Chapter 6
Justin
I COULDN'T REMEMBER the last time I'd been on a date.
It had to have been years.
Certainly never one in Brooklyn.
It was a first for both Willa and I.
I had to make it special. Show her just how great the city was. I don't know why, but I wanted her to love Brooklyn just as much as I did. To see it for all its wonder. Maybe she'd get her writing inspiration and never leave.
I had never thought about things like forever with anyone, but with Willa I couldn't stop thinking of it.
I bought some sunflowers from a vendor just outside of Williamsburg. The bakery was right outside of there and I was very familiar with the area. I tried to know all of the little parts of Brooklyn. Everything that made it tick.
Lick Your Lips Cakes was a little bit of indulgence amongst all of the other health food places in the area. I liked to think that, somehow, the owner and I were kindred spirits with wine and sugar, the opposites of all the other places around us.
Maybe I was just over thinking it like I tended to do with everything. Even my outfit for the night.
I think I changed fifty times, like some sort of teen girl on prom night, before I finally settled on dark jeans and a plaid button down with the sleeves rolled up to show the tattoos on my arms. I saw Willa eyeing them every chance that she got, so I made sure to have them on full display for her.
There was a large steel door on the side of the building and I opened it, leading to the second floor walk up. I checked my texts again to make sure I got the right door.
Music played softly through the door and I could hear singing. I leaned closer and realized that the soft, smooth vocals were coming from Willa.
I didn't want to knock. I didn't want to stop her. But by the time the song ended, I wanted nothing more than to see her beautiful face and the lips who sang those lyrics.
I knocked once, then twice, before she threw the door open and took my breath away.
The girl seemed to get more gorgeous every single time I saw her. She was wearing a striped, flowy dress that seemed to glide along the slight curves of her body. Her long blonde hair floated down her shoulders and looked so soft that I had to clench my fists to avoid running my fingers through it.
"Hi. You're early. Oh and you brought sunflowers! My favorite!" she said, breathlessly, taking the flowers and setting them on a nearby stand.
"Oh. I'm early? Sorry, I didn't realize...maybe I should have stopped for better flowers." Shit. Was I really? Way to look overeager.
She shook her head. "No. It's fine. Let me just grab my phone and purse. Oh and maybe a sweater."
She opened the door, her heels clicking on the wood floor as she went into her apartment, grabbing a purse and a sweater off the table. "And the flowers are beautiful. There's no need to apologize for those."
The place was smaller than I would have imagined and painted bright yellow. My eyes zeroed in on the bed with the crimson and teal bedspread. A bed I imagined her splayed across. I had to shake those thoughts out of my head as she turned, placing her phone in her purse before she came back to the door.
"Was that Adele?" I asked.
"What? Oh my music! Yeah. Sorry I sometimes have it a little too loud."
I smiled, shaking my head. She closed the door, locking it behind her and I put my hand on the small of her back to guide her down the stairs. "No music is ever too loud if it's good music."
She laughed, falling in step beside me. "I didn't take you for an Adele fan."
We walked out of the big steel door and into the night air. With summer hitting the city, the days were longer with the sun barely even starting to set. There were kids still outside playing baseball in the streets and the whole town was alive amongst the brick and concrete.
It was one of the many things I loved about Brooklyn. Everything was always in motion. People were always milling about, and when the summer nights hit, it was like one big party that no one ever wanted to stop.
"I'm a fan of any music that has a good beat and you can sing along to. If anybody says they don't like Adele, or any singer with a voice like hers, then they're either lying or not human."
"You have really strong feelings about your music."
I wanted to say that I had stronger feelings about her, but it had only been a day. How could I admit that I couldn't stop thinking about her? That hearing her sing made my stomach do somersaults and just thinking about this date got me through my day?
Instead I reached for her hand and she intertwined her fingers with mine, sending a shiver up my whole body. There was something simple and romantic about holding hands. It said that she wanted me. Maybe not sexually, but that she was okay with showing the world she was out with me.
"Music. Wine. There are many things that I like. Something that someone pours their heart into always gets me."
"What about reading?" she asked, swinging our hands.
"I think the last thing I read was a textbook when I got my MBA and maybe a wine manual for one of our machines."
She laughed. "Well we're going to have to fix that."
Willa pulled me around the corner, laughing as she picked up her pace.
"Where are we going?" I asked.
She practically skipped until stopping in front of a brick building with floor-to-ceiling glass facing the street. A sign with a purple bird drawn on it hung in the window with the words: Spoonbill & Sugartown Books.
"I saw this place when Leanna drove me to the bakery. I've been intrigued by it ever since. We didn't have many of these independent bookstores in Missouri and there is something about the smell of old books that I love."
