12. Open For Anything

12

OPEN FOR ANYTHING

O n Thursday, Sloane left the spa at a little after five, asking Heather to close for her since her employee would be there until eight.

Since Heather had heard about her going on a date on Monday, she’d confessed that she was cooking for Dane tonight but asked that no one find out.

It wasn’t unheard of for her to go home for a few hours and come back to close.

They could just assume she was going to do that, but she said not to plan on her return to Heather only. She didn’t want to push Dane out of the door if she could avoid it.

To her, she wanted the night to go as it would. That meant being open for anything.

It was a nice night to grill and she enjoyed doing that. Less mess and quicker too. They both had to work tomorrow anyway so it’s not like it’d be a late night.

She figured Dane would appreciate that thought even if she felt it was an old person’s thought for two young single people.

She got the filets she’d bought and would let them sit at room temperature. The red potatoes were cubed up and mixed with butter and seasonings and put in foil. They’d roast quicker that way on the grill. She cleaned and cut the asparagus and that would be set right on the grill. Done for now.

Dane had talked about loving chocolate but not having too much in the house because the kids would go nuts so she mixed up a batch of brownie batter and threw that in the oven too with some chocolate chips on top for extra richness.

At six she got a text that Dane was on the way. She’d told him to just come when he could and she’d start dinner then.

There was anticipation in her blood like never before causing her to run to the bathroom and look in the mirror.

Her hair was down and brushed and shiny. She didn’t do much more to it. No reason to be obvious.

She’d showered and washed her face, then applied a thin layer of makeup like she did every morning. Since they weren’t leaving the house, she opted for tan shorts that probably were meant to hit mid-thigh but on her were higher. She had a purple T-shirt on with it. Nothing fancy. Most of her wardrobe was like this and bought on sale racks.

Even though she had some financial security, she just couldn’t be frivolous with money.

Her feet were bare showing off the pretty pedicure she’d gotten from Elle with her baby blue nails and white stripes with a daisy on the big toes.

One more look around her house and she decided to take a seat and wait for Dane to pull in.

Which he did ten minutes later.

She opened the door before he could ring the bell and noticed he was in shorts and a T-shirt too. Guess he didn’t live that far from her unless he changed at work.

“Hi,” she said. “Come in. I’ve got the grill started and will go throw the potatoes on as they need about a ten minute start, then the steaks. I remembered you liked beef.”

He grinned. “I do,” he said. “Anything I can do to help?”

“Nope. We can sit on the deck and relax and talk if you want. Dinner will take twenty minutes or so. The filets are thick but not big. Even wrapped in bacon.”

“Wow, not just any old steak. You went all out.”

“Why not?” she asked. “I don’t cook like this often because it’s no fun for one person.”

“No,” he said. “It’s not.” He seemed to hesitate and then leaned down to kiss her.

“Never worry about kissing me,” she said. “I happen to love kissing.”

“Me too,” he said.

“It seems most men don’t. I like that you feel the same as me.”

Whoever she dated kissed because they felt they had to as part of foreplay, but once they got her there, they stopped. She wanted to keep it up.

It was sexy and arousing to her. Maybe because she always had her hands on people’s bodies but not her lips. No clue, but she knew what she liked.

“I’m glad we have that in common.”

“So am I,” she said. “I’ll throw the potatoes on and then show you around if you’d like.”

“I would,” he said, following her down the hall to the kitchen in the back of the house. They’d passed the doorway to the living room, which moved to the dining room that was to the right of the kitchen.

She grabbed her foil package and opened the sliders to put them on the grill while he waited by the doors.

“My house isn’t that big. Nothing fancy, but the location is what I was going for. It’s on the older end. I think like eighty years old.”

“It’s got a lot of character. The floors and trim are great.”

She looked down at the dark wood floors that went through the whole house. She had some throw rugs but not much. To her it was a crime to cover them.

“This is the biggest place I’ve ever lived in. I’ve done a few things to it. Mainly paint. The kitchen cabinets took forever, but I sanded them down and did it myself.”

