.
“I do.” I pulled her close and crushed her lips beneath mine.
The kiss was absolutely perfect. Her lips felt amazing on mine and when they parted, I pushed my tongue between them with a hunger that I hadn’t felt in years. I was gentle at first, but I felt a ferocity coming from her—a moan that echoed against my lips. I slid my hand behind her neck and ravaged her mouth, soaking in the magic of the moment that belonged to us. I didn’t want to ever pull away—I just wanted to kiss her for three straight months until the rules said we could be intimate—not that I gave a shit about the rules anymore. I knew what I wanted and what I wanted was in my arms—nothing but thin fabric keeping our skin from radiating against each other. I kissed her until my head spun and I was finally forced to pull away and gasp for breath.
“Fuck…” She blinked a couple of times.
“I hope that is out of excitement, rather than anger.” I grinned and tilted my head to the side.
“Excitement. Definitely excitement!” She nodded so quick it was almost comical. “Three months, huh?”
“Someone’s mind is in the gutter.” I narrowed my eyes. “Do you think I’m the kind of guy that puts out on the first date?”
“I don’t know. How many first dates have you been on?” She tilted her head to the side.
“A few…” I shrugged slowly. “You?”
“None that have made me feel like this…” She looked down and exhaled sharply. “I guess we should get to the show—otherwise that three month rule is about to be the last thing on my mind.”
“Yeah, probably a good plan.” I took her hand, but she didn’t move when I started walking.
“I’ve never—by the way.” She looked up as I turned back towards her.
“Never on the first date?” I nodded. “Respectable—I’m no saint.”
“No, I mean…” She hesitated for a moment. “Never, never.”
“Oh!” My eyes opened wide. “You’re—a virgin?”
“Yeah.” She nodded quickly. “Which makes the fact that I’m feeling what I’m feeling even crazier.”
“I like you—trust me, there’s a part of me that just wants to say fuck the rules entirely, but let’s wait…” I exhaled sharply. “As hard as it is for me to say that, knowing that you want it too, I would much rather make it special if it’s your first time.”
“I think it would be special, no matter what.” She looked down and sighed. “But you’re right. I’m just getting ahead of myself because I’ve never met anyone like you before—someone I feel like I could trust so freely without being scared for my life.”
“I feel the same way about you.” I nodded. “Okay, let’s go to the show. We might end up being late if we don’t hurry.”
And I might end up changing my mind if we miss the opening act.
I thought I would be the girl that never felt fireworks when a man pulled me close for a kiss. Actually, I thought that was just imaginary stuff people made up when they were trying to describe a perfect romance that didn’t exist. I felt them when Cain kissed me though—boy did I feel them. It was like the sky opened up with a show better than the one that went off at midnight on New Year’s Eve in Times Square. It blew my world apart harder than the sonic boom everyone was still talking about when some guy broke the sound barrier over Michigan in an experimental government plane right after midnight.
I’m head over heels and I’m not even wearing heels anymore. This is going to be bad, because I’m putting every bit of trust I swore I’d never give anyone, in a man I just met.
Cain wasn’t like most men though. He wasn’t a jerk. He was sweet, kind—and absolutely hilarious when he wanted to be. He took charge of situations and didn’t care if he looked like a fool carrying some girl with a broken shoe into a shoe store right before they closed—treating it like the place was an ER and my shoe emergency was life or death. Not to mention the fact that I would have left a layer of makeup and part of my face on the sidewalk if he hadn’t caught me when I fell out of his truck.
“Ah, that’s our table.” He pointed towards one near the stage.
“That sign says there’s a two drink minimum…” I looked at the sign as we walked past it.
“Don’t worry, we can just order a soda—it’ll be just as expensive as a glass of whiskey.” He chuckled and led me to the table.
The comedian in the opening act was funny, but he didn’t make me smile as much as Cain had over the course of the evening. The main comedian on the stage was better, but even they didn’t compare to the man beside me—the man holding my hand—the man that made me think about things I never dreamed of actually going through with. Not on the first date, not ever. The closest I came was my college boyfriend, but I pushed him away every time his hand started to explore more than the top layer of my clothes. It never felt right, even when I thought I liked him. I didn’t understand what real attraction was. Real attraction was primal—it did something to me—something unnatural.
I’ve never had a desire to literally rip a man’s clothes off before, but that shirt would look so much better on the floor than on his—oh, so muscular body.
I truly didn’t understand the things going on inside me. His touch made my skin feel like it was sizzling. Seeing him smile made my stomach flutter—was that butterflies? I had never felt butterflies before. Somewhere between my second and third glass of
soda, I had to take a quick trip to the restroom and my panties weren’t wet because I had been sweating down there—they were literally saturated with lust. That had never happened before. Even when I was turned on and had to resort to pleasuring myself, my panties were off long before my pussy got wet enough to leave any evidence behind.
I’m going to turn into a raging sex fiend at this rate.
“Everything okay?” Cain looked up at me as I walked back to the table.
“Yeah, I’m good.” I smiled and sat down.
No, I didn’t run my panties under the hand dryer in the bathroom—that would be crazy. If someone says they saw someone doing it—it wasn’t me.
The show ended and we walked back to Cain’s truck. I wanted to plant my feet firmly on the sidewalk and refuse to move—because that would mean that I got to spend more time with him. I wasn’t just in danger of turning into the first virgin sex fiend, I was going to end up being a crazy clingy person too. I tried to get my head together as we approached his truck, but when he helped me back into the cab and he had to put his hand on my leg to make sure it was far enough in for the door to safely close—all I could think about was him balling my dress around his fist and ripping it off.
Is this how normal people feel when they go on a date—or is this instantaneous desire something that is creeping up on me because I’ve never felt safe trusting someone before?
We made what I could only describe as small talk on the way back to my car. I was having trouble communicating, because my head was still wrapped around the strange desire coursing through my body. The date was about to be over. I knew it wasn’t going to end on a mattress, even if I wanted it to, but I had so much fun with him that I had no idea how I was going to go home alone and wrap my thoughts around normal stuff—like finding a job, figuring out why nobody would call me back, submitting more applications—that mundane stuff might as well have been noise that thoughts of Cain was completely drowning out.
“Okay, here we are.” Cain pulled his truck into the parking space next to my car. “I guess this place empties out once The Hawthorne closes.”
Dear Mr. Firefighter: The Match Maker Series Page 7
