Page 37 of Enchanting the CEO

Not together, I corrected myself. She's your neighbor.

Things were starting to blur in my mind. But one thing was clear: I hadn't had nearly enough of her.

"Do you want dessert?" I asked.

"No, I can't possibly eat anything more. It was truly exquisite," she said. "Also, I'm dehydrated. I'm going to drink a lot of water once we get home."

"Do you want to order something nonalcoholic?”

She giggled, leaning over the table. "Honestly, I want to go home and get out of this dress." Then she giggled again. "Whoops, I can't believe I told you that. It's just that, well, it's a few years old, and I've put on a pound or two. It's a little bit tight. I feel like it's squeezing my boobs and my ribs." She glanced at the bottle. "Yeah, remind me to never again think that I can hold my wine. Clearly I can't."

I chuckled. "Come on, let’s go. You'll drink plenty of water, and you'll be fine tomorrow."

We both got up at the same time. She wasn't swaying, so she wasn't inebriated.

"Don't you have to ask for the bill?" She sounded shy.

"No, they have my credit card on file."

She jerked her head back. "I think I've only ever heard that expression in movies. I wasn't sure it was real."

"It's convenient," I said.

"Are you going to offer me that super-muscular arm again?"

"My pleasure."

I stand corrected. She was a bit tipsy, because she clung tightly to my arm.

We walked slower than before. Once we stepped outside, Diane started shivering despite putting on her jacket. Then I draped mine over her shoulders.

She slid her arms into the sleeves, then arched her shoulders back into me and bared the back of her neck. It was unbelievably seductive.

She looked at me over her shoulder. "Thank you. I was feeling a bit chilly."

"I thought you were. You had goose bumps."

She laughed nervously.

"Everything okay?" I asked.

"Yeah. I totally had goose bumps because it's chilly," she said.

By the time we arrived home fifteen minutes later, my head had cleared up somewhat. As we walked up the stairs to the house, I realized the same wasn't true for her. She swayed a bit on the front steps.

When she reached the staircase leading to the attic, she groaned. "Oh, screw it. No way can I make this staircase in these heels right now." She took off her shoes, holding them in her right hand, then turned around. "Thank you for this evening, Gabe."

"I'll walk you up."

She smiled sheepishly. "I'd fight you on it, but I don't think that's such a bad idea. My balance isn't great."

"Walk in front of me."

"Uh-huh," she said, putting one hand on the banister.

I held my hands behind her at enough distance that I wasn't touching her but was prepared in case she fell. I was trying extremely hard not to look at her ass.

But I should have looked. That way, when she stumbled on the second to last step and fell backward, I would have placed my hands on a more appropriate side of her body, like her back. But I barely had time to register her yelp before feeling her soft ass in my hands.

---