Quinn
Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.
My phone goes off as I’m doing the final touches on my makeup. I look down at my watch and see it’s 6:45 p.m. That must be Liam.
I find my phone in my bag and have ten missed text messages. Fuck. I hurry out of my office and down the hall toward the front of the shop. “Bye, Millie! Text me if you need anything. I’ll see you tomorrow.” I throw over my shoulder as I leave.
Liam is standing in front of his car with a bouquet of flowers. He pushes off of it and hands them to me.
“These are beautiful. Thank you.” I say as he kisses my cheek.
“Beautiful flowers for a beautiful woman.” He walks to the passenger door and holds it open. “Your chariot awaits, my queen,” he says, bowing.
I belly laugh. “You’re insane.”
He laughs with me. “Buckle in before I do it for you,” he demands.
I roll my eyes and he shuts my door. He basically skips around the front of the car and gets in the driver’s seat, then fastens his seat belt. “Ready for the best night of your life?”
I raise my brows high. “That’s setting the bar high.”
“Guess we’ll have to see.” He puts the car in reverse and heads toward downtown. “What kind of music would you like to listen to?”
“Doesn’t matter to me. I’m not picky.” I shrug.
“Okay. Screamo it is.” He reaches toward the radio dial.
“Uh, okay, maybe not that.” I laugh nervously.
“Well, you saiiid you’re not picky. Lying on a first date isn’t exactly a turn-on, Pinocchio.” He smirks, so I know he’s joking with me.
“Well, I didn’t peg you to listen to that kind of music,” I say matter-of-factly.
His mouth drops playfully. “Oh, so you judge a book by its cover?”
Well, if it’s only the cover I’m judging, count me sold, I think to myself.
I roll my eyes at him. “Nope. It’s just your personality. I wouldn’t think you’d listen to screamo.”
He chuckles. “Well, you’d be right.”
My eyebrows rise and I cup my hand over my ear. “I’m sorry. What was that? You’ll have to repeat that.”
“I said you’d be right. I don’t listen to screamo.” He smirks.
My lips lift. “So, what do you listen to? In all seriousness.”
He laughs. “Mostly eighties rock.”
I turn to face him. “You’re joking, right?”
He cuts his eyes at me. “If you tell me you don’t like eighties rock, this date will be canceled and I will leave you on the side of the road.”
I roll my eyes and laugh. “You wouldn’t dare.” I lean back in my seat. “I love eighties music. Def Leppard is my all-time favorite band.”
By the time we settle on a song to listen to, he’s pulling into the parking garage.
Downtown Charleston gets packed pretty quickly. All the buildings are close together or touching and there’s not a lot of street parking. Very few businesses have actual parking lots, so there are multiple parking garages scattered throughout the city. It’s gorgeous here, but I could never buy a house down here. For one, it’s super expensive being in the historical city, and for two, when it rains, it floods almost every single time. That is why I only visit.
We walk into Clive’s, and the hostess greets us. She’s either just trying to be friendly because of her job, or she’s flirting with Liam. I’m not sure I like that too much. Maybe I’m overthinking it.
We get to our table and he orders a bottle of wine for us to share. We get Oysters Rockefeller for an appetizer. While we’re waiting on our steaks, we try to get to know each other better by playing twenty questions.
We’re two bottles of wine in and I’m definitely feeling it. Liam made a dad joke, and normally, I don’t find those funny, but I lean across the table and put my hand on his and laugh.
He flips his hand over so that he can grip mine. He lifts his other hand holding his wine and takes a long sip. He swallows, then brings my palm up to his mouth and gently kisses it, making me squirm in my seat.
Fuck, that was hot.
“At this point, I think we’ll need to take an Uber back home,” he says.
I giggle. “Yeah, it’s not smart to drink and drive.”
“Well, if we’re doing that, do you want to split another bottle before we leave?”
I don’t hesitate. “Yes, please. Then we can just go back to my place. You can stay the night if you want so you don’t have to pay extra for an Uber. I can drive you back to your car in the morning.”
He smirks. “If you wanted to take me to bed, all you had to do was ask.”
My face gets hot. “I didn’t say I wanted to take you to bed. I was just suggesting you stay at my place so you don’t have to pay more for an Uber. I mean, it’s the least I can do after this amazing date,” I lie. Well, half lie. It’s been an amazing date, but I definitely want to get him into bed. It could be the alcohol talking, but then again, I found this man extremely sexy before I started drinking. I just wouldn’t have the nerve to do anything sober. I’m not the type to make the first move.
His eyes darken and he gives me a knowing look. “Tell yourself whatever to help you sleep at night, babe. But you and I both know you want me. And you surely know I want you.” He leans forward and grabs my hand again. “We’re both adults. It’s okay to give in to what we both know is inevitable between us.”
He nips the pad on my thumb with his teeth and I squeak.
“Fuck.” My whole body is on fire and I swallow, rubbing my wet thumb over his lips.
His eyes lock on me. “I think it’s time to get the check.”
I nod. “Yep. I think you’re right.”