Her eyes lit up as soon as she opened the glass door, and we were surrounded by rows of wooden bookshelves and old books.
I loved seeing her smile. At the winery she was timid and reserved, but amongst all of the leather bindings she was whimsical, floating from shelf to shelf and inspecting each spine.
"Where should I start on this book reading journey?" I asked, following her toward the back and nodding at the store clerk behind the counter.
"Hmm..." She tapped her fingers on her chin, looking methodically at the variety of books. They were all well-worn and probably read a dozen times.
"How about this one?" She held up a plain brown book with the word 'Coffee' inscribed in gold.
"As much as I love a good cup, I'm not sure I want to read about it."
"Okay. I'll see if they have anything about wine," Willa said, putting the book back on the shelf.
I glanced at a display at the end of the rack and smiled when I saw an old white paperback. I picked it up and faced Willa. "How about this one?"
She turned toward me and there came the spark back in her face. "Our Brooklyn?"
I nodded, flipping through the cream-colored pages. There were some pencil drawings of different landmarks and places to see in the city. "Unless you think we could write our own version?"
She licked her bottom lip before nibbling at it slightly. My pants felt tighter, just thinking about those soft lips and how I'd rather have her licking mine than her own.
"I think we could maybe start with this one and work our way up to writing our own story."
She leaned in ever so slightly, her words a whisper on my lips. "That sounds like a best seller."
I closed the distance between us, only briefly getting to savor her before a throat clearing cough came from behind us.
Willa looked down and I stared at the store keeper behind us. He adjusted his glasses and looked down then back up. "Um, can I help you find anything?" he asked.
Willa bit her bottom lip but kept a smile on her face as if she was trying to keep from laughing.
"I think we're good with this book here." I held up the book and took Willa's hand, paying for it before we headed out of the store.
"Think he was going to call the cops on us for public display of affection?" she asked.
I shook my head and turned down Fourth Street. "I'm not sure he could do that. Maybe he was hiding a body under the counter and didn't want us to find out?"
Willa raised her eyebrows. "I bet he's actually a serial killer. He uses the bookshop to lure book nerds, makes them fall in love with the used books, and then takes them out with sharpened bookmarks and uses their bones to make new shelves!"
I shook my head but couldn't help but laugh. "You really do have a creative mind."
She stopped and blinked rapidly. "Sorry. Sometimes I get excited."
I squeezed her hand. "Don't be sorry. I like it. I like seeing how passionate you are about it."
"Passion doesn't pay the bills, though," she muttered, looking at her feet.
"It can. Do you think that the winery was a success when I started?"
She shrugged.
"Hell no. People thought Luke and I were nuts for starting an urban winery, especially my parents. They thought I should just go back to the vineyard and take that over, but I was passionate about starting something here, so I kept pushing. It took a few years and a lot of mistakes, but now I'd have to say that the winery has been pretty successful."
She smiled, her eyes finally meeting mine. "I'll say. I saw that crowd the other night."
"And someday you're going to have an even bigger crowd than that at your signings."
She sighed. "Maybe."
We turned under the train tracks and I saw the familiar bicycle hanging over the small brick building. "This is it!"
Willa raised an eyebrow, and stared at the building, then looked up at the train tracks overhead. "What is?"
"This is Moto," I said, guiding her toward the door with a porthole in the center.
"So...this isn't an abandoned dive bar for sea captains and the place you plan on serving me to the fishes?"
I laughed, shaking my head. "I love that imagination."
I opened the door to the sound of a live bluegrass band, already set up and tuning their instruments. The place was a small, triangle shape with the same industrial feel as the winery. The end of the triangle had a large, round wooden bar with all the stools occupied and almost all of the round tables were filled.
"Wow! This is not what I was expecting," Willa said, her eyes going from the walls to the plank wooden floor.
I put my arm around her, peering around. "Yeah. It's one of Brooklyn's best hidden gems."
As soon as the dreadlocked man behind the bar saw me, a large grin spread across his face. "Justin Foster is here to grace us with his presence!" he yelled, throwing his tattooed arms in the air.
He practically jumped over the bar and ran over, giving me a big bear hug. "I thought I had to be mistaken when the great winery owner made reservations for two."
His eyes went to Willa. "And this must be the beautiful date?"
She put her hand out. "I'm Willa."
He shook her hand, still grinning. "I'm Jeb. You must be awfully special to get this guy away from his winery."
Her cheeks turned crimson and if she wasn't already adorable it made her even more kissable. "I guess."
Jeb laughed. "All right, well we've got you a table here in the back, so you're close enough to hear the band, but if you need a little privacy then you have it."
Jeb showed us to a corner table underneath a large chalkboard sign where the menu was written.
I pulled Willa's chair out and she sat down before I went around the table and took my seat.
