Chapter 25
CHAPTER
TWENTY-FIVE
“HOW DOES A non-date date work?” Georgia asked him while sipping her Bloody Mary at Perries, the restaurant they were at for brunch.
Elijah rolled his eyes over his cup of coffee.
“Do we go Dutch?” His eye twitched at the mention of her paying for half the meal. She was getting a kick out of this. “You did pick me up, but does this mean I need to take an Uber home?”
His clasp on his drink tightened, and she held back a giggle.
“I get there is no kiss at the end of the date, but if you do take me home, will you escort me to my apartment?”
“Georgia.” His tone was filled with impatience.
Elijah finally cracked. This was a win for her.
She shrugged. “I’m trying to understand the logistics.”
He glared at her. “I am paying for brunch. I am also driving you home, and yes, I am walking you to your front door. We’re friends, remember?”
“Friends,” she muttered, hating the label.
“Exactly,” Elijah said tightly. “Friends.”
“If we’re friends, we should know more about each other.”
His navy eyes met hers. “Enlighten me, tell me something I should know about you.”
“If I ever have a drink at brunch, I always get a Bloody Mary because of the tomato juice. It makes me feel like, despite the vodka, I’m getting something healthy out of my drink.”
This made him grin, the one where only the left side of his lip turns up. Georgia decided that specific smile was her favorite.
“Tell me more.”
She leaned closer to him, even though the restaurant table was between them. “I try to do something whimsical every day.”
He grimaced. Elijah was not the fairy-tale kind of guy. “Why?”
“It makes the day feel special, even if the rest of it goes to crap. This morning, I took a bubble bath,” she said as his eyes flared at the idea of her naked in the tub.
Honestly, she was having too much fun riling him up.
“Yesterday, I bought myself flowers. The day before, I drove home a different way. It’s little stuff but makes the day feel romantic and intentional. ”
Shaking his head, he chuckled. “You are like no one else I’ve ever known.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“You should.”
The server brought their brunch: eggs Benedict for her and waffles for him. They both dove in to eat, not talking for a few minutes.
“Speaking of our friendship,” she said as she took a break from food. “You seriously need to be comfortable with me dating. I have a list I want to cross things off.”
Elijah dropped his fork onto his plate. “Will you please just tell me what’s on this list?”
She noted how he ignored the comment about her dating someone else.
“No. There are things I am not mentioning in a restaurant where anyone could hear me.”
He glanced around Perries and then back to her. “Not a single person is paying attention to us.”
She bit her lip, and whispered, “But it’s about what I want sexually.”
“Like. What?” Elijah carefully said the words, even as he demanded that she tell him.
“Are you going to drop this?” Her voice was still low.
“Not a chance in hell.”
Georgia picked up her purse sitting by her foot and rummaged around until she pulled out her phone. After a few clicks, she got to her Notes section and, with shaky hands, she tossed her phone across the table to him.
“After you read my list, you are never bringing it up again.”
Elijah quickly grabbed her phone. “There’s also not a chance in hell that is happening either.”
Georgia slunk back in her chair and groaned.
This was either going to be really good or really bad.
HIS PEACH WAS a freak.
For the third time, he read her list, and his knuckles turned white based on how hard he squeezed her phone.
Things I Want to Try
Me on top
Watch porn while having sex
Sex toys with partner
Blindfolded
Anal – maybe?
Outside
Public sex
Is squirting a thing?
Shower
“What are you thinking?” Georgia still whispered, which blew his mind. She clearly was thinking about sex, a lot, yet she was blushing and too afraid to talk about it above a library voice.
“Why didn’t you cross off public sex?”
And the animal inside him begged to wonder, why couldn’t he be the one to fulfill her fantasies?
Her eyes were giant with shock. “Can we please not talk about that here?”
“Fine.”
If she wanted to have this conversation in private, then so be it. Elijah got up from the table and offered her his hand, which she just stared at.
“What are you doing?” she asked, shoveling another bite of food into her mouth.
He took a deep breath, trying not to lose his patience, which was barely hanging on by a thread. “We’re leaving. If you don’t get up with me now, I will make a scene.”
Her mouth hung open.
“Peach, I am not joking.”
Georgia stood, and he grabbed her hand and whisked them away to the front of the restaurant. Elijah stopped at the hostess stand.
“We have an emergency and need to leave.” He pulled his wallet out of his back pocket and yanked out his credit card. “Our server was Sunny. Would you be able to have him cash us out?”
The woman nodded, and she scurried away. Within five minutes, she was back with his receipt for him to sign. Elijah left a generous tip, then walked outside, yanking Georgia behind him.
Rightfully so, she smacked his arm. “What is wrong with you!”
Walking them toward his car, he told her over his shoulder, “You don’t want to talk about your list in public, then we are going somewhere private.”
“I was still eating!”
Elijah opened the passenger-side door and gave her a pointed look. “I can make you eggs at your place, but get in the car.”
Thank fuck she didn’t argue and got in the car instead. He followed suit, and once they were both buckled in, he drove to her apartment.
“You know you’re crazy, right?” Georgia was in just as much shock as he was.
“You make me this way.”
“Real mature.”
“Why didn’t you cross off public sex?”
She grumbled, “Because I’m not sure if it counts, and I wanted to ask my girlfriends. Why do you care what’s on my list?”
Elijah ran his hand through his hair. He parked in front of her building.
“Please.” Georgia unbuckled her seat belt. “Don’t walk me up. If you can’t manage to explain why my list is important to you, then you’re not in the right headspace to be my friend.”
He slipped his hand over hers. “I don’t want you to go.”
“It looks like you don’t have a choice.”
Elijah watched her walk away from him, and he hated every second.
Would he get another chance to be with her?