Chapter 27

“I guess it’s just you and me now,” Hal said, giving her a smile and sitting back down beside her, swirling his wine around in his glass.

Jesse’s eyes were fixed to the dark, swirling liquid in the glass, if only to keep her eyes from being glued to Hal. Her heart was pounding, and she could feel herself becoming ever more restless the longer she was with him.

“How did you enjoy your time?” Hal asked, smiling down at her.

“I had a very good time,” Jesse said, giving him a soft smile. Hal laughed and placed his hand on her knee. Jesse felt her stomach jump at his soft touch, and she nearly started squirming as he softly rubbed his hand along her skin.

“I’m definitely glad to hear it,” Hal said quietly. Jesse was nearly panting from the feelings she was experiencing from his gently touch. She could feel the heat of his hand through her dress and vaguely wondered how his bare hand would feel against her thigh.

Jesse quickly felt herself losing control over her situation, and she scrambled to find a way to get out of the situation she had found herself in.

“So …” Jesse said, racking her brain to see what topic of conversation she could bring up. “This was a date all along wasn’t it? I mean … there was never any event, was there?”

Jesse watched Hal’s face fall, and he ran his hand over his face and looked back at her, raising his brow.

“No,” he answered her honestly. “There was never any event.”

“So …” Jesse thought hard, trying to figure out what exactly she had been invited to. “Were you just going to tag along on their date? And you decided to invite me?”

Hal laughed and shook his head.

“No, that’s not it,” he said, leaning against the back of the couch. “Actually … none of this would have ever happened at all if you had said no.”

Jesse was somewhat puzzled.

“What do you mean?” Jesse asked, tilting her head, the wine keeping her from understanding exactly what was happening and what Hal was explaining to her.

“Well, if you had said no,” Hal said, “I would have had dinner somewhere alone. There would have been no perfectly cooked, chef-made meal. Adam would have gone to his apartment for the night, and I would have been here. The whole double date was just so you wouldn’t be intimidated by the idea of going on a date alone with me.”

Jesse blinked at his explanation and began to process the lengths to which he had gone to secure an evening with her. She couldn’t help laughing at all the trouble he had gone through just to have dinner with her.

“That seems like a lot of trouble,” she noted as she raised her glass to finish off the wine that was left there. Hal did not hesitate to top it off again.

“Well, I would definitely say without question,” Hal said, finishing off his own wine, “that is was worth every second.”

Jesse felt herself blush at his words, and she took a sip of her latest glass. The room was starting to spin around her, and she knew that this glass would definitely make its mark on her.

“Truly, I am glad you decided to come,” Hal said softly, and he gave her a soft smile.

“I’m glad I decided to come too,” Jesse said honestly. “But … there’s just one thing … one question …”

“Ask it,” Hal said simply, searching her face for her emotions. Jesse looked back and mustered up the words with which to frame her question.

“Why didn’t you just …” Jesse paused, feeling embarrassed at the mere notion. “Ask me on a date? You know, without all the extra frills and setups.”

Hal looked at her as if the answer was obvious.

“Well,” he said with a chuckle, shaking his head. “I … I was nervous. There, that’s it. I wanted to create a situation that was low pressure so that you would say yes without much question. And I think it was pretty successful because here you are.”

Jesse nodded. She could understand how that would be a convenient tactic to use to get someone to agree to a date.

“Well, it worked,” she agreed. “But does it really count?”

“Excuse me?” Hal asked, leaning back and frowning at her,

“I mean,” Jesse shrugged, “I was brought here under false pretenses. And even then, it wasn’t a real date, it was a double date. For all I know, you’re in love with Maria and trying to make her jealous.”

Hal laughed aloud and shook his head.

“First of all,” he lifted a finger, “don’t say that too loud. If Adam heard you, he might rip my limbs off, whether he’s supposed to keep me safe or not. He really does care for her, whether or not he cares to admit it.”

Jesse smiled at the comment. The pair of them looked cute together, with Maria’s petite stature in comparison to his broad bulk. She had to admit that all throughout dinner he had seemed entirely enamored with her.

“And on the other matters,” Hal continued, “I told you it was a double date in the car, and you could have left, but you didn’t. We could have turned around right there, and we would have … but you stayed.”
Jesse had to admit he had her there. At that point, she had known that it was a date, and she was not at all offended by the idea. Indeed, she had been overeager if anything.

“And on your last point,” Hal said, his tone growing serious, “yes, it was a double date … but now it’s just you and me …”

Jesse was stricken by his statement and by the intense look in his eyes. He finished off his wine and set the glass on the table, focusing entirely on her. Jesse did the same with hers and turned to face him as well, choosing courage instead of meekness in his presence.

“I’m sorry,” Hal said softly, raising his hand to cup her cheek, gently running his thumb along her cheekbones and sending shivers down her spine.

“For what?” Jesse asked, her whole body shivering as he looked down into her eyes.