"Two glasses of the red or white?" Jeb asked.
"Hmmm..." I rubbed my thumb along my beard. "What do you prefer Willa?"
"I've never been much for red wine. It kind of reminds me of my grandpa."
Jeb laughed a full-bellied laugh. "Then you've never had it from FO. I'll get you guys two glasses of the red and if the lady doesn't like it, we'll get the white."
Jeb turned toward the bar and I immediately put my hand on Willa's outstretched one. "Sorry. He's a little rough, but this is one of the best places in Brooklyn. And if you don't like the wine, I won't be offended."
She smiled, running her thumb along the bridge of my knuckles. The softness of her hands against my callous knuckles was a warm caress and immediately made me think of her hands in other places. I wanted to say screw the wine and just get her back to my place.
But before I could even voice any thoughts, Jeb was back at the table with a bottle of red, two glasses, and a plate of marinated olives with walnuts and pomegranate molasses.
"Since it's Willa's first time with red and to Moto, I figured she needed a good starter to pair with the wine."
Willa didn't even let go of my hand as she took a tiny sip of her wine. "Oh, wow, you're right Jeb. This is good. It's sweet and almost has a hint of chocolate and cherries to it."
She was even sexier when she talked wine. What I wouldn't give to have her lips devouring me instead of daintily sipping on that glass.
"I'm glad you noticed the subtly of it. You should try it with a walnut," I said, because I wasn't sure what else to say. I only knew how to talk about wine.
She leaned forward, opening her mouth ever so slightly.
Holy hell, this woman wanted me to feed her.
Jeb took that as his cue to leave and I picked up one of the walnuts, ever so slightly putting it on the tip of her tongue.
She flicked her tongue slightly at my finger tip before smiling and closing her lips, taking in the rich molasses flavor that made her grin. "Delicious."
Hell yes she was.
I stuttered and pulled my hand back, having to adjust the growing bulge in my pants. If I had to watch her take another sip of her wine I was going to be a goner.
What the hell was this girl doing to me? And how could I make it never stop?
***
After a dinner of braised pork ragout over rigatoni with parmesan, we polished off the bottle of red. Then ordered the fudge and port dessert with, of course, two glasses of dessert wine to go with it.
The conversation flowed easily with Willa. It may have been the wine, but I was pretty sure it was her.
She was like a ray of sunshine in every sort of darkness and every time she laughed I couldn't help but smile.
She was a bit wobbly on her heels as we finally left the restaurant, so I looped my arm around her waist and pulled her close. She smelled heavenly, like fresh flowers and pomegranate. I wanted to bury myself in her scent and in her.
"So where to next on this magical date, Mr. Foster? Plan on taking me back to your place and showing me your port?"
Her eyes widened and she covered her mouth. "Oh my gosh! I can't believe I just said that! Sorry! I told you, I'm a lightweight, and I'm also really bad with men."
I smiled in spite of the fact that I was thinking she was spectacular and not bad with men at all. I also really wanted to show her my port. But not tonight. Tonight I had to at least try to be a gentleman.
"As much as I'd love nothing more than to take you home with me, I think maybe I should save that for date number two."
She looked up at me, her hazel eyes wide and stunningly beautiful as they reflected off the street light. "You want to take me on a second date? Even though I'm pretty sure I'm drunk and I told you that I wanted to make your bones into book cases?"
I laughed. "Well, you said the store clerk wanted to use my bones, so I'll let that one slide, but in spite of what you may think, I like you Willa. You're smart. Funny. And the most beautiful woman I've ever seen."
Slowly, I turned her toward me and ran my fingers down her jaw line. Ever so slightly she closed her eyes and then opened them again, parting her lips. "You think I'm beautiful?"
I smiled, leaning in closer. "I believe I said the most beautiful woman I've ever seen."
Sealing my words, I covered her mouth with mine, tasting her sweet lips and relishing in the feel of her soft, silky hair as I ran my fingers through it.
Her tiny arms wrapped around my neck as her tongue found mine, intertwining our mouths and tastes in a beautiful dance.
She tasted and felt like heaven, pressing herself against me. She had to sense my arousal because she smiled beneath the kiss, pressing her core into me.
I growled into her mouth and pulled her closer, wrapping my arms around her waist.
Before we could get too heated, a group of people walked by, but she found my hand, breaking the kiss and keeping her fingers interlocked with mine.
After the murmuring group passed, we both ended up laughing for a solid minute. When we caught our breath Willa looked at me. "I guess this means it's time for you take me home?"
I sighed. "I wish it wasn't. I wish I could stay out with you and watch the sunrise over the Brooklyn Bridge."
She blinked and traced her foot on the sidewalk, looking down as she licked her lips before she looked back at me grinning. "That sounds better than going home."