Never Close Enough (6 page)

Chapter Eight

Porter

   Porter had spent the day doing anything he could think of to keep himself busy, but nothing he did could keep his mind off of Ella.  He thought about everything from the way she smelled, to the way he instinctively wanted to protect her, but mostly he thought about how crazy it was that he felt any of this three days after meeting her.  As he pulled up to her house, he definitely started to feel a little nervous.  He couldn’t remember the last time a date had been this important to him, or a woman, for that matter.  He knew Ella was different; he could feel it.  He was a few minutes early, but got out of his car and headed to her door.  He stopped as he saw his reflection in the window by her front door and did a check to make sure he looked all right.  He hadn’t spent a whole lot of time getting ready but he was confident he looked acceptable.  He had chosen his dark jeans, a white shirt, and a black suit jacket.  It was simple, but he really didn’t have the tolerance for anything fancy.  Besides, he was sure if he was going anywhere with Ella, no one would be looking at him anyway. He made it to her door and rang the bell.  He listened for any indication that she was coming and eventually heard the tell-tale sound of heels on stairs.  A few seconds later she opened the door and Porter felt as if the floor had dropped out from under him.

   It was over for him and he knew it.  Ella stood before him, and unlike any other woman he’d ever seen.  She managed to be absolutely sexy, thoroughly beautiful, and was completely unaware of it.  She looked at him and he knew she w
aiting for his reaction, hoping he approved of her.  He slowly let his eyes roam from her head, all the way to her feet and up again.   Porter managed to clear his throat and say, “You’re going to kill me with that dress, Ella.”  She blushed and then to add insult to injury, she did a turn.

   “It’s just a dress, Porter.  Is it ok for what we’re doing tonight?” She said as she finished her spin.  Porter wasn’t sure how to answer, because every thought he was having started and ended with her body, and what
her dress did to it. 

   “You look amazing.  I’m not even sure amazing covers it.”  Porter saw the familiar pink rush to Ella’s cheeks and decided it was best to just leave instead of standing on the porch and staring at her all night.  “You ready to go?”

“Yep.  Where are we going?”

   “I thought we could go out for dinner and drinks.  Ever been to Inn at the Spanish Head?”  He saw Ella smile.

   “I haven’t been there myself, but I remember when I was younger my parents would go away for the weekends to the coast and they would stay there.  I always thought it sounded grown-up and fancy.”

   “Well, it has a really nice restaurant.  Hopefully it will live up to your expectations.”  He waited for Ella to lock the door and then they walked to his truck.  He o
pened the door for her and then after she was safely inside, he closed the door and went to his side.  As his truck made its way onto the main road Porter stole a glance over at Ella and felt himself smiling.  She was looking out of her window at the ocean and she looked completely relaxed.  Her hair was pulled around to the opposite side and from his view all he could focus on was the bare skin of her neck.  The gentle slope from behind her ear, to where her neck met her shoulder, to the delicate lace that covered her bare skin; it was all he could do to keep from running a finger along it.  He could only imagine how soft her skin felt there and he thought it probably felt a lot like silk.  The more he thought about her, the more images popped into his mind.  First his finger was along her neck, then his mouth, slowly moving along the curve she left open for him.  His thoughts were interrupted by Ella’s voice.

   “What did you do today?  Work on your boat at all?”

   “No.  I need a part, so I am waiting for it to come in.  I didn’t do a whole lot today, just kind of caught up on some stuff that I had been putting off.”  What he didn’t tell Ella was that he had spent the entire day making sure that his house was clean enough to entertain, on the off chance that they decided to go back to his house after dinner.  He hadn’t had a woman in his house for months, not even his mom, and he was pretty sure he needed to do some serious cleaning before he attempted to bring anyone over.  “What about you?”

   “Well, I wen
t to get pampered for our date, which was amazing.  I also spoke with my sister, and she’s going to come up tomorrow to stay for a night.  It’s going to be fun.  We’re going to be total girls, and watch movies, and eat junk food,” Ella said while smiling; she looked excited to spend time with her sister.

   “A little sisterly bonding?  Sounds fun.”  They chatted about a few more things before they pulled up to the restaurant.  As they walked through the parking lot Porter found his hand on the small of Ella
’s back.  He hadn’t purposefully touched her but it seemed as if he had little control over it.  His body just wanted to be close to hers.  Luckily, it didn’t seem like she was opposed to his touch because she offered him a small smile.  They walked up to the hostess Porter said, “Hi.  We have a reservation for Masters.”

