“How do I look?” Rachel asked Elise. She had on a red shirt and a black skirt with nylons because it was January in the Midwest. And, on her feet, she wore red four-inch heels to give herself some height.

Her roommate gave her two thumbs-up. “Great. He won’t know what hit him.”

“God, I hope so.” Rachel glanced at the clock. “Is it seven yet?”

Elise chuckled from the couch. “Nervous?”

“Yes, and I don’t know why.”

“Well, it is your first date,” Elise said. “And you’ve had all break to think about it.”

“Anticipation’s a bitch.”

Elise laughed.

Rachel had gone to have breakfast with Sean after they finished their World Religions assignment. When they had finished eating, he’d brought her back to her dorm room, and after a thorough kiss at her door, he’d taken off. But he had made her promise to go out with him. As if he’d really have to force her.

But then it was finals week and then winter break. Rachel’s mom, stepfather, and little sister lived in the Minneapolis–St. Paul area, but they’d gone to visit her stepgrandparents a couple hours from the Twin Cities over the holidays. And Sean had gone home to visit his family a couple of hours away. So, while the two had talked on the phone quite a few times over the break, this was their first official date. Breakfast didn’t count in her book.

Rachel was nervous as hell. It was silly because she already knew he liked her, yet she couldn’t stop feeling anxious.

“Did you pack a toothbrush in your purse?” Elise asked.

“What? No.” Rachel pretended to be outraged. “Just kidding. I have a toothbrush and a change of underwear.”

“And do you have your lipstick?” Elise asked.

“Check.”

“Your cell phone in case you need to call me?”

“Check.”

“Toothbrush, yes. Toothpaste, just in case?”

“Check.”

“Condoms?”

“Check, check, check,” Rachel answered with a nod.

“Check, check, check?”

“Condom one, condom two, and condom three.” Rachel grinned. “Just in case.”

Elise laughed. “Smart girl. Do you think you’ll have sex tonight?”

“I hope so, but I have no idea,” Rachel said with a shrug. “I guess we’ll find out.”

There was a knock at the door, and Rachel’s heart sped up even faster than it had already been beating.

“Good luck,” Elise said, standing up and hugging her roommate.

“Thanks.” Rachel turned and opened the door.

Sean whistled the second he saw her, and she blushed.

“You don’t look too shabby yourself.”

He was wearing a nice pair of dark jeans and a black henley shirt with a dark gray jacket for the cold.

“I hope I’m not too dressed up.”

Sean’s eyes were on her legs. “No way,” he said.

Rachel laughed, and he looked at her.

He smiled without an ounce of shame. “You ready?”

“Yes,” she told him. She gave Elise one last wave and closed the door.

Rachel had been worried about having an awkward silence, but they talked easily with one another on the way to the restaurant.

“Did you have a good Christmas?” Sean asked her.

“It was good. We went to my grandparents’.”

“Mom’s or dad’s?”

“My dad. Technically, he’s my stepdad, so they’re my stepgrandparents, but I call them Grandma and Grandpa. My birth dad left when I was one.”

“I’m sorry.”

She chuckled. “It’s okay. I don’t remember it. And I have a pretty great stepdad.”

Her stepfather, whom she called and considered her real dad, was the reason that she had turned out sane.

After her birth father had left, her mother had done a lot of man-hopping. And not always with the best guys. Growing up, she and her mother had needed to move around a lot, oftentimes with no place to go to right away. That was, until her mother found a new man. Then, her mother would catch the guy cheating or he’d kick Rachel and her mom out after growing sick of her or the cops would be after him or any number of scenarios before they’d have to move again.

Rachel’s only saving grace was that the Minneapolis–St. Paul area was big, so they never had to move far, and she hadn’t had to switch schools often. Then, her mother had met Ralph Garwood. They’d gotten married when Rachel was eight, and her life had changed for the better. No more loser boyfriends and no more worrying about where they’d be living in a year.

“He would’ve adopted me,” Rachel continued, “but my mom was never able to find my dad to sign the papers. On my eighteenth birthday, I legally changed my last name to his. What about your parents? How was your Christmas?”

“Still married. Christmas was the same as usual. We had it at my parents’ place, and the night ended with my brothers and me getting in a wrestling match.”

Rachel laughed. “How many brothers do you have?”

“Two older. Not only am I the youngest, but I’m also the smallest. I’ve had to live my life being called the runt.”

“I understand how you feel. My sister is nine years younger than me and is already taller than me.”

“It sometimes sucks, being small.”

Rachel grabbed his hand, interlacing their fingers. “You’re not small to me.”

