by Piper Page
“I wouldn’t know.” I laughed.
She narrowed her eyes. “Try to instigate a few little tiffs every now and again, and you’ll be amazed how they want to treat you like the princess you are.” She slapped the pink tube into my palm and closed my fingers around it. “Wear it with confidence, Mal.” she winked.
“Thanks.” I hugged her and ran as best I could in my heels to the restroom to smear the gloss over my mouth. In the mirror, I peered at my image.
My dress was filmy and flowing in a crisp green that reminded me of Adrian’s eyes. It dipped low on my bust line and flowed in a flattering cascade of gauzy material over my waist and hips and cut mid thigh in length. I had added a pair of black strappy heels that revealed my freshly painted toes. I purposely left my hair down, but managed to straighten it into some semblance of smooth, glossy locks. I dabbed at my lips and wiped at the corners of my lined eyes and then looked once more at my reflection.
“Not too bad Basso. Not bad at all.” I felt amazing, and I hoped that showed on my face.
“Hey Mal, your date is here,” yelled Leslie down the short hallway that led to the restroom.
I took a deep breath and blew out all the nerves. “Here we go.” I took my time to walk the short distance, one to make a more nonchalant entrance so I wouldn’t accidentally trip and fall on my heels.
Adrian was standing at the door with perfectly styled hair, a baby blue knit v-neck shirt that hugged his muscles in a delicious way, and a pair of dressy yet somehow casual gray slacks. In his hands he held a single rose. I couldn’t help but grin.
“Why do I feel like I’m going out on my first date? Should I be in by ten?” I glanced at Leslie. Robbie was perched on the counter behind her smiling like a fool. I looked from each of their faces and then back to Adrian. I had the sneaky suspicion I had missed something. I whirled around, trying to see if I had accidently tucked my skirt into my panties. Then I looked at them all again. “What’s going on?”
Robbie waved a crisp white envelope in the air and Leslie literally squealed with delight. I looked questioningly at Adrian.
His smile was so cute and innocent. “I brought you all tickets for Monday night’s game.”
Leslie jumped and clapped. “Best boyfriend ever,” she exclaimed in a sing song voice.
“Leslie,” I whispered in a harsh tone and gave a sideways nod and glance towards Robbie.
Robbie laughed. “Yeah, I’ve got to agree with her this time around. Best boyfriend without a doubt, and thanks man, I mean Adrian, really nice of you.” Robbie stumbled over his words.
“No problem.” Adrian looked at me and extended his hand. “You look stunning. Are you ready to go? We have an early reservation.”
I took his hand. “Should I grab a sweater?”
His eyes traveled over my throat and my cleavage. “Not on my account.”
Leslie winked at me. “Have fun, kids. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” she called after us.
Robbie’s words followed us out the door. “Door is wide open for you then, Adrian!”
The last thing I heard was a screech of Leslie’s voice as she yelled at Robbie.
Adrian buckled me in and closed my door before he got into his car beside me. He leaned over and kissed my cheek. “Hi.”
“Hi.”
His eyes gleamed with his smile. “You look absolutely gorgeous. I’m having a hard time not dragging you to the back seat right now.”
I laughed, both out of amusement and nerves. “The back seat, really? Have you done that a lot?” I instantly regretted asking. I didn’t want to know, didn’t want to think about Adrian with anyone else.
“Well, I was a teenager. Are you telling me you never had sex in the back seat of a car before?” His eyes starred at me as if to challenge my confession.
I turned away and looked out the window. Should I tell him the truth?
“Seriously? I thought all teenagers made it in backseats.”
I looked directly at his profile as he watched the road. “I never did.”
“Boyfriends with access to bedrooms?” He nodded like he was proud of these mysterious boys.
“No, not that either.”
His eyes flickered with confusion.
I changed the subject. “So where are you taking me Mr. Maxwell?”
He beamed a bright smile that showed his ivory white, straight teeth. “First dinner at Le Place and then something special for dessert.” He shot a look at me and winked.
