9. End of First Date – Everett
Chapter nine
End of First Date – Everett
After we ate the surprisingly delicious food, we stretched out side by side and looked at the stars. I still didn’t know why I didn’t think food from a truck could be good, but I’d been proven wrong. That was the best I’d ever eaten from anywhere. Not that I was a foodie or anything.
Talking and hanging out with someone nice was the perfect dessert for the meal.
Cameron was friendly and interested in what I had to say, and the conversation didn’t get dominated by the brewery.
I hadn’t known how much I needed that. I’d lived and breathed the business long before I even opened the doors.
It was my life’s work, and it had to succeed, but getting it from a scrappy start-up to a successful business took a lot.
I probably overshared about that, but it didn’t seem to scare him away.
Feeling his eyes on me, I turned my head to see him staring at me. “What?”
“You’re something special. I’m sure you’ve heard that before, but I mean it. It’s not a line.”
“I believe you, and thanks, but I don’t think so. At least you have a good reputation in town. I’m only known as the new guy who makes beer.”
“Don’t sell yourself short.” He reached over and pushed my hair behind my ear. I hoped he wasn’t just being polite because of what I’d said earlier about living up to my parents’ expectations.
I hadn’t had a guy interested in me in a long time, certainly not since I left Sacramento.
Really, before then even. Not since my two fuck ups, Donny and that other guy, Mr. One-And-Done.
Probably because I became so engrossed in making beer.
But now I was on the verge of success. And well…
What could it hurt to have this hot guy looking my way? It couldn’t.
Plus, everyone in town seemed to know and genuinely like Cameron. He seemed amazing, at least on the surface. I wanted to get to know him better. I wanted things I had no business wanting already.
I leaned in and pressed my lips to his.
He pressed back, then looked at me. “This is a long way from our first meeting.”
“Forget about that. Never happened.”
“Forgotten, but what about this?” He kissed me again.
This time, he slipped his tongue between my lips and along mine.
He tasted zesty like the tacos he ate, and he smelled the same, with a hint of honey behind it.
And better yet, he had my toes curling in a way that I’d never experienced.
Not even with Donny—not that I was comparing.
I moved in closer, our legs touching and twining together, and I was rapidly getting hard.
He ran his hands over my shoulders and down my back, and I stretched into it like a cat.
My move was my hand up his T-shirt, skating across his hard stomach.
I wasn’t sure if I wanted to move that fast, though.
He had me lowering my defenses entirely too quickly, setting off all kinds of alarms. Ones that I hadn’t listened to in the past, and they had gotten me into trouble.
“Maybe we slow this down a bit?” I gently nudged his shoulder to give me some space.
“That’s fine, Everett. It’s getting late anyway, and I have an early day tomorrow, but I’d really like to do this again.”
“Me too. Maybe we can do something different next time?”
“Definitely.”
He took me back to the brewery and waited until I unlocked my car and got in.
He waved as I drove away. That night left me happier than I’d been in a long time, and I still wanted more.
I had hope that this could grow into something more between us, so I didn’t want to fuck it up.
It would be good, right? As long as he didn’t rush me.
Cameron could be seriously dangerous for several reasons. Ultimately, he could be a distraction when I needed to focus on the brewery. Or that was my excuse because I feared he might break my heart. I didn’t know anything for sure, so slow and easy would have to work.