Page 15

BENNIE

It was finally Friday, and while I had texted and called Joska the past two days, I couldn’t have been more excited to see him again tonight. In a way, he had made life easier for me.

I didn’t doubt or worry about everything anymore. My thoughts were brighter, and my chest felt lighter.

It was safe to say that Joska had helped me see the world in a different light, and I knew that things would only get better from now on.

After closing up the shop with Dad, I drove home to pack my bag for the weekend. The idea of spending it with Joska was exciting. When I told Dad about our plans, he had been silent at first. But after a while, he relaxed and gave me a small smile. “You deserve to be happy, Bennie,” he had said. “Just take care of yourself.”

His words had stayed with me, warming me as I packed my bag. I made sure to grab everything I needed for two nights away from home. I packed my pajamas, hoping to get to spend a lazy Saturday with Joska as his place, but I also packed jeans and a cardigan in case he wanted to go out. For Sunday Mass, I decided to bring a nice dress I used to wear to church often, and for shoes, I decided on my boots which fit to any outfit I wore.

For tonight, I decided to keep wearing the outfit I had worn all day at work. I felt comfortable, and I wanted Joska to see me in my casual work clothes.

At exactly six, the doorbell rang. My heart skipped as I hurried to buzz him in, and I opened the door, waiting for him to reach the second floor I lived on.

After a moment of hearing him walk upstairs, he appeared wearing a black button-up shirt and jeans that fit him just right. I was convinced that he could wear a large plastic bag and still look hot.

I bit my bottom lip as he walked toward me, and once he stood in front of me, I smiled brightly. “Hi.”

“Hey, beautiful.” His voice was warm. He placed his hand on my cheek and leaned in to kiss me, and I immediately melted into him, unable not to.

I grabbed on to his shoulder to steady myself, and after a long, deep kiss, I moved back to look into his eyes again. “It’s so good to see you again.”

A grin tugged at his lips. “You too, sweetheart. Are you ready?”

“In a second. Come in while I grab my bag.”

I turned away and headed to my bedroom to get the bag, and when I left my room again, I found Joska standing in my living room, with his hands in his pockets, and a pleased smile on his face. “This is cozy,” he stated, his tone approving. Almost as if he needed to make sure that this place was safe for me to live in alone.

It was, so he had nothing to worry about.

“Thanks,” I said, walking toward him, and placing the bag on the couch next to us. “I really like it here. I had a different apartment two years ago, and I’m glad I moved to this place.”

“It sure is a nice place. And the location’s nice too. Pretty damn close to my church,” he teased, putting his hands on my hips, and pulling me closer.

I laughed softly and moved closer to him, wrapping my arms around his neck. “Isn’t it strange how we’ve been so close to each other, yet we’ve never even met before?”

“It is strange. But I think it was meant to be like this.” He leaned in and kissed me again. This time, I wasn’t letting go too soon. “I missed you,” he muttered into the kiss, holding me close to his body as his hands cupped my ass.

I missed him too, even if we only spent two days apart.

I pressed my body against his and let him deepen the kiss. Our tongues curled around each other, and a moan escaped me when he squeezed my ass gently. Without really thinking about it, he moved us in front of the couch before he sat down, pulling me with him.

I straddled his lap without breaking the kiss, and he tilted his head to deepen the kiss even more, pushing his tongue further into my mouth.

A soft moan escaped me, and we let the kiss go on until we both needed a moment to breath. We looked at each other with desire in our eyes, and I felt my cheeks turn red as he brushed back a strand of my hair.

A crooked grin appeared on his lips. “If we keep this up, we’re never going to leave. And I really want to take you to my place because I have a little surprise for you.”

A surprise?

My excitement rose again. “I love surprises.”

“Yeah? That’s the first time I heard a woman say that,” he said with a chuckle. He kissed me one more time before making me get up and standing up himself. He grabbed my bad, then looked around before his eyes met mine again. “Ready?”

I nodded, smiling as I admired him. “Ready.”

***

Joska opened the front door and let me walk in first, and I was greeted by the most beautiful dining table setup ever. He had decorated it with candles and small bouquets of flowers—which included Peonies, my favorite—and even the napkins were perfectly folded into standing triangles.

There was soft music playing in the background, and the whole area smelled delicious. “Oh, wow…this looks amazing.”

“You like it? I figured I’d cook for us tonight so you can eat and relax after working all day today.”

That was very thoughtful and kind of him. I turned to him and smiled, wrapping my arms around his neck, and kissing his cheek. “You didn’t have to, but I really appreciate it. Thank you, Joska. You’re really making me feel so special.”

He smiled warmly at me, with his hands rubbing my back. “You are special. Remember that.” He kissed the tip of my nose, then he guided me toward the kitchen by holding my hand. “The chicken should be done in a few minutes. I put it in the oven with some roasted potatoes. And for dessert, I got us two slices of cake from a bakery.”

“Sounds wonderful.”

The evening had started out nicely, and it would only get better from there.

JOSKA

Her laugh was infectious, and for once, I praised myself for how charming and funny I was. I wanted to be that just for her, and no other woman.

After eating dinner and dessert, she insisted on helping me with the dishes, but I made her sit on the couch in front of the fire with a glass of champagne while I cleaned up the kitchen.

