#datenight
A FLUSH CREEPS up my neck to my cheeks as I admire the black dress and heels I’m wearing in the mirror. The dress has a slightly conservative cut, but it hugs me well in all the right places. And the leopard print heels were a splurge just for this date.
It’s not just the clothes themselves making me feel warm and excited, but knowing I’m wearing them for Ryan. He insisted on taking me to a nice restaurant tonight, even though I told him I’d be fine with pizza or burgers.
I’d be okay with anything as long as it’s with him. Now that I’ve come to my senses, I’m making up for all the years of not seeing Ryan as the sexy, smart, big-hearted catch he really is. I daydream about him at work and end every night on the phone with him, sighing softly and smiling when we hang up.
“You look amazing,” Carmen says as I walk downstairs.
“Thanks.”
Jack is curled up on the couch, his head in her lap and a Star Wars blanket tucked around him. He smiles at me, but he doesn’t say anything. He’s been quieter lately, likely because he can’t find the words for what he wants to say, or because he’s not even sure what to say.
It’s a cruel disease he’s been stricken with, but Carmen insists that we all keep living life even though he’s sick. She still wants him to be a little boy as much as he possibly can. Tonight, they’re having a Star Wars and pizza night, with cupcakes cooling in the kitchen to frost and decorate later.
The doorbell rings, and I race over to answer the door. Ryan stands before me in a pale blue button-up shirt, tailored dark gray pants, and shining black shoes. He takes me in with a slow, sexy smile.
“You’re beautiful,” he says, meeting my eyes.
“Thank you.” I smile nervously. “You’re early.”
He shrugs a shoulder. “Couldn’t help myself. Besides, a true alpha never picks his woman up late.”
Warmth at the sound of him calling me his woman swirls in my belly. “Is that so?”
He nods, a corner of his mouth turning up in a smile. I step aside, and he comes in to say hi to Carmen and Jack. When Jack sees him, he sits up, his expression bright.
“The locks still work,” he tells Ryan with a smile.
“Great. Thanks for keeping an eye on them for me.”
Jack snuggles against Carmen’s side contentedly. Carmen meets my eyes with a small smile, silently wishing me good luck.
“Ready?” I ask Ryan.
“Whenever you are.”
True to his word, he opens the door for me, stepping aside so I can walk through first. He offers me a hand as we descend the stairs down to the sidewalk, and I take it.
“How was your Saturday?” he asks as he leads the way to his truck.
“It was really good. We went to the farmers market this morning and then had lunch with my parents downtown. How about you?”
“The team did a project for an elderly couple in town, so I helped with that. We did yard work and painting.”
When we get to his truck, he opens the door for me. I should get in, but instead, I just look at him. I’ve always known in the back of my mind that he was handsome, but now I’m starting to see him in a new light. He’s not just Coop’s good-looking friend anymore. He’s Ryan. My RoughRider. And that man gives me the weak-in-the-knees, giddy sense of hopefulness I haven’t let myself feel in years.
Ryan lets me look without asking me if something’s wrong. He knows why I’m looking, and he looks back, a smile playing on his lips.
I reach for him, pressing myself against his chest and wrapping my arms around his neck. He encircles me, his big arms around my back making me feel warm and secure.
If only this moment could last forever. I’m so content that I moan softly and press a soft kiss to his neck. He responds with a sound deep in his throat that sounds like a growl.
“You really are an alpha, aren’t you?” I say in his ear.
He lets out a deep, soft laugh and rests his forehead against mine. “With you, I am.”
“I kind of don’t want to move and get in the truck,” I admit.
Ryan pulls back slightly and gives me an amused grin. “I kind of don’t want you to either, but we’ve got a reservation.”
I slide my hands out from around his neck and down his chest, reveling in the hard, solid feel of him. The thought of feeling his bare skin sends a shiver of desire from the tip of my spine to the base.
