Page 12 of Tempted by the Taurus (BLP Signs of Love #11)

I started the engine, looking over at her yet again, causing her to eye me too.

Before we could stop ourselves, we leaned over the console and touched lips.

Our tongues briefly twirled in each other's mouths.

Regretfully, I pulled away from her and drove out of her driveway.

I watched out of the corner of my eye as she fanned herself.

I chuckled, trying to remember what we were discussing before I got in the car.

"That kiss we shared almost made me forget what we talked about. You told me about how you make journals and how you journal yourself on our first date at Tito's, but back to your porch, I enjoy it. The scenery you have in your yard is everything. I enjoy nature."

"I'm not the type that likes to be outside for a long period. When I was younger, yeah, maybe, but now nope. That's why I found a job that lets me be outside sometimes."

I laughed a little, stopping behind a car at the light. "Sometimes my job requires me to be outside a lot."

"That's understandable."

"What do you have a taste for?"

She shrugged. "Hmm, I could use a burger or some wings."

"I know a place where we can get both, and it's not Dunk's Wings."

She laughed. "I love Dunk's."

"Hell, me too, but I have it too much."

Dunk's was one of the best wing stops in Skyeville, and I had it literally every day for lunch. It was time for me to switch it up. I discovered a new wing place that also serves burgers. I tried it out and enjoyed it. It took me a while to go there, but when I did, I wasn't let down.

"What's the name of this place?" she asked, setting her phone on her lap. Leighton had some juicy thighs. I bet they taste good too — fruity just like she was.

"Burgers and Wings Zone."

She chuckled. "The names people come up with."

I joined in on her laughter. The vibe we had was almost as if we had been doing this for years. This was something I missed in relationships — the peaceful car rides with us just chilling. Yes, we might stop to get something to eat, but riding and enjoying each other's company was always the move.

After we ate lunch, we headed to the bowling alley. I hadn't planned on taking Lee there, but I thought, why the hell not?

"Do you know how to bowl?" I asked her when I pulled into the parking lot of the bowling alley.

She nodded. "Do I? I'm great at it. This is a spot my friends and I chill at from time to time to have a girls' night. It's a vibe. Their drinks are everything."

It was a good thing Leighton was familiar with the place. I'd been there a couple of times as well. My family and I got together and bowled, too.

"Good. Then you won't mind me kicking your ass."

She burst out laughing. "Yeah, the lies you tell yourself."

I could only smile at her. Once we were out of the car, I reached for her hand and squeezed it in mine. "There is a restaurant inside here, too. That way, if you want dinner, we can eat here."

She inclined her head. "Okay, cool. I'm sure I won't be since we ate a lot already."

I nodded. "True, but you never know."

We walked the rest of the way to the entrance in silence. After I paid, we got our shoes and headed to the lanes. We sat down to put on our shoes to play the game.

"We're going to play two balls per frame. That way it's fair," I voiced.

She nodded. "I'm cool with that. Have you ever had a strike before?"

I reared back and frowned. "Man, I've had several. You're looking at a pro," I boasted.

Leighton rolled her eyes and waved me off. We didn't waste any time getting the game started. I could admit that she was good. Not saying she was better than me, but she knew what she was doing.

"Hmm, let's make it interesting," I blurted.

She swirled around, eyeing me with an arch eyebrow. I bit down on my bottom lip and eyed her. Leighton was dressed the part in a black and white blouse with jeans that fit her like a second skin. It was a wonder that she could move around in the pants.

"Oh gosh. I'm already not liking this, and you haven't given the rules yet."

"Yeah, sure you're right. But listen, the rules of the game are that if you knock down five or more pins in one go, the other person has to take a shot."

Her mouth dropped. "But there are no shots."

I smirked. "I can go get some or call a server over for an order."

After I called the server over, I told her our order. Then I turned back to Lee, who eyed me with a stank face.

"I'm going to be drunk," she groaned.

I snickered and went to pull her into my arms. "You'll be okay. If it makes you feel any better, I might be, too."

She sucked her teeth and pushed out of my arms. "That's a lie. You've been killing me so far."

"I told you what it would be before we even started. You should have taken me seriously."

The server quickly came back with the shots. I only ordered ten. That should be enough for both of us.

"You'd better play smart," I teased Leighton.

"Whatever. I got this."

And she didn't have it. She knocked down three shots back to back, causing me to laugh my ass off at her.

Man, what a time I had with her. Joy bubbled inside me as I felt more alive than I had ever felt in my life.

She lifted my mood, causing me to feel drunk with happiness, something I hadn't felt in a while.

"Come on, Lee. I'm killing you right now, baby. What are you doing?" I taunted her.

She sent a sexy glare my way. I walked over to her and kissed that look right off her face. A smile spread instead, and I kissed her again. She wanted to take it a bit further by rubbing against me.

"You'd better cut it out before I have my way with you. You're already tipsy," I whispered in her ear.

She smacked her lips. "No, I'm not."

I hummed. "Whatever you want to tell yourself. Let's finish this game."

And we did, with me being the winner. I only took three shots to her seven. I could admit, her ass could get down when it came to bowling. I had to turn up the heat a few times, which worked out in my favor.

"Youuu cheattted," she slurred, sitting down. I went to join her, putting my hand on her thigh.

I pressed my lips together to keep from laughing. "Nah, I didn't. I warned you, but you didn't take me seriously. It's not my fault you didn't."

