“What are you doing tomorrow night?” Jesse asked me, I felt my smile escaping then. He was on board with my idea and I was over the moon.
“Nothing once Kaylee goes to bed.”
He hadn't invited me into his house and part of me was glad for that. I wanted to take this slowly and by going into his house it would be sending him all the wrong signals, especially as I doubted I'd be able to keep my hands to myself.
“Ok, I’ll come and pick you up at eight p.m. Don't even think about standing me up, Willow, ‘cus I’ll only come and find you.”
“It’s a date.” I grinned up at him. As if he’d think I’d ever dream of standing him up. I’m excited for tomorrow, cancelling isn't on my radar in the slightest.
“It most certainly is a date, sweetheart. This is just the start, Willow. Eventually you will be with me, be mine. Just a matter of time.” He enlightened me to how this was going to go. I may have set the pace but he was in charge when it came down to everything else.
I gasped but it was quickly swallowed when he placed his lips against mine softly in the lightest of kisses, almost like he was scared I’d break if he pressed too hard. I stood immobile for a few seconds but as I gathered my wits he pulled away from me, taking a step backwards.
“Goodnight, Willow. I will see you tomorrow.”
“Goodnight,” I said softly as I stepped backwards, turning to head back to my nan’s house.
Nan was still where I left her sat in her recliner. This time she's reading on her e-reader which brought a smile to my face.
“Would you mind if I went out after Kaylee goes to bed tomorrow?” I asked her as I took a seat on the sofa.
Placing the e-reader beside her, she looked over to me. “Why would I mind?”
I shrugged my shoulders at her question. “I'm going on a date with Jesse and I just wanted to run it by you before I went. Kaylee would be in bed and Nate will be too occupied in his room to even noticed I'm gone.”
“Willow. Go out, have fun, and for the love of God do the things I'm too old to do.” Throwing me a wink she started reading again, getting back into whatever story that's caught her attention.
I say nothing else as I stand up from my seat, but before leaving the room, I walk closer to her and plant a loving kiss on the top of her head. “Love you, Nan,” I whispered.
“I love you too, Willow. More than you will ever know,” she replied in a rare display of affection from her making it all the more special.
“Where are we going?” I asked Jesse as he drove us through the quiet streets. I had looked forward to this date all day, getting ready earlier than was necessary, but now I was nervous. It's been years since I've been on a date and I wasn't too sure how I should be acting. I was completely out of my element.
Nan had been uncharacteristically nice, helping me get the kids dinner sorted out and chasing me up the stairs to start getting ready, telling me she could help the kids with their homework. She'd even given me her seal of approval when she saw what I'd chosen to wear. My favorite black skinny jeans with a fitted chiffon shirt teamed with my flat ballerina pumps had me thinking that this was best I'd felt for a while. Jesse told me as much once I'd jumped into his waiting truck, his eyes roaming over my outfit taking me all in. His intense stare set off that burning inside of me again, it was like he was connected to me. Every look, every touch sent me into a tailspin.
“It's a secret.” I gave him a glare which had him chuckling. “You'll love it. I promise.”
I had no choice but to enjoy the view as we drove toward our destination and I wasn't entirely talking about the view from the windows. Jesse was looking so handsome this evening. He too had black jeans on with a flannel shirt. I could see a dark tee peeking out the top of his shirt. He wore black chucks which I loved. I was all for men wearing boots and such but you couldn't beat a pair of chucks. As usual, his hair looked like the only styling he had done is to run a hand through it, the length curling around his ears. He really did look hot. I wanted nothing more than to touch him, to have him kiss me like he did last night but I was playing the long game and didn't they say good things come to those who wait and I am expecting very good things when it came to Jesse Baker. Great things in fact!
It was just starting to get dark when we pulled up outside a beautiful home. “Wow, Jess. This house looks amazing,” I exclaimed as I got out of the car, taking a few moments to have a good look at the house before me.
It really was like one of those homes you could only ever dream about owning, one that people wrote about or what you saw in the movies. The colonial house was painted a cream color, its pillars standing proudly, lit up to ward off the oncoming darkness. It had two floors with lots of garden space. It really was a dream house. A house I could never see myself being able to own in my lifetime.
I turned to see Jesse staring at me, an odd expression on his face. “What are we doing here?” I asked him quizzically.
“I’ve been asked to have a look around. Travis said that the owners were looking into having some work done.” He shrugged his shoulders and took my hand, leading me up the path toward the house’s deep blue door. Despite the lights on the porch being on, the rest of the house was in darkness.
“Where are the owners now? Doesn't look like anyone is home,” I tell him worriedly. I didn't want us to get accused of trying to break in!
“Don't worry, sweetheart. It's all in hand. The owners are out of town for a few days and they dropped off a spare set of keys for us to use.”
“Does that happen often?” I quizzed him. “There's no way I’d leave keys to my house with strangers.” I couldn't get over the naivety of some people these days. Did they not watch the news?
“It happens more than you’d like to think but luckily for us, we have a great reputation and that means customers trust us.” I nodded my head, still stumped at his revelation.
He produced the keys and opened the door, leading us into the house. He flipped a switch which flooded the entryway with light, taking my breath away. If I thought the outside was stunning, it definitely didn't hold a candle to what I was seeing now.
A huge staircase sat off to the right of the hall, dark wooden floors gleamed and reflected the light. Archways led us into a living room which was just as magnificent as the rest of the house. Sunken floors housed a huge grey sectional sofa. Patio doors led out into a yard of which I couldn't see because of the dark but I could only imagine that it was as impressive as everything else I’d seen.
“Wow, Jess. The house is just something else! Are the owners sure they require work cause from where I’m standing it looks perfect to me,” I told him honestly. How could they want to change anything, it was amazing and I know if it was my home I wouldn't change a damn thing.
“Shall we have a look upstairs?” he asked me. “It’s got four bedrooms, the master bedroom has an en suite but there's another bathroom that's used by the rest of the house.”
“You sound like a realtor,” I joked as he guided me up the stairs into the master bedroom. I was completely blown away. Their children’s rooms were decorated tastefully making me think that they'd done that so the room grew with the child, eliminating countless times of redecorating. I’m in love with this house and as we move from room to room I fall deeper and deeper, but as we descend the stairs a pang of sadness sets in.
“What's wrong, sweetheart?” Jesse asked, obviously catching the change in my mood.
Shaking my head, I tried to brush him off, feeling stupid for being jealous of the people who owned such a beautiful house.
“Come on, Will. You know you can talk to me about anything,” he coaxed, his brow furrowing as he tried to figure out what was wrong with me.
“It’s this.” I waved my hand around indicating the house. “It just dawned on me that I’ll never be able to afford something like this and I guess I got a little jealous.” I tried to muster a smile for him and failed.
He chuckled and pulled me into his chest, I could feel it rumbling with his deep laughter. I tried to pull away but he held firm. “One day, baby. One day you will have everything you ever wanted.”
I angled my head so I could see his face. “Do you have a crystal ball somewhere I don't know about?” I teased him good naturedly.
“No, Willow. I just know.” The answer wasn't really an answer but I decided to drop the subject and talk about something else.
“So is this our date?” I inquired. As much as I loved him showing me around, I was keen to see what else he'd possibly got in store for us tonight.
“No, this was on the way so I thought I would pop in. Kill two birds with one stone.”
I punched him playfully in the stomach and he let me go, his chuckles following me as we left the house. I waited patiently while he turned off the lights and locked it back up again. Pocketing the keys, he grabbed my hand. “Date time, sweetheart. Let’s go.”