22. Day Date
22
DAY DATE
T heo
The next morning, I awoke to an empty bed. Voices drifted down the hall, along with the scent of bacon and eggs. I dressed in a pair of gym shorts and a t-shirt, leaving my room to find Lux in the kitchen with Desmond.
From the looks of it, Desmond had gotten home to find Lux making breakfast in our kitchen. If he was irritated by her presence, he didn’t show it. Not that he had any reason to be irritated. From the looks of it, she’d made enough breakfast for him, too.
Lux’s hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail, and she was wearing my old university sweater over her denim shorts. Seeing her in my sweater made me feel a sense of possessiveness.
“Hey,” Desmond said, lifting his chin in greeting when I walked into the kitchen. Lux glanced at me over her shoulder and smiled.
“Good morning,” she grinned.
“Morning,” I said, walking up behind Lux and wrapping my arms around her waist. “Mmm, that smells amazing.”
“Figured I’d earn my keep a little,” Lux replied, lifting a shoulder in a delicate shrug. “I feel bad that I’m crashing here.”
I glanced at Desmond, arching a brow, silently asking if he’d said anything to make her feel that way.
“I’ve got no complaints, she made egg sandwiches with bacon,” Desmond grinned, holding up the half he still had left of his.
“You don’t need to feel bad for crashing here, we’re happy to have you.”
“Especially if you keep cooking for us,” Desmond added. “Keep doing that, and we might not let you move in with Jasmine and just keep you over here.”
Lux laughed, her cheeks heating under the attention. The toaster popped with four slices of bread, and she casually moved out of my embrace so she could make two more egg sandwiches. “I think Jasmine would have something to say about that.”
“Oh, probably,” Desmond grinned, taking another bite of his sandwich.
“How was work?” I asked him. He was still covered in grime from his shift. Usually, when Desmond got home after working a night shift, he stayed up long enough to eat something before showering and crashing.
“Same old,” he replied, shrugging. “Wish I’d had the foresight to book extra days off. I’m still beat from camping.”
“Yeah,” I chuckled. I hadn’t had a vacation in so long. Sure, I’d travelled for work, but those trips weren’t exactly restful, so I’d decided to take the full two weeks off. I certainly wasn’t regretting it now, since it gave me the opportunity to spend more time with Lux.
“Got any exciting plans for today?” Desmond asked us both as Lux handed me a plate.
“No,” Lux replied at the same time I said “Maybe,” and looked at her. Her curious gaze shot to me. “I figured I’d see how you felt about going on a day date.”
“Where?”
“To Science North. I feel the pressing urge to take you to a few of Sudbury’s finest attractions.” I grinned.
“You don’t have to woo me on the idea of Sudbury, I’ve already decided that I’m moving here,” she reminded me with a smile.
“I know, but if you’re going to be a resident of Sudbury, you’re going to have to check out the attractions.”
“Hmm, well. I suppose you’re right,” Lux smiled.
“Well, I’ll leave you guys to it then. I’m beat,” Desmond said, yawning. “Thanks again for breakfast, Lux.”
“My pleasure,” she smiled. Desmond headed down the hall to his room, leaving us alone with our breakfast. We ate, then took turns showering and getting ready for the day.
It was all very domestic, and I loved it. It’d been a while since I’d last had a serious relationship, but I couldn’t remember ever feeling this…ease. Although I’d only known Lux for a short while, being with her felt right.
After we were both dressed and ready, we headed out to my car to go to Science North.
“This is one of my favourite places,” I admitted to her on the drive over. “My grandpa used to take my sister and me all the time.”
“Does your sister still live nearby?”
“No, actually. She moved to Alberta a couple of years ago,” I replied. “She still comes home for Christmas, but she’s the manager of parks and recreation in Bonnyville.”
“Oh, so she has a diploma in nature too,” Lux teased.
I let out a chuckle, shaking my head. “I guess you could say that.”
“Do your parents still live in Sudbury?” she asked, twisting in her seat so she was facing me. The wind from the open car windows lifted her long locks, blowing her hair around her face. She tried to tuck it behind her ears.
“Yeah, they do. They still live in the house I grew up in. Both are too stubborn to retire, but they take more vacations now. Usually to see Olivia.”
“Olivia…that’s your sister’s name?” I nodded. “It’s pretty. Are you guys close?”
“We’re not super close, she’s four years younger than me. We don’t really confide in one another, but we get along well. She’s great. Adventurous, and fiercely independent.”
Lux let out a wistful sigh, the sound of it pulling my eyes from the road to her for a moment. “I’m always so envious of other peoples’ easy-going sibling relationships, I’ve yet to meet anyone who has as many issues with their siblings as I do.”
