Chapter Seventeen
Roman
We were going out for dinner, and I was picking her up. There was no way she could act like it wasn't a date now. Friends my ass. We were friends, I considered her my best friend but I wasn't stopping there with her. We were going the whole way. I wanted it all.
Tonight was the night. We'd be alone together, and she'd feel like nothing changed, like we could just go back. We hadn't changed enough to not want each other anymore, to not be compatible anymore. It didn't matter what had happened over the year that had passed – what we felt was still the same and if it was, then we'd figure the rest of the shit out.
I buttoned my shirt up and tucked it in, heading for the door. I felt good. I thought I'd be nervous, but I was just excited. Any time I spent with Veronica was time I enjoyed, but I had a good feeling about tonight. She had been open about seeing me again, that meant maybe that old magic would kick in and she'd just go with the flow, let go and let me remind her what it had been like with us, why we had to get it back.
I got into my car, heading to her place. This was just one of many to come. I had my fingers crossed. Knowing it wouldn't hurt, I stopped by the grocery store and picked up some white roses. If I had to woo her all over again, I would do it.
It was a little early when I knocked at her door, but she answered it almost immediately. She was in a long, silky nightgown. Her hair was straight which had always thrown me off a little when she did it. It was curly naturally, long gold and honey strands, soft as silk.
"You're early," she said.
"Should I leave and come back?" I asked, smiling. She returned it.
"No. I just need to put my dress on. Do you mind waiting?" she asked.
"Good things take time, I get it. These are for you," I said, handing her the flowers. She took the bouquet, her cheeks blushing pink.
"Strong start," she said. "Keep it up, flattery will get you everywhere." She let me walk into her apartment. It was small and clean. On one side was the dining area with a table that looked family sized and on the other was her living room. There was a patterned rug under the coffee table, a couch, a TV, bookshelf, and some end tables. She had disappeared into what I guessed was the kitchen before coming back out with a vase full of water for the flowers.
"I take second chances seriously," I said.
"Good. They only come around once," she said. I closed the couple of feet between us where she was near the dining table putting down the vase.
"You look beautiful," I said because she was.
"I'm not even dressed yet."
"Doesn't change the fact that it's true." It was still a little surreal, being with her again. Standing there with her, her green eyes looking up at me, I couldn't help reaching a hand out and tucking her hair back behind her ear. It had been way too long since I had touched her.
"Thank you," she said quietly. The tension wasn't uncomfortable, but it was building. "Give me five minutes, I'll be right out."
I watched her walk away into her bedroom. Thinking of her behind that door taking her nightgown off made my cock stir. The way she looked topless, in lingerie, in nothing… I remembered every little bit of her. It was seared in my memory, and it was right behind that door. I had to calm down – the wrong move now would shoot me in the foot. I wasn't fucking up this close to getting her back.
I was looking at the pile of books on her dining table when she came out of her bedroom. Her dress was fire-engine red. It cut off a couple inches above her knees and didn't have any sleeves. A section on the chest was cut out, giving a perfect view of her cleavage.
"Wow," I said, looking at her.
"You like it?" she asked hopefully. Fuck, how long had it been since I kissed her? I didn't need my dick ruining this for me.
"You look great. Ready?"
She grabbed her purse, and we headed out. That little bit of awkwardness that was between us the last time we were alone together on the blind date was gone. Sitting there in my car, there was nothing between us, like we hadn't missed a beat since last year.
I knew better than to think that, though. I wasn't treating this like it was a sure thing because it was not. I was going to do everything in my power to make sure this worked. That was why dinner tonight was at a steakhouse I knew for a fact she liked because we had been there together before.
I wanted to hold her hand, but that might have been pushing my luck. It was enough that anyone who looked at us would know that we were together. I did let my hand ghost over her lower back as we moved through the restaurant, though, getting to our table.
"I know what you're getting," I said, looking at Ron over the menu when we were sitting.
"What?" she challenged.
