Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
ALY
All day long, I’ve had a permanent smile on my face just thinking about Gavin and what’s in store for us tonight.
The day seemed to drag by, and I could barely focus at work, which has never happened before.
When it was time for me to leave the office, my excitement turned to nervous energy, making me anxious to get home to find the perfect outfit.
Earlier, I texted Gavin to find out where he’s taking me and what the dress code is, but his response back was vague, only telling me to wear a dress.
I wash my face to reapply my makeup, this time going with a heavier, smoky eye look and light lipstick.
I curl my long hair into soft waves and then pin a small section of it above my right ear with a bedazzled bobby pin.
I decided on a tight, black, off-the-shoulder, long-sleeved dress that stops right above my knees, with strappy black, high heel sandals and sparkling jewelry at my ears and neck.
The doorbell rings just as I’m checking myself out in the mirror, and I pray that Gavin likes what he sees.
My answer comes quickly when I open the door and Gavin’s eyes widen, his gaze slowly trailing down my body and back up again to meet my eyes. I’m starting to recognize this intense gaze of his means he’s turned on and thinking of doing very naughty things to me.
I love that look coming from him.
“Goddamn, darlin’.” He takes a deep breath and closes his eyes as if he’s in pain.
I grab his wrist and pull him inside then open my mouth to ask him what’s wrong, since I’ve never seen him look like he does right now.
Just when the words start to leave my mouth, my mind goes in a completely different direction and my breath catches.
I’ve never seen him look hotter. He looks ruggedly handsome, wearing a charcoal gray sports coat with matching slacks, a black belt around his narrow hips, and a white button-down shirt that shows off just how in shape he is.
“Wow,” I murmur, as my eyes do another once-over. “You look incredible.”
He opens his eyes, swallows, and then looks at me as he groans out, “It hurts to not be inside you. It’s taking every ounce of willpower I have to not pick you up, hike up that damn dress, and have you ridin’ me so hard that this whole neighborhood hears you screaming my name when you come.”
My eyes widen as he stares at me with unabashed desire. I blink.
Damn, there went my panties.
“It’s fine, darlin’. I can wait until after dinner to make you my dessert for tonight.” He gives me a devilish smile, and I’m ready for him to have me for dessert now.
Screw dinner!
“Will you excuse me for a second? I forgot something upstairs. Be right back,” I say quickly in a high, squeaky voice. I run back upstairs, when an idea comes to me. One I’ve never had before.
Do it! Just do it, my mind screams.
The idea is scary and exhilarating all at the same time. I pull off my thong and throw it in the hamper. I turn on all the lamps in my room and look closely at myself in the mirror, hoping it’s not too obvious I’m not wearing anything underneath.
“Aly, you okay up there?” I hear Gavin ask from the bottom of the stairs.
I jump, startled from his voice. “Coming!” I yell and hear him mumble something I can’t understand. I shut off all the lights and go back downstairs. The sensation of wearing no underwear beneath my dress is foreign, and I take the stairs slower than normal.
“You ready to go?” he asks, and I nod, grabbing my purse, and we leave the house. Gavin reaches for my hand after I lock the front door and leads me down my front yard pathway. I look around for his truck but become confused when he walks straight to a car I’ve never seen before.
“Whoa, this is fancy. Whose car is this?” I give him a quizzical look when he opens the passenger door to a silver Tesla Model S. All I’ve ever seen him drive is his truck, but then again, if this is his car, it’s just a reminder of how we barely know each other.
“This is my newborn baby Sheila.” I laugh as he accentuates his accent when calling the car Sheila. “You are her first female passenger. Even Sosie hasn’t had a test drive yet.”
I thank him for opening the door and step in, holding my dress down so it doesn’t ride up and flash him my surprise.
He closes my door and runs around the front of the car to the driver’s side.
I look around and admire the sleek interior of the car with minimalistic features and a huge touchscreen running down the middle console.
I watch Gavin sink inside his seat and close the door.
My man looks very sexy driving his luxury car, and I immediately have to press my legs together to quench the spark that radiates up my core.
“How long have you had baby Sheila?” I inquire, knowing these cars are very expensive.