I didn’t know what to say. Keeping my left hand on the steering wheel, I reached over to place my hand on Lux’s thigh and gave her a gentle squeeze. “Maybe Brinley will grow up one day, and you two could repair your relationship.”
“Maybe,” Lux hedged, her expression uncertain, like she didn’t believe it.
Before I could say anything else, the Science North facility came into view. I put on my turn signal and waited for a break in traffic to pull into the parking lot. We found a spot and headed in.
“Have you ever been to the Science Centre in Toronto?” I asked as we waited in line to pay for our entrance, my hand resting on the small of her back.
“Yeah, a few times for school field trips. Haven’t been since I was in public school, though,” Lux replied, glancing at me. “Have you been?”
“Once, back when I was a kid. My grandpa used to watch us during the summers, and he’d take us on all kinds of adventures. Usually local, but a few times, he took us to Toronto. We also went to Ontario Place once.”
“Oh, Ontario Place! I forgot about that. The amusement park and waterpark were my favourite growing up. Have you ever been to the Exhibition?”
“No, my grandpa didn’t like crowds. He’d rather take us camping in the backwoods than deal with the amount of traffic The Ex gets,” I chuckled, missing the old man. He’d passed away six years ago. “Ontario Place was busy enough for him.”
Lux smiled sympathetically. “I get it. I hated the crowds whenever we’d go to The Ex, but it’s a lot of fun.”
“We’ll have to go. You could show me around your favourite local places back home sometime,” I grinned down at her, making her smile grow.
“I think we could arrange that…” she said, noticing it was our turn to pay. I’d already pulled my wallet out and quickly slid my card out to cover our charges.
We spent the next several hours walking around the different exhibits and talking about everything and everything. Lux smiled the whole time, her eyes light and happy. I made any excuse I could to touch her—subtly, of course. I was aware of the children and families around us.
We stopped off at the gift shop before we left. When she was distracted buying rock candy suckers, I couldn’t resist picking out an agate butterfly for her. It reminded me of how she’d fluttered into my life with her natural beauty and captivated me.
“Aww, thank you, Theo. You didn’t have to do that!” she exclaimed when I handed it to her.
“I wanted to,” I told her, watching as she studied it.
“It’s so pretty! I love it,” she replied, turning it over in her hand.
“So are you, which I guess is why it made me think of you,” I scratched at the back of my neck, cringing. “I know, that’s pretty damn cheesy—but it’s the truth.”
She glanced back at me with bewilderment. “Well, thank you. For this and for the day date.”
“Oh, we’re not done yet. I still have to take you to see the Big Nickel,” I grinned.
“Stop! I forgot that was a thing,” Lux laughed, her nose wrinkling and eyes sparkling with amusement. “Why is it a tourist attraction again?”
“Well,” I said with flourish, taking her hand and heading toward the exit, explaining while we walked to the parking lot. “It commemorates the two hundredth anniversary of the isolation of metallic nickel by a Swedish mineralogist and chemist, Baron Axel Frederic Cronstedt. It also pays homage to the ingenuity of chemist Ludwig Mond, who developed the first commercial process to produce pure nickel.”
“Okay…” Lux said, still not getting it.
“Since the Sudbury area is rich in nickel-bearing ore and has a history of supplying it to the world, it’s kind of a big deal for us locals. And tourists love it. Pretty much everyone who comes here ends up with a picture in front of it. I think Jasmine even has one.”
“Yeah, she does. She took it when she first moved here and sent it to me. I didn’t get the hype,” Lux admitted with a grin as I unlocked my car.
“You still won’t get it after you see it, but it’s a requirement.” I opened the door for her, holding it while she climbed in.
“At least you’re honest,” she laughed.
The drive to the Big Nickel wasn’t far, only ten minutes. We grabbed some lunch and then took our time exploring the educational mine before making the Big Nickel our last stop. Lux stared up at the three-storey high coin, tilting her head, trying to figure it out.
“Huh. It’s cool and all, but rather anticlimactic.”
“I’m still going to take your picture in front of it, so go stand there and look impressed,” I teased. Lux crunched up her nose and laughed as I pulled out my phone.
“Are you going to make me do one of those ‘holding it’ pictures?”
“I wasn’t, but now that you mention it…” I said, waggling my eyebrows. “Move forward and put your hand up, like you’re holding it.”
“You’re ridiculous,” Lux was blushing, but she did as I asked, the megawatt smile on her face. I snapped a few photos with my phone of her appearing to hold the nickel between her index finger and thumb.
Then I asked someone else to take one of us together with the nickel off to the side. “Gotta commemorate this moment,” I told her, putting my arm around her. She glanced up at me, and I looked down at her, smiling.
