30. Emily
Emily
I scrutinize my basic ripped jeans and black three-quarter long-sleeve shirt. Adam told me to dress casually, only I have no clue what that means. I’m either in work clothes, sweatpants, or workout clothes; there is no in-between for me. My hair falls in loose waves down my back and my makeup is light. I spritz some perfume on my pulse points and look over myself in the mirror again.
“You look hot, Emily.” Sarah says from her spot at my vanity.
With Kamryn whisked out of the country by Mason, I had no one to help me figure out what to wear. In one of our talks when she started college, Kam mentioned her roommate, Sarah, would help her figure out what to wear. So she’s my trusted stylist for the night.
“Are you sure?” I’ve never been so unsure of my choices.
“You’re a nervous little bird, Em. And it’s understandable. But I promise, whatever you wear is not going to deter him.”
My phone chimes with a text.
Adam: Headed your way. I’ll be there in ten minutes.
Me: Do I need a sweater?
Adam: Bring one just in case.
“He said to bring a sweater,” I muse as I head to my walk-in closet.
“Who needs a sweater in April?” Sarah’s question is muffled while I’m deep in my closet.
I find a thick cream cardigan that’ll pair well with my dark-wash jeans and black shirt. “Are heels too much?” I call out as I look through my shoe rack.
“Do you know who you’re asking?” Sarah quips back with a laugh.
“Silly me,” I call out as I grasp a broken-in pair of Christian Loubitans.
Walking out of my closet I toss my cardigan on the bed and slip my heels on. I take another look at myself in the mirror. My face has a new glow to it that can only be described as joy. And I can’t stop the smile that appears.
“Hot and happy,” Sarah muses as she watches me through the mirror.
My eyes meet hers in the reflection. “Thank you.”
“Em, you don’t need to thank me,” she says and peels herself off of the chair with a groan. “I’m gonna head out. My phone has been buzzing more than my vibrator and I need to take care of it.”
“The phone or your vibrator?” I ask when I turn around.
“Both, you silly girl.”
We walk to the door and she kisses me on the cheek before floating down the stairs. No sooner have I closed the door does my phone chime.
Adam: Out front.
Me: Be down in a minute.
I feed Biscuit her dinner, then slide my purse over my shoulder and fold my sweater over my arm. Locking up the door I head down to my first date in years. My heart matches the beat of my footsteps as I get closer to Adam and his truck. He’s waiting at the passenger door and the moment he hears my heels click on the pavement, his gaze travels up my body, warming me from the inside out as I see his eyes heat with pure lust.
“God, you’re ethereal,” he says when I’m a foot away from him.
“Hi, yourself.” I tell him and walk into his arms.
Adam’s cedarwood and patchouli scent surrounds me as my head fits under his chin, even with my heels on. His body is solid under my touch as I wrap my arms around his waist.
He pulls back. “Are you ready?”
“Yes,” I tell him and he sneaks a quick kiss before opening the door for me.
The scent of food invades my senses as I watch Adam round the truck and hop in. I look in the backseat to see blankets and pillows piled high. My gaze swings to him.
“It’s not what you think,” he states quickly and pulls out of my neighborhood.
“Are you a mind reader?”
“No,” he starts and signals to the left, taking us in the direction of the highway. “But I know what it looks like now. When I put everything back there I didn’t even think about how it would look.”
My chin is propped on my fist that’s resting on the center console and I see the furrow in his brow. He turns to look at me and I see the nervousness in his orbs. “I trust you didn’t know.”
“Are you sure?” He looks at me and then back at the road as he switches lanes.
I reach over and pick up the hand that’s resting on his thigh and weave our fingers together. “I’m sure.”
Adam picks up our linked hands and presses a kiss to mine.
The rest of the drive to our destination is silent, save for the music. We turn off the highway to a dirt road I’m not familiar with and it’s out of the city, so my interest is piqued.
“Are the blankets to wrap my body in when you need to dispose of me?”
Adam snorts. “How many unsolved mysteries do you watch?”
“It’s the podcasts that should worry you.” I tell him as I give his hand a squeeze.
He barks out a laugh and turns down another dirt road as signs for a Drive-In Movie Theater create a path.
“Get out!”
“Em, I can’t. I’m driving,” he responds with a lame dad response.
My laugh is silent as I watch the trees open up. A huge screen playing short cartoons greets us. We get to the ticket booth and Adam lets go of my hand to pay for a ticket before he’s driving up to find a spot. He does that hot guy thing by putting his hand on the back of my seat as he reverses into a parking spot and my heart rate triples from that small movement.
“Ready?” He asks when we’re stopped.
“I’m so ready,” I can barely contain my excitement.
We get out and Adam opens the backdoor. I do the same and grab the blankets without him asking.
He drops the lift on the tailgate and places the basket on the door. Adam climbs up and takes the blankets from me.
“Will you get the mattress pad from the backseat as well?”
“Sure.” I say and walk back around.
Handing it to him when I walk back around, I watch as he gets to work on making us a comfortable palette.
When Adam is satisfied with his work, he places our food to the side and jumps down. He closes the bed of the truck and turns to stand behind me. “Your turn,” he says.
“You’re not going to cop a feel when you help me up?” I ask him with a teasing lilt in my voice.
“Oh, I most definitely am.”
I smile at him over my shoulder and scoot to the back corner of his truck. Adam’s hands engulf my waist as I pop a foot on the corner and pull myself up. His hands trail down the length of my legs and my body goes light for a moment until I’m safely in the bed of his truck. Adam joins me a minute later and props his leg out before pulling our food out.