The music was still playing slowly in the background, and I often lifted my gaze to look over at her. Having her here felt right. It felt like she belonged here with me, and maybe her staying for the whole weekend would show us that this between us could work if we took our relationship further. We were still only dating, but the last date we had on Wednesday proved that we related to each other on a deeper level.

Her eyes lit up and her smile was soft when I finally made my way to the couch too, holding my glass of champagne in one hand, and the bottle in the other. I sat down next to her, pressing a kiss to her cheek before leaning back. “What do you say? Should we watch a movie?”

“That sounds good. What do you usually watch?” she asked. She pulled up her legs to curl them under her, and she turned her body more toward me to face me better.

“I don’t watch movies very often, but when I do, it’s mostly some psychological thriller. I also enjoy historic movies.”

“That’s nice. And what about horror movies?”

I raised a brow. “You watch horror movies?”

Her grin was mischievous. “Sometimes.”

“Didn’t think you would.” I reached for the remote and turned on the TV. “What horror movie do you recommend?”

I was open to anything. As long as she was happy, I didn’t care about the movie. Pretty sure I wouldn’t be able to focus on the movie anyway when she was right there next to me.

She told me about all the possible movies we could watch, and after gushing over the Scream franchise—of which I had only ever seen the first one when I was younger—we decided to start a marathon.

We had time, after all.

We had the whole damn weekend with each other, and we’d have the best time.

During the first movie, Bennie had cuddled up to my side, with her head resting on my shoulder, and her hand on my thigh. I had my hand covering hers, caressing her skin as we both focused on the movie.

There was tension between us, and being so close made the fire burn even brighter.

Once the first movie ended, we immediately started the second. Bennie adjusted herself, shifting closer to me, and pressing her body into mine.

The scent of her perfume lingered around me. It was intoxicating and irresistible, but I had to keep it together. I didn’t want to ruin her night by turning it sexual, even if that sounded good to me too.

I turned my head to breath in her scent, loving the fruity sweetness. “I love your perfume,” I told her, keeping my voice low.

“You do?” She tilted her head and smiled at me. “Thank you. It’s my favorite. I’ve had it for years.”

“What perfume is it?”

Yes, I was going to make a note and buy it for her. And more.

I wanted to buy her more flowers. More Peonies.

More of that Tiramisu she loved so much.

God, I just wanted to give her the world.

“ Burberry Her . The light pink one in the transparent bottle.” She emphasized the last part, emphasizing the important of that small detail.

I made sure to remember what she said, and to not make her wonder why I asked, I kissed her forehead and made her turn her attention back to the movie.

After ten more minutes, Bennie turned her head to look at me, and when I met her eyes, they were gleaming with amusement.

“You’re enjoying the movies more than I thought you would,” she teased.

“Am I?” I replied, a grin tugging at my lips. “Maybe I’m just enjoying the company.”

Her cheeks flushed, and she laughed softly. Hearing that sound sent a jolt straight to my chest…and to my dick.

Fuck.

I couldn’t hold back. Not anymore.

I forgot about everything I promised myself, and I hoped to God that she wouldn’t feel overwhelmed by what I did next.

Cupping her cheek with one hand, I leaned in to take her mouth, kissing her deeply as my tongue dipped inside. She didn’t pull away. Instead, she melted into me.

Her hand rested on my chest, and I pulled her on top of me to make her straddle my lap. I placed my hands on her hips while continuing to kiss her passionately.

Her knee must’ve been pressing down onto the remote because the TV turned off, leaving us in the warm light of the fireplace. There was romance all around us instantly, and I enjoyed every second of it.

Her hands slid up from my chest into my hair, her fingers curling around it. I loved every little touch of hers, and I wished I could keep her here for more than the weekend.

The crackling of the fire and us catching our breaths in between kisses were the only things we could hear, and it was the most sensual thing I had ever experience with a woman. Her lips were soft, moving against mine with a mix of eagerness and tenderness that left me dizzy.

It would’ve been hard to admit for an earlier version of myself that I was falling in love with her, but I had no issue confessing that now. Fuck …I couldn’t get enough of her.

Sliding my hands own to her ass, I squeezed it tightly while pulling her even closer to my body. She melted into me, with the kiss deepening even more, and when she started to circle her hips against mine, I started to become impatient.

I wanted more of her. Fuck , I wanted all of her.

I broke the kiss to let us both catch a breath, and when her eyes met mine, I could see the fire in them. The passion that burned between us was intense, but it hadn’t hit us unexpectedly. We knew it would slowly come to this.

I paced both hands on her cheeks and brushed back her hair, tugging it behind her ears as I admired her beautiful face. “You know I’m trying really hard to behave here,” I whispered with a small grin.

“Me too.”

I chuckled before pressing a quick kiss to her lips. “Yeah? Then we’re both in hot water,” I whispered, staying close to her. “What do we do about that, sweetheart?”

She shrugged, furrowing her brows. “I’m not so sure.”

We were both silent for a moment, letting this fire between us burn bright. We didn’t want to extinguish it though.

I pressed another kiss to her lips, unable to stay away from her. “Maybe we just stop pretending we can behave,” I murmured into the kiss.

She lowered her head, breaking the kiss unwillingly. I watched as she took her time to weigh my words, and when her eyes met mine, the need in them was intense.

“I don’t like to pretend, anyway.”

Hearing those words moved something in me, and we had made our decision.

No more taking it slow.

No more waiting.

We needed each other, in any way possible.