It was nearly five by the time we were done at the Big Nickel, and although we’d grabbed lunch earlier I wasn’t ready to end our date day. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had so much fun on a date.
Tomorrow, Lux would be heading back to Guelph. Sure, it was only for a couple of weeks until she officially made the move, but I knew I’d miss having easy access to her.
“Feel like grabbing dinner out before we head back to the house?”
She glanced at me. “I could eat.”
Lux
My mind was whirling from an incredible day spent with Theo. I knew we were sexually compatible, but I wasn’t expecting being with him to feel so easy and right.
When Theo had suggested a day date earlier, I’d been skeptical. It’d been a long time since I’d gone on a date, and I wasn’t sure what to expect from it. But Theo made it all feel so effortless and smooth.
I honestly couldn’t remember the last time I had that much fun. Even when Theo insisted on making me take ridiculous photos with the Big Nickel, something I normally wouldn’t have done, I was laughing and had felt lighter than I had in years.
He pulled something out of me, something good. Something I liked .
Theo drove us to a beautiful bistro for dinner, where we ate authentic Indian food. The romantic atmosphere made me feel a little underdressed, but the waitstaff was incredible at making us feel welcome. I ordered the butter chicken and nearly had an orgasm right there, from the taste of it.
The way I’d moaned around my fork had Theo’s eyes darkening with heat, but he kept it together long enough for us to finish our meal and walk back to his car. Then he pulled me in for a kiss—a kiss that seared me straight to my core. It was brief, but full of promise and more than enough to get me primed.
When we finally got back to his place, it was nearly seven. Jasmine’s car was in the driveway, so she was back from work. She’d texted me earlier, wondering where we were and what we were doing. When I told her Theo took me on a day date, she sent a series of excited emojis and told me to enjoy it.
Theo turned off his car, and I faced him. “Thank you for today, I had an amazing time.”
“Me too,” he grinned at me. “Thanks for letting me nerd-out about minerals.”
“Anytime, you’re adorable when you’re in the middle of a tangent.”
“Ah, yes. Adorable , the word every guy hopes to hear from their date,” Theo teased, his eyes sparkling with mirth.
“Better than boring, or mediocre,” I pointed out, joking along with him. Theo was neither boring nor mediocre. He was anchored, smart, and always seemed to know exactly what to say and how to act.
“You’re right, I’ll take adorable over boring or mediocre any day,” Theo chuckled. He lifted his hand, cupping the side of my face. I leaned into his touch, my eyes raising to meet his. “I hope you’ll say yes to another date with me in the future.”
“I think the odds are definitely in your favour for that,” I told him, smiling.
Theo grinned back, then leaned forward to kiss me. His lips were soft at first, and it was me who urged him for more with the teasing swipe of my tongue.
The kiss deepened, and then we were making out in his car, the heat between us steaming up the windows. We made out for nearly ten minutes, until my hand dropped down to his lap, rubbing against the strained erection in his Chino shorts.
He broke the kiss, resting his forehead on mine and chuckling a little. “We should get inside, unless you’d rather visit with Jasmine tonight?”
I glanced over at the house, biting my lip, my hand still running over his erection. I’d had more sex in the past few days than I’d had in all the years I’d been with Scott, and yet I still wanted more. I craved Theo’s touch, the feel of his hands and his mouth on my body.
But I was afraid to be greedy, afraid to crave him as much as I already did. Things between us were so new—and yes, we’d had a wonderful date and intense sexual chemistry, but I didn’t want him to grow tired of me.
“I should spend some time with Jasmine.” Even as I spoke, my hand was rubbing and gripping Theo’s hard length through his shorts, teasing him. His hips lifted toward it, and he let out an affected sigh.
“As much as I want to drag you to my bed and not let you out of it for days, I did get to spend the whole day with you while she had to work. I understand if you want to hang out for a little bit, and we can always pick things up where we left off later, when you come back.”
“Bold of you to assume I’d be sleeping over again,” I said, turning back to him with a teasing smile.
“All your stuff is still at my place,” Theo reminded me. “Plus, my bed is very comfortable.”
“That’s true. Your bed is comfortable. I guess I could spend one more night in it.”
My stomach knotted at the thought of leaving tomorrow. It’s only temporary , I told myself, even though it felt like I was heading to the gallows. I knew the drama waiting for me back home would bring right back to the cold hard ground.
“Alright, so it’s decided then. Go hang out with Jasmine for a bit, tell her all about our incredible date and how I rock your world, then come back to me so we can finish what we started here.” Theo pressed a kiss to my forehead, the action making me swoon. I never realized the power a tender forehead kiss could have.