Page 56 of Until You Came Along

“Kiss me.”

“I won’t do it again without your consent, but if you don’t want me to lose my sanity, at some point I’ll have to kiss you again.”

“We’ll see about that. Shall we go?”

“Of course.”

He opened the car door for me and, once I was seated, closed it. I took the opportunity to observe him as he walked around the car to the driver’s door; he was pure sensuality and elegance. He sat down and before starting the car, he looked at me.

“I made a reservation at a restaurant, but I still think the conversation we’re going to have should be at your place or mine. What do you think about having dinner and then going somewhere else to talk?”

“I don’t think that’s best.”

“Think about it a bit and then we’ll see what we do. Thank you for accepting my invitation. You look beautiful and it’s taking a lot of restraint not to kiss or touch you.”

Me too!, I thought.

“Stop saying those things,” I whispered, looking straight ahead, preferring not to look at him to avoid weakening.

I heard him laugh softly and then he set the car in motion. The silence made me uncomfortable.

“Can I put on some music?”

“Of course,” he replied.

I turned on the radio and at that moment “Shivers” by Ed Sheeran was playing, and I decided to leave that song on.

“What kind of music do you like?” he asked.

“Various kinds, I’m eclectic in my musical tastes.”

For a few minutes we remained silent, until he broke it.

“Who was that guy who was entering your apartment with his own key the other day?”

“It wasn’t his key, it was mine. The guy, as you call him, is named Paul and he’s been a friend for many years. And when I say friend, I mean it literally and not like your ‘friends,’ he’s a friend like your brother is.”

“And what was he doing with your key?”

“He had stayed over and went out for coffee.”

He turned and looked at me seriously.

“And why did he stay overnight with you?”

“He didn’t sleep with me, he slept on the couch. On Friday we had a get-together with friends at my apartment and watched several movies. Paul stayed over because his roommate asked him to come home late since he wanted to be alone with a friend. It’s quite common for my friends to stay over, sometimes for that reason, other times because they fall asleep and we can’t wake them up, or because they drink too much. That’s just how they are,” I replied, downplaying it.

“You made me have a difficult day. Seeing him enter your apartment bothered me a lot,” he stated.

“Let’s clarify something, Hermes. I wasn’t the one who complicated your day because we don’t owe each other explanations about our lives.”

He looked at me again but said nothing.

“We’re here,” he said after a few minutes, while pulling into a parking lot next to an elegant restaurant.

He wouldn’t let me get out of the car because he wanted to help me. He was such a gentleman. When we started walking, he took my hand. I pulled to free myself from his grip, but he looked at me and maintained his strong hold. In the end, I decided to walk hand in hand with him.

“You're taking liberties that don't belong to you,” I stated.