My gaze fixates on him. And I wonder how, in a time when I needed healing, did this man pick me. His hair is pulled back in a bun and the beard on his face is well-kept. There’s something about Adam that makes me want to cuddle into him and never let go.
We eat in comfort as the sun goes down and the movie starts on the big screen. When we’ve polished off our food, Adam leans back on the pillows he has set up and gestures to me toward him. I take my heels off and slide over to him. I fit into his side like a lock sliding into place.
This comfort I experience with him is quick. Like what I feel for him I should be me taking it slow. But in this phase of my life, I’m in a ‘why go slow?’ phase.
Adam turns the volume down on the box that’s on the side of the truck. “Tell me something.”
“What do you wanna know?”
“Anything.” He volleys back.
“I love squirrels and geese,” I admit.
His body shakes with a laugh.
“What is so funny about my love for innocent animals?”
He sits up and rests his back against the truck. “It’s just random. And not an animal I expected you to like.”
“Fine. Expect the unexpected with me, Mr. Montgomery. What’s your favorite candy?”
“Twix. I have some stashed at home and work.”
“And you manage to keep them away from Dylan?” I ask.
“I like that you’re not afraid to ask about him.”
I sit up and move next to him. “He’s a part of you. And don’t tell him I told you, but he’s my favorite student this year.”
“Did having a strikingly handsome father play a role in that?”
“You are?—”
His arm slides around my waist and holds me tighter to him. “Dashing. One of a kind. Exquisite…”
“I’m now going to go with full of himself. And there's no mistaking that Dylan is your son.”
“My work here is done.” Adam says with a show of crossing his arms and putting them behind his head.
We talk in between the movie finishing. Adam tells jokes that have me burying my face in the blankets so I don’t disturb the other watchers. I try and fail to scold him for his spicy jokes. When the movie credits roll, I realize I don’t want this date to end.
“This is one of the best dates I’ve been on.” I tell Adam as we fold the blankets.
He hops down from the truck and holds his hands out to me. “Have you been on a lot of first dates?”
“Now that you ask that, no. I’ve only been on one other first date and I was fourteen.” I tell him as I gather some blankets in my arms and move around to the backdoor.
We finish putting the rest of the things in the truck and then Adam helps me into the passenger seat. I watch him walk around to the driver’s side and then we’re off.
“What was your first date like?” He asks when we pull out onto the main road.
I smile remembering how nervous we were. “It was terrifying. We went to an ice cream shop that was down the street from our neighborhood.”
“Classic first date material. I’m impressed.”
“I was too. What was your first date?” I ask and turn to face him as best as I can with the seatbelt restraining me. The glow from the dash lights up his face and the green in his eyes is more slime green than forest green.
“It was a bonfire after a football game.”
“Did you do a group date?” I ask baffled.
Adam’s laugh comes from deep in his chest. “She was not happy. Safe to say I didn't get a second date.”
“I can’t imagine why,” I say dryly.
I see the smile lift his cheeks. The drive to my apartment is quiet. As the scene outside of the truck turns from trees to city, I still can’t help but wish that this date never ends.
Adam pulls up to the curb and looks over at me once we’re in ‘park’. “Do I get a second date with you?”
“It won’t be a bonfire with a group of people will it?” I ask him as I unclick my seatbelt and lean onto the center console.
He mimics my position by leaning on the center console, leaving a few inches between us. “Please. Like I’d share you with anyone else.”
“Then, yes. You get a second date with me.”
Adam’s face moves closer by millimeters. My eyes move over his face, but my gaze focuses on his lips more than they probably should. His hand tangles in my hair and ghosts his lips over mine.
“You are so beautiful it takes my breath away,” he says before pressing his lips to mine.
What starts soft and sweet amps up to hot. His tongue traces the seam of my lips before I open and our tongues tangle. The moan I let out spurs him on and the whimper I let out when he bites on my bottom lip makes me regret taking us slow. My hand slides up to his hair and I pull the tie out, freeing the strands, and fisting his hair in my hand.
Our tongues dance as I try to get closer to him. I’m halfway across the center console when Adam slows down the kiss.
“Slow, Emily.” He tells me as he peppers kisses up and down my neck. My breath hitches and my eyes roll as Adam latches onto the spot between my neck and shoulder.
“I don’t want slow when you do that.” How I manage to string a short sentence together is beyond me. My nipples are so hard they could cut glass and my underwear is completely ruined.
I feel his smile against my skin and then he lets up. Adam trails soft kisses up my neck before he kisses me again. Long and slow until I’m completely breathless.
“It’s only fair I tease you the way you tease me,” Adam shoots out before he’s out of the truck and rounds to the passenger side.
The time he’s out of the truck barely gives me enough time to get my bearings. When the door opens, Adam holds his hand out. I grab my purse and place my hand in his.
“Thank you for a fun date,” I tell him when I’m on solid ground. I like that I can still look up at him with heels on.
“Thank you for wearing those shoes,” he groans out and backs me into the side of his truck. I feel his hard cock through his jeans and I want nothing more than to feel him pounding in me. “You are trouble.” Adam kisses me one more time and then directs me to the stairs. “Goodnight, Emily,” he says with a swat on my butt.
“Goodnight, Adam.”
I hear his exhale as I walk away. When I turn to the stairs, Adam is still standing by his truck, and as I ascend the stairs his truck starting up breaks through the sound of my breathing and the click of my heels.
When I’m in my apartment, I fall on my bed and look at the ceiling. The smile I try so desperately to wipe off my face no matter how hard I try, never leaves. And I have to thank Adam for returning the happiness I never thought I’d see again to me.