Unforgettable (29 page)

“Thank you for the wonderful dinner, Jules. Now I’ll be spoiled and expecting you to whip up something every time I come over.”

Oh my god, was he planning on coming by a lot? I wasn’t sure I would be able to handle that. The stress of tonight was almost more than I could take. He was just too good looking for my peace of mind.

“My pleasure. Thank you for helping me out with this web stuff. I really appreciate it.” We were making our way to the door. I was trying to move him along before I put my foot in my mouth again.

“I’ll call you when I have your website almost ready, that way we can still make changes before you go live.”

“That sounds great. I’ll talk to you soon, then.” I smiled at him as he opened the front door. “Bye.”

“Goodbye Juliet.” He leaned down and gave me a chaste kiss on the cheek but there was nothing chaste about the look in his eyes when he straightened back up. My mouth dried up as he turned and walked out the door and down the sidewalk. All I could do was stand there with my hand over the spot where his lips touched me. I might be in trouble.

There’s a First Time for Everything

           
I looked at the clock and could hardly believe it was already time for Ethan to get here. Where had the afternoon gone? I was still trying to decide what top to put on with my skirt. I ended up grabbing a green v-necked summer sweater and some black peep toe heels. I didn’t usually like to walk around in high heels but I wanted to look sexy for Ethan tonight. This would be our first date out in public and I was as excited as if I were in high school about to go the prom.

           
The doorbell chimed as I stood gazing at myself and trying to decide if I needed jewelry. My stomach clenched in anticipation of seeing him but at the same time I felt incredibly guilty. This was already my third “date” with Ethan and we were keeping our budding relationship a secret from Carrie. It just seemed too weird to tell her that I was going out with her little brother, not to mention the fact that we were kissing. It was strange how excited I got when I thought about him. He was the opposite of the men I usually went for. For one thing, he was a younger man. I just wasn’t attracted to younger men usually. I always looked for the older, more distinguished gentleman. Wait, that sounds like I’m looking for love at a retirement home. What I really mean is someone older than me. Okay, I’m going to admit that it perhaps has something to do with having daddy issues, or more precisely, lack of a daddy issues. The other reason was Carrie. I just couldn’t get over the fact that I didn’t think she would approve of me and Ethan seeing each other socially without her present.

           
Lucy was barking and jumping around so I knew it was someone she knew, but I looked out the peephole to make sure it was Ethan before flinging the door open with a smile, all thoughts of guilt flying out of my head.

           
“Hello Beautiful.”
 
Oh boy, my lady parts were already tingling. I wasn’t sure what that meant for the rest of the night, but it was starting out pretty darned good.

           
“Hi yourself.” I wasn’t comfortable using a term like “sexy” or “hot stuff” to him yet. I had actually never used those terms on anybody I had dated. It just seemed so fake to me. I stepped back to allow him in and as he walked past me I caught a whiff of his aroma. Oh lord. He smelled like a combination of rosemary and sex. Now, I know that doesn’t sound like something that would normally be appealing but attached to Ethan it was the most alluring scent I had ever had the privilege to inhale.

           
“Are you ready to go now or would you like a drink first?” There was no harm in being a good hostess. He looked over at me with a grin.

           
“I would love a drink. The restaurant isn’t going anywhere and I’d be happy to have you all to myself for a little while longer.”

           
I now knew where the term “silver tongued devil” came from and how it applied to Ethan. He knew exactly what to say to make me want to hole up here with him for the rest of the night. It wasn’t just the words themselves but the way he said them. Yep, my panties were already damp. I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. Despite my agreeing to date Ethan and see how things go, I was still trying to take it slowly. These new and strong feelings still felt completely inappropriate. I knew it was totally my own hang up. I got that. Women older than me went out with people younger than Ethan every day. It was just that whole Carrie thing. No, really it was a Ross thing. I didn’t want Carrie’s parents to know I was dating their son, either. I didn’t want there to be any awkwardness with Ellen or Robert. They really were better parents to me than my own mother had been these past years. I felt completely welcome into their family and I didn’t want anything to mess that up.

           
I smiled at him and he leaned over to give me a hello kiss. It started out as a “hello” kiss, anyway. By the time he took his lips off of mine I was panting and in a state of high arousal.

           
“Um, okay. I’ve got some drinks in the kitchen.” Well duh, Juliet. I wasn’t going to offer him a sip from the bathroom faucet. I turned and walked into the kitchen before I could say anything else. I could feel Ethan following me which was a good thing since I was too chicken to turn around and look. Maybe this date was a bad idea after all. We hadn’t left yet so there was still time for me wiggle out of it. I went through my mental file of excuses to use. I couldn’t use headache because I would naturally have said something right when he got here. I couldn’t use the excuse of work because, not only was it Monday and my guaranteed off day, but again, I would have said something right away. It was too late to get someone to call my phone and pretend to be work, and anyway, Carrie was the person I would usually use as my caller, so that option was out. I was just going to have to be brave and go through with it.

