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Meg’s breath caught in her throat. She licked her lips and whispered. “Um, soon, maybe.”

My dick twitched when she bit her lower lip.

I ignored the maybe and stepped back. “Friday?” I didn’t trust myself to be so close and not kiss her. God knows I desperately wanted to.

She hesitated and furrowed her brows. “No. I-”

I straightened up and stepped back. “No?” Why did that hurt so much? I studied my boots so she couldn’t see my disappointment.

“No, not No like never No.” She stumbled over her words in a rush to get them out. “No, as in not Friday. I told Beth I’d watch Chase.”

“Oh.” was all I could say as relief flooded my senses. I took a deep, calming breath and smiled. She wasn’t saying no.

I could hear AJ in my head, “Dude, for fuck’s sake, ask her out already.” I listened to his advice and asked her out properly.

“Meg, will you go out with me on a proper date next Saturday?”

“Yes.” Her voice was barely above a whisper as she stared at my boots. I lifted her chin so I could see her eyes when she answered. “Meg?” I didn’t want to question whether she really wanted to go on a date, or if she said yes because she was afraid to say no.

Meg met my eyes. “Yes, I’d like that.” Her voice was soft and genuine.

We stood there for a few seconds, not saying anything. I’m sure we looked like a couple of awkward teenagers on our first date. “I, uh, I should get back and help clean up.”

I reached for her door handle, moving close enough to kiss her again. Her cucumber mint shampoo was intoxicating. You can’t kiss her.But I wanted to more than I wanted my next breath. Meg drew in a ragged breath and I gave up. One hand moved to her waist, as the other moved to her chin. I gently turned her until we were facing each other. I moved slowly, giving her the option to pull away. To say no.

She didn’t.

Demonstrating control I didn’t know I possessed, I asked, “God, Meg, do you have any idea how badly I want to kiss you right now?”

Her breath caressed my lips as she whispered yes. It was the only permission I needed.

I leaned in.

A horn blared as my lips touched Meg’s. She jumped back and whipped her head toward the sound. I dropped my hand from her face.

The moment was gone. Ruined.

Meg was still staring in the direction the horn had come from. “Hey,” I turned her face towards me, but her eyes stayed focused on the road. “Meg, are you okay?”

“Yeah, it just scared me a bit.” I could see the fear in her eyes when she finally looked at me. “I should probably get going.”

I knew I couldn’t recover the moment. Which was probably for the best. Meg deserved to be kissed properly and was worth waiting for.

“Alright.” I said as I stepped back and let my hand fall from her waist.

Meg opened her mouth and I could tell by her worried expression she was going to apologize. She had a bad habit of apologizing for things that weren’t her fault.

I nudged her under the chin. “Hey, no apologies.”

I leaned in and gave her a chaste peck on the cheek. “Goodnight.” Then I stepped back and opened her door.

“Goodnight.” Meg flashed me a smile as she tossed her bags onto the passenger seat.

I held the door open, one hand on the roof. “Text me when you get home.” I didn’t wait for a reply. I pushed the door closed and waited for the click of her door lock before stepping back.

“Dude, where’d she park, Canada?” AJ called out from his perch on a ladder. I was about to risk my mother’s wrath by telling him to fuck off, but he kept talking. “Or did you decide to bail on helping us take down the decorations?” I flipped AJ off before walking over to my mom to ask what she wanted me to do.

She’d probably want to talk before putting me to work. She saw me with Meg and her mom intuition was stronger than any cop or investigator’s instincts.

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