“That I didn’t have the courage to ask you out,” he said. “I mean, without all the frills and accessories.”

Jesse laughed, and he gave her a small smile and a chuckle.

“It’s okay,” Jesse said softly, nuzzling her face into the palm of his hand. Her whole body felt alive, and she felt pressure building up between her legs as she heard Hal’s breath catch in his throat.

“Jess …” Hal said, and he lowered his head to rest it against hers. Jesse felt herself beginning to pant, and she felt her world spinning around her once more.

She knew she had had too much to drink. She knew that she was letting her body get the best of her because she couldn’t think straight. She knew that if she did anything with Hal right now, she would only blame the alcohol in the morning. But in spite of all that, she could not muster up the will to pull away from him. She reveled in this moment, and she could not deny the way her body was responding to him and aching for him.

Jesse let out a soft laugh and shook her head slowly.

“What is it?” Hal asked softly.

“We’re drunk …” Jesse said in a whisper.

“Yeah.” Hal laughed. “We are.”

Jesse laughed again, and she felt heat rising up in her body once more.

“You’re beautiful,” Hal said softly. He pulled back his face from hers and looked her up and down. Jesse flushed and shifted restlessly.

“So are you,” Jesse said. “Well, maybe like the masculine version of beautiful … but, still …”

Hal laughed again and smiled down at her before his expression slowly became more serious again.

It seemed to Jesse that she was stuck in limbo for an eternity. They just looked between one another. Jesse ached for him to do something. She tried to muster up the courage to lean up and kiss him, but she was too nervous. So, they simply stared.

“I want …” Hal said but trailed off for a moment.

“What is it?” Jesse asked, eager to hear what it was he would say.

Hal looked down at her and smiled slowly.

“I want to kiss you,” he said softly, his thumbs running along her cheekbones all the while.

Jesse felt a rush of heat low in her stomach to hear him say that. She knew that her eyes must have flashed with emotion, for Hal’s eyes darkened as he looked down at her.

“So kiss me …” Jesse urged him quietly.

In the next second, Jesse felt his grip tighten on her face, and his lips pressed against her own. She felt another shudder pass through her body, and she opened her mouth slightly, allowing his lips to part and his tongue to slip inside of her mouth.

Jesse was still and more than a little nervous, but after a moment, she relaxed. She moved closer to him and wrapped her arms around his torso, running her hands up his back. She buried her fingers into the hair at the nape of his neck, and she released a soft whimper into his mouth. He responded with a dark growl, and she felt his hands move to grip her hips.

Suddenly, Jesse felt Hal move over her so that she was pressed into the couch. She gasped loudly as she felt his hardness against her thigh. Hal must have felt it too, for he immediately pulled back, his eyes searching her face.

The two were quiet for a long moment, both of them panting heavily as they tried to catch their breaths and take stock of the situation. Jesse ached to keep going while she was still uninhibited by her wine, but she knew that such actions would only lead to regret.

“I … I should go …” Jesse whispered breathlessly. Hal blinked and quickly shook his head as if to clear it.

“I … yeah …” Hal nodded. “I’ll call you a cab.”

In an instant, Hal had disappeared into another room. Jesse sighed and buried her face in her hands. She could not believe that had just happened. She heard Hal come back in the room, and she raised her head.

“The cab’s on its way …” he said crossing the room. “I’ll take you down to the street.”

Jesse simply looked at him for a moment, but then nodded. She tried to stand on her own, but the room spun around her, and she would have fallen if Hal had not come to her aid.

“Steady there,” he said with a chuckle while Jesse smiled up at him gratefully.

Jesse allowed Hal to lead her back through the room and down the hall to the elevator doors. Hal took up her clutch from the stand in the doorway, and Jesse thanked him with a nod.

They were quiet as they rode the elevator down, and Jesse was somewhat surprised when they came out on the street level and not in the parking garage. She was also surprised to see the cab already there waiting for her.

“Well, there you are,” Hal smiled, gesturing to the cab. “It won’t cost you anything; I took care of it.”

“Oh,” Jesse blinked. “There’s no need, I can …”

“Jess,” he cut her off. “I’m too rich for my own good. Let me get it.”

Jesse smiled and nodded.

“Thank you for dinner,” she said with a shy smile.

“It was my pleasure,” Hal said softly.

“Goodnight.” Jesse smiled at him as she headed toward the taxi.

“Goodnight, Jess,” Hal said in a near whisper, his expression dark and longing.

Jesse felt a flare of desire for him, and she blushed furiously as she got in the cab. She shut the door without a word. The cab driver seemed to know where she was headed, and he drove immediately. Jesse’s eyes stayed locked on Hal as they drove, and he stayed looking at her. It wasn’t until they turned a corner that he left her line of sight.

Jesse finally faced forward in the cab, her world still spinning from the wine. She still felt the excitement from all the activities of the night and could still feel the warmth of Hal’s lips pressed against her own.

Jesse knew that she owed Mark and Tony quite a story in the morning.