Page 32 of Another Postcard

“Just wondering if it’s true.” Her head tilted as though she wanted to see me from a different angle.

“That I’m an intelligent human being?” I chuckled and grabbed my glass of water, still on the table from dinner and took a drink.

“No. If you are full of knowledge about fucking from reading Maxim and are now a veritable sex god,” she whispered.

If you’ve ever seen a “spit-take” on TV or in a movie, I hate to break it to you, but it’s rarely as over the top and hilarious as it seems, with a huge spray of liquid bursting from their mouth. It would make life a lot funnier, that’s for sure. But, in reality, it’s more likely the person will choke on what they are trying to swallow. Like I did at that moment.

I gasped in shock and inhaled most of the water in my mouth, throwing me into a choking and coughing fit. Although, Matteo, who was sitting directly across from me, did get water in the face. It just came from my glass when I jerked forward instead of being spit at. Brooklynn sat there and grinned, pounding me on the back, while Matteo wiped his face, and the rest of the table roared with laughter.

Once I could breathe and had some use of my voice, I bent my head to brush my lips over the shell of her ear while I purred. “You’ll be finding out soon enough, baby.”

I knocked on the door of Room 705 and then ran my clammy palms over my jeans. I felt like a fucking pre-pubescent teenager picking up his first date. Nervous as hell and sporting a constant erection. I was a rock star for fuck’s sake. I didn’t get nervous singing in front of millions of people but Brooklynn agrees to a date and suddenly, I’ve lost all my swagger.

The door swung open and for the second time since I met Brooklynn Hawk, I stopped breathing.

She was dressed in a snug, teal sweater that made her tits look even more mouthwatering and looked amazing against her tanned skin, a leather skirt that clung to her hips and dropped to just above her knees, and boots. Fuck-me boots. Black, leather and lace-up, with a tall, thin heel. Her hair hung down her back like an onyx waterfall and I could already feel the silky strands gliding through my fingers while our naked bodies slid together.

“You look fucking gorgeous, Brooklynn,” I praised when I finally got some air back. Her cheeks tinged with pink and she gave me a brilliant smile.

“Thank you. I could say the same of you.” Her eyes ran from the tip of my slightly messy hair, down over my black, cashmere sweater, on to my low-slung, dark, blue jeans, to my black, leather, Salvatore Ferragamo shoes. When her chocolate gaze slid back up, the hunger in them left a had all the blood in my body rushing straight to my groin.

One side of my mouth tipped up in a sardonic, lopsided smile. “I’m gorgeous, huh? I think you just dented my manhood.”

Brooklynn rolled her eyes as she stepped from the room and shut the door behind her. “You can take it, pretty boy.”

I laughed and grabbed her hand, pulling her into me for a hello kiss. Her hands slid up to link around my neck and I gripped her butt cheeks, melding our bodies tightly together. After an indeterminable amount of time, I lifted my head a few centimeters from hers and whispered, “We have reservations. . .or, we could skip dinner, stay here, and devour each other.”

“Um,” she blinked a few times, seeming not quite focused on my words. “Dinner, please. At the restaurant,” she clarified. I put on my best puppy dog look and she laughed, then moved one hand from the back of my neck, down to my ass and pinched it before slipping out of my embrace and walking backward toward the elevator.Pace yourself, Matthews, it’s gonna be a long night.

We strolled hand in hand to a small bistro near the hotel. When I made the reservation, I specifically asked for a quiet, out of the way table with as much privacy as possible. I didn’t want anything distracting or interrupting us except our food. They led us to a table for two, tucked in a corner, near a roaring fire. The lights were dimmed and candles flickered in the centerpieces around the room. I’d never been there, but it was everything people had said it was when I looked up romantic, local restaurants.

A young blonde woman hustled up to the table, her eyes as wide as saucers as she tried not to stare at me. “Um, w—what can I get for you this evening?” she squeaked as she whipped out a small pad of paper and a pen. She dropped her eyes to it so she wasn’t as obvious, staring up through her lashes instead. I almost laughed, but I could tell she was trying to remain professional. Brooklynn’s eyes twinkled with amusement, but she clearly didn’t want to hurt the girl’s feelings, so she kept her voice straight when she ordered roast chicken with sautéed vegetables and a glass of wine.

