Page 53 of I Choose You
I rounded the corner and had to physically stop myself from ramming my head against the wall. Where did these nerves suddenly come from? I didn’t hesitate to grab her face and shove my tongue down her throat a week ago, and now I couldn’t ask her out? I could hear Claire talking to her mother as I walked away. Grabbing my phone from my pocket, I shot off a quick text to the ongoing group chat with the guys.
Me: How does someone ask a girl out and not feel like an idiot? Or like a little kid?
Me: Asking for a friend.
Wyatt: Fuck it if I know. Just show up at her house until you get to the point that you don’t even leave?
Wes: Like a man. Look her in the eyes. Tell her you’re into her and that you want to take her out to dinner. Don’t hesitate. Don’t fidget.
Seb: Claire? Will you be my girlfriend? Pretty please? And let me hold your hand?
Me: Fuck off
Luke: Pains me to say, but I’m with Wes. Just be honest. Keep it simple.
Wyatt: Lead in with a question. What are you doing tonight? Can I take you out to dinner?
Luke: If she asks, is this a date? say yes. If she just says ‘oh sure, that sounds great’ take the win.
Seb: And if she says ‘sure, let’s see who else wants to join us…my condolences.
Me: I feel like I’m in high school all over again. This is so dumb.
Wyatt: She likes you, brother. Don’t overthink it.
Me: Alright. Thanks guys. Except to Seb. To Seb I say
Seb:
I felt the air shift around me, electricity racing up my skin. Claire was standing in the doorway. Her blue eyes swept over me quickly, but not so quick that I missed it. The top of her hair was pulled off her face, but the bottom was left down in messy waves. She was absolutely beautiful.
“Hey, did you need something?” she asked.
It was easy. Just ask her to dinner. We’d already had dinner together. This didn’t need to be a big deal.
“Have dinner with me,” I blurted out. “I mean, if you’re not busy later, you should have dinner with me. If you want. Shit. One second.” I had to close my eyes and take a breath.Get it together, Wilder.“Claire,” I breathed out, meeting her eyes, “would you like to have dinner together tonight?”
Her lips parted in surprise. Seconds felt like minutes as she stood in the doorway. My throat felt like it was closing as I waited for her to respond. “Sure,” she said hesitantly. I let out the breath I didn’t realize I was holding. Relief flowed through my entire body. “But…” My back stiffened.Please don’t ask for others to join us.Fucking Seb for getting that thought in my head. He would never let me live that down. “I’m already cooking a roast for dinner tonight in my slow cooker. Do you mind eating in at my place?”
“That sounds great.” I could feel a stupid grin splitting my face, but I couldn’t help it.
“Okay.” She tried to tuck her hair behind her ear, but she didn’t have any in her face. She seemed nervous, and that made me weirdly happy. If she had played it cool, I wouldn’t know if she knew that this was a date. But she knew. She knew, and she still said yes.
* **
Snow crunched under my boots as I walked up Claire’s walkway. We hadn’t gotten much snow; we usually didn’t. The ocean effect meant that summers were cooler than our inland neighbors, but our winters were milder too. It had been years since we saw snow that we measured in feet. Usually, it was one to three inches… which was what we were dealing with now.
I rapped on the front door and waited for Claire to answer. A couple of seconds later, she opened the door and led me inside.
Since she’d been staying here, it was gradually becoming more and more homey. Claire had a throw blanket laid across the back of the couch, some decorative pillows with a lotus flower on one and “namaste” written across the other. A yoga mat was curled up and propped next to the ficus tree that definitely wasn’t here when Wyatt lived here.
“Hey. It smells delicious in here. Is there anything I can do to help?” I asked.
“No. Everything’s already done, except for the dinner rolls, but they have…” She peeked over her shoulder at the timer on the oven. “Four minutes left, and then we’ll be ready.” She moved into the kitchen and started gathering plates and silverware. I stayed back and took her in as she moved around the space. She had showered when she got home, her blonde hair styled and tamed. I loved the windblown chaos that she usually rocked, but this was beautiful too. Her jeans hugged her hips and ass, showcasing every delectable curve. Her cropped sweater left just a peek of skin showing around her slim abdomen.
“You look beautiful,” I told her. She looked at me over her shoulder, her eyes trailing down and then back up. I had a feeling she liked what she saw. The heat in her eyes was a boost to my confidence.
“You don’t look so bad, yourself.” She smiled slyly. It wasn’t a smile I had seen before on her. I had seen her wide, laughing smiles, her genuine, happy ones. I had seen her smiles that didn’t light up her eyes, even the shy smiles when she met someone new. This smile though, this one held desire and lust, and I was here for it.