She didn’t care for the dark wood there and it’d been weeks of hard labor and several coats of paint to get them to the light gray.

“Impressive,” he said.

“I don’t want to say I’m handy, but I try to figure out as much as I can. My dining room table I got at a garage sale. I have fun doing that and looking for good quality pieces that need some love.”

The table had been a bargain to her but a piece of crap to the owners.

Solid oak, nothing frilly in design but rectangular and made well. The finish was worn off and the wood was stained in spots. She didn’t care. She sanded it all down and painted it black, then bought two benches to put on each side, matched the same paint, and two chairs on the end.

Not that she ever had that many people over to her house, but the benches made it feel more relaxed to her and it was the only place she had to sit and eat.

“I’d never know that,” he said. “It looks new.”

“Lots of things in my house look that way. I hate waste. It’s a huge pet peeve of mine. ”

“It’s a good attitude to have,” he said. “I’m probably more wasteful in life than I should be.”

“Everyone could do better, but I don’t lecture by any means.” They moved back down the hall toward the stairs. “I’ve got a little half bath here.”

She opened the door and he laughed. “That’s a tight fit.”

“It is but handy to have on this floor. I don’t need much more than the toilet and little pedestal sink.” One she bought on clearance and installed herself.

They moved up the stairs. “Did you do anything to this railing?”

“No,” she said. “Nothing more than clean it up and seal it again. I love the details in it.”

“It’s nice,” he said. “My house is modern and...plain.”

“If it suits you then it does.”

“I think I don’t look at it one way or another other than I want my kids to be happy and comfortable in it. I’ve decorated some, but most of it is in the kids’ spaces.”

Which said everything there was to be said about Dane.

“I’ve got three bedrooms up here. One I use as an office, the other a spare, but I don’t have guests or anything. One full bath that is big.”

He popped his head in. “That is almost as big as mine.”

She was positive he had a primary suite. “The claw-foot tub sold me. I’m glad the shower is separate, but I wouldn’t have cared if I had to climb into that to take a shower. My legs are long enough.”

She loved the black and white tile on the floor and had cleaned them up well and regrouted too. She’d replaced the vanity with a white one, two bowl sinks that were a frosted white. It went well with the black counter and added contrast .

This home purchase was a big deal for her and she worked hard to give it her style.

“They sure are,” he said, looking at her legs.

They moved to the two spares and then her room next to the bathroom.

“I’ve got a king sized bed. I like the room in bed even if there isn’t a ton of room to move around it. The closets aren’t huge here but suit me.”

She didn’t have a lot of clothes either. Why bother when she wore the same things to work all the time and that was where she spent most of her hours?

After her tour of her modest home, they returned to the deck and she flipped the potatoes and put the filets on next, grabbed the asparagus and seasoned them as well.

He declined a beer, but she’d made his iced tea for him and poured him a glass, and soon they were sitting down for dinner.

“This is great,” he said. “I’ll have to return the favor next time we can get time together.”

“You look at your schedule and I’ll look at mine,” she said.

He smiled at her. His light brown eyes showed something that she knew she was feeling.

Arousal.

It felt as if there was this thick tension of it in the air, but she knew beyond a doubt he wouldn’t make the move.

Maybe that was why she decided she would.

When dinner was cleaned up and they talked about every mundane topic they could, she realized that being in her house was what made the air of arousal so thick and heavy.

They were alone.

Private .

They could reach for each other and strip fast and no one would interrupt.

“That’s the last dish,” he said, loading the dishwasher.

She’d never had a man stand next to her in the kitchen and clean up. Ever.

There were so many things about Dane that both pleased and surprised her.

She put her dishtowel on the edge of the sink and turned, her arms going around his neck. “I want you to kiss me.”

“Gladly,” he said, his mouth lowering to hers.

She didn’t waste any time opening her mouth and attacking him with a hunger she hoped she wasn’t the only one feeling.

When he let out a little moan like he did when she started her massages, she knew she had her answer on what the night was going to bring.