Page 12 of Babydaddy To Go

“What about you?” she asks quietly. “What’s your favorite place to travel?”

“It’s a tie between two: Italy and Los Angeles.”

She looks surprised.

“Really? Those are pretty different places, from what I’ve heard.”

I nod, smiling.

“Exactly. Italy has amazing food and LA has … I don’t know, a great atmosphere I guess. And West Coast beaches are way better than East Coast beaches.”

“I’ve never actually been to California. The furthest West we went was Colorado. Skiing was fun.”

“I love to ski,” I tell her. “We don’t have a lot of great places around here, but up in New Hampshire and Vermont there are a few peaks that work. Do you go often?”

She nods. “Since that trip to Colorado, yeah. I try to go a few times every winter.”

We continue to talk about the places we’ve visited and our favorite things to do. I’m struck for the second time today with how easy it is to talk to Alyssa. The words seem to flow out of me when she’s around.

Our conversation doesn’t stop, even when we move from the dining table back to the tiny kitchen to clean up.

Unfortunately, it’s getting late and we both have big days tomorrow. Once the leftovers are packed in the fridge and the dishes are drying in the rack, I know it’s time for me to go home. Even though I would love to stay the night.

“I had a lot of fun,” I say. “We should do this again sometime.”

Alyssa walks me to the front door but I insist she stay inside. My driver is waiting for me, anyway.

“I had fun too,” Alyssa says. “Thanks for everything.”

I smile down at her. “You are very welcome.”

I should leave now, but I can’t. Her lips are too close, too inviting. I bend down until our mouths meet in a passionate kiss. My tongue dips between her luscious lips and she moans, her body melting against me.

A few seconds later, it’s over.

“I’ll see you soon,” I promise, leaving her with starry eyes staring after me from the doorway.

What Alyssa doesn’t know is that I really mean it. I’ll be seeing her sooner than she thinks.

I just hope she’s not mad at me when we meet again.

4

Alyssa

Istand in the doorway long after Nate has left my apartment building. He’s probably home and in bed before I finally float back inside.

Did that kiss really happen?

The tingling on my lips tells me it did. My first day in New York and a guy has already kissed me! Grams would be thrilled, but there’s no way I can tell her about this. She’d probably hop on a train and try to meet him tomorrow.

Tomorrow, I think. My first day at NYACA is tomorrow. The dream I’ve had my entire life is almost coming true!

My entire body shakes. I can’t focus on what’s to come. I need to keep my mind on what I did today. The date with Nate was fantastic. Seeing Central Park was the highlight, but getting to cook together was almost as incredible.

If only I could figure out how I know him. I swear, Nate looks so familiar. It can’t be that he looks like someone I’ve known in the past. His face is too unique for that. It’s the eyes I think I know. They’re so blue…

I have no idea. Next time I see him, I’ll ask him if we’ve met before. Maybe he thinks I look familiar, too.