“Just a couple months. When ‘Thief of My Heart’ went platinum, I decided to treat myself.”
“You deserve it. The song is amazing.” Despite my dislike for Tori, I can admit she does add something beautiful to that song, even though I know he was the mastermind behind the production and writing of it.
He grabs my hand and kisses my knuckles, his warm lips branding my skin. “Thank you, baby. That really means a lot coming from you.”
He tells me I’m in charge of the music, so I find a playlist of ‘80s hair bands to torture him with. To my surprise, he actually likes some of the songs and sings along. I’m learning that even though Gavin prefers to sing country music, his musical tastes are just as eclectic as mine are.
Our drive is short, and we pull into the valet parking of one of the ritzier hotels in downtown Nashville.
Once we leave the car, Gavin grabs my hand and we walk into the hotel to take the elevators up to the rooftop restaurant.
The doors slide open, and as soon as the hostess sees Gavin, she hands our menus to another hostess, who escorts us to our table.
The restaurant is beautiful with windows all around for a 360-degree view of Nashville at night.
The hostess drops us off at one of the tables by the windows.
We sit down, and while the nighttime view is magnificent, I can only imagine how breathtaking it is during the day.
She hands us our menus and tells us our waiter will be with us shortly.
We thank her and open our menus, and my eyebrows shoot up in surprise at the prices.
Even though I knew by the looks of the restaurant that it was expensive, I wasn’t expecting it to be this expensive.
“Is the menu okay for you? I didn’t even ask if you eat steak,” Gavin questions while studying me intently, his menu already closed and put down on the edge of the table.
“The menu is fine, thank you.” I lean in closer to him across the table. “You know I don’t need fancy restaurants, right? I’m pretty laid back when it comes to food.” I’m such a homebody that sometimes I will take a bowl of cereal over going out to a restaurant.
“Baby, I know you don’t, but if I want to take you out to fancy restaurants, please let me.” He reaches his hand out, and I place mine in his, loving how well our hands fit together. “Okay?” He raises his eyebrow at me, a sexy smirk playing on his lips, and I know the topic is over.
“Okay.” I sigh with a smile back at him.
I get lost staring into those eyes and want to pinch myself, still not believing this is real.
That this amazingly kind, hot-as-sin man is sitting here across from me and wants to be my boyfriend.
Me. I don’t know what I did to deserve this, but I will never take him or our relationship for granted.
“What’s going on in that pretty little head of yours, baby? There are various emotions playing out all over your face.” He smiles gently at me and he reaches underneath the table to caress my knee. His touch distracts me, making me momentarily forget the question he just asked.
“All I’m thinking about is how hot you look tonight and how very, very grateful I am to be here with you.
” I decide to be honest with him, because I need him to know my hesitation about us is slowly diminishing.
My instincts are screaming at me to trust him, to take this leap of faith with him despite my uncomfortableness with his fame and all of the scrutiny that comes with it.
I feel if I let all my doubts and worries go, then something beautiful is going to come out of this.
Something beautiful that just might last forever.
He looks around and leans in closer, his hand sliding up my thigh. “Baby, if you keep looking at me that way, we’re not going to make it through dinner.”
I give him a sexy smile and lean in as well, my hand strategically placed on his inner thigh. “Just to warn you, if your hand keeps traveling any farther north, it will discover that there is no barrier stopping you from touching me.”
His smile falters, an intense hunger shining from his eyes.
I gasp when he squeezes my thigh, his fingers on my bare skin making me wet all over again.
If it wasn’t for the table in between us and the absence of a tablecloth, I have no doubt that Gavin would finger me right here, right now, in front of everyone.
The waitress arrives and breaks our spell.
We both lean back into our seats and tell her what we want for dinner, although my appetite is not for food any longer.
When she leaves, another waiter arrives with a bottle of champagne.
I look at Gavin in surprise, wondering when he ordered this.
The waiter pops the cork, pours the bubbly in the flutes, and hands them to us before leaving.
“Are we toasting to your successful trip to Los Angeles?” I ask, excited to toast to him and his continued success.