She only groaned, lying her head on my arm. "I'm not bowling with you ever again."

"Oh, you tryna tap out on me already? To know if I'm really the best, we have to play again. Not today, but on another day. I can't let you walk away defeated. Don't worry, next time you might beat my ass."

She only groaned again. I had to get her some water and more food into her stomach. That way, she could soak up some of the liquor she had consumed.

"C'mon, let's go eat."

Leighton sighed deeply. "You took such good care of me, I feel much better."

"It's all good. That's what I'm supposed to do as the man in your life." She was about to open her mouth, but I kissed it shut. "I am the man in your life. I don't want to hear anything else about it."

We were at the park, sitting on the bench.

Lee had gotten some fresh air, as she had claimed she needed it.

After we ate dinner, we continued our ride through the city, but she said she needed some air.

I was happy to take her to one of the many parks around.

Since it was night out, there weren't many people out tonight.

"I was only about to say no one has ever taken care of me like you did."

I glanced over at her, seeing that she had her head bowed.

"They should've. You're ten dimes, baby. More than a ten."

She smiled a little. "Thanks for that. In my past relationships, I hadn't felt like that or even let myself feel like that."

I frowned, leaning forward with my arms on my legs. I tilted my head and studied her. "Why not?"

She shrugged. "I guess I could say from watching my parents in my childhood, they were happy until they weren't happy.

In my relationships, I didn't allow myself to be happy.

I was scared I'd be let down in the end," she mumbled.

"So, I either ended the relationships, or they did.

But you want to know what's funny about it? "

I didn't know what to say, so I kept quiet.

"My parents are happy now, and they are the best of friends. Isn't that crazy?"

I stayed silent for a moment, trying to find my words. "Why are you telling me this?"

"I'm happy now."

I sucked in a breath. Now I understood where this was going.

"You can continue to be happy if you allow yourself to be.

You don't have to look at your past relationships or your parents' relationship with each other.

Don't you think you deserve to be happy?

" I let her think on that as I rubbed a hand down on my head, staring down at the ground.

"I was happy too, and in a relationship that ended badly.

It made me not want to put my all into a relationship again. .." I started.

Leighton glanced at me, waiting for me to continue.

"When I love, I love hard. Nya knew that — that's my ex's name.

I thought we were happy. I mean, I worked a lot and broke a lot of dates.

I guess I can own up to that part and say I could've been there for her.

But I always made up for it. She kept saying she was tired of my working all the time.

She said I never had time for her or Ni'Asia — that's my daughter's name.

However, I felt like I did. I had to make time for them, just as I did for my work.

She knew my business meant a lot to me. But she didn't care about that.

If I could spend all day with her at home, she would be happy, but I wouldn't. One day, Nya packed her and Ni'Asia's things and left me.

I tried for a while to make things work for us.

It wasn't my proudest moment, but I begged her to come back to me, and that didn't work.

After trying and seeing that, she no longer wanted me, so I stopped trying.

I vowed I'd never let another woman hurt me how she did. "

It had been a while since I got that off my chest. It needed to be reiterated. That was why I didn't know why I was here with Leighton. I knew I couldn't stay away from her, though. She brought something out of me. Something I hadn't felt in a long time.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that with your baby mama."

I shrugged with a deep sigh. "It's all good. Some things happen the way that they do. It's just something you can't change."

She nodded in agreement. "Yeah, you're right." She yawned, covering her mouth. "Oh man, I'm sorry. I guess I'm getting sleepy."

I smiled. "It's all good. I guess it's time to wrap this date up, huh?"

She laughed. "I really enjoyed myself with you today. I don't want it to end."

"I feel the same way. Don't worry, we have tomorrow too."

I stood up and held my hand out to Lee, helping her to her feet. As soon as we got into the car, she passed out, and I drove in comfortable silence.

When I pulled into her driveway, she was knocked out. Damn, I hated to wake her up, but I knew I needed to. She was sleeping peacefully, and here I go about to ruin it.

I tapped her thigh lightly. "Lee, wake up. You're home."

Her eyes fluttered open, and she stretched the best way she could. "You must've been speeding. We got here too fast."

I snickered. "Nah, you slept the entire drive from the park to your house."

If I didn't get this woman out of my car, I'd be fucking her right here and now. She looked good enough to eat, even with her sleepy eyes.

"Are you ready to get out?"

Leighton nodded and unsnapped her seatbelt. I got out of the car and made my way around the car to open the door for her. Once she was out, we walked to her front door in silence.

"I know you'll probably be asleep by the time I get home, so I'll just text when I get there."

She bobbed her head. "Okay, goodnight. I enjoyed my time with you tonight, and because of you, I might have a hangover in the morning."

I chuckled. "You're welcome." I stepped closer to her and pulled her into my arms. I kissed her lips sweetly.

The small gasp that escaped her mouth had me deepening the kiss.

I ran my hands up and down her body, trying to be a gentleman, but I needed to feel her ass.

I bet it was soft, too. I cupped and squeezed it.

I felt myself getting an erection and had to pull back away from her.

If not, I'd be telling her to invite me in, which was something I didn't think she was ready for.

"Goodnight."

"Night."

I waited for Lee to open the door before I left to return to my car. Damn, what a damn night. I was going home horny with a hard dick.

"Soon," I mumbled.