           
I wanted to laugh at how stupid my internal monologue sounded. It wasn’t like going out with Ethan was going to be some form of torture. He was intelligent and funny, we liked the same kind of music, and let’s be honest, he was smokin’ hot.

           
“Would you like a glass of wine?”

           
“Sounds great.” I jumped when I realized he was standing only a few inches behind me.

           
“R-r-red or white?” Stuttering? Really?

           
“Whichever you prefer. Can I help you with anything?” The way he said it was full of innuendo. Where the hell did he learn to be so sexual? He was way past me on the sexual maturity scale. How had I only noticed this three weeks ago? I had been around him countless times over the years. I don’t remember
ever
noticing this level of, dare I say it, virility.

           
I opened the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of Chardonnay because I needed something cold to snap me out of this sensual haze that Ethan had me under. It was almost unreal. He had been here barely two minutes and I was ready to strip off my clothes and…well, I don’t know what I’d do next. We were standing in my kitchen and all of my sexual experiences had taken place in the confines of a bedroom.

           
I set the bottle down on the counter and pulled out the wine opener.

           
“May I?” He was holding his hand out so I gave him the opener. I reached up into the cabinet to pull out wine glasses while I surreptitiously watched him skillfully remove the cork from the bottle. I turned towards him holding the glasses and stood mutely while he poured.

           
“So where…” I said at the same time Ethan started speaking.

           
“I hope you...” We smiled and Ethan continued. “Ladies first.”

“No, that’s okay, what were you saying?”

 
“I hope you like Italian. I realize I should have asked first but there is a place that just opened up that I’ve been hearing great things about. It’s near the water.”

           
“That sounds great. It will be nice to be waited on for a change.” That was one major drawback of being a chef. I usually worked five or six nights a week so I didn’t often get the chance to go out and experience my competitors cooking.

           
I held my drink up in a toast. “To Italian food.”

           
“To women with beautiful Italian names.” He said it while staring into my eyes and I felt myself melt. We clinked our glasses together and we each took sips without breaking eye contact. Oh boy. I was in over my head. I had never been someone comfortable with sexual banter and for some reason that’s exactly what I wanted to do right now.

           
“So I can tell by your shoes that you can make the ladies happy.”
No
. No, I did not just say that. He looked down at his feet with a confused look and then back at me. I think he got my meaning by seeing the fiery blush on my face.

           
“Um. Okay.” Oh my god, why did I have a working mouth? I wished for a tornado to tear through Seattle and crush my house so that I wouldn’t have to dig myself out of the embarrassing hole my unfiltered mouth had dug. What horrible virus could cause my brain to go on the fritz? There had to be a medical reason for this humiliating verbal diarrhea.

           
I wanted to apologize but I was afraid to open my mouth for fear of what would escape.

           
“Juliet, are you trying to seduce me?” I opened and closed my mouth several times before I answered.

           
“I don’t think so.”
I don’t think so?
Why didn’t I say no?

           
He lifted a corner of his mouth up in a semi-smirk. “Too bad because it was working.”
 
Holy crap. It’s over. I give in. I took a huge gulp of my wine and set the glass down on the counter. I was feeling empowered.

           
He raised his brows as I stepped forward and closed the space between us. I gathered all my courage and reached up to Ethan’s neck, pulling him down to my level which wasn’t that far since I was wearing heels. His eyes widened as our lips made contact. I immediately closed my own eyes because I was afraid I’d lose my nerve if kept looking at him.

           
The second I opened my mouth his tongue snaked inside. I may have moaned, I’m not sure, but I am sure I pressed myself up against his chest. After that everything else happened in fast forward. Ethan’s arms wrapped around me and my other hand went up to and around his back.
 

           
I was so busy trying to devour Ethan’s face with my mouth that I barely registered the fact that his hands had moved down from my waist and were now touching the bare skin of my thighs.
Thank goodness I had chosen to wear a skirt tonight.
I moved my own hands from his neck down his back, pulling him even closer to me if that were possible, while he seemed to be walking me backwards. He didn’t stop until my butt was pressed against the island, and once it was, he grabbed me by the upper thighs and lifted me so that I was sitting on it. I immediately opened my legs so that he could stand between them.
Come to Mama.
Eww. It’s probably not such a good idea to refer to myself as Mama.

           
He separated his mouth from mine and moved to my neck. My whole body broke out in goosebumps as his lips and tongue forged a path from my collar bone up to my ear.

           
“You are so beautiful, Juliet. I could look at you all night long and never get tired of it.”
Damn, he’s good.
If he could bottle his mojo and sell it, he would be a billionaire. It wasn’t that he was just sexy, though. He made it sound so romantic that any red blooded woman would melt. I was just now realizing how powerful his presence was. He literally had it all. The whole package. He was beautiful to look at, he was intelligent, and he was fun to be around. It was grand slam as far as I was concerned and I couldn’t resist him for another second.

           
“Ethan, I want you. Now.” He pulled back a little at my declaration and looked me in the eyes.