Chapter 8 #2
“Moonflower,” she finished and the three of them enjoyed another laugh together, this one more lighthearted than the last. “It does sound lovely.”
“Well,” the bartender set the drink on the bar with a flourish, “I hope you think it tastes as good as it looks or I’m going to feel horrible.”
Kay set the menu down and looked at the drink, enjoying the presentation. “I love the lotus root in there.”
The bartender beamed at her. “Good, it’s a neat touch that they added to the drink.”
She lifted the glass to her lips and took a sip of the cocktail.
It crossed her tongue like a kiss, and she barely held back the moan that rose up in her throat. Swallowing the sip, she looked at the drink again. “It’s amazing. I’m glad I picked that. I’ve never had anything like it.”
The bartender gave her a vague salute with his hand.
“I hope it’s the first of many new experiences for you tonight.
” He looked between the two of them and gave her a wink.
“Let me know if you need anything else.” Gibson pulled his wallet from his pants pocket, but the bartender waved him off.
“My pleasure after what you had to go through, Miss. Have a great night.”
Gibson watched her take another sip and sighed. He really wanted to buy her the drink.
Why? Well, fuck if he knew.
Actually, he did.
Kay was a doctor. A woman with MD after her name. There wasn’t much a guy like him could offer a woman like her.
A drink was something he could do for her.
That was probably the end of the list.
Added to the difference in their jobs and their education was the fact that she thought he was about five years older than he actually was.
“Thanks, Gibson.” She turned her head and gave him a little side-eyed smile. “Or should I call you Braun tonight?” Kay lifted her glass up to her lips to take another drink but stopped just shy of the sip. "You look really great in that suit."
He felt his blood pulse through his veins like a freight train.
Her voice had deepened a little. Made her sound a little… breathy.
It was damn sexy.
He knew she was waiting for an answer, but he didn’t have anything witty to say. He just had to go with the truth. “You can call me whatever you want.”
There was a look that flared in her eyes, and he’d pay his last dollar to know what was going on in her head.
“But you don’t have to thank me,” he explained and wanted to kick himself for saying it, “I didn’t even get to buy you the drink.”
“But you saved me.” She turned toward him and leaned her elbow on the bar. “If you hadn’t let me, come over here to see you, I would have been stuck between Doctors Smith and Jones, and I might have perished from boredom alone.”
He wasn’t sure how much truth there was in that. Not that she was lying to him, but he hoped that her experience hadn't been that bad. If it was, it would be a total shame. “Well, I don’t have my turnout gear, but I’m happy to help however I can. I still can't believe that we're both here.”
Her smile softened and she took another delicate sip of the drink. "Together," she smiled, "in the same place."
Gibson couldn’t stop himself from watching her. The cool red of her lips against the glass was enough to take his breath away. The soft hum of a moan that he heard come from her throat made him hard.
Fuck.
When she finished her sip, she lifted the glass toward him. “Want a sip?”
What a loaded question that was. He stood up, moving away from the bar, and took the stem of the glass between his fingers.
He kept his eyes on her as he lifted the glass to his lips.
Seeing the faint print of her lips on the opposite side of the glass, he wished he’d turned it around before taking the drink.
How many chances would he get to put his lips on hers even if it was just a sip from her glass?
After the break in at her house and her reaction to it, he didn't think he'd get much of a chance to see her again.
He hadn't decided to walk away, but when a woman tells you to back up, you do it.
He'd just hoped that she'd lower her walls again.
The cocktail touched his tongue, and its taste was smooth and rich as he drank it down.
Lord help him, she never looked away as he swallowed the sip of her cocktail.
When he held it out for her to take, he wasn’t sure, but he thought that her fingers might have trembled a little when they brushed up against his.
The look in her eyes when she smiled at him, seemed to confirm his thoughts. Her eyes were darker than they had been a few moments before, the black centers of her eyes had almost eclipsed the warm brown of her irises.
Her lips were parted slightly.
She looked, in a word, sexy.
No. Breathtaking.
There were dozens of words that he could call her, but he didn't think this was the time to say them.
The last thing he wanted to do was make her pull away again.
Maybe what they needed was to spend some time together where they didn't have to talk about their last meeting. Where they weren't expected to talk much or have deep conversations about things. Besides, he didn’t have much reason to stay in the bar, given that it was occupied by a throng of doctors. Kay didn’t seem all that eager to stay there either, especially with the men that were seeking her company.
He wasn’t all that eager to head back up to the wedding just to fend off the bridesmaids again.
That's when it hit him.
That empty seat next to him at the table.
"I have to go back upstairs to the wedding,” he was surprised that he got out that many words. “I was wondering if you want to come with me.”
“To a wedding?” Kay looked surprised but not put off at the suggestion. Still, she gave him more than a hint of a smile. “Uh, I don’t think the bride and groom would appreciate a random woman showing up and taking a seat away from another guest.”
He laughed and shook his head. “Actually, Taylor put a seat next to me at the table in case I wanted to bring someone. You said you were going to a conference this weekend, so I didn't think to ask. So, I’m sitting at a table with an empty seat next to me.”
Gibson wanted her to come to the wedding with him.
He just wasn’t sure how to convince her.
Kay took another sip of her drink. “I bet if I come with you, I’m going to make a bunch of women blind with jealousy.”
Gibson shrugged. “You’d save me from a lot of drunk women.”
“Oh?” She looked off to the side, a thoughtful look on her face. “So, I’d kind of be a hero, right?”
He nodded. “Exactly. I’d be really grateful for your help.”
Kay set her nearly empty glass down on the highly polished bar top. “How grateful?”
Gibson knew she wasn’t asking him for anything like sexual favors, but that didn’t stop him from wanting to offer. He’d be more than happy to take her to bed.
But if bed was a deal breaker, he’d use the wall or the back of a sofa.
Whatever she wanted and-
“Do you dance?”
Her question was like the needle scratching across the surface of a record.
“I’m sorry,” he wasn’t playing coy, “I didn’t hear that. What did you say?”
Her smile faded a little. “I asked if you dance.”
“I’ve… I’ve been known to get up on the dance floor, but it depends on one thing.”
He could tell that she wasn’t sure she wanted to ask about it, but a moment later she did, and he smiled more than he should.
“What’s that?” She leaned forward just a little. “Your one thing?”
“You,” he heard the way his voice deepened and felt his heart kicking hard against his ribs. “I’ll dance if it’s with you.”
There was a moment when he wasn’t sure if she’d just walk away.
He'd been a little forward with his request given that they were still figuring a bunch of things out.
But she had been the one to bring it up.
So he held onto that as he waited.
Kay turned back to the bar and lifted her glass. She drank the last sip and set the glass down. She met his eyes with a smile. “You just got yourself a date, Mr. Braun.”
He took another sip of his Guinness but didn’t finish the glass. He wasn’t anywhere near drunk, it would take much more than a nice glass of Guiness to make that happy, but he wanted to be completely sober for the rest of the night. He didn’t want to forget a single moment.
He saw her reaching into her purse and shook his head. "I got this, Kay. Please? Let me."
She lowered her purse back to her side and he reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. He left the bartender a twenty-dollar bill for a tip. After what the man had done to get them to this point, he deserved it.
Gibson slid his wallet back into his pocket and turned to offer his bent arm to Kay. “We’ve got a wedding to go to.”