Page 100 of Racing Heat

“This is perfect. You’re right. I think we’ll be safe here.” I lean into him, and he kisses the top of my head. It’s nice to be out with him like this, in our city and not having to drive so far away to enjoy dinner. Sometimes the ride is so long that I find myself fighting sleep until we get home.

“Good, I’m glad you think so too.”

We’re shown to our private booth in the back of the restaurant.

Once we’re seated, I ask him, “Did you ask to be placed in the back?”

“I thought this might be the best way for us to have a night out.” He shrugs. “I know it’s not fun going so far away to eat, so this was my solution. What do you think?”

“I think it’s perfect.”

I pick up my menu and begin browsing. The sushi selection here is huge. My mouth waters thinking of all the things I could try. It’s definitely a step up from the grocery store packs that I pick up at Wegmans.

“Do you want some wine? Or they have a fishbowl drink we could get,” he teases me.

“I think some wine would be nice. I don’t need to drink a fishbowl. I’d rather not have a headache like I did when we were at The Backwoods last time.”

“We were fine until you all suggested those shots.”

“Which ones?” I ask him with a laugh.

“It was a fun night.”

“Are you referring to the time we spent with our friends, or the strip tease I gave you afterward?”

His voice drops to a sexy low. “I think I liked the strip tease the best. Hanging out with our friends was stressful, but we managed to survive it.”

“We sure did.”

We order our wine and some edamame as an appetizer. Jase isn’t too adventurous on the sushi; he doesn’t eat anything raw. But we manage to pick out an assortment of four rolls that we can try. He even adds in a few raw rolls for me. It’s served to us quickly.

“This is delicious.” I pop another roll in my mouth and moan at the freshness. “You’re really going to spoil me with this. I don’tknow that I’ll be able to hop on over to Wegmans and grab a pack of their sushi without remembering how delicious this place is.”

“I’m glad you’re enjoying it. I really like it here. Not sure if it’s the sushi or the company.”

“Yeah, that’s a toss-up,” I tease him and stick my tongue out at him.

“Real mature,” he teases back.

“Well, I am so much younger than you,” I remind him.

“And here I thought we were going to make it through the night without you teasing me about my age.”

“Sorry.” I reach across the table and brush his hand. “While we’re here, I’ll be on my best behavior.”

“Good. But when we get back to my place, that rule goes out the window.”

“Deal,” I promise.

“Are you thinking about dessert?” Jase picks up the menu and begins reading me the options. “There’s a decadent chocolate cake, cheesecake tiramisu, gelato, and an apple tart. Any of that sound good to you?”

I look around at all the food we still have left. “Are you kidding? Look at all this sushi. Don’t you want to finish this?”

“Yeah, I wanna finish it, but I think you might want something sweet. Something substantial for when you need your strength later tonight.”

“Oh, that sounds promising.”

“Fuck,” he mutters. His gaze is pinned over the booth.