Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
HARPER
“ W hy do I have nothing to wear?”
I’m standing in front of my closet in my robe, with a towel wrapped around my hair, stressing about this date tonight.
“Let me see your options,” Angie tells me.
Holding up my phone, I scan the phone over my closet so Angie can see everything I have.
“It’s a first date with Marcus,” I tell her. “I have to look good.”
Angie smiles at me. “You’ve already had a first date with Marcus, babe.”
I roll my eyes dramatically so she can see. “I realize that. You know what I mean.”
“Harper, you could show up wearing a unicorn onesie and Marcus would love it because it’s you.”
I flop backward onto my bed and let the towel fall off my head. “Well, the goal is to maybe have some good sex tonight, so maybe not a unicorn onesie.”
Angie gasps. “Finally! You’re finally admitting how you feel about Marcus. Thank God! ”
“Okay, I’m hanging up on you. This conversation is no longer helpful to me.”
“Wait!” Angie stops me. “Wear your black leather leggings with the white bodysuit that dips low?—”
“That I can’t wear a bra with?”
She smiles back at me, sipping from her water bottle that is the size of my head. Things you need to do when you’re pregnant, I guess. “That’s the one. Throw in that black blazer of yours, and Marcus will be wanting to pull the car over and have sex before dinner.”
“I don’t think I’m the only one who will be having sex tonight.”
Angie winces. “Please. Troy will not be getting anywhere near me until this baby comes. I feel like a beached whale. If this baby doesn’t come before Christmas, I’m going to cry.”
“I guarantee Troy does not care, Ang. Go get some from your husband so I don’t have to divulge everything Marcus and I do tonight.”
She points a finger at me. “As long as you get some.”
“Bye, Ang.”
“Love you!”
I end the call and dig out the outfit from my closet that I want to wear tonight. I can’t believe I didn’t think of this. The sheer, lace overlay is the perfect complement for the black faux-leather leggings.
I dry my hair and add some curls to the ends before putting on a little bit of makeup. Nothing excessive, but it helps me feel like my suit of armor is in place.
That no matter what happens tonight, things will be okay.
Because I’m going on a date with Marcus.
I slide on my bodysuit, thankful it has a built-in bra, so nothing spills out. Putting on my blazer, I fluff my hair and step in front of the mirror.
Perfect.
The bodysuit hints at what’s underneath and the leggings? They make my ass look fantastic…if I do say so myself.
I put an extra spritz of perfume on my chest. It’s the same perfume I’ve worn since college. The jasmine scent always used to drive Marcus crazy. I’m hoping for the same effect tonight.
Checking my phone, I’m giddy that Marcus should be here any minute. Stepping into my heels, I throw everything in my purse and drop down onto the couch.
I’m antsy. I don’t think I was this nervous on my actual first date with Marcus. In college, I just knew it would work out. I had a bone-deep sense that we would be together forever.
As sure as I knew the sun would come up every morning.
There’s so much baggage between the two of us now, that it’s hard to separate that out. I know exactly what I want with this man. It might seem fast to anyone on the outside looking in, but is it when you’ve spent seven years missing this person?
A knock comes at my door, startling me out of my thoughts.
Right on time.
Never one to take my safety for granted, I check the peephole. Marcus is standing there looking as sexy as ever. Rolled-up sleeves expose his sexy forearms. His hands are stuffed into his dark jeans as he waits for me to answer the door.
He looks nervous. Knowing that Marcus is feeling the exact same way as me has me swinging open the door .
The minute he sees me, his jaw drops.
“Fuck. Me.” Marcus grabs my hips and steps inside. “Harper. You look?—”
“Good?” I tease, draping my arms over his shoulders. Even with my tallest, black heels on, I’m still shorter than Marcus.
“Fucking delicious.”
Marcus runs a hand up my side, under my blazer, and drinks his fill of me. His brown eyes are a riot of emotions.
Want. Need. Awe. Excitement.
“You know, we should probably get going so we don’t miss our reservation.”
“Reservation?” Marcus asks. The lust in his voice has my body humming in anticipation for this night.
“Dinner? The meal you’re taking me out to eat.” I smile at him. “You need to feed me before you do anything else.”
That earns me a smile.
“Still the same old Harper.”
I pat the hard muscles of his chest under his black shirt. “C’mon. The sooner we eat, the sooner you can bring me home.”
“Wow, Marcus. This place looks great.”
The small seafood restaurant is quaint. Wooden tables hold flickering candles. Blue-and-white gingham-cushioned chairs sit at each table. Couples huddle together over shared meals as we bypass all of them for a secluded booth in the back.
“Enjoy your meal.”
The host sets down two menus and leaves us be. Marcus pulls out my chair for me before taking the one next to me.
“I got the recommendation from Jasper. If it’s terrible, we can blame him.”
