13. Chapter Thirteen
Idon’t know how I’m supposed to keep my hands off her tonight, but I’m determined to make sure this date goes the way I’m hoping it will.
Autumn smiles brightly at the hostess when we step through the entrance and it draws me closer to her, my hand resting over her lower back as I guide her forward. The hostess smiles back and looks over at me. “How many?”
“Just the two of us. I actually have a reservation under Gentry.”
The woman nods and glances at the computer screen in front of her, typing over the keys, then turns around to grab menus. “Follow me, please.”
While she leads us between the tables, each filled with other couples enjoying a night out together, my gaze keeps falling to Autumn’s hips as they sway with each step. I quicken my steps until I get beside her and nod a thank you to the hostess when she comes to a stop beside an empty table.
“Can I get you guys started with something to drink?”
I pull Autumn’s chair out, then walk around to my side once she’s seated, and clear my throat. “Could I just have a sweet tea?”
The hostess nods, then looks over at Autumn. “And you, ma’am?”
Autumn blows out a rough breath and smiles. “Could I get a glass of Pinot Grigio, please?”
“Sure thing,” the hostess says happily. “Someone will be with you shortly to take your order. Enjoy the rest of your evening.”
When she walks away, Autumn and I are left sitting in silence and I lean back in my seat with my eyes on her. What if she’s uncomfortable?
She hasn’t said much since we left the house. Did I read too much into this?
Judging by the dress she’s wearing, I don’t think I did, but how the fuck do I know? I’m out of practice with this. Autumn suddenly clears her throat and smiles at me. “This is weird, right?”
I chuckle. “Not weird. A bit awkward. How about we both relax and enjoy the night.”
She nods and looks around the room, taking in the deep red accents throughout the room and the roses sitting on each table before turning her attention to me. “How did you find this place?”
“Honestly?” I say, then lean forward with a smile and shrug. “I Googled the most romantic restaurants near me and this is one of the first ones that popped up.”
Her lips twitch with a smile before an older woman walks over to us with our drinks. The woman looks between the two of us and smiles. “Do you guys need a few more moments to order?”
Autumn nods. “Sorry, we haven’t had a chance to look at the menu.”
Our waitress, whose name tag shows Bernadette, chuckles softly and nods. “Not a problem, I’ll come back in a few moments.”
When I look up at Autumn, her cheeks are flushed and she reaches for the menu. “Sorry, I have a bad habit of never being able to figure out what I want. We could be here for a while just with me figuring out what to eat.”
“Take your time. We have all night,” I tell her before looking down at my own menu. They have a variety of things – Italian, Mediterranean, even Greek dishes – so it takes a while before I decide on something myself. Autumn is chewing on the inside of her cheek, eyes darting over every inch of the menu in her hand, and I let my lips twitch into a smile as I watch her. She’s always sexy and bold, but there are also instances like this where she looks cute as hell.
Bernadette is walking over to our table with a smile and I give her a nod in greeting before turning my attention to Autumn with a chuckle. “I think we’ll need a few more minutes.”
“Take your time,” she says before heading over to another table. I lean back in my chair and look over at Autumn. “How’s it going over there? Decided on anything yet?”
Autumn groans. “Not even close. They have so many options, how am I only supposed to choose one?”
I raise a brow and shrug. “Order whatever you want, Red.”
The use of my nickname for her causes her to blush and her mouth parts as if she wants to say something, but she just shakes her head. “I will not.”
“I’ll get you whatever you want,” I laugh. “My stomach is eating itself at this rate. I didn’t eat lunch today and I’m starving.”
She stares at me for a few moments before smiling at me. “I did warn you!”
When Bernadette comes over for the third time, Autumn orders Spaghetti Alfredo and I order a serving of lasagna and a salad. While waiting for our food to arrive, both of us get a refill on our drinks and I clear my throat. “So, what made you choose to interview for the position with Bethany?”
Autumn shrugs. “I’d been looking for a job and yours landed in my lap.”
“Gee, that makes me feel so much better.”
She chokes on her wine and shakes her head. “Not that there’s anything wrong with Bethany, but this job wouldn’t have been my first choice. I love her to death, but kids aren’t my strong suit.”