I relaxed, feeling the pressure of our discussion defuse. “That sounds nice and secretive.”
He only continued to smile as he sailed the Lexus into a parking spot, sprinted out, and opened my door for me. “Miss.” He bowed and offered me his hand.
I took his arm and walked into the restaurant feeling like I was floating in a dream. I watched as several people recognized Adrian, and women ogled him with lustful eyes. I tightened my grip on his arm, and he patted my hand reassuringly, keeping his full focus on me. We were escorted to a corner booth that was away from the more crowded tables. It was dimly lit and private. Adrian stood to the side while I was seated. He waved off the menus when the waiter offered them.
“I ordered for us already. I hope that’s okay.”
I loved that he did. “Yes, that’s perfect. Thank you.”
The waiter returned with a bottle of white wine. He filled my glass, and Adrian covered his with his hand. I understood his aversion.
“You didn’t have to order wine for me. I don’t have to drink, especially when I know you don’t.”
“I drink, just not much and never if I’m driving.”
“Oh,” I felt my face redden. “I’m sorry I assumed.”
Adrian took my hand. “Don’t apologize. I understand why you would think that. I don’t have an issue with alcohol. I have an issue with people not knowing they have an addiction to it.”
“I gotcha.”
“So, tell me something.”
I looked at him, giving him my full attention. “Why did you never have sex in high school? No one special enough?”
The mental cage door slammed and caught me behind its bars. I hadn’t escaped. “I guess I never met the right person in high school.”
“That’s reasonable. So, college?”
I shook my head. Please let me out I screamed, and shaking my imaginary prison bars.
He gave me a look of disbelief. “When did you find someone special enough?”
I hesitated, chewing on the fullness of my lip. Adrian leaned over to me and pulled my lip free with his own teeth. He suckled on the puffy bite mark.
My mind was running up and down, striking each bar with a tin cup. I moaned. “There wasn’t anyone special enough until I met you.” I whispered into his mouth.
He shrank back in the booth and stared at me.
I held his eyes with my own and gave him a weak shrug and a timid smile. “Are you upset?”
“What? Oh my god, no.” He took both my hands. “How could I be upset with that? You have given me something I could have never deserved.” He released one of my hands and wove his fingers through his hair. “Wow, Mallory I had no idea. I mean…wow, you were, you are amazing.”
Now my face was burning with embarrassment. I felt him kiss my cheeks and my mouth. “Thank you. I’ll forever treasure that night,” he said. “I have something for you. It means even more to me now to give it to you.” He kept hold of my hand and reached into his pants pocket. When he extracted his hand, in his fingers he held a black velvet box, and I flushed.
“Adrian, you don’t have to buy me things.”
“I didn’t buy it.”
I crinkled my nose and squinted at him.
“Open it.”
I was anxious. What was he giving me? I slowly eased back on the lid as it opened I could see a small sea of pink silk. The lid went wide, and I spied a sparking glitter of silver and sapphire. My hand went over my mouth.
He took it out of the bo
x, and the light from the candle on the table created shimmering facets of sparkles from the multitude of cuts on the sapphire. The twinkle lights danced all over the two of us as he reached around my neck and fastened the chain, adjusting the pendant so that it was nestled in the valley of my breasts. I laid my hand over it and could feel my heart beating fierce under my rib cage.
“It’s beautiful, Adrian.”
“It was my mother’s, and now, it’s yours.”
My heart nearly exploded with emotions. “Oh no, I can’t accept this. It belongs with your family.”
Adrian’s mouth cut off my words and my breath. He kissed me with a firm need. “You belong with me.”
I thought I was going to cry. “Adrian, I have to tell you something.”
He sat back and waited, watching me.
I swallowed. “When I told you my brother had forbidden us from being together, there was more. I…I was afraid you didn’t think I was good enough to be with you.” I felt ashamed saying it and dropped my eyes so he couldn’t see it in my face. “I’m sorry for thinking that.”
His fingers lifted my chin. “Kitten, you’re everything to me.”
