Chapter 5

Mark

Mark waits outside the apartment building and checks his watch one more time.

She's late.

Ten minutes late to be exact.

He'd call her, but he was stupid and didn't get her number. He was stupid because her profile picture didn't do her justice. She's striking, and though he doesn't normally go for women who dye their hair with any color of the rainbow, it suits her and her personality.

He can tell she's a spitfire, even though he made her nervous. The nervousness was adorable, but most women are nervous around him. He's been told it's because he's beautiful, and maybe he is, but sometimes he just wants someone to be normal around him. Her, however, he found endearing. He likes that he makes her nervous. She should be nervous. He wants to devour every inch of her.

When she had commented about someone like him dating someone like her, it really irked him. She thinks he's out of her league and it's telling that she doesn't think highly of herself. Yes, she's overweight, but he's always like his women bigger. He likes something to hold on to when he pulls them into a hug or fucks them from behind.

He rakes a hand through his hair. "Fucks them from behind?" he mutters into the car's vacant space. "Really, Mark?"

He's not normally this brash. He normally doesn't come on to women either. Something about Maria has stirred awake something inside him that's been sleeping for a long, long time. A horny, teenage kid wrapped in an adult, overworked body.

But that's what he'd like to do. He'd like to fuck her. Not just fuck her and leave, but his cock definitely would like to slide into her pussy and his mouth would definitely like to devour hers.

Despite the acidic scent of coffee throughout The Brew, he could smell her unique scent. Honey. Caramel. The smell of her strawberry shampoo when he leaned in close. All those scents drew him in and he could easily be addicted to them.

He growls under his breath. She's not coming. She chickened out.

Just as he puts the car into drive, the apartment door opens. Maria is there and so is her roommate. Her roommate waves, and then shoves her outside and slams the door behind her. It'd be laughable if Mark didn't see the look on her face. She's definitely terrified, but she straightens her shoulders and puts one foot in front of the other anyway.

She's striking in her yellow dress. It's form-fitting at the top and flows out around her waist and down to the middle of her thighs. With her dark purple hair, it's a beautiful contrast.

She has make-up on. Not a lot, but enough that it brings out the vibrant shade of her eyes. Truth be told, he prefers it when she doesn't wear make-up, but most women do. Most women think they have to change their face to be more beautiful. He won't tell her that though. By the way she nibbles her bottom lip as she walks to his car, he can tell she's already nervous enough.

Climbing out of the car, he jogs around to the other side and opens the door for her. She meets his eyes, only for a second, and mutters, "Thank you."

She braces her hand against the doorframe, but just before she can climb in, he gently grips her upper arm. It pulls her attention back to him, and slowly as if he might scare his little mouse, he leans in and whispers, "Relax. I won't bite."

He doesn't miss the shiver that momentarily quakes her body. He loves how responsive she is to him.

She's back to nibbling her bottom lip again, and she turns to him. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

The wind blows a strand of hair in her face, so he reaches and brushes it behind her ear. "I'm sure. Get in the car, Maria."

"Okay," she says meekly, and she listens to him, gingerly sliding inside.

He grins and shuts her door, then makes his way to his side of the car. Soon, they're driving down the road to his favorite restaurant. They have reservations, and thankfully, he texted his buddy who works there as a waiter that they'd be a little late. He promised he'd hold the table for them.

It isn't far, just down the street in fact, and soon, he's parking. He exits the car and crosses to the other side to open hers. She smiles a small smile at him when he holds out his hand for her.

"Thank you," she says as she takes his hand and climbs out of the car. "You have a nice car."

"Thanks. I bought it a few weeks ago."

He doesn't let go of her hand as they make their way to the busy restaurant's front door. When they arrive at the door, he opens it for her and ushers her inside. He knew it'd be busy, but he wasn't expecting it to be this busy. People are everywhere in the front entrance, waiting for their table to be called.

Taking Maria's hand one more time, he guides their way through the people to the front desk. His buddy is standing there, staring at the computer with deep concentration. When he doesn't look up, Mark raps his fingers on the desk.

Startled, Jim looks up. "Mark! Finally, man. I was just about ready to give your table away. I didn't think you were coming."

"I told you I was."

He pushes his glasses up his nose with his pointer finger. "Yeah, but that was twenty minutes ago. Do you see how busy we are?" Jim gestures to the crowd behind them.

"Well, thanks. Is it ready now, or should we join the people behind us?"

Jim grabs two menus and gestures for them to follow him. Walking backward, he holds out his hand to Maria. "I'm Jim. And your name is?"

"Maria," she says, taking his hand.

"Well, beautiful Maria," he says, turning back around and talking over his shoulder as they weave between tables. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Maria blush at the praise. "You must be something special if you're going on a date with Mark."

She snaps her attention to Mark. "What do you mean?"

Jim raises an eyebrow at her when they arrive at the table. "He doesn't date. Not that I've seen anyway. It's always a table for one."

Maria slides into her chair at the same time Mark does, sitting across from him. She keeps her eyes on Mark when she answers with, "You don't say."

Holding his hand with the menus over his heart, Jim says, "I speak the truth and only the truth. Like I said, you must be special."

Without another word, Jim places the menus on the table and heads away. She continues to stare at him as a waitress immediately comes over and takes their orders for drinks before they can even pick up their menus. They place their order.

When she's gone, Mark rests his elbows on the table and finally meets Maria's gaze. "I don't date. Is that a problem?"

