I was nervous getting ready for dinner, because I knew that it was going to be more than dinner. This was going to be the night that something more happened. I’d been waiting so long for it. I was waiting for a ring and commitment, but I was starting to realize that I wasn’t going to be able to wait forever. Maybe I didn’t need the promises. All I really needed was to feel what love could be like. It didn’t have to extend into the morning. Hail would always care for me and maybe that was enough.

The reflection that looked back at me was different than the one I usually seen. I wasn’t as nervous as I was before. I wasn’t worried that something bad was going to happen. I was elated, excited, ready to see what came next. It was a new woman standing in front of the mirror. I had more confidence and I was happier than I’d been in a long time. I knew that all of these changes were because of Hail. He’d done something to me, and I wanted to change completely. I knew that there was more to glean from him.

There was a knock on the door, and I figured that it was Hail coming to pick me up. I told him that I could come over whenever I wanted to, but he insisted that he pick me up, claimed that a real date had the man pick up the woman. I wanted to have time to get my nerves out, but now I was out of time and he was coming for me.

One last look in the mirror and I was off to see what destiny held for me. I knew that it was Hail that was my destiny. I don’t know how I knew it, just that I did. It was all going to be okay. It just had to be. I was tired of being a girl. I wanted to finally be a full woman and I knew that I would get everything I needed and more from Hail.

I opened the door and smiled at him. He had that mischievous look in his eyes that I had gotten used to seeing and I hoped it meant what I wanted it to mean. I wanted it to mean that he was going to give me everything that I’d waited so long for. He had to. It was finally the night, that everything was going to change and it had to be perfect.

“You ready?”

I nodded my head, afraid that my words wouldn’t come to me. Yeah, I was ready for what came next, even if I was trembling with the thought of it.

He had actually cooked. Not just some bachelor dish that was breaded and baked, but actual food. It was some kind of pasta and I will admit that I stepped on the foot press on his trash can, because I couldn’t believe that he had actually made it himself. I was half-expecting to see some containers for a restaurant take-out or something.

“What are you looking for?”

I snickered a little bit, because I knew I was busted. How would I explain why I was looking in his trash? It didn’t seem like something that I was going to have much to lie about it.

“I was just going to see if you had bought it. It looks too good to be made.”

“Why, because I’m rich?”

“And you don’t seem like the type.”

He grinned in a self-deprecating way.

“I really do like to cook. It was one of the hobbies that I never have time for, but I do like it.”

“Well it smells good.”

“It will taste good as well. Sit down and I will make us a couple of plates.”

I agree and try to steady my nerves. Of all the things that I had done this year, fears I had conquered, I think that being alone with Hail like this was one of the biggest ones that I had yet to master. I was so nervous, and I hated to feel this way. I hated to be afraid and the longer I sat there waiting, the worse off it was for me.

Finally, I got up and watched him from the side of the counter. He moved with conviction, like he knew exactly what it was that I wanted to do, and I was waiting for him to see me here. I was sending out vibes to tell him what I needed, because my mouth wouldn’t work. My body was the only thing that was going to help me at the moment.

I moved behind him and touched him lightly on the shoulder. He looked back at me and smiled. “I didn’t know you were in a rush. I have a cheese plate on the counter if you’re hungry.”

I wasn’t hungry, not for food anyways. He was reheating or baking, I really don’t know what he was doing, and it didn’t matter. All that mattered was we were together, and I was ready to see what would happen next. What would Hail do if I went to my tiptoes and kissed him?

There was no need to wonder because I finally got up a ball of courage to move to do just that. I pressed my lips against his quickly, afraid that I was going to lose my nerve if I didn’t do it quickly. I felt his arms wrap around me and deepen the kiss. I was thankful for that, because it was what I needed, but there was no way that I was going to be able to go further. The first step was all I was capable of at this moment. I couldn’t do anything more.

Then, nothing mattered as his tongue moved into my mouth and his hands pulled me in closer. I was wrapped up in his arms, cocooned in them and I never wanted to leave their warmth. I wanted to stay here forever, wrapped in his arms. I don’t know what I was waiting for, but I couldn’t think of anything that felt better than this. There couldn’t be anything else in the world that felt as good as his hands on me.

The counter was pressed up against my back as he turned me around, so that we could be closer together and I was pinned between the counter and him. His body was hard and unyielding, and I knew more than anything, that I wanted this to finally be over. The wait was killing me and before I was able to really get into what was going to happen next, Hail was pushing me away a little bit.

“What are you doing Evony?”

For a moment, I was afraid that I was going to turn around without an answer for him. Truth was, I had no idea what I was doing, just that he felt good. Really good, and I wanted what was left on the table. He’d joked about it, eluded to it, every time I was around him, so why was he stopping now? It just didn’t make any sense to me. I didn’t want to stop now. I was never going to be able to do this again. It had taken everything in me, just for the kiss.

But then something decided it for me, and I told him that I wanted more from him. The courage came from somewhere.

“More?”

I nudged him with my shoulder, because he was still right in front of me, pinning me where I stood.

“Yes, more. You know what I mean.”

Something changed in his eyes.

“Now?”

I giggled and nodded my head yes, now. Hadn’t we waited long enough?

“Do you have something else that you’d rather do?”

He grinned at me in the sweetest way possible and told me that he had nothing to do that was going to be more important than this.

“Right here? Is the kitchen doing it for you?”

I shook my head. “No, I just didn’t want to wait through this whole dinner, dying to touch you. Maybe we should get it out of the way and over with first.”