Page 20 of Hello Kitten

He hangs up, leaving me breathless and overwhelmed. I shouldn’t do it. This is another out. I can take it. I can drive away right now and make it clear that we can’t do this, but my stomach clenches at the idea of picking him up.

My heart flutters in my chest a little at flipping things around. I want to take him to the wedding. I want to surprise my family by showing up with someone successful, confident, capable.

I groan, let my head fall back, then turn to go to his place. Every moment of the drive, I keep second guessing it until I’m in his driveway.

What am I doing? Why am I not doing it faster? If I can’t say no, if Idon’t wantto say no, then why do I keep hesitating with the ‘yes’? It’s driving me insane. I unlock the car, unbuckle, then just sit there, staring at the steering wheel until my passenger door opens.

Jumping with a squeak, I look over and find Adrian climbing into my car. His hair neatly styled as he wears a dark button up with black slacks. His gaze finds mine and I know I’m screwed. He has this playfulness there, glinting at me and a blush creeps on my cheeks. He tosses his bag in the back seat and looks at me with a smirk. “I was impatient.”

“You ... you ...”

“You’ve been sitting in my driveway for three minutes, kitten. All you had to do was ring the doorbell. What’s wrong?” His hand strokes over mine, pulling my hand to his lap.

“This is insane, you know that? You’re my professor,” I breathe.

He pulls my hands up, kisses across my knuckles as his eyes burn mine. “Not this weekend. This weekend, I’m your date. I’m your partner. And most importantly, I’m the man who’s going to remind you how to behave by punishing you for being so sassy.”

I stare at him, remembering his hand on my ass, remembering his growl filling my ear. His hands on me, his body against mine, panting, moaning ... fuck. I shudder and Adrian tilts forward. “If you’d been a good girl, you’d get a kiss for being sweet enough to drive, but ...”

Leaning towards him, forcing him to edge back. I chew my bottom lip. Where’s Beth’s demanding and sure voice in my head when I need it?

“Put on your seatbelt, kitten. You’re going to be safe on this drive and stay focused on this drive. No matter what,” he says.

“What do you mean “no matter what?” All we’re going to do is talk about what we should know about each other so you can pass as my boyfriend. Detailing one kinky night isn’t going to do it,” I grumble.

He inches closer, his minty breath fanning over my parted lips as his hand grazes over my breast, then I feel something tighten over my chest. I take a ragged breath and Adrian laughs softly. “Don’t worry, kitten, I’m not tying you up. At least, not yet.”

“Adrian,” I breathe.

I hear the buckle click, then his hand is on my thigh. “As nice as it is to hear my name, if you don’t head out, we’re going to get distracted.”

“I’m not getting distracted,” I defend.

“Don’t tease,” he warns.

We don’t talk until I’m on the highway. Instead, I’m stuck in mental warfare. The yes and no bounce back and forth in my head until I’m dizzy. I make myself focus on the cars in front of me and the lines.

I shouldn’t have driven over. I still haven’t given him a yes, but obviously I was going to say yes since I sat in front of his house.

“Stop overthinking and tell me about you, Emily. Other than you being a very thorough reader, a great writer, sassy as hell, and very good in bed, I don’t have much to talk about,” Adrian says.

“I um, I want to work in publishing one day.” I nibble my bottom lip, not telling how I secretly want to become a published author. “My sister calls me Emmy and I hate it because it makes me sound like a little kid. My sister is the golden child which means I never live up to my parents’ expectations. My dad wants me to do something serious with my life and never forgot that I said I wanted to be a doctor when I was a kid,” I list off.

He doesn’t say anything, so I continue. I just keep talking and talking, only half aware of what I’m saying until Adrian’s big hand slides across my thigh. He digs his fingers in slightly and I step on the gas.

“Easy, Emily. Tell me good things. Normal first date things,” he instructs carefully.

“Like um ... like what?”

“Haven’t you been on a date?”

“Yes.”

“What do people talk about on dates?” he asks.

“The weather. They lie about how they’re doing, never mention exes, flirt terribly, make themselves look good while hiding all the red flags, and hope they get more than a goodnight kiss based on my experience,” I say.

“The basics, Emily. Let’s start there,” he says as his hand moves further up my thigh.

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