by Zoe Garcia
Maybe this was it.
Maybe this was the real thing, and I’d finally gotten my Mr. Right.
I was definitely looking forward to Saturday night.
But first…shopping.
Jeremy had blown me away with this gesture, and I definitely planned on blowing him away the next time we met.
9
Jeremy’s eyes practically popped on Saturday.
Yesterday, Alexa and I had practically scoured the mall until we’d found the little black number I now wore.
The dress had an uneven hem, revealing the legs I worked so hard to tone the last several months. Nice to know those squats and donkey kicks had payed off big time.
“Wow,” Jeremy managed.
I grinned and stepped into my living room in my favorite peep toe heels.
Mani pedis for the win.
The push-up bra I was wearing didn’t hurt either…
All in all, I looked and felt like a million bucks.
“Sorry to keep you waiting,” I said. Skye was at Mom and Dad’s again. They did not mind the extra time with her at all.
Jeremy came toward me. “No worries.” I’d texted him about ten minutes earlier when he rang the doorbell to let himself in and make himself comfortable.
He came in for a hug. Tonight he had on dark wash jeans, a white button-up, and a navy blue blazer, along with some caramel-colored dress shoes.
As we pulled apart, I couldn’t help but eye him up and down—and notice how good he smelled.
Another thing I noticed, just how close we still were.
Jeremy may as well have been a tantalizing piece of New York style cheesecake. I wanted to eat. Him. Up.
The desire was clear in his eyes too.
He came in for a kiss.
My eyes closed on their own while my hands curled around his neck.
His lips moved against mine, quickly going from sweet to intense. The way he pulled me in close to him…it drove me crazy.
But then he pulled back. “We should get going.” There was hesitation in his voice.
“Why?” I asked, wondering what had gone wrong.
He glanced down. “This is amazing, but…” he paused. “I don’t want you to think this is all I want because it’s not. I want all of you. Everything we’ve been doing. The amazing conversation. Time together. Eating together.”
Well, if I was turned on before, now I was about to combust.
I took a step back, his hand in mine. “Yeah?”
Without saying another word, just a playful expression on my face, I led him back to my room.
I hadn’t felt this naughty in a long time, and it was fun.
Jeremy looked like he wasn’t sure if he should be elated or surprised or shocked. I loved it.
I pushed him back onto my bed. “You know what?” I began running my hands down my body, slowly. “I’m kind of in the mood for dessert first tonight.”
He stood back up, but only so he could push me against the wall and kiss me like I was his dinner.
When my lipstick was long gone, he looked me straight in the eyes then began making his way down.
First, he kissed my neck, then my breasts, fondling them, squeezing…
Jeremy knelt down in front of me, pulled down my thong, and lifted up my dress just enough so he could gain access to his dessert for the night.
I instinctively lifted my leg onto his shoulder and leaned back against the wall. Then I closed my eyes, reveling in the absolute pleasure of his mouth on me.
Moans of pleasure escaped my throat the more he sucked and licked and teased. With one hand, he stroked my thigh, squeezed my ass. Next, he reached up through the inside of my dress and grabbed my breast, playing with my nipple.
The more he touched me, and with that eagerness, the closer I came to climaxing.
No one had ever made me feel this good, and I never wanted it to stop.
A few more seconds, and I came, not believing how amazing Jeremy had made me feel a second time.
I opened my eyes and looked down at him. He stood up, his eyes on me too. My hand went to his waist and slid down his erection slowly.
“I need you inside me,” I begged, hardly recognizing my own voice. “Right now.”
He led me back to my bed and I got ready on all fours while he unzipped. With one knee on the mattress, he entered me and began moving against me.
I cried out again at the feel of him. So thick and long. He was perfect, and he moved perfectly.
He went from slow and passionate to quick and needy. I could practically feel his desire for me, and it drove me crazy. That and the way he kept his hands on me. There was something about it.
Like this wasn’t just a transaction, a need getting fulfilled by two adults, but instead, a much deeper connection happening.
Trust was slowly building.
The energy between us only made the experience that much more amazing.
Jeremy continued pounding into me, hitting me just right, and he came.
A second later, I did too.
His hands moved slowly from my lower back and down my hips, then back up.
When he pulled out of me, I turned around and sat up. He leaned down and came in for another long kiss. It was like we couldn’t get enough of each other, and at the same time, I didn’t quite understand how I’d gotten here with this man.
It was incredible.
After we got cleaned up (and I fixed my hair), we finally made it to dinner.
Over steak and vegetables and way too much to drink, Jeremy told me about growing up and why he’d decided to become a cop.
“I just knew that I wanted to make a difference in some way…leave a legacy. It was also something that my father always dreamed of but never got the courage to do,” he said, staring down at his food.
His father had died of a heart attack a few years back. I couldn’t even imagine going through something like that. Losing a parent.
I took his hand. “I think it’s amazing what you do. Between being in law enforcement and your volunteer work, you’re practically a saint.”
He chuckled. “Far from it.”
I quirked a brow. “Why did you really want to go out with me in the first place? You know, with the woman who practically bit your head off when we met.”
