Baz glanced back at me, and I could feel myself blushing furiously. He had no clue what those innocent words were doing to my insides. I turned my attention back to the plate in front of me and stuffed a crab puff in my mouth. These, too were amazing. There was just the right balance of cream cheese to crab meat. I just barely managed to hold this moan in.

I looked back up at Mr. Davenport and Sonya and smiled. “The crab puffs are to die for, too. Your caterer has done a phenomenal job.”

“I’m glad to hear it, he came highly recommended by my son.” He smiled and looked pointedly at Bastian, his pride was evident.

“We’ve used him previously for other business functions and Sergio and his staff have always done an outstanding job. I have never once been disappointed.” Bastian popped a crab puff into his own mouth and leaned back in his chair, his right arm draping over the back of my own chair as he crossed his feet under the table.

“Well, I guess we should go and grab some food ourselves.” Mr. Davenport stood and pulled out Sonya’s chair for her to do the same.

“It was really nice to meet you. And happy birthday, again.” I offered to Sonya.

“It was nice to meet you too. And let me know if you change your mind about the boudoir photos. I’ll hire you myself.” She smiled encouragingly.

“If anything changes, I’ll definitely let you know.” I smiled warmly in response.

Mr. Davenport leaned down and kissed my cheek. “Have fun tonight and don’t be such a stranger. I’m sure we’ll be bumping into each other again soon.” He winked as he took his wife’s hand and led her from the table.

“She seems nice,” I offered. “A little forward, but nice nonetheless.”

“She is nice, but something about her seems off to me. Don’t let her make you feel obligated to switch up your work. You do amazing work and have already made a name for yourself.” His confidence in me was always inspiring.

“I hear ya, but maybe she’s right? Maybe I should consider expanding my fields. I did do one shoot and the pictures turned out gorgeous. It was a lot of fun and my client looked really sexy. In fact, she told me her husband loved them.” I grabbed another crab puff and took a bite.

“I have no doubt he did, like I said you’re really talented, Gem. I think if it would make you happy, you should do it. But only if it would make you happy.”

“I’d need to get a space, like a private space, to do them in. I’ll have to sit down and think about all the logistics of how it would work,” I ate the rest of my crab puff and stared off into the distance lost in thoughts about potentially embarking on another path.

Baz’s finger grazing the side of my mouth brought me quickly back to the present.

“You left a little behind,” he held my stare as he sucked the cream cheese off of his fingertip.

I felt myself gulp as I watched the motion in fascination, and I blinked hard. I reached for my champagne but my hand missed the stem and I ended up nearly knocking it over. Baz’s quick reflexes saved me some embarrassment.

“Would you like a bottle of water?” He asked with a look of concern on his handsome features.

I nodded yes and watched as he got up to go grab me some water. I was slightly annoyed that he assumed I was drunk, but it was better than him realizing my clumsiness was because I was turned on and couldn’t focus properly.

Why did I have to feel this way about my best friend? How had it taken me this long to acknowledge it? And how was I going to proposition him about becoming my Mr. Right Now? I didn’t know the first thing about being sexy or coming on to a man. I thought about Mila. She oozed sex. Maybe I was kidding myself that Baz would even consider it. Although, I saw the looks, I felt the sexual tension. There was no way that this was all one sided.

And speaking of Mila, I should feel bad about even contemplating this. Baz has been dating her for weeks now. Although he’s told you it’s completely casual and you know you don’t think she’s good enough for him. That little voice was the voice of reason most days, but tonight it was like a little Mephistopheles egging me on.

I watched as he made his way back to the table, two waters, one in each hand. He opened mine and handed it to me as he sat, then opened his own and took a long sip. I watched as he swallowed and then quickly averted my eyes and chugged down some of my own. The cold liquid felt good as it flowed down my throat and I closed my eyes.

When I opened them, Baz was staring at me curiously. “Better?” He gestured to the half empty water bottle I was holding.

“Yes, thanks. I guess I was thirstier than I thought.” I lifted the bottle and took another pull.

“Would you like to dance?” He nodded towards the dance floor where people were beginning to gather.

“Maybe after I eat a little more of what you brought me earlier,” I grabbed a stuffed mushroom. It, too, was delightful. “Oh my goodness! You really outdid yourself with this caterer. You have to try one of these.” I pointed to the baby portabellas on my plate.

“I’ve had them before, but I will be more than happy to eat some tonight.” We ate for a little while in silence.

Baz pointed to the dessert plate, “You should try the cookies and pastries I brought. You’ll think you’ve died and gone to Heaven,” he smirked as he grabbed another baby bella and stuffed it in his mouth.

I reached for what appeared to be a mini-cannoli. He was absolutely right, no exaggerating on his part. The sensation was almost orgasmic in the way the sweetness burst across my tongue and raced through my bloodstream. The moan slipped from my lips and unashamedly I licked both the cream and powdered sugar from my fingers. Baz watched in amusement.

“You really nailed that one. I swear, Heaven was only a few short steps away,” I teased.

“Told you. It helps that I know what you like.” He smiled.

He did know what I liked and I wanted him to know even more. I wanted him to surprise me by showing me things that I might like that I had no experience with yet. He had asked me to dance, and now it was time to accept. The sun had just finished setting and the dance floor was illuminated by lights that were strung up around it.

“Is that, ah, dance still on the table?” I asked, smiling up at him from beneath my lashes.

He responded by standing and offering me his arm. “But, of course, m’ lady.”

I let him lead me to the dance floor. There were a bunch of people already dancing, but we could have been the only ones there as far as I was concerned. Nobody else mattered. I let myself get lost in the music as song after song played. I sang along to “Feel This Moment” when it came on and I danced as I let the rhythm move me.

“Despacito” came on next and Baz sang to me. Learning Spanish was one of those things I had always wanted to do, but had never gotten around to. Baz had spoken it fluently since high school. I wanted to ask him what the words meant, but instead just allowed myself to be moved by the melody.

When “Moves Like Jagger” came on he started doing his best Mick Jagger imitation and he had me cracking up. I joined in and started dancing like Mick as well. By the time the song ended we were both laughing hard. The people around us were watching, but I couldn’t have cared less. “Don’t Let Me Down” started next and I sang along. This was one thing that I knew I wouldn’t ever have to worry about.