Page 40 of All For You
“You’re on.”
An hour later, we left the bowling alley, Derek and I both driving since we limited our beer consumption to two glasses each. I had originally planned on only drinking one, but we stayed until midnight when the bowling alley closed, which was a long-enough time for two beverages.
Jenna gushed about Aspen’s and my new relationship the entire way to the car, and as I settled my date in her seat, her best friend exclaimed she wanted to be the maid-of-honor at our wedding. She was getting a little ahead of herself, but the thought of marrying Aspen didn’t scare me the way it did when it came to Vanessa.
During the drive home, I thought back to my ex and our engagement. I had never actually asked her to marry me. Instead, she wanted to live with me in my house and said we could only move forward like that by getting married.
The next day, she had a ring on her finger that she purchased with my credit card and gushed to everyone that I proposed to her over dinner the night before. I went with it, because I was happy with Vanessa, but looking back, I realized I was merely complacent.
Looking across the car, I caught Aspen’s tipsy smile and returned it. “Have fun?”
“It was the freaking best. How’s your shoulder? I saw you wincing toward the end.”
Damn her for being so observant.
“It’s okay. I probably need to ice it later.”
We exited the car together, something that bothered me more than it should have. I wanted to be the one to open her door for her. When we reached her porch, I hoped she would ask me inside, but I also didn’t want to overstep. Everything we were doing was fake, and even though I spent the night with her… twice, it was because of unforeseen circumstances.
Bugs danced around the porch light next to the door, buzzing whenever they got too close to the heat.
I pulled Aspen into the shadows. “I had fun tonight.”
Smiling up at me, she replied, “Me too, even if itwasall for show.”
“Yeah,” I agreed in jest. None of it felt like a show, and it was only the first date. “Maybe on the next one, we’ll go to a cricket farm or something.”
She reminded me of a tarsier, with her eyes widening and pupils shrinking to the size of a pinpoint.
“You do not joke about that.”
Chuckling, my body shook, jostling my sore shoulder. One stupid tweak while I was showing off at the bowling alley, and now I was worried about my throwing arm. It had been worth it though.
“Sorry. I couldn’t resist.”
“Well, goodnight, Owen.”
“Goodnight, Aspen.”
I followed after she stepped over to the door, walked inside, and closed it behind her. I stood at the threshold, contemplating my next move.
The light on the porch clicked off either due to the timer or Aspen flipping a switch, and I took that as my cue to leave.
Only… I didn’t want to go back to my rental. Not yet, at least. I reached for the knob and twisted. The door was still unlocked. “Fuck it.”
Once I opened the door, there she was… waiting.
Chapter Eleven – Aspen
My entire body shook as I contemplated rushing back out to flag Owen down. I was so new to dating that I didn’t know the etiquette for first dates and the bases, but I knew I wanted more from him. The kisses we shared earlier were just a taste of our chemistry, and I needed another. I was hungry for it.
I should’ve probably worried he’d pull some stupid prank with garlic or fish breath, but even then, his kiss would’ve been better than any of the ones I had before.
I’d just turned around at the entrance after depositing my bag on the small console table, when Owen stepped inside. He mumbled a few unintelligible words, and then his body was pressed against mine.
My arms instinctively wrapped around his neck as his hands came up to cup my face. His thumbs pressed against my jawline, tilting my head in whichever direction he craved.
I rocked against him as his tongue swirled with mine, feeling the bulge in his pants against my stomach.