He shrugged. “What can I say? There was just something about you that day. I’m not one to not follow my gut. And my gut was saying ‘ask her out because there’s something special about her.’”
I took a sip of my wine, impressed that he’d thought that about me, in that moment. “Is your gut usually wrong?” I teased.
He smiled. “Not usually, no,” he replied. “But you know what’s really funny?”
“Hmm?” I asked, grabbing another piece of steak.
Jeremy glanced down for a moment, completely serious. “I wasn’t even supposed to be working that day. My buddy called me that morning, asking if I could cover for him. His wife had gone into labor a couple of weeks early, and he was with her at the hospital.”
I blinked. “Really?”
He nodded. “Maybe fate decided we needed to run into each other that day.”
“Hm,” I said, thinking about that. “That makes sense. It wasn’t my fault I ran that red light. It was fate that made me do it.”
He’d taken a drink of his beer then, and just then, he sputtered out a laugh. “Yeah,” he replied. “Let’s go with that.”
We laughed and laughed, and then he reached his hand over to mine. “Whatever it was,” he said, serious again, “I’m really glad we met, Camila.”
The way he looked at me, squeezing my hand while he said those words, was both amazing and scary.
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt this way about anyone, and it terrified me.
Skye’s dad, he’d said some sweet things too, and then he’d up and left.
Jeremy wasn’t him, though, I reminded myself. This wasn’t a lie. This was real.
So yea
h, this was scary, but I wasn’t about to let fear take the driver’s seat anymore.
I was in charge, and what I knew was that I was all in with Jeremy.
It could all go to hell tomorrow, but I was okay with that.
I deserved this.
10
At the next Saturday morning coffee date with the Sexy AF Single Moms, I practically floated in.
Oaklynn quirked a brow as I sat down with the cheesiest smile that had ever existed in the world. “Someone got laid.”
Ruby grinned. “Someone got laid real good, it looks like.”
Alexa leaned forward. “I’m guessing the third date with Jeremy went well?”
I nodded. “Well would be the understatement of the year,” I said with a wink.
Ruby sighed. “It’s a beautiful thing, getting laid properly. The only action I’m getting right now is… none, actually.”
Oaklynn turned to her. “Things with Tinder dude not working out?”
Ruby shook her head. “Definitely not. He’s flaked on me twice now so I let him go.”
Penelope rested her head on her hand. “Well, at least one of us is having luck with the dating game right now. At this rate, we’ll all find Mr. Right by the time we’re fifty.”
“Guys, it was incredible,” I said. “Jeremy is…incredible.”
Penelope leaned forward. “Does Jeremy have friends? Brothers? A cousin, maybe?”
“One brother, actually,” I said.
All four of the girls practically lit up. Just before they opened their mouths to fight over him, I raised a hand. “He’s married, though.”
They all deflated with a groan.
Ruby frowned. “Why are all the good ones always taken?”
Alexa set down her coffee. “That’s scarcity mindset,” she said. “You’re never gonna find a man that way.”
Penelope rolled her eyes. “Someone’s been listening to podcasts again.”
Alexa gave her a matter-of-fact look. “Say what you want. Just watch, I’m going to find the man of my dreams next.”
I decided to jump in. “Guys, I don’t even know if things with Jeremy are going to work out, you know? It’s impossible to know for sure. What I do know, though, is that I’m going to give this my all, and I’m not gonna let myself be so scared that I just sabotage it.”
Ruby gave me a side hug. “I love that.”
Oaklynn smiled. “If there’s a way to do the dating thing, that’s it. Once you finally find a toad that is a prince. The problem is figuring out the difference.”
I had no idea what the answer to that was, but my heart told me that what I had with Jeremy was the real deal.
Maybe I’d finally kissed all the frogs and found my prince.
11
The following Wednesday, Jeremy texted me.
Jeremy: Morning, bella.
He’d looked up the word for beautiful and now it was his new nickname for me.
Another #PantyDropper.
It made me smile from ear to ear every time, even though I was running late and Skye had decided to throw a tantrum over the dress she’d picked out just five minutes earlier.
Frazzled was an understatement.
My phone buzzed with another text.
I noticed the time. Was that right?
Somehow I was supposed to have left the house five minutes ago, but I hadn’t even packed my lunch yet.
Thanks to the new season of Outlander and passing out on the couch last night… #NoRegrets
I checked the message from Jeremy.
Jeremy: I’m off today, and I want to see you later ;) so don’t pack any lunch, okay? I’ll take care of it.
I was back to cheesin’ it up. Hard.
Grabbing Skye and her stuff, I finally made it out the door.
This day was already looking up.
After making it to work on time, I sat down at my desk.
Alexa looked up at me. “Someone’s in a good mood today. And she hasn’t even had her first cup of coffee yet.”
“I know, right?” I replied. “Jeremy’s treating me to lunch today, and I can not wait.”
When noon finally rolled around, I practically sprinted out of the office, almost running Mr. McCallister over on my way out.