I wink at him. “You know I love seafood.”
Marcus drops his elbows on the table and leans close. “Still a Cali girl, I see.”
I mirror him, getting impossibly close. “You know oysters are still my favorite, right?”
He groans, shutting his eyes. His lashes kiss the top of his cheeks. I remember always being so jealous of his eyelashes.
Why do men always get blessed with the best ones?
“Are you trying to drive me crazy, Harper?”
I adjust my bodysuit, watching as Marcus picks up on the movement. “I don’t know. Seems to come pretty naturally to me.”
“What am I going to do with you?”
I grab the menu, hiding behind it. “I can think of a few things.”
God, I’ve missed flirting. This fun, back-and-forth with a man who knows exactly what to say to stir up all kinds of things inside of me. No man has ever matched Marcus in that regard.
“Welcome to Southern Hospitality. What can I get you both to drink?” our waiter asks us with a friendly smile in place.
“Sparkling water for me,” Marcus tells him.
“Rosé for me.”
“And we’ll get a plate of the oysters to start.”
Marcus sets his menu down and turns his attention back to me. “Can I tell you how beautiful you look tonight?”
“You’ve already told me that. ”
“I believe I told you that you look delicious. Not beautiful.”
I duck my head below my menu, trying to hide my blush. Being under Marcus’s penetrating stare has butterflies threatening to burst out of me.
“Don’t hide from me.” Marcus pulls the flimsy paper out of my hand. His calloused hand settles over mine on the table.
“It’s been a while since I’ve had any kind of attention like this,” I admit. “Not from anyone that mattered anyway.”
“Does that mean I matter to you?”
“Yes,” I confess. I couldn’t hide the truth from him if I wanted. Marcus was always able to read me like an open book. I never shied away from him. I think it’s why we connected and fell in love so easily.
“You matter to me too, Harper.”
Marcus’s thumb is brushing over the top of my hand, making me want to tell him everything he has missed out on over the last seven years. But that’s not really first date conversation.
“Can I confess something?” I whisper.
“Always.”
“I was nervous about tonight. It’s not really a first date, right?”
Marcus shakes his head, hand coming up to cup my cheek. “Hard to have a first date when you’re married.”
I smile at him. “And when you’ve had countless other dates together.”
“Maybe we can call it a…” Marcus trails off, thinking. “Help me out. What can we call this instead of a first date?”
“A rendezvous?” I answer, but Marcus shakes his head.
“Seems like it’s a one-off when you call it that. ”
“Good to know.”
The waiter sets down a tray of oysters and our drinks. “Can I place your dinner orders?”
“I’ll have the salmon,” I tell him.
“Make it two.” Marcus hands over the menus and grabs our drinks. “What shall we toast to?”
“To us.”
Marcus smiles. The genuine one that he always saved just for me. The one that came so easily. The one that I loved so much.
“To us,” he parrots.
I sip on my rosé, letting the cool bubbles bounce on my tongue. Marcus takes the cocktail fork on the tray of oysters and digs the meat out of the shell.
“Want a bite?” He holds it up to me.
Setting my glass down, I lean over and close my mouth around the tines. Marcus’s eyes are wide as a soft moan escapes me.
“So good. Care to try one?” I take the fork from him, but before I can do anything else, Marcus slants his mouth over mine.
The moment his mouth touches mine, I’m sinking into his hold. I’m needy, seeking out his tongue with mine. Fisting my hands into his shirt, I keep him close.
He’s controlling the pace. I want more, but he’s moving slow. Probably something I should be aware of, given the fact that we’re in a restaurant, but I don’t seem to care right now.
I want Marcus, and I’ll be damned if I don’t get him tonight.
“Delicious.” Marcus pulls back, licking his lips. Heat is racing through me. I’m ready to pack up our entire dinner and head home after one kiss.
Goose bumps pebble my skin as Marcus and I make our way through the oysters. The longer we sit here, the antsier I’m getting.
By the time our meals are placed in front of us, I’m rushing to finish.
“You know you can slow down, right?” Marcus says on a laugh, drinking his water.
“I know. But what if I don’t want to?”
“Why wouldn’t you want to?” Marcus carefully cuts off a bite of his own dish and pops it in his mouth. He chews thoughtfully without saying a word to me. “You doing okay, Harper?”
“You know exactly what you’re doing to me, Marcus.”
He smiles, cutting off another bite and eating it. “Turnabout is fair play, Harper.”
Finishing off my wine, I wipe my mouth and set the napkin down on my empty plate. “I know you’d hate for me to have to call a rideshare home and get started without you.”
“That’s just mean.”
I smirk back at him. “What’d you say? Turnabout is fair play?”
Marcus pulls out his wallet and drops more than enough bills on the table to cover the meal.
“Get your ass in the car, Harper, because I am ready to have my way with you.”
I have never moved faster.