Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
“ W hat do you wear to your kinda sorta first date with someone even though you already know this person? And what do you wear when the date is taking place at his house?” I ask Fern who’s lounging on the couch.
I’m standing in our living room with a towel wrapped around my body, hair dripping onto my shoulders because I just got out of the shower. I thought about what to wear the whole time I was in there, and now that I’m out, I still don’t have an answer.
“If I were you, I’d go with something casual. Your past couple of dates with Wesley have been on the fancy side, and I’m sure you’ve had enough of that,” she says. “Besides, I thought the whole point of this date tonight was just to enjoy each other’s company. It’s not like anyone is going to see the two of you.”
“What if we go somewhere?”
“You’ll have clothes on, won’t you?” Fern teases me.
I roll my eyes. “Of course. I’m just talking in case we do something and I’m not dressed the part.”
“Stop worrying so much. I doubt the two of you are going to be doing anything that would require you to dress up.”
“That still doesn’t answer my question.”
“Just wear whatever feels right. What do you think you should wear?”
“I don’t know. That’s why I was asking you.” It feels like we could be at this for hours and I still wouldn’t have an answer.
Fern lets out an exasperated sigh. “You’re exhausting. I’ll go pick out your clothes for you, if that’s what you want,” she says, getting up off the couch.
I flash her a grin. Good. That’s exactly what I want.
I let her lead the way down the hallway and wait while she scrutinizes the clothes in my closet. “Here,” she says, tossing an outfit on the bed. “Wear this.” On my bed are a pair of jeans, a cute, formfitting pink T-shirt, and a navy zip-up sweatshirt. “And you can pair it with your sneakers down there.” She points to a pair of pink Chucks on the floor of my closet.
“I never would’ve picked that out myself, but it’s perfect. It’s cute, but not too dressy and also works in case we go out somewhere. Thank you. You saved me.”
Fern flashes me a smug smile. “You’re welcome. And before you ask me, I think you should wear your hair up. Now if you don’t mind, I’d like to get back to my show.”
I wait for her to leave my room, then finish getting ready. Justin and I are keeping things so casual tonight, he’s not even picking me up. Instead, I’m driving myself over to his house.
By the time I get to his house, it’s around five in the evening. With the ever-present clouds hanging over the city like they do most days this time of year, it’s almost pitch black when I arrive. A single dim streetlight barely brightens the way along the sidewalk, and I step carefully, making sure I don’t trip and fall on anything before I get to his door. Justin’s porch light is on, but the blinds are down in the front window so I can’t see what’s going on inside. I knock twice, then wait for him to come to the door.
“Hey, there,” Justin says when he opens the door. He’s dressed much like me, in a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. Except his shirt is a graphic tee that has an outline of mountains on it.
“Hey,” I say coolly, like I’m not ridiculously excited to be here. Yeah, I haven’t been fretting over our first real date all day. That would be stupid and there’s no way I did that.
He swings the door wide open. “Come on in.” I step across the threshold, and right as I’m about to walk by him, he looks into my eyes and wraps an arm around my waist. I’m lost in his gaze and so focused on him, it’s like the rest of my surroundings are blurry, like you’d see in a movie. “I’m glad you’re here. I’ve been looking forward to our date all week.”
My answering smile touches the corners of my eyes. “Me too.” I rise up on the balls of my feet and bring my lips to his. He captures my lips in a searing kiss I feel all the way to my core. I wasn’t sure what to expect from our date tonight, but this is a very good start.
He closes the door behind us and leads me into the living room. “I really didn’t plan anything tonight, so if you want to go out before dinner, we can do that,” he says.
“What did you have planned for dinner? Do we need to go out and get ingredients for it?”
“I at least took care of that part,” he says with a smile. “We’re having pesto pasta with chicken breast. Except—” His face takes on a panicked look and he shakes his head.
“What is it?”
“I forgot the berries for our dessert. I was going to get some on my way home from work yesterday, but forgot.”
“That’s okay. We can go out together and get them. Was there any specific kind you were looking for?”
He shakes his head. “Doesn’t matter much. The berries are just there to cut through the richness.”
“Is there a grocery store within walking distance or should we drive?”
