Chapter Eight

Kevin

Reid was everything I thought he would be and more. Best date of my entire life, even though I'd taken a chance with a restaurant I'd never been to. The TV host hadn't lied though. Quirky and tasty, as he'd described it, was accurate.

The best part of the evening, in my opinion, was our walk in the park. So refreshing to be outside together enjoying the cool evening and talking about whatever came to mind. Reid was here to close out his uncle's estate, and he didn't seem to have any plans to stay, but I was glad to spend time while we had it.

I drove Reid home, but when we stopped the car, he didn't move to get out. And I didn't move to go around and open the door for him, either. We sat there in comfortable silence for a moment, but eventually he said, "Is it bad that I don't want the evening to end?"

"I don't either." I reached for his hand and linked our fingers. "But it's getting late."

He sighed. "It's a shame the evening went so fast. I'm not tired at all."

"Me either." In fact, I was a lot more stimulated than tired, and that was going to be a real problem if we continued to sit close together in this car. I was hard as steel and had been for most of the evening. "Did you have a nice time?" My cheeks warmed. "I mean, if you don't want the evening to end, I guess you did."

"Yes. I did." A streetlight illuminated his face, showing the sparkle in his eyes and his soft smile. "Best date I've been on in a long time. Maybe ever."

"I'm glad you feel that way." I pulled his hand into my lap, careful to keep it from landing right on the bulge that would tell him how hard I was trying to control myself and not make a suggestion it wasn't time for. But I stroked the back of his hand with my thumb, enjoying the little shiver that brought on. "Would you like to get together again?"

"Yes, please." He nodded. "Did you want to come in for a while?"

I lifted his hand to my lips and kissed it. "Far too much, but I think I'm going to say no for tonight."

"Oh. Okay. Some other time, then."

"What would you say to a playdate before we take anything physical?" I pulled him closer and brushed my lips over his. "Naked physical, I mean." I kissed him again. Slow, this time, licking the seam of his lips until he opened to admit my tongue then cupping the back of his head in the palm of my free hand. Tilting it, deepening the kiss and sharing the slight breath between us. Heady and intoxicating, kissing Reid could easily become one of my favorite things to do. But when he sighed and leaned in, one of us had to take charge before things went past the point of no return.

Not that I'd ever continue if he said no, but I had a feeling neither of us wanted to give that answer. And I was confident we needed to explore the other half of what could be between us before we found ourselves naked and sweaty between the sheets.

With every bit of willpower I could summon, I eased out of the kiss and back into my seat. "I'll walk you to the door."

Driving home, I tried not to think about the fact that he would probably be gone in a few weeks.