"Chicken Caesar if you're still trying to impress me and you're nervous. Porterhouse medium-well which you won't be able to finish and give to me if you feel like getting your usual," I said. Ron was the only other person I knew who liked a higher cook on her meat than medium. The blood just grossed me out.
"You got cocky since sophomore year," she said. I smirked; I was right.
"Naw, babe. You're just predictable," I said. She made a face, making me laugh.
"I'm getting the tuna," she said in a mock-offended voice.
"And a side of fries to split," I said finishing her order. "Some things never change."
"You're not the same," she said.
"What's different about me?"
"You're older."
"We're the same age."
"I don't mean like that," she said. She paused as a server took our orders; she asked for a side of fries for the table, just like I knew she would. "I mean, more experienced. Mature."
"You're older, too," I said.
"We're the same age, but you do not, under any circumstance, tell a woman she's old," she told me teasingly.
"You have your own place, you're doing great in school, and you have your shit together," I said, leaving out the part about the guy she was supposed to be seeing. It wasn't serious if she was here with me, and I didn't care about him, anyway. I was trying to get my girl back. I didn't owe him shit.
"I'm glad it looks that way," she said. "I'm just trying to graduate with a degree that I can use one day."
"You're more than halfway there. You'll have your own practice in no time," I told her. She smiled. We had talked about what we wanted to do when we “grew up.” Mine had always been football, not really a lot of Plan B planning in case that one fell through because it wasn't going to. She had toyed with the idea of being a shrink, eventually opening her own practice.
"I'm not in a hurry," she said.
"No?" I asked. She was in a hurry to get out of school, but not to become a professional psychologist. She wanted to travel for a while before settling. I had known that already, but the cross-country road trip she wanted to do was new. I was intrigued; more than that, I wanted to be the one who went with her.
When our food showed up, I was almost pissed that our conversation would slow down. It didn't even matter what we were talking about, I just wanted to keep doing it. All that stupid, giddy excitement you felt at the beginning of a new relationship? I was feeling it now, but it was better because I already loved the person I was talking to. We already had inside jokes, knew each other's wants and secrets. The night was going great. She was laughing and hadn't seemed nervous the entire time.
"I don't want to go home," she said when our plates were gone. I was having my second beer, but she was still nursing the white wine she had gotten when we sat down.
"You want to stop somewhere for drinks first?" I asked.
"Not my own home, I meant," she said. I grinned, pretty sure she was asking me to take her to my place.
"No? Nowhere to go tomorrow?" I asked, teasing her a little.
"Nope. No plans."
"That means you can sleep in."
"If I'm tired enough. Depends on what happens after this," she said. She smirked at me from across the table.
"I'm thinking about heading home."
"Tiff told me you moved out recently. I'd love to see your new place. Can I?" she asked sweetly.
I felt warm in the pit of my stomach. Everything up to this point had gone off without a hitch; her wanting to spend more time together was perfect, more than I had been expecting her to want, honestly. She was warming up fast. It was my turn now. I wanted nothing more than to spend the night with her, but it just wasn't realistic thinking I had an in.
Thinking about her had kept me going when I was away. Her lips, her silky smooth skin, her pussy, I had beat my dick raw wishing it was her when I was gone. She was flirting with me, asking me to take her home, I was so close. I couldn't afford to fuck up.
"If you don't want anything else, we can head home. Sure," I said. She tried to go dutch, but I didn't let her. If this was technically our first date, then I was doing it right. During the walk to the car, she slipped her arm through mine, gently holding my bicep. In the car on the way to my place, she was mostly silent. The silence wasn’t awkward, but it was loaded. I could feel it.
I unlocked the door and let her walk in ahead of me when we got to my place.
"Here it is," I said, flipping the lights on. I hadn't bought any more furniture than I’d had at my apartment, so it was pretty bare. If it turned out that I was staying here longer than I thought, I'd get more stuff. For now, I had a couch, recliner, coffee table, and television. I had a bed in my room and that was it.
"Where's all your stuff?" she asked.