“I’ll drive us there. It’s been threatening rain all day, and I’d hate to get stuck in it. Let me grab my keys and wallet,” he says, leaving the living room. About a minute passes, then he’s back wearing a sweatshirt which he stuffs his things into the front pouch of. He opens the front door for me. “After you.”
It takes us about five minutes to drive to the nearest grocery store, and when we get inside, we don’t bother with a cart. In the produce section, the raspberries and blueberries look the best out of all the berries, so we grab both. We’ve got plenty of time and nowhere to be, so we browse the aisles for a while. This whole interaction feels like an everyday occurrence, like we’re a couple that has been together forever and we’re just out doing the grocery shopping for our household. We’re walking close together, shoulders brushing at times, and there’s nowhere else I’d rather be.
We’ve barely even started this date, and already I’m having a better time than I did on any of my dates with Wesley. Well, except for the one that ended up with Justin and me in the same bed. Since things are going so well, I decide to take a chance at being forward and direct him toward the toiletries aisle.
“What are we doing down this aisle?” he asks.
“I know you just bought me a toothbrush recently, but that one’s at home. If I’m staying at your place tonight, I’m going to need another one.” I wait for his reaction, wondering if I’m asking for too much too soon.
“You’re right. And you can keep it at my house so we don’t have to keep buying you one all the time,” he says without missing a beat. His accompanying smile lets me know that he’s most definitely on board with me staying the night. And just to seal the deal, he leans down and presses a kiss to my lips.
I don’t know what led me to be so forward, but it just felt right to let him know upfront what I want tonight. I didn’t know it when I was getting ready for our date, but the moment I saw Justin, that pull between us was so strong, I knew I had to stay with him.
We’re finally on our first real date, just the two of us, and I want it to last as long as possible. I don’t have anywhere to be tomorrow, and it seems like he doesn’t either, so this is a chance for us to spend some much-needed time together.
When we get back to his house, we place everything from the store on the kitchen table. I take my toothbrush back to the bathroom while Justin puts the berries away in the fridge. I join him in the kitchen where I offer to help with dinner.
“If you want to help out, you can get a pot from the cupboard and start the water for the pasta,” he says, pointing toward the cupboard where the pot is. “Then when you’re done with that, you can help me with the prep for the sauce.”
I grab the biggest pot, fill it with water, then place it on the stove with the burner on high. “What else would you like me to do?” By now, Justin has taken the chicken breast out of the fridge and has a cutting board and knife ready to chop it up.
“There’s some garlic on the counter that needs to be chopped. There’s a small cutting board down there,” he says, pointing to another cupboard. “And you can use that knife over there.” He points to a magnetic strip that’s holding various kinds of knives.
I select the knife I’m most comfortable with using and get to work chopping the garlic while Justin cuts up the chicken. “You’re going to have to tell me what to do with all this garlic.”
“Just leave it on the cutting board. Once I’m done cutting the chicken, I’ll start sautéing it.”
After Justin finishes with the chicken, I help him out with the rest of the meal by grabbing ingredients when necessary, draining the pasta, and cleaning up as we go. The two of us working together feels like it’s been choreographed. We’re so in sync with one another that there’s no awkwardness, no bumping into each other, or getting in each other’s way. The meal comes together quickly, and we sit together at his kitchen table with two plates of bow-tie pasta with chicken and pesto in front of us.
“Thanks for dinner,” I say, then take my first bite. The chicken, along with the sun-dried tomatoes and pesto sauce is a heavenly combination. “That’s really good.”
“You like it?”
“Very much so,” I say, then take a sip of the wine that Justin has paired with our meal. “What made you decide to make this for our date?”
“It’s something I’ve made a bunch of times for myself, so I knew I wouldn’t screw it up. And it’s quick. I didn’t want to spend all evening in the kitchen.”
“Will you tell me more about yourself?” I say without preamble. I feel like I know about Justin now, but I don’t know much about him in the past. It’s not super important to know, and won’t change the way I feel about him, but I’m genuinely curious about his upbringing.
“Sure,” he says with a smile. “What do you want to know?”
“For starters, I don’t even know how old you are.”
“I’m thirty-one. I’ll be thirty-two in July.”
“What’s your middle name?”
“What’s yours?”