“Sorry!” I called out, a little mortified but still mostly excited to see Jeremy.
He was practically my boyfriend, right?
It had been a while since I’d done this, so I had no idea for sure, but things definitely seemed headed that way.
Jeremy was waiting for me outside. He honked and gave me a wave.
I walked right over and got in. “You didn’t have to pick me up.”
He leaned over to kiss me on the cheek. “I wanted to. Plus it’ll be faster. How’s your day going, by the way?”
“Good,” I said. “Especially now that my handsome—“ Uh oh. I stopped myself just before I uttered the word “boyfriend.” If I knew anything, it was that you weren’t supposed to just drop the b-word bomb like that… “My handsome friend is taking me to lunch.”
Talk about LAME RECOVERY.
Jeremy burst out laughing. “You can say it,” he said, turning to me with a cute grin. “My new girlfriend is pretty cute. See?” His eyes sparkled with amusement. “Nothing happened.”
I laughed too, loving how effortless he made things between us. “Okay, now that I’ve shown what a total dork I am, where are you taking me, my handsome boyfriend?”
Jeremy glanced to the back of his truck. There was a picnic basket in the back and a folded blanket set neatly on top.
“You cooked for me?” I asked way too loudly.
He laughed again. “No, definitely not. Not unless you’re a fan of burnt food. I got carryout for us.”
I mean, it only made sense that Jeremy couldn’t cook. He had the looks, the personality, he caught bad guys for a living, and he had amazing skills in bed. If he had been a great cook too… the universe could only do so much.
A few minutes later, we pulled into a local park and found a picnic table.
“Oh, it’s so nice,” I said, enjoying the breeze and the rays of sunshine on my face.
We dug into lunch, tacos from a local authentic Mexican food place.
“These are the real deal,” I said, adding more salsa to my taco.
“Yeah?” Jeremy said. “I found it on Google. I knew it had to be authentic because I hardly understood the menu or the guy taking my order. Finally, his teenage son came over and helped me out.”
I smiled. “Yeah? Don’t speak Spanish, do ya?” I asked.
He shook his head. “Not unless you count ‘gracias’ and a few choice bad words I learned from a buddy back in high school. Are you fluent?”
“I am,” I said with a wink. “Born and raised here, but I was that kid always translating for my parents growing up.”
He finished his taco and wiped his mouth. “That sure sounds interesting. If it had been me, I probably would’ve been causing all kinds of trouble.”
“You?” I teased. “The good guy cop? Causing trouble as a kid?”
He began putting away everything back into the basket. “Oh yeah. How do you think I ended up on this path? Had to learn a lesson or two the hard way during my youth.”
Now I was intrigued. I helped him throw away our trash. “Tell me more about your dark and haunted past,” I joked.
But he remained serious. “You know, school suspensions, getting into fights, underage drinking, that sorta thing.”
We sat back down. I took his hand. It seemed like the past wasn’t something he liked to talk about that much. I could see why. I’d made peace with my past, but it had taken me a while to get here.
Maybe there was something he just wasn’t ready to talk about yet.
Jeremy put his arm around me, and I leaned my head against him, enjoying the warmth radiating off his body more than the sunshine. “Enough about the past. Tell me what you want for your future? Any big dreams?”
He e
xhaled, brushing his hand up and down my arm as he thought about it. “I can’t say I have any big crazy dreams. I really just want a quiet, happy life. A wife I love. Kids of my own. Keep doing what I love. Being a police officer, maybe work my way up to sergeant one day, keep serving as a mentor to local kids. Give ‘em the father figure or big brother figure they need in their lives.”
Completely blown away by what an amazing guy he was, I said, “Yeah, nothing too big. Just keep changing people’s lives here, saving lives over there.”
He chuckled at that. “What about you?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know.”
He looked at me, curious. “I think you do know.”
I glanced around. “Really, I just want to give Skye the best life. Give her everything she needs. Give her a great start in life. Be her biggest fan and watch her do things I could never even dream about.”
Jeremy brushed a strand of hair out of my face. “What do you dream about, bella?” he asked quietly.
A knot formed in my stomach at the thought of answering that question out loud. “Maybe starting my own accounting firm one day? I’d need to go back to school, maybe get a business degree, but I don’t know. It would take me away from Skye too much right now. Maybe when she’s older. For now, I’m fine where I am.”
Jeremy pulled me in close again, gave me a soft kiss on the head. “Don’t ever settle. You get one life. Besides, how are you gonna teach your daughter to go after her wildest dreams when you aren’t willing to do the same?”
I kissed him in response, loving the new perspective he’d given me.
After that, it was time for me to head back to work. The whole way back, Jeremy held my hand, and I couldn’t help but think about what he’d said.
Maybe he was right.
I had no idea.
But I liked the way he thought about things, about life. How he went after what he wanted. Becoming a cop hadn’t been easy for him because of the trouble he’d gotten himself into as a teen, but he’d stuck with it until he’d made his dream a reality.
Somehow, I’d stumbled onto the kind of man you only found once in a lifetime, the kind of man I never thought I’d find, much less deserved.