Ryan’s eyes slide closed for just a second. I love that he likes my hands on him. But he’s right, we have dinner plans, and I want to enjoy the date he planned for us.
When I step up into his truck, he offers me a hand for support. Once I’m in, he closes the door, and I laugh to myself as he walks around the truck to get inside. I feel like a high school girl again, wishing he would park the truck somewhere so we could just make out all night.
He takes me to a little basement-level restaurant in the city called Leonardo’s. It’s dimly lit, the walls covered with photos of the owner and all the famous people who have eaten here over the years. The air is filled with the scent of garlic and authentic Italian music piped through speakers.
“This place has the best lasagna,” he murmurs as we’re led to our table. “Ever been here?”
“No, but it’s great. Just perfect.”
Over dinner, he tells me about his team and the classes he teaches. He has a passion for history that I never saw in him. His deepest passion is football, though. I like the way he talks about his team as a whole, but also sees each player as an individual.
“I guess I’m kind of a hard-ass,” he says with a wry smile. “I never thought I would be. When I was a player, I swore I’d be the coolest coach ever.”
“You have to be pretty hard if you want to have a winning team.”
He nods. “And the funny thing is, the boys respond well to it. I don’t just want to coach them in the game of football, but in life. We talk about how to treat people and look out for yourself and all that too.”
“You’re probably the only father figure some of them have,” I say, thinking of Jack.
Ryan reaches across the table and takes my hand. He rubs his thumb over my knuckles, his gaze intently focused on me.
He’s not nervous. At all. I’m the only one whose insides feel like they’re on spin cycle right now. Ryan seems to know, with crystal clarity, that all he needed was a chance with me. And damn, does his confidence turn me on like nothing else.
“I’m sorry it took me time to get here,” I say softly.
“We’re here. That’s all that matters.”
The lasagna really is amazing, and we eat slowly as Ryan listens to me go on and on about the Alpha Mail expansion and Carmen and Jack. After dinner, we walk downtown, meandering past shop windows hand in hand as we continue talking. We stop at a small ice cream parlor, where I get a strawberry waffle cone and he gets a chocolate mocha one.
It’s a little after ten when we get back to his car, and I’m hoping he plans to take me back to his place. After this evening of being so physically close to him, I want him in ways I never thought possible. I love his light, masculine scent that reminds me of cedar. I’m driven mad by the way he looks at me, a fire in his eyes that he keeps reined in.
I want him to unleash that fire and have his way with me until sunrise. This date has only confirmed what I already suspected: I’m falling hard for Ryan.
He drives back to my place, though, so I invite him in as he walks me up the stairs to the front door.
“I’d love to, but I think I shouldn’t,” he says with a grin.
“Really?” My disappointment is obvious.
Ryan’s expression turns serious as he cups my cheeks in his hands. “I’m not doing a single thing to mess this up. The reason I’m not coming in isn’t because I don’t want you really fucking bad . . . it’s because I do.”
I nod, so warm I wouldn’t feel a blizzard passing by right now.
He runs a thumb over my cheekbone and says, “I want to see you again as soon as possible. I can do most anytime but Friday nights during the season.”
“Yes. And . . . maybe Carmen and Jack and I can come to one of your games?”
“I’d love that.”
I sigh softly. “So no crazy alpha sex for me tonight, then.”
Ryan groans and kisses my forehead. “We’ll get there. And when we do, it won’t just be sex.”
He kisses me then, and it’s only slow and sweet for a couple seconds. Then he pulls me against him, one of his hands on my waist, as his kiss becomes deeper, more insistent. When his hand slides down to cup my ass, he seems to catch himself, pulling away.
“I have to go,” he whispers against my lips. “You make it hard to be a gentleman.”
I just nod, breathless. I’m pretty sure I manage to say goodnight before I float into the house and close the door, leaning my back against it as I close my eyes and smile.
Every horrible date was worth it. It was those dates that led me here, and there’s nowhere else I’d rather be.