Chapter 2 #3
At some point, the polite conversation and fantastical flirtations would cease, and the question would need to be asked if perhaps they should take their newfound attractions elsewhere. Theo had never done such a thing before. Taken a woman home from a bar.
He didn’t make it a habit of visiting bars and hitting on beautiful women like Trick or his friends.
Aside from the two times he’d met up with people off of the dating apps he’d tried, which were not the best experiences, and his one serious relationship that ended abruptly and left him blindsided—Theo wasn’t sure how one approached such a topic.
Was it presumptuous to ask now? Should he wait? What if she said no?
Oh God, what if she says yes?
The panic started to fester in his brain, and he nearly choked on his drink at the thought.
If he was lucky enough to get that far with Miss Perfect, he rationalized he would think about it then.
Perhaps that was a problem for future Theodore.
Present Theodore needed to focus so he would not end up with a brain freeze or start choking on his drink again like an imbecile if he did indeed wish to make it out of the cafe with Miss Perfect.
He watched as she plucked a cherry from atop her glass. Its bright red maraschino skin caught the neon red light, making it almost glow like hard candy.
He licked his lips, and she smiled at him.
“See something you like, Zorro?”
He shrugged affably as he smirked, letting out a chuckle of his own.
“I don’t know who the fuck this Zorro is that you keep speaking of, but the answer is yes.
” He bit his lip. “I think I do. See something I like. Very much.” Perhaps he was too emboldened as he mused over how forward he was being, but when Miss Perfect’s cheeks pinked at his words and she shook her head, smiling back at him so carefree, he felt more than validated.
Her coy smile was cuter than it should have been, the faint pink tones beneath her mask contrasting her pale skin and turning shades of magenta from the lights.
The sight made Theo feel strangely warm all over. His skin was practically buzzing.
Theo watched as she gracefully extended the little ball of fruit, holding it out gingerly in the space between them.
Her amber gaze beckoned him like a siren to the sea.
Tempting him, luring him. His gaze narrowed on the bright red cherry and he got the feeling that what Miss Perfect was offering him was so much more than fruit. But that’d be crazy, right?
I mean, this is a speed dating party. It’s not like I’m actually going to find my soulmate here or anything. It’s just... practice. A test.
A chance to prove that I’m not a lost cause.
“Not a fan of cherries?” he asked, his voice tinged with gravel from his drink and the charged tension as the cherry dangled between them like a lifeline.
“I’m not sure this actually qualifies as fruit,” she said with a giggle. “I prefer the real thing. But you did say you liked sweet things.”
Theo smirked before leaning forward to bite the cherry out of her hand, stem and all, pulling it into his mouth in one fell swoop.
Miss Perfect let out a soft gasp, clearly not expecting the brush of his lips on her knuckles as he stole his fake fruit prize.
His teeth worked the pliable bulb off the stem, relishing the sweet candy taste in his mouth, swallowing the fruit while keeping the stem in his mouth, if only to tie it into a knot for no other reason than he thought it would look cool.
Trick and the boys didn’t care for his cherry knot tying skills, and therefore, he’d never been able to illustrate the bar trick for a woman before.
Miss Perfect didn’t seem to mind, though, as Theo noticed her gaze drift to his mouth, pulling her own lower lip between her teeth, and he felt strangely warm and aroused by her barely inaudible gasp.
His cock stiffened in his pants and he shifted his position to not draw too much attention. He did not wish to put the cart before the horse, and he wasn’t sure how one might perceive such a reaction in a public setting.
The instant thought of her discovering his sudden erection in a room full of people should have been like a bucket of cold water to his system, but it was the opposite.
He shifted once more, trying to keep his wits about him as moisture pebbled at his cockhead, pressing against the inside of his briefs.
It took much more concentration than it should have for him to ignore his twitching cock and focus on his tongue.
When he was done, he spat the stem out and set it on the red napkin on the bar, next to his drink, before catching Miss Perfect’s attention again.
“Tastes pretty good to me.” He flashed her a grin, feeling bolder than ever. Something about this woman made him feel as though he was truly the only man in the room. He felt braver in her presence.
She shook her head, sipping her drink once more before flashing her gaze back at Theo, her sights landing on the rim of his half-drunk glass, right over his pineapple.
Theo carefully plucked the wedge from the rim, holding it out to her in the space she held the cherry. “You did say you wanted extra pineapple,” he said with a grin.
Miss Perfect looked at the fruit between his fingers, and he did not miss the way she sucked in a breath.
For she looked at that slice of fruit as if she was starving.