Our dinner was delicious. Adrian ordered items that were new and mouthwateringly luscious, and as promised, he had something special planned for dessert. He excused himself to make a quick phone call, and I fingered the precious necklace around my neck. He was sweet to give it to me, and I believed now that he was serious about what we might have. I wasn’t going to be another piece of eye candy on his arm. It made me smile to think of myself as eye candy—I was more like a distracting marshmallow.
“All set. Are you ready for dessert?”
“Mmmhmm.” I scooted back over to make room for him next to me.
“Come with me.” He held out his hand. “Come on.”
I slipped my hand into his. Feeling his fingers fit into mine was quickly becoming one of my favorite things. He drew me in close, wrapping his arm low on my back with his hand on my hip as he walked me from the table to the car. I fingered the pendent on my skin while I waited for him to buckle his own seatbelt and start the car, putting it in dive and moving us to wherever he had planned for our dessert—maybe his apartment?
The sun was beginning to fall down low on the horizon and illuminate the sky with a fiery orange and soft pink. It looked like a painting in the sky as we pulled into Warinanco Park. I looked around. People were leaving. Runners were finishing up. Bikers were loading their bikes back into their vehicles and children were complaining as parents tried to wrangle them up for the homestretch.
“We are having dessert here? Doesn’t the park close at dark?”
Adrian rubbed my upper thigh. “I’ve made arrangements and it’s only sunset.” he winked.
I could do nothing but trust him.
We walked hand in hand down the sidewalk from the parking lot to a nearby gazebo. Before we had fully reached the structure, I could see the candle light flickering in the evening air. As I ascended the stairs, my heels clicking against the wood surfaced steps, I saw that a small round table was situated in the middle with two chairs set beside it. Its top was covered with a pristine white table cloth, two candles, and a vase of roses. On a single plate, flanked by two forks was a decadent slice of cheesecake. Adrian pulled out a chair for me, then seated himself beside me. He picked up one fork and sliced through the wedge of creamy cake, lifting it to my lips. Once I opened my mouth and indulged in the proffered bite, he followed the retreating fork and kissed my lips, letting the tip of his tongue trace over the line of my mouth.
“Like it?”
“Very much.”
He fed me another bite. The dessert was outstanding, but the kisses that followed were exquisite. When we were finished Adrian took my hands and asked me to go for a walk with him.
“Don’t we have to leave, since it’s dark now?”
He shook his head.
“Is it safe?” I asked as we made our way further from the gazebo and the parking lot, snaking our way to the lesser used area of the park. It was secluded by tall trees and hidden nooks.
“You’re always safe with me, Mallory.” He held my hand as my heels sank into the soft earth under our feet. We maneuvered through a gathering of tall pines. It felt like he knew exactly where he was going. The moon was glowing by the time we emerged into a clearing well off the beaten path. Adrian placed me in the middle of the clearing. “Wait here.”
My heart started to race in panic. “Don’t leave me!” I grappled for his hand.
He came up to me, placed his hands on either side of my face and kissed me. “Stay here. I won’t be out of your sight.”
“Okay,” I agreed hesitantly. I stood still, watching him. He moved to the tree line and bent over, picking up a zipped up bag. Inside were blankets, a battery-operated lantern, and his iPod, with a speaker. He kept his eyes on me, which kept me rooted to my spot while he spread out the blankets on the ground, turned the knob that illuminated the lantern and cast a soft glow over the clearing as he set the volume to low on the speakers, allowing quiet music to mingle with the night sounds of the outside. It was unbelievably romantic.
“I thought we could share some quiet time away from everyone—no phones, no interruptions.”
“No motor cars, not a single luxury?” I interrupted teasingly.
He gave me a quizzical look.
“You never watched Gilligan’s Island?” I rolled my eyes. Boy, we had a lot of television to watch together.
He smirked. “No.” His form moved to the blanket and he knelt down. “Come lay down with me, there’s a perfect view of the stars from here.” He patted the blanket beside him.
