Four

Four

Kezan

“Um, I don’t remember inviting you to my place,” I said as Micah and his boyfriend, Camillo, rummaged through my closet.

“Well, good thing we came anyway, right?” Cam said with a smirk, and I shook my head.

“That’s right, Kezan. We’re going to make sure you look sexy as hell for your first date,” Micah said, and I rolled my eyes as I leaned against the wall opposite my closet, wondering how long they’d be ransacking it.

“It’s not a date, remember? He agreed to dinner. That’s all.”

“Well, that’s even more reason to dress sexy. When he sees you, he’ll wish you were on a date.” Micah winked at me, and I shook my head in amusement.

“Is that really how you talk to your boss?” I demanded with a shake of my head.

Micah stuck his tongue out at me as he placed a pair of skinny jeans on my bed before going back to the closet. “You’re boss-man at the shop. Here, you’re my friend who needs my help getting ready for his date.”

Considering the fact that I’d never asked for his help in the first place, I rolled my eyes again. Micah was there because he wanted to be.

“How about this one?” I looked at the shirt Cam was holding and smiled. Like most of my shirts, it was silk. Unlike the others, though, this one had patches of netting sewn into it, making the deep red material partially see-through.

“Ooh, I love it. Quick, Kezan. Put it on and let us see,” Micah insisted.

After I’d shooed the two teenagers out of my bedroom, I got dressed in the outfit they’d picked, admiring myself in the mirror. I did look good. I hoped Ezra would like it. What if he thought it was too out there?

I shook my head. He’d seen me at my shop twice now, and both times I’d been wearing similar clothes. If he’d had a problem with my clothes, I’d have seen it.

I styled my hair and put on some lip gloss, and after one last glance at myself in the mirror, I decided I was as ready as I’d get.

I opened the door to my bedroom, and found Micah pressed against the far wall with Cam hovering over him. Cam pulled away when he heard the door open, and Micah blushed, then grinned as his eyes took me in.

“Damn, you clean up nice, Kezan. This Ezra guy won’t know what hit him,” Cam said, and I smiled. The sound of tires crunching gravel hit my ears, and I realized he was there. He’d offered to pick me up, which had done nothing to help my determination to keep it a friendly dinner.

“Looks like your mate’s here. Go ahead. We’ll sneak out once you’re gone,” Micah said, his brown eyes wide with excitement.

I nodded, then pulled him into a hug. “Thank you.”

Micah nodded, smile in place, and I knew he understood I wasn’t just thanking him for today. If it weren’t for him, I’d probably still be hoping Ezra would visit the shop again so I could talk to him.

“Go get him,” Cam said with a pat to my shoulder, and I nodded before walking to the front door.

Taking a deep breath, I opened the door and found Ezra standing right there. He’d dressed up for the night too, and the fact pleased me immensely. The deep green button-down clung to his body in the best of ways, and his beige slacks gave me a delicious view of his strong thighs.

I swallowed hard as I met his eyes. “Hi.” I cringed at the stupid greeting, but Ezra just smiled.

“Hey, Kezan. Ready to head out?”

I nodded and followed him to his car. The restaurant wasn’t too far away, but we hadn’t wanted to risk walking there since it looked like it might rain any moment. Since Ezra had said he’d pick me up, our dinner had started to sound even more like a date to me.

Ezra started the car before glancing at me, and I couldn’t quite read the look in his eyes. After a long moment, he shook his head and smiled at me, tiny dimples popping in his cheeks that I hadn’t noticed before.

“You look great, Kezan,” he said, and I wondered if he meant that as a friend or…I shook my head and returned his smile.

“You look very handsome yourself, Ezra. Thank you for agreeing to have dinner with me.”

“My pleasure,” he said softly, his voice deep and sexy, and I wondered what other pleasures I could give him.

I needed to get a grip.

Ezra

As I sat across the table from Kezan, listening to him tell me about the crazy clothes people requested at his shop, a realization struck.

Was the fact that I’d never been with a guy before really big enough to ignore this thing I felt simmering between us? Because there was something there, a quiet electric hum that buzzed just under the surface of my skin, amping up every time Kezan smiled or our eyes met.

So what if I’d never dated a man before? Life was too short to not explore something with so much potential simply because it wasn’t what I was used to, right? I’d never felt the need to explore before, but now…with Kezan, yeah, I wanted to try a few things. Maybe more than a few things. Plus, hadn’t I decided to try dating again? To give love another chance? Why did it have to be with a woman when I could sense a greater chemistry between Kezan and me than I’d ever felt with anyone else before?

I straightened up in my seat and made a decision then and there. I’d see where this went, and I wouldn’t put any less effort into it than I would when dating a woman. Kezan was sweet and interesting, and I wanted to get to know him better, maybe even kiss his wide, warm lips before the night ended.

“I’m glad I agreed to this dinner,” I said just as the server placed our meals before us. Once she’d left, Kezan smiled at me.

“Yeah? I’m glad you said yes too,” he admitted with a shy smile, and I felt a flutter in my chest at his sweet look.

I took a bite of food, humming at the spicy taste. I wondered what Kezan tasted like, and then I wondered why all I could think about was tasting him. It seemed like now that I’d accepted the idea of dating Kezan, my mind and body were all in on the plan.

“Are you okay?” I looked up to find Kezan watching me with concern in his warm brown eyes, and I nodded.

“I’m good. Just thinking. Can I ask you something?” Kezan nodded, so I blew out a breath and asked, “Why did you ask me out?”

Kezan’s brows furrowed, and he gave me a confused look. “Because I wanted to get to know you.”

“But why? I mean, we didn’t even talk that much.” What I really wanted to know was what he’d thought was so interesting about me. It wasn’t that I didn’t think I was interesting, but we really hadn’t talked much before he’d asked me out, and I was curious what his reasoning had been.

“If I tell you the truth, you’ll laugh at me,” Kezan answered after a moment, and I raised a brow at him.

“I promise I won’t laugh.”

Kezan narrowed his eyes as he forked up another bite and took his time chewing it. Once he’d swallowed, he blew out a breath and said, “When I saw you that first day, I felt something pulling me to you. I felt like we had a spark, a connection. I was so surprised by it I couldn’t even say much to you. But then you came back the next day, and I knew I needed to say something before I lost my chance. Go ahead, tease me about believing in love at first sight,” Kezan prompted with a slight smile.

I conveniently ignored the L-word and shook my head. “I can’t tease you because I feel it too after spending time with you. But I want you to know that I’ve never dated a man before. I don’t know the rules or what’s expected, so go easy on me, okay?”

Kezan blinked at me. “Are you…are you saying…” He trailed off as if unsure how to continue, and I smiled at him.

“What I’m saying is I’d like to date you and see where this goes, but I can’t guarantee anything because this is all new to me.”

The brightest smile I’d ever seen lit up Kezan’s face, and something warm spread across my chest, a feeling of joy so overwhelming it shook me to my core. Why did Kezan’s smile make me so happy?

After dinner, we spent another hour talking before deciding it was time to head home. It had started raining while we were at the restaurant, and I was glad we’d driven.

Back at Kezan’s place, he turned to me after he’d unlocked his door, a question on his face.

I smiled as I pulled him closer and slowly pressed my lips to his. He hummed against my mouth as I licked his lips and caught the familiar taste of lip gloss on them. I hadn’t noticed it before, too caught up in his beautiful eyes, but I noticed it now. I noticed everything about the cherry taste of his lips and the way his body felt pressed against mine. I noticed I didn’t feel the least bit uncomfortable or weird.

I didn’t know if I was into men, but I knew I was very much into Kezan, and that was more than enough for me.