“Make it two.” I smiled as I handed her our menus and she stumbled while backing up. Her face flushed bright red and she spun around, practically flying back to the kitchen.

Once she had disappeared, Brooklynn bubbled with laughter, and I joined her. “Poor girl,” she sympathized. “It’s easy to be dazzled by a Levi Matthews’ smile.” I grinned shamelessly at her, hoping for a similar reaction. She snickered, but that sweet shade of pink returned to her cheeks and she bit her bottom lip. She was adorable and. . . so fuckable, it was slowly killing me.

“Baby”—I stretched an arm across the table and laced the fingers of our hands together—“now that you’ve agreed to date me…” I trailed off when I saw the stunned look on her face.

“Date you?” she sputtered. “I agreed to a date, I never said we were a couple. I mean you’re—and there’s the band—and I don’t know if I’m ready.”

I frowned, frustrated that we seemed to be sliding backward. “Brooklynn,” I said firmly, “I’ve let you steer this relationship every step of the way and I haven’t minded. I’ve loved every moment I was able to be with you, getting to know you, and seeing how truly amazing you are. But, now I’m taking over. It’s my turn to get in the driver’s seat because I refuse to let you take us in reverse. Why are you fighting so hard to keep from moving forward?”

She dropped her gaze to her lap, her lip again being worried between two pearly white teeth. I used my free hand to tug it out and then caressed her cheek and chin, before putting pressure underneath to force her head up.

“Levi,” she sighed. “I’ve only ever truly trusted one person in my life. Learning to let in another person or several, is a monumental task. But, as safe as I’ve been in my little trust bubble of two, I was also incredibly lonely. I know it seems like I’m fighting you, but I’m not. I’m simply fighting my own natural instinct to crawl back into the safety of my shell. Moving away from my hometown was the biggest leap I’ve ever taken and I was still reeling from the vertigo when you first started pursuing me and I couldn’t handle the thought of it all falling apart if you and I went terribly awry. My world has righted itself since then and I really do want the next leap to be with you. I promise. But, it will take some getting used to. So, you’ll have to be patient with me because for every ten steps we make in the right direction, I’m determined enough to only retreat a half step before closing the distance again.”

Her face was so earnest, her eyes brimming with hope and resolve, it was the most beautiful she’d ever looked to me. Something in my heart shifted, like a boulder had rolled away and the space opened up and filled with strong emotions. Brooklynn wasn’t ready to hear about them, which was okay with me for the moment, because I wasn’t quite ready to name them. Still, I mentally acknowledged that they were there.

“I can do that, baby. I’ll be whatever you need.” I meant it. Every. Fucking. Word. My head cleared, as though sunshine poured into every nook and crevice and there was not a shadow of doubt in my mind. Brooklynn was it for me. The realization pumped energy through my veins. Unfortunately, it sent it hurtling straight to my dick. Fuck. I hoped she was ready to take that step. Every day I woke up wondering if my balls had permanently turned blue.

She beamed at me, only breaking my stare when our waitress returned with our meals. The girl stuttered through asking if we needed anything else, then scurried away. Brooklynn looked longingly at the basket of freshly baked bread as she dragged her salad closer to her.

I almost smiled at her forlorn expression, but instead, I hailed down the next server I saw and asked them to take it from the table, earning me a grateful smile. Brooklynn was, by no means, one of those girls who stayed thin by eating nothing. She loved food and I enjoyed watching her eat. The music industry isn’t as judgmental as Hollywood and the acting world. Still, any job that puts you in the spotlight can be rough on your image. So, she was smart about what she put in her mouth and I knew she ran frequently and hit the gym a couple of times a week.

She’d found a balance between what made her happy and what others expected from her. That confidence was just another on a long list of things that made her so fucking sexy. I picked up my fork and stabbed a piece of lettuce, but paused with it halfway to my mouth. Brooklynn was removing the onions from the top of her salad and for some reason, I found it cute as hell. “Not a fan of onions?” She shook her head, peered into the bowl and then nodded with satisfaction and picked up her fork. I couldn’t help laughing. “See, now this is something I would know about you already if you’d gone out with me sooner.”

Brooklynn chuckled and took a bite, chewing and swallowing before asking, “What about you? What foods don’t you like?”

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