Sean looked away from the road to smile at her.

She leaned in close to him and whispered, “And I already know a very specific part of you is not small in any way.” She made sure he looked at her before she directed her eyes at his crotch.

He groaned. “I really wish I weren’t driving right now, so I could kiss you.”

Rachel sat back in her seat, grinning with satisfaction.

The restaurant Sean had chosen had dim lighting, and they were seated in a corner. It was still out in the open, but the position gave them a little more privacy than if they were sitting out in the middle.

The hostess had sat them down, and within seconds, their server came over to take their drink orders. Since neither of them were twenty-one, they settled for water.

“When’s your birthday?” she asked him, picking up a menu.

“End of next month.”

“And you’ll be twenty-one?”

Sean smiled. “Finally. Although I’m not as excited as some people are to turn twenty-one. You?”

“Mine was in November. I just turned nineteen, so I have two years to go.”

“It’ll go fast,” he assured her, but she doubted it.

They looked over the menus, and when the server came back with their waters, they ordered dinner.

After the waitress left, Sean leaned in close. They were sitting perpendicular to each other at the square table, so he didn’t have to go far to get close. “Have I told you that you look great tonight?”

She pretended to think about it. “I think you just whistled.”

“My apologies. You look good enough to eat.” He groaned. “I wish I could do just that. Or at least touch you.”

She leaned in, too. “And where do you want to touch me?”

He put his hand on her leg. “Here but higher. I want to feel how silky and wet you are. I’ve thought about it every day since that night in my bedroom. It wasn’t nearly enough.”

Rachel sucked in a breath through her mouth. “And why can’t you touch me there?” she taunted him.

He growled. “I’m very tempted, believe me. But we’re in public. Plus”—he pinched her nylons between his fingers and snapped it against her leg—“you have a nice barrier here.”

She shrugged. “It’s cold outside.” She looked around the room. “I’m going to use the restroom before our food gets here.”

Sean nodded, slipped his hand from her leg, and sat back in his chair. As she stood and grabbed her purse, she watched him adjust himself in his jeans.

When he caught her watching, he smirked.

She quickly used the women’s restroom. It took her a little longer to do what she wanted in the tiny stall, but in the end, it was worth it. She gave herself a once-over in the mirror to make sure her makeup looked good and her hair was still in an updo before she went back to the table.

She sat back down just as the food was arriving. While Sean had his attention on the server and his steaming plate, Rachel opened her purse and pushed a present into Sean’s jeans pocket.

“Everything look good?” the waitress asked.

“Yes, it looks delicious,” Rachel answered honestly.

They dug into their food when, suddenly, Sean shifted and frowned. “Did you put something in my pocket?” he asked.

Rachel laughed. “Yes. You just now noticed?”

“I noticed before, but I wasn’t really paying much attention at the moment. I’m a growing boy; my mind was on the food at that particular second.”

“So, if you could have an endless supply of food or sex, whichever way you desire it, for the rest of your life, what would you choose?” Rachel asked as Sean slouched in his seat to reach in his pocket.

When he realized what he was holding in his hand, he quickly shoved it back in his jeans. He shifted in his seat and moved his chair closer to her. “You put your thong in my pants pocket.”

“Yes.” She tilted her head and blinked innocently. “Why? Is that bad?”

He laughed in disbelief. “You know it’s not.” He lowered his voice. “How did you do it?”

“Oh, didn’t I tell you? I’m wearing thigh-high nylons and a garter belt.” She pushed a piece of food into her mouth and sucked on the fork. “You’re free to touch me however you want.”

She squeaked when Sean pulled her chair closer and positioned her leg over his lap. He pushed one finger and then two deep inside her.

Rachel dropped her fork with a clang and grabbed the edge of the table. “Holy shit,” she panted. When she looked up and saw that some people were questionably eyeing her, she gave them a weak smile and rubbed her stomach as if it hurt. “Sorry.”

Thank God the tablecloth was long, so no one could see what Sean was doing to her, which was the same sort of thing he’d done in his bedroom.

How did he know how to touch her like that already? She’d dated her ex for over a year, and he’d never been able to bring her to orgasm so fast.

“Holy shit, I’m going to come.”

“Not yet,” Sean said and pulled his hand away. He brought his fingers to his lips and sucked on them, one by one, like that night in his bedroom.

Rachel didn’t even see their server approaching their table until she was touching the table with her hand.

“How is everything?” she asked.

Sean drew the tip of his finger from his lips. “Delicious,” he said without a hint of a double meaning or sexual innuendo.