Theo’s stomach flipped, his blood rushing beneath the surface.
No woman had ever looked at him the way Miss Perfect was eyeing up his tropical offering.
Oh to be a fucking pineapple...
She reached her fingers out carefully, almost hesitantly.
“I promise it’s not poisoned,” he said, trying to make light of the strange tension between them.
“I wouldn’t think so,” she said, her voice dark and smooth, like decadent fudge.
Theo loved fudge.
“For the record, all you have to do is ask,” he said, the sticky sweet acid staining the edge of his thumb.
“If you want me.” All at once, he’d realized his error, and just like that, the real Theo shone through his cocky Trick-inspired facade.
Heat rushed into his cheeks. But instead of feeling bad about his blunder, he found the slip of his tongue a relief.
The truth was much simpler than the lie, was it not?
Theo implored her gaze, feeling as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders.
Miss Perfect did not scoff or roll her eyes at his Freudian slip.
In fact, she gazed back at him, her lips tugging up into a small smile that was somehow as endearing as it was seductive as a light giggle escaped her throat.
“It. If you want it, I mean, the fruit. All you need to do is say ‘please, Zorro,’ and I’ll give it to you.
” His taunt seemed to get another sweet giggle out of her and the sight made him smile.
Not because her ruby red lips and perfect smile were like something out of a movie, but because it was his doing. He’d made her laugh.
More than once. And that itself was a victory for Theodore Lange.
He felt as if he’d just discovered some uncharted territory, and perhaps he had.
But he was also quite certain, all mishaps aside, that the fantastic Pina Coladas had definitely gone to his head, and in conjunction with his fiery victory, he decided to take the plunge, blurting out, “I’ll give you anything you want. ”
Miss Perfect bit her lip, letting out a contented sigh as she reached for the fruit, causing Theo’s blood to rush again. He was starting to sweat.
I think I need some air...
The room around Theo started to spin, the air getting thinner as his heartbeat quickened. It was as if time was somehow slowing down, but speeding up all at once.
Her fingers grazed his as she slowly plucked the fruit from his hands. “Is that so?” she whispered.
Theo nodded, suddenly at a loss for words. “Uh huh.”
There was a strange truth to his words. There were a multitude of things he didn’t know about Miss Perfect.
He didn’t know her name, her favorite color, what she did for a living, if she was a student like him, or if she had graduated and gone on to better opportunities, and he certainly didn’t know what it was she wanted in a man, nor did he have any idea if he even met a fraction of her requirements.
And in truth, she did not know him, either.
But what Theo did know, for absolute certainty, was that he meant those words with the utmost sincerity. He would give Miss Perfect anything she wanted, if only she asked.
Simply because he wanted to. He had so much to give if only the right person would give him the chance.
Could Miss Perfect be that person?
He watched as she slid the wedge of fruit into her mouth, sucking the juice out before biting down hard, the sight causing his cock to twitch once more in his dress pants, suddenly acutely aware of how hot he was. Heat ransacked his body like a fire.
Is the air conditioning on in this place? Or have we descended into hell?
Theo slurped his drink, noting the glass itself was starting to sweat as if it, too, could not handle the heat that being in this woman’s presence seemed to spark.
Miss Perfect swallowed her bite of fruit just as a sliver of juice trickled down her chin.
Theodore did not think, he only reacted on impulse.
He reached out, wiping the juice up with his thumb, immediately sticking his finger in his mouth afterward.
He could taste the sweetness of the pineapple mixed with the faint taste of her.
Or more aptly, her sweat, since it was damn hot in the room.
Some dark hair spilled out of her messy updo, falling over her shoulder, and the heavy scent of vanilla and spice filled his lungs.
Her gaze glowed, for the faintest moment. Like a golden moon in the night sky, like a shimmer of glitter in the darkness.
“Anything?” she whispered, leaning into his space. Her crimson-stained lips ghosted over his as if she was afraid, but of what, Theo had no clue.
What could she be afraid of? What does a woman like Miss Perfect have to fear?
But something about that vulnerability, Miss Perfect’s faint hesitation, called to him.
He wanted to hear her say the words, but he got the feeling the permission she needed was his permission.
His assurance. And that resonated with Theo deeper than anything else.
For he knew what it was to want, to crave.
To want to take a leap of faith and plunge headfirst.
As Theo gazed up at the object of his current fixation from beneath his mask, he held her gaze steady. He’d never felt so powerful in his life.
“Anything, Princess,” he whispered as he closed the remaining distance between them and crushed his mouth against hers.