Page 46 of Alpha Theo

My jaw goes slack. “You’ve never heard of Freddie Mercury?! The frontman from Queen?!”

He shakes his head again.

“Oh my gosh, you’re missing out. Queen is iconic!” I gush. “I’ve got a playlist of their best songs, I’ll have to send it to you!”

Connor scrunches his nose. “Nah, you don’t have to do that. I’m not really into this old-school music.”

His response takes the wind out of my sails.

“Oh. Okay.”

I slump back in my seat.

We’re silent for the rest of the ride.

Connor pulls up to the restaurant, parks, and comes around to open the passenger side door for me.Such a gentleman. It almost redeems him for shutting me down when I tried to connect with him about music. I’m sure he didn’t mean to be rude- he’s probably just nervous like I am. I’m all for second chances, so I mentally wipe the slate clean as we walk into the restaurant.

Bella Vita is a cute little place, with dim lighting and circular tables with red and white checkered tablecloths. Soft instrumental music plays as the waiter leads us to our table- even though the restaurant is pretty empty on a Monday night, Connor was thoughtful enough to make a reservation.

The waiter pulls my chair out for me, but I bet Connor would’ve if given the chance. The boy’s got manners. I slide into my seat, waiting for him to take his across from me. There’s a little votive on the table with a tealight candle burning and a single red rose in a vase. Classy, romantic. Great first date vibes.

The date’s nice. The conversation is a little bit stiff, but I write it off as first date jitters. I drone on about the program that I’m working on and Connor listens politely, acts like he cares. I feign interest in his story about an ‘epic takedown’ on the practice field. He’s pleasant to be around, easy and uncomplicated. And so darn sweet. He orders dessert, picks up the tab. Holds my hand to walk me out of the restaurant.

He opens the car door for me again- a little gesture that I really appreciate. Drives nice and slow back to the complex. He doesn’t turn on the radio on our ride home, and I don’t ask- we just chat about the weather, his patrol assignments, and our plans for the week. It feels good, comfortable.

As we pull into the parking lot at the squad complex, though, I start getting a little nervous again. Will there be a goodnight kiss? I wring my hands in my lap, glancing over at him. Connor, with his shaggy hair and boyish good looks. Connor, who put on a tie and held the door for me. He really is a good guy, a nice guy. I hope he goes for the kiss.

I half expect him to do it in the parking lot, since it’s the only place around the squad complex where we’d have some semblance of privacy. I try to listen to my wolf, like Fallon said, and she actually perks up for a moment when I get out of the car- but Connor doesn’t kiss me. Instead, he takes my hand and we walk around the building, through the gate, into the barracks. My wolf goes back into hiding.

He walks me to my door, and I fumble in my clutch for my keys, waiting for him to make a move. He’s just standing across from me awkwardly, shuffling his feet a little bit as I retrieve my keys. The hallway of the squad dorms doesn’t strike me as the most romantic place for a first kiss, but I guess that beggars can’t be choosers.

“This was fun,” I say, offering him a smile.

He peers at me through his shaggy bangs, the corner of his mouth turning up into a smile. “Yeah, definitely. We should uh… do it again sometime?”

I nod enthusiastically. “Definitely.”

We just look at each other, fidgeting awkwardly.Is he gonna kiss me or not?!

I blow out a breath, turning to slide my key into the door. I push it open, take a little step inside, and turn back around. “Thanks again for dinner. I’m really glad we did this.”

Connor takes a cautious step toward me, so he’s standing halfway in the doorway. “Me too.”

I smile. He smiles. I blush.

Man, this is awkward.

“Well, uh… goodnight,” Connor breathes, staring at me longingly.

I wet my lips with my tongue, trying to give him the signal. Lean a little closer.

“Goodni…”

He cuts me off by pressing his lips against mine.

Holy crap! This is happening!

My eyes fly wide in surprise, but I quickly slam them closed, bringing a hand up to touch his jaw to show him that I’m on board with this. I pout my lips, gently parting them to kiss him back.

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