“Mine’s Marie, after my maternal grandma. Marie was her first name. Fern was given my paternal grandma’s first name as her middle name.”
“My middle name is Patrick, after my paternal grandpa. He died before I was born.”
“Where did you grow up?”
Justin chuckles. “Do you want me to just start at the beginning? Would that make it easier?”
I nod. “Yes, I think it would.”
We spend the rest of the meal discussing both our childhoods, and I learn that he grew up in Redmond and played basketball in high school. His mom still lives in Redmond with his stepdad, and when I ask about his father, he tells me that he was an amazing father who unfortunately passed away too soon from liver cancer.
His childhood seems so normal and very much like mine where money wasn’t growing on trees. It’s much different from when I was with Wesley and felt inferior every time he talked about his life. Justin may be a doctor and one day he'll make a lot of money, but he seems very grounded and practical. There’s nothing extravagant about him.
After dinner is dessert, which is a decadent white chocolate mousse that Justin prepared ahead of time. That first bite of the sweet mousse along with the almost tart berries slides down easily. It’s so good, it doesn’t take long before I’m scraping the bottom of the bowl with my spoon.
“You’ve outdone yourself,” I say, making sure I get every last bit of the mousse out of the bowl. “Everything was amazing.”
“It’s my pleasure. Thank you for coming over tonight and letting me cook for you. I enjoyed it.” He stands up and takes my bowl from me and places it in the sink. “Should we head into the living room now?”
I shake my head. “Not yet. I can at least help you clean up first.”
“You’ve already cleaned up most of it.”
“I know, but my mother ingrained it in me to never leave a kitchen dirty. It’s something that drives her nuts, and I guess it kinda rubbed off on me.”
“If that’s what you want to do, I’m all for it,” he says.
Since I cleaned up most of the dishes while we were cooking, cleaning up this time around is quick, and soon, we’re snuggling in each other’s arms on his couch. He’s sitting with my outstretched legs draped over his lap and my head is resting on his shoulder.
His hand strokes my jawline, and I pick my head up and look into those arresting eyes of his. We stare into each other’s eyes, neither of us saying anything because we don’t need to. He brings his lips closer to mine, and I can’t help but oblige him with a kiss. He kisses me harder, his lips forcing mine apart to let his tongue dip in to taste mine. His hand palms the back of my head, making sure my lips never leave his.
What I’m feeling in this moment is indescribable. Every touch to my skin, every brush of his lips against mine feels better than the last. And it’s not because Justin is deft with his hands or a good kisser. There’s an emotional attachment between us that I’ve never felt before. It’s like my heart is so full, it’s going to come right out of my chest. It makes all those big feelings I thought I had with Alain seem like nothing more than a schoolgirl crush.
When we separate finally, he’s staring at me with an intensity that makes it impossible to look away. “I don’t know what it is about you, but I feel like I can’t get enough of you,” he says, his voice husky and rough. “When we’re together, it’s like I never want you to leave. I’ve never experienced this before, and I hope you don’t think that I’m coming on too strong. If you think that, tell me, but I want to be honest with you about how I feel.”
“I don’t think you’re coming on too strong,” I say. My arms are draped over his shoulders and my fingers play in the hair at the nape of his neck. “I feel it too. I feel so connected with you which is crazy because we haven’t been together that long.”
“I hated what I did at the seminar. I didn’t want to do it, but I felt like I needed to for my career. But the more time I spent away from you, the worse I felt, which is why I went to your workplace. When you told me you were seeing Wesley, that was a bad day for me,” he says, shaking his head. “I thought I’d lost you for good.”
“But then I called you.”
“And then you called me,” he says with a smile.
“It was really hard for me when you came to my workplace. I may have acted like I was over you, but I wasn’t. So I’m glad you picked up the phone when I called.” There’s something that still needs to be discussed before it gets in the way of our happiness again. “But what about your residency? What are you going to do about that?”
“I don’t want to ask this of you, but I feel like it’s the only way forward.” He doesn’t elaborate further, and I can tell by the look on his face, he’s searching for the right words to say.
“I’ll switch doctors,” I cut in. “You’ve worked way too hard to lose everything right at the end.”
