True Bliss (Bliss #2)(31)
Author: B.J. Harvey

I put my hand on the small of her back as I lead her to the front door. Her skin is warm, heating my blood so quickly that I have to snatch my hand away. She glances at me briefly, and I cover the gesture with a quick smile and open the door, letting her leave first.

When we reach the sidewalk, she turns and looks at me. “So where too, Mr. Roberts?”

“Ah yes, the million dollar question. Well, I wanted to take you on a fun, easy going date. You know, the one that you remember forever and hold up against all other dates because it was just that cool?”

She giggles, and it is the sweetest most satisfying sound in the world. “Sounds awesome. So are we embracing our inner child?”

“But of course, my dear,” I reply in a bad Sean Connery impression.

“Righteous.”

I put on my best surfer impression. “Bodacious.”

“Holy crap, we sound like the teenage mutant ninja turtles. This can’t be good,” she says with a smile.

I laugh, then look down at her. She’s just standing there, watching me.

“What?”

“You should laugh more often. I like it.”

I can’t wipe the smile off my face. It’s only the start of the date, but I’m already thinking of the second, and third and fourth. I’m glad that Kate is everything I expected her to be and more.

“The first stop is the Lincoln Park Zoo.”

“Are you serious?” she squeals, clapping her hands with glee. “I haven’t been there in ages! It used to be one of my favorite places to go as a kid.”

“Well, I guess stop one for our day gets your tick of approval then. I must be doing well.”

I reach my hand down and grab hold of hers, entwining our fingers. She looks down at our now joined hands, and I don’t miss both the surprise on her face, and then the slight grin she gets when she likes something.

Since Kate and Mac’s apartment is only four blocks away from Lincoln Park, and it’s a nice sunny day, we walk to the zoo, holding hands and chatting about Kate’s job, and how Zach burned down our kitchen, and before long we arrive at our first stop for the afternoon.

I have to admit, this zoo idea was brilliant. We held hands for most of the way, stopping when I bought us an ice-cream. Our conversation never waned, and I was so relaxed with her that I didn’t even think about whether I was making a good impression, or whether she was having a good time. It was like hanging out with a best friend, who just happens to be someone that I’d like to get to know a whole lot better than a friend. And best yet, I’ve managed to restrain myself from calling her firebird three times already.

After a few hours of seeing rhinos, monkeys, flamingos and even the snakes which freaked Kate out so that she stopped holding my hand and clung to my side-still not complaining-we left the zoo and started to walk back toward the apartment.

“So how are the repairs on the apartment going?” Kate asks as we stop at an intersection.

“Good, and not so good. Unfortunately, the damage was worse than they first thought, so it’s going to be a few more weeks at least. Are you okay with that?” I ask, worried that maybe I’ve been totally misreading her, and this date was actually a sinking bomb.

“Hey now, you just went all tense. Please don’t think I was asking about it because I want you to move out. I’ve had an awesome time today, Zan. It’s been fun.” She looks up at me, and I’m struck by how gorgeous she is. The sunlight and blue sky serve to make her eyes shine even brighter, and when my eyes drop to her mouth, I know there is going to be no stopping this.

I lean my head down, my gaze lifting back to her eyes as I stop just a touch away from her lips. “Can I kiss you?” She nods and that is all the permission I need. I gently brush my lips against hers before pulling back.

“Again. Please,” she whispers. Her tongue darts out and grazes my lips as I open my mouth and let her take the lead. She wraps her arms around me, joining her hands behind my neck as she strains to deepen the kiss. I place my hands on her hips and move her closer as our tongues lazily move with the other. My c**k is hard as rock, and I know she can feel it, but neither of us move against the other. It’s like time stands still. With one last stroke of her tongue, she goes to move back, but not before I gently bite her lower lip, sucking on it gently before letting her go.

“Wow,” she says, looking around and realizing that we’re still standing in the middle of the sidewalk, and we’ve missed the crossing signal. “Shit! We should probably move.”

“Gimme a minute, babe. I’m not fit for public consumption right now.” She looks down between us and giggles.

“You can laugh, but you caused this. You do it to me every time I just look at you.”

“You can’t be serious?”

“Serious as a heart attack. You don’t think I’ve been watching you for a while, babe? At that bachelorette party a year ago. Even back then, I could tell you were different. You were there, and you were having fun, but it wasn’t really your thing, was it?”

“You could tell that while you were dancing and gyrating your hips around? Oh, and thrusting your junk in Sophie’s face before slowly inching a banana into her mouth?” She’s smiling, so I know she’s teasing me.

Damn, she has a good memory.

I take a step closer to her, pulling her body close into mine once more. “Did I have this when I was doing all of that? No. You know why? Because nobody has made me feel the way you do with one look, one touch, one cute little giggle. Do you have a problem with me stripping?” My face is undoubtedly full of concern as I wait for her response.

“No, but it hasn’t got anything to do with me. It’s your job. The only thing that matters is whether you have a problem with it. Why do you ask?”

“Just wanted to check. That’s all. I’m not going to be stripping forever. As soon as I’m graduated and assigned a precinct, I’m stopping.”

“That’s good,” she replies with her hand on my chest, her fingers gripping ever so slightly into my flesh.

I pull my hand up and touch her nose, which she scrunches up adorably. “And besides, no one else has gotten drunk and tried to thrust their boobs into my face by touching their elbows behind their back yet, so I think I’ll keep you around,” I add to break the mood.

“Oh my god, I can’t believe you remember that!” She buries her face into my chest before pulling back.

I sneak a glance at her br**sts, the silver drop necklace an enticing reminder of where I want to trail my tongue down in the very near future. “Babe, no man in their right mind would forget that.”