"No." She shakes her head as if to clear it. "No, I just wonder why you're suddenly interested."

"I'm interested in the girl. Dating comes with that."

She blushes and looks away for a second.

"Don't do that," he adds.

"Do what?" she mutters as the waitress brings their drinks and sets them on the table.

"Hide from me." He leans a little bit so that his stomach is pressed against the edge of the table. "I told you, I won't bite."

Slowly, she lifts her gaze to his. "I've never dated someone like you."

"Someone like me?"

"Someone out of my league," she adjusts.

He studies her face for a moment. He had known she felt this way, but for her to speak so plainly about it, he didn't like it. "Maybe you're out of mine."

She laughs at this and it's the most musical sound he's ever heard. He finds that he wants her to do it again and again, but then she sobers and says, "I doubt that."

At least she's finally meeting his stare without wavering. And with that, he presses on. "Jim wasn't lying when he said you were beautiful."

A blush rises to her cheeks again and she fidgets in her chair. "Not compared to your beauty."

He grinds his jaw a little. "You don't think highly of yourself, do you?"

"No." Her answer is immediate and firm. "I have a lot of things about myself that I'd go back in time and change."

"Name one."

"My weight."

"I don't see a problem with your size."

She studies him for a moment, and he can't tell if he believes him or not, so he adds, "I don't just work at an insurance company. I'm a life coach. I find beauty in all sizes." He picks up his menu and blindly begins searching it for something to eat. "Particularly for my tastes, I like something to grab onto."

Over the top of his menu, her lips part. The blush only increases. "I like it when you blush," he adds.

"Why?"

"Because I like that I can cause it."

"Are you full of yourself?" She cocks her head to the side.

He quirks a brow. "Not at all. I just like knowing that I have the same effect on you as you do on me."

She puts a hand to her burning cheeks and he chuckles. She says nothing else, so they pick out their food from the menu and tell the waitress when she returns. Once she's gone, Mark turns his attention back to the woman in front of him. She's being guarded.

"You haven't had good relationships before, have you?"

Startled, she blinks at him. "What makes you say that?"

"Because you're quite guarded."

"Well," she fiddles with the straw in her cup, "I - no."

"Tell me about them."

She looks at him from under her lashes and blows out a breath. "All of them tried to change something about me."

"Ah." It makes sense. It all adds up. The reluctance to go on a date with him. The reluctance to come out of her apartment. The fact that she has him leading the conversation. The fact that she doesn't think highly of herself. It makes him angry that they have changed the way she thinks about herself. "And you think I'll be no different."

She shrugs. "Will you? I mean, I don't know you."

"I have no intention of changing you, Maria," he murmurs. "I don't change people. I just help them be more comfortable with themselves."

"So I'm a charity case?"

He shakes his head. "You're a woman I happened to be drawn to. One that was brave enough to date me before you've dated me."

"Yeah," she says, wincing. "Sorry about that."

"Don't be." Without her doing that, he would have never seen her. He wouldn't be here. "I'm a big believer in fate."

"You are?"

He nods. "It takes balls to do what you did."

"Or a crazy person to do what I did," she mumbles under her breath and he chuckles. "I don't even know you and I did that."

He shrugs. "So get to know me. Ask me anything."

Looking at him sidelong, she begins firing questions at him. Where he grew up. How many girlfriends he's had, which isn't many. How many pets who owned and if he had any now. Where he lived. The list continues to go on and on, and he gladly answers them, grateful that she's getting more comfortable with him.

It turns out that they became friends on social media because she was looking for fitness trainers at the gym a year ago. She had friended a few fitness coaches with the intention of contacting one of them, but she never did. It's a shame. He could have met her sooner.

When she seemingly runs out of questions and their meals are half-eaten, he starts questioning her with almost the exact same questions. He wants to know everything about her, and everything she says, he stores away willingly. The way she talks about her life and her past is full of energy. He feeds off that energy, smiling throughout her explanations and adventures. He senses a theme that she lives life on the edge whenever she can, often with her roommate by her side.

By the time he's paying for their meal, she has relaxed. He knew she wouldn't be nervous around him forever, but he didn't realize that all he needed to do was inquire about her life.

He walks her out to the car, opens the door for her, and gets into his side of the car. The entire way back to her apartment, they talk about random things. He doesn't want the night to end, but he knows that they have to take this slow. Or try to at least. They click. They fit together, and it baffles him.

The car veers off the road and into the parking lot of her apartments. She looks at him, relaxed in the seat. "Thank you for a fun night."

"It was my pleasure. The question is, will it happen again?"

"Do you want it to happen again?" she asks quietly.

"I do."

Nibbling on her bottom lip, she thinks it over. She releases her lip and holds out her hand when she comes to a conclusion. "Can I have your phone?"

Frowning, he pulls it out of his pocket. He puts in his password and she takes it from him. Her fingers fly across the screen, and soon she's passing it back to him.

"What did you do?" he asks.

"I saved my number to your contacts."

He turns a grin in her direction. "So you want to continue this?"

She shrugs a little and meets his gaze. "I enjoyed my night with you. I wouldn't mind a repeat."

His smile fades when his gaze travels to her lips while she was talking. He didn't mean to, but all night they've captivated him.

She notices his stare and her lips part. "You want to kiss me, don't you?"

Lifting a hand, he cups her flaming cheeks. "I do."

"Okay," she says, swallowing thickly.

Gently, he eases forward. She trembles under his hand and when their lips almost touch, he whispers, "Relax. I won't bite. Much."