“Really? You don’t mind? It’s something I didn’t think of until after the seminar because I was more focused on someone seeing us together. But by the time I’d thought of it, it was too late. I’d already hurt you too much.”
“I don’t mind at all. I will miss Dr. Tarlton because he’s an amazing doctor, but I’m not risking what we have over it.”
“Thank you,” he says, leaning forward to give me a kiss. “I can recommend some really great people who can help you out.”
“Now that we’ve gotten that taken care of, what should we do with the rest of the evening?”
“Remember when I told you the next time we were together I’d take my time with you?”
I nod, struggling to keep the grin off my face. Justin hasn’t even touched me yet, and already my girl parts are squealing in delight.
“We’ve got all evening, and I can think of nothing I’d rather do.”
Justin took his time with me last night…and early this morning too. But now it’s late in the morning, and we’re finally up and out of bed, getting ready for the day. For me, that means putting on yesterday’s clothes, and for Justin, he’s in the shower.
Since I have a little time before he’s out of the shower, I decide to make myself useful and find something for us for breakfast. Eggs are the easiest choice, and I scramble some up along with some veggies I find in the fridge. While the eggs are cooking, I look around for some bread and can’t find any in the usual places.
“Can I help you with anything?” Justin says, coming up behind me. He wraps his arms around my waist from behind and kisses my neck, sending shivers down my spine.
I turn around to face him, forgetting about the eggs, and press my lips to his. My fingers play in his still-damp hair, and my back presses against the counter. He’s got me trapped, but there’s no place else I’d rather be. “You’re making it hard to concentrate,” I say against his lips.
“You’re the one making it hard for me to leave you alone. This outfit of yours…it’s incredible. Have I seen it before?” he says, teasing me about wearing last night’s clothes.
“I could just take more of your clothes like I did the last time, if that would be better.”
He’s got a glint in his eye and a wicked grin on his lips. “Or you could just wear nothing.”
“You’re unbelievable,” I say, shaking my head. “Do you have bread anywhere?”
Reluctantly, he pulls away from me. “Here,” he says, opening up the freezer. “I can never get through a whole loaf of bread before it gets moldy, so I tuck it away in the freezer.”
“Fern and I have never had an issue getting through a loaf, so I’ve never put it in the freezer. Does it need to be thawed before going into the toaster? These eggs will be done shortly, so if it does, we may have to skip the toast.”
“It can go in as is.” He presses the lever so the bread can start toasting.
“Do you have any plans for after breakfast?”
“I was planning on spending the rest of the day with you. I thought about going to the Ballard Farmer’s Market today. I’ve never been, and I’ve heard it’s worth checking out.”
“What time are they open until?” I ask, removing the eggs from the stove. It’s eleven-thirty in the morning, so if they’re only open until noon, we’re too late.
“Let me check.” He walks over to where he left his phone on the charger and turns the screen on. In an instant, his face goes from relaxed to concerned. His brow creases more and more as he stares down at the screen, clearly reading something. His silence concerns me.
“What’s wrong?”
He looks up from the screen finally and the shift in mood is drastic. There’s a heaviness in the air now, and all the playfulness that was there before is gone. “It’s Jack, my stepdad. My mom tried calling me, but I must’ve been in the shower, so she sent a text. She said he fell down the steps and she had to take him to the hospital. They’re there now and waiting to be seen. I hate to cut our day short, but I should probably head up there as soon as possible.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. You should definitely go so you can be with them. Do you still want to eat first?”
“Yeah, I have time to eat,” he says, his attention elsewhere.
I spoon some eggs on a plate and fix his toast for him. Justin is halfway through his breakfast by the time I get my plate, and I hurry up and eat so he can leave. Any time I linger just prolongs his trip to the hospital, and he needs to be there so he can be with his family.
I don’t bother cleaning up the kitchen even though I hate seeing a mess left behind. And when I have all my things, Justin meets me by the door. Although he’s in a hurry, he still walks me to my car and kisses me, his hand cradling my face.
“Let me know how it goes at the hospital,” I say, looking up at him.
He smiles a weak smile that barely lifts the corners of his lips. “I will. I’m sorry again for cutting our day short.”
“It’s okay. I’ll see you soon?”
He nods and presses another kiss to my lips before I get in my car. “See you soon.”