11. Kennedy
Chapter 11
Kennedy
“ A re you going to tell me what the plan is for tonight?” I asked gleefully as I hopped into Eli’s car. His scent was everywhere, and my omega was immediately at ease.
“You'll see when we get there. I got you a little something.” The alpha smiled at me before reaching behind him and pulling a blanket off the back seat. It was a large, lavender-colored faux fur that felt stupidly soft against my skin. Even better, it smelled like him. “Now, put this on your lap. While I greatly appreciate the dress, I noticed you were chilly last time.”
I gaped at him as he spread the blanket across my lap. He had noticed that? I was under the impression that I had managed to keep that fact to myself. The last thing I’d wanted to do was offend him or make him think that I wasn't feeling good, when he was being such a gentleman, taking me on our first date.
“Thank you,” I said in a breathy voice, pulling the blanket closer to me, running my hands along it. “It’s so soft,” I whispered in awe.
“I’m glad you like it.”
“Where did you get this?”
Eli cleared his throat, looking out at the road. He swallowed, moving his hands across the wheel, like he was nervous. “I saw it at a home shop the other day and thought of you. It was so fluffy and nice to touch.”
“I love it,” I said with a grin.
“Good, there’s plenty more where that came from.”
I giggled. “Do you have a secret nesting supply store I should be aware of?”
“Nope, but I’ll have to get a membership to one of those places to keep you in the good blankets.”
“This is plenty!” I insisted, my hands clenching in the fluffy perfection.
He snorted. “Kennedy, that is just the first of many courting gifts.”
Butterflies violently attacked my stomach at his words. He was dating me the old-fashioned way, and it was frankly adorable and heartwarming. What had I done to deserve this?
“You don’t have to,” I said.
“I want to. If it's too much, I will stop, but that's only if you're overwhelmed. If you're simply trying to be polite, I'm going to remind you that it's rude to turn down a courting gift.” He smirked as he spoke.
I opened my mouth to reply but closed it. He had me there. I wasn't going to lie to him and say I was overwhelmed when, in fact, I was just filled with gratitude at his gesture.
So, instead of answering, I narrowed my eyes at him. When he glanced over and saw, he burst into laughter. His hand reached out, gently gripping the top of my thigh over the blanket as he continued driving.
My mind was hyper focused on that hand. The sheer size of it compared to my leg. He dwarfed me in every aspect. Yet I felt incredibly safe with him. The location of his grasp did have me considering how it would feel if he inched that hand ever so slightly higher.
We had been on one date, and I was already turning into a lady horndog.
“Who’s looking after Charlotte?”
“My friend Beth, again. Despite the fact my daughter isn't even a year old yet, I'm pretty sure Beth is trying to corrupt her.”
“Exactly how does one corrupt a minor that young?”
“Gummy bears,” I said simply.
“Ah, yes. Terrible things, those gummy bears.”
I nodded. “They are, especially when they steal Mommy’s artificial bears that are full of sugar. Char isn’t even old enough for candy yet, but when it’s time, I’ll start her on those organic sugar-free ones. Just to start off with. I don't want to put her into a sugar coma before she's even a toddler.”
“In that case, we may need to keep her away from Charlie. Don't get me wrong—my pack member is amazing, but he is a sucker for a cute face, and I have a feeling that any child of yours is going to be ridiculously cute when she wants something.”
“She’s going to be an omega, I’m sure of it.” I laughed. “She’s all snuggly and cute faces. Sometimes it's so hard to say no to her. I hope she never goes through the terrible twos.”
“Maybe daughters are different, but I've heard from my pack mates’ mothers that they were terrors as children. Storm and Micha were always rolling around in the mud. I preferred indoor activities, but I wasn't opposed to an occasional mud bath.”
I cocked my head to the side, snuggling into the blanket. “It sounds like you guys are really close.”
“Have you ever been around packs before?” he asked, glancing over at me.
I shook my head. “Nope. My mother was an omega and my father was a beta. I lost them a few years ago in a car accident. It's just me and Char now.”
“I’m sorry,” Eli said.
My eyes started to blur with tears at the thought, and I quickly blinked them away. Sobbing my eyes out on a second date definitely wouldn't be a good look. Still, sometimes I hated how little family my sweet baby had.
“I'm used to it. Charlotte and I make the best of what we've got.”
“You still deserve more,” he said.
I was going to answer, but we pulled up on the street, and he turned to look at me. “The place we're going to is just around the corner,” he informed me as he pushed his glasses farther up his nose. “Stay there,” he instructed as he got out of the car, quickly walking around to my side and opening the door for me.
“Fuck it,” he growled as I slid out of the car. Before I could look up and ask him what was happening, his hands were cupping my chin lightly, forcing my eyes to meet him. “I’ve been desperate to kiss you since our last date. I was going to be a gentleman and wait until the end, but I don’t think I can,” he admitted, his eyes searching my face for something, maybe some negative reaction?
Well, there was no way in hell I was going to have a bad reaction to the exceedingly hot alpha saying he wanted to kiss me. Especially when I had been thinking about kissing him nonstop for the last few days.
Happy with what he had seen on my face, he leaned down and pressed his lips against mine. His smoky sweet scent was everywhere, and I was drowning in it. I didn’t want to come up for air.
His hand cupped the back of my head, both holding it in place and stopping it from hitting the car. Even when ravaging my mouth, he was looking out for me.
His actions gave me the warm mushies, and I was seriously tempted to tell him to forget the date as long as we could keep making out.
Eventually, he pulled away, a slightly remorseful look across his features. “I don't want to stop doing that, but the restaurant is just around the corner, and if we don’t stop soon, we’ll miss dinner.”
“I'm okay with missing dinner.” I shrugged, making Eli chuckle as he gently pushed me away from the car.
“Come on, the least I can do is feed you first,” he said.
Taking my hand in his, I walked next to him. His grip was firm but gentle.
We rounded the corner, and Eli came to an abrupt stop. I glanced up at his face, which was startled, then looked straight ahead…
At the very closed, very no longer in business, Italian restaurant. It had clearly been shut for a few weeks. There were signs in the window and dust gathering on the one or two tables left inside. Even the restaurant sign was looking a little decrepit.
“Is that where we’re supposed to be going?” I asked, doing my best to avoid giggling.
Eli didn’t look at me, his gaze locked on the closed-down restaurant. “Oh, no… This place was open just last month.” He turned to look at me. “I’m so sorry, Kennedy, I should have called and made a reservation.”
I waved off his concern. “Oh, well. You know, there’s a ton of amazing cheap street food places near campus. Maybe we can grab something there?” I suggested.
He looked down at me. He clearly was unhappy that his plan had fallen through. “But I wanted to take you to a nice restaurant.”
I leaned up and kissed him on the cheek. “It's the thought that counts. I appreciate the plan, but I am more than happy to eat two-dollar tacos from a cart.”
Eli closed his eyes and shook his head. “You’re too damn sweet. What am I going to do with you?”
“Feed me tacos and tell me I'm pretty?” I asked.
He snorted. “Nah, I’ll feed you tacos and tell you just how amazingly stunning and sweet you are.”
“Well, I’m okay with that!”