I didn’t hesitate. I kicked off my heels and smoothed my dress down behind my bottom as I sprawled out on my back and stared at the sky. It glittered with a million stars and reminded me of the sapphire I now wear around my neck. This necklace was my personal Adrian-universe. I didn’t realize it, but Adrian was no longer looking at the night sky, he was gazing at me. I felt my cheeks flush with color.
“Why are you staring at me?”
“I’ve never seen anything as beautiful as you are right now.”
I tuned my face away. He turned it back. “Just keep looking at the stars, kitten.”
There was the sensation that flooded my insides when he used that word. I looked up. I held my breath when his fingers traced my exposed collar bone, but I kept my eyes on the stars. His warm breath was moist on the side of my neck. He licked at the cords of my throat and I closed my eyes and sighed.
“Open your eyes.”
My eyelids opened, and the stars twinkled. I heard the shuffling of his body in his clothes and felt the cool air rush in against me from where his body had shifted away. I jumped at the stroke of his fingers on the inside of my knee. I could sense the filmy fabric of my skirt being brought up high over my thighs. Adrian used gentle pressure with his fingers to part my legs. I wanted to look down at him, see his face, but I kept my eyes lost in the stars and relied on my skin to show me where he was, how he touched me.
When his breath washed over my inner thighs, I curled my fingers into tight fists, fighting an urge to close my legs and turn in embarrassment. But I wanted this. I wanted to feel Adrian bring me to the brink of pleasure and send me sailing over that edge again. I didn’t want to focus on the fact that we were outside in a public park. I trusted him.
His lips kissed the tender skin on the inner side of my thighs, he nipped and lapped, and I couldn’t help but squirm. “Shh, be still, kitten. Don’t move.”
I froze, was there something out there? Did someone come up upon us, here in the dark? Two lovers with obviously more in mind that star gazing.
“Adriahhhhhhh!” His mouth was kissing the triangular satin material of my panties. The warmth of his breath brought a surge of vibrations from the center of my being, and I lifted my hips to meet his mouth. His hands took the opportunity to slip beneath my bottom, and his fingers edg
ed the delicate material down over my hips and down past my thigh, leaving me fully exposed to the night air. The mixture of the cool dampness and his hot breath were sending me to levels I had yet to discover. It was intoxicating. His tongue darted forward, and I couldn’t hold back the whimpers that were on my lips. He worked on me with incredible skill until I was writhing around his mouth, pressing into his lips and begging for his tongue.
“That’s my sexy kitten.”
And that was when my cries broke through the silent clearing.
How could he tease this kind of feeling with such ease from my body? I was shaking, and he didn’t stop. My fingers were tangled in his hair. He moved his mouth up from between my legs, his hands searching my skin to bring me more pleasure. I wiggled and moaned under the weight of his body on top of mine. His mouth was at my ear. He bit the fleshy lobe, and I cried out again. The sound of my moans drove him forward. I heard the metal of his pants’ zipper undo and felt his hardness enter me. I moaned again. His hand snaked behind my head and his mouth devoured mine with greedy need.
“I’ve needed you again since I left your kitchen. I can’t be without you.” His body moved against mine, pushing deeper, and I matched his thrusts with hungry want.
“Yes, Adrian.”
Our breath was shallow, gasping between whimpers and groans. If there were any animals near or within hearing distance I was certain we had scared them right back into hiding. I felt the mounting apex of our actions and I gripped the back of his shoulders, digging my nails into his skin beneath his shirt. My legs wrapped about his hips, and he lifted my bottom off the blanket with his hands, driving to the full depths of my sex. I clenched my inner muscles and let the pleasure rip through me and out of my mouth. Adrian joined me, biting down on my shoulder. His body convulsed on top of me, and I felt the rush of his pleasure enter my insides. I never wanted it to end.
We lay together, entangled in one another’s limbs there on the blankets until we caught our breaths. “Did I hurt you?” he asked.
I turned to him and stroked the side of his face with my hand. “I don’t think you would ever hurt me.”