"This is it." It felt fucking great having her in my space as she walked around.
"You're a dropout. Why does this still look like a college student's house?" she said, smiling over her shoulder at me.
"It's not much, but it's enough. What? You don't like it?" I asked. It was clean and pretty tidy, but she was a girl, and I'd seen her place. She had decor and color in her space. It wasn't really me. I didn't care to put the place together with any more than the bare essentials. I had felt fine about it till now, but if I was going to be bringing Ron here, I needed her to like it, too.
"Did you pick those drapes yourself?" she asked, pointing to the patterned gray and white drapes I had in the windows.
"They were on sale."
"I don't know," she said, "I was expecting something different."
"Different how?" I asked, coming up behind her.
"This place feels a little cramped."
"Cramped?"
"Small," she said, shooting me a mischievous look over her shoulder. I reached for her hand and pulled her back into me. She hit my chest lightly and turned around, steadying herself with her hands on my shoulders.
"My house is the only thing about me you can call small. You know that," I said, pulling her into me. She let me, wrapping her arms around my neck.
"You're such a big guy. I just expected more," she said lightly.
"I don't have to compensate for anything," I said confidently. "Besides, I've got all the space I need."
"Yeah?"
"Once we hit both couches, the bed, and the shower, what's wrong with the floor?" I asked. She blushed looking down. I scooped her up into my arms, so her legs wrapped around me. She yelped, hanging onto me so she didn't fall. "Besides, I haven't even given you the grand tour yet."
"Start with your bedroom, and we'll go from there," she said.
We had both had a drink with dinner, nothing close to enough to get us drunk, but I was feeling something. The tension had come to a head. She had her arms around me and my hands were gripping her smooth thighs. Pressed up against me the way she was, there was no way she didn't feel my hard on. I wanted her, too. It was her fault I was all riled up.
"Not so small now," I said, knowing she could feel me against her thigh.
"I can almost forgive the fun-sized living room," she whispered, smirking. There was that smart mouth. I had something better she could do with it. I kissed her. Our lips came together, and I groaned; it felt so fucking good. I'd have her lipstick all over me by the time we were done, but I didn't give a fuck.
I wrapped an arm around her waist and crushed her body into mine. A soft sigh escaped her. Her hands ran through my hair, over my back. My tongue danced with hers, tasting her after such a long time. I went back and forth about whether a year was a long time or not, but right now, it might as well have been an eternity.
I couldn't kiss her hard enough, deep enough. Her enthusiasm just pushed me harder. I wanted another moan, another sigh. I wanted her nails running down my back. I wanted to be the reason she screamed and threw her head back.
"Do you know how long I've been waiting to do that?" I asked when we finally parted. She ran her thumb over my lower lip, getting the lipstick that had transferred when we kissed. Her lipstick was pink; I'd be wiping that shit off a few more places once tonight was done. I felt my cock throb thinking about her lips sucking me off.
"Do it again," she whispered.
Our lips crashed together, briefly clicking teeth in our desperation. I held the back of her head, fisting her hair as my tongue and lips got reacquainted with hers. I walked us to the wall that led into the hallway, gently pressing Ron into it. I tore my mouth from hers to kiss her neck, to suck the skin above her collarbone in between my teeth. I palmed one of her tits over the dress, kissing her below her ear.
"Roman," she choked, desperately. I stopped, letting my hand slide down to her waist. I was holding her up against the wall, between her spread legs. I was so hard it hurt. If she told me to stop that was it, but I was praying she didn't. Praying that she wanted what I wanted to give her.
"Should I stop?" I asked.
"Don't. I want you," she said.
I held her close against me, walking us backward. I went through the dark hall to my bedroom, setting her down before I crawled over on top of her. I pulled her dress up, feeling her legs and thighs. White panties hid her pussy from me, so they had to go. She pushed herself up to her knees suddenly. Her dress zipped up the side, and she was pulling it down. I put my hands over hers, stopping her.
"No. Let me."