“You could’ve fooled me,” I say softly. “You’ve handled Bethany extremely well.”
“You think so?”
I smile at her and nod. “Did you not hear how excited she was when you helped her get ready for the dance? She smiled brighter than I’ve ever seen before.”
That’s one of the main reasons I finally decided going out with Autumn was a good idea. Seeing the happiness radiating off Bethany not only the night of her dance, but the morning after, made me see things a little differently than before.
She needs Autumn in her life.
Autumn’s cheeks heat at my compliment and the front of my jeans tightens at the memory of what they look like as she lays bare beneath me. I mentally picture her fingers clawing down my back as I sink into her heat, shuddering as her walls clench around me.
A throat clears and I push the dirty thoughts away to find Autumn staring at me curiously.
This is not the time to be thinking like that, Easton.
Get it together.
“What was that? Sorry, I was daydreaming.” Which I was.
She smiles. “I said I enjoy spending time with Bethany, Easton. You’ve done well raising her and I’m sure her mother would be proud.”
The mention of Elena doesn’t make me as angry or hurt as it normally would. Instead I feel a strong sense of pride at hearing those words spill from Autumn’s lips. I’ve heard it from many people over the years, especially my family, but for some reason it doesn’t feel as great as it does coming from Autumn.
“I try my best, although I know failing is inevitable at times.”
She frowns. “You could never fail, Easton. It might get hard, but you will never fail that little girl no matter how much your mind tries to convince you of that.”
The conversation’s getting too deep so I clear my throat and ask, “So, what do you have planned for your future?”
She gets a longing look in her eyes and sighs. “As a little girl dancing was my life, and that would’ve been where my future was going,” her voice trails off and she blinks, tears visible in her eyes as she does, then she shakes her head. “At this age, I would’ve wanted to own a dance studio. Money isn’t always on your side though, so that was a dream I squashed a while ago. The most I’ve got figured out now is that I want to get out of here and even that doesn’t seem as thrilling as it used to. I’m just living life day by day, going with the flow and all that.”
Autumn’s been best friends with Savanna for as long as I can remember, yet she’s so easily going to walk away from this town?
“Doesn’t that get frustrating, not knowing where your life is headed?”
Autumn’s eyebrows dip into concentration and she shrugs. “Thinking about it now? Yeah, I guess it does.”
The conversation dies down when Bernadette walks to our table carrying a large tray with our food sitting neatly on top. Once she makes sure we have everything we need and walks away from us, Autumn and I eat in a comfortable silence that makes me wonder if I should’ve done this dating thing sooner.
Autumn falls into step beside me as we exit the restaurant, giving Bernadette a wave as we walk past her, and I put my hand on her back to lead her towards the parking lot. I dart my eyes over the rest of the cars, double checking that no one standing around looks suspicious, until we finally come to a stop at the passenger door.
I pull open the door and help Autumn inside before slowly making my way around the truck and sliding into the driver’s seat. Her hands lay perfectly centered on her lap while her gaze points down at the floor and I wonder briefly what she’s thinking.
Was this date not as good for her as it was for me? I never thought I’d ever be saying that, I’ve never allowed myself to be in this position before now. It’s even hard for me to be around my own sister sometimes since she re-connected with Dawson.
When I pull in front of my house and cut the engine, I wait a few moments before finally getting out and walking around to Autumn’s door. She smiles at me while placing her palm in mine and we walk up the short path to the front door.
This would be the moment where I give the girl a kiss goodnight before driving away, but that’s not what will happen this time because Autumn is staying with me. Every single part of me wants to strip that dress off her, but I know I should slow things down a bit. We started this whole thing, whatever it is, ass backwards and this date was a means to turn that around.
Before I’ve even got my shoes kicked off at the door, Autumn is already halfway down the hall and I hurry to catch up to her. “Red, hold up.”
She stops outside her bedroom door and looks at me over her shoulder with an emotion I can’t place swirling in her eyes. Her breath hitches when I step closer to her and bring my hand over her cheek, then lean forward. “It’s not a real date without a goodnight kiss.”
This time the kiss is tender, almost a feather of a touch, then I’m pulling away. “Goodnight, Red.”