   The hostess, who looked to be still in high school, looked at her clipboard and said, “I see your reservation right here and we were able to get you the table you requested.”  Ella looke
d up at Porter.

   “You requested a table?”

   “You’ll see,” was all he said in response.

   They followed the hostess and Porter watched Ella for any signs that he’d made a good choice of table.  He had asked them to reserve a table on the far wall of the
restaurant that was made of one giant picture window.  The view from the table looked out over the ocean, above a bluff.  Waves were crashing up on to the rocks below, and in just a few minutes they would be able to watch the sunset from their seats.  The restaurant had done well and even managed to light a candle on their table as he’d requested.

   “Porter,” Ella said with a voice that sounded breathy and full of wonder, “this is amazing.  I’ve never seen anything so beautiful.”  She turned to him and th
e smile on her face could have stopped his heart.  He would go to any lengths tonight to make sure he saw that smile.  He pulled out her chair and motioned for her to sit.  After they were seated, he ordered a bottle of white wine.  They were looking over their menus when he heard Ella give a small gasp.

   “Oh, wow.”  She was looking out over the water.  The sun was beginning to set over the water.  The sky had brushstrokes of red, yellow and orange, with splashes of pink mixed in.  There were a few gauzy
clouds along the horizon.  Ella rested her chin in her palm, looking as though she was content to watch the sunset all night.  He watched her, and took the opportunity to appreciate the way the orangey-red hues of the sunset were making her hair turn a golden color, which made her crystal blue eyes even more alluring and reflective.  She was so beautiful and she seemed to have no idea.

   All through dinner Porter felt at ease with Ella.  They spent the time talking and never found themselves in awkward sil
ences or lacking topics of conversation.  He asked her about college and found out that she had majored in business at the University of Oregon, which gave her the foundation she needed to open her own shop in a trendy area of Portland that was known for its small shops and boutiques.  She asked him about his college experience and he gave her the truthful answer.

   “When I graduated from high school, I never really felt like college was the right choice for me.  My mom and I had a little money from my dad
’s life insurance, but I didn’t feel like spending it all on college when I wasn’t even sure I needed to go.  I got an apprenticeship with a local carpenter, and everything just sort of fell into place.  I had spent a good portion of my high school years fixing anything that broke in the bar, or fixing problems at our house.  I was good at it, and it seemed silly to go to college.  Kids usually go to college to figure out what they want to do in life, find out what they’re good at.  I already knew.”

   “Tha
t seems like a smart choice.  It seems like you’ve got a good head on your shoulders.  Your mom probably has something to do with that,” Ella said.

   “My mom did anything and everything she could for me.  Things could have gotten really bad when my dad di
ed, but she was strong and I never felt like I was at a disadvantage for only having one parent.  I couldn’t imagine anyone doing a better job than my mom,” Porter said proudly.

   “Yeah, your mom seems amazing, but I can’t imagine what it was like to lose
your dad, that must have been hard.”

   “It was at first, and there are still times when I wish my dad was around, but we managed.” Porter felt like the conversation had taken a depressing turn and he wanted to maintain an upbeat mood.  “So tell me where
you see yourself in five years.”

   “Well,” Ella thought out loud, “I guess I would like to have a second store, somewhere local so that I could be involved, but feel like the business was growing and thriving.  I hope I am married by then, with a baby com
ing soon.” Ella smiled and dropped her head into her hands.  “Oh my gosh, I cannot believe in five years I will be thirty-five!  I am just starting to get used to being thirty.”  She raised her head and looked at Porter, laughing.

   “Thirty’s not bad.  Yo
u’ve still got time.”

   “Yeah, I know.  It all just kind of hit me when you asked.”  She took a drink of her wine.  “So, where do you see yourself in five years?  Wife? Kids?”

   “Honestly, I don’t know.  Dating’s never been a priority for me before.  I just assumed I would be an eternal bachelor.  I’m not opposed to a family, in fact,” he smiled up at Ella, “the idea becomes more appealing to me every day.  I guess I will just have to wait and see what happens.”

   “Your mom would be very disappointed if
you never gave her any grandchildren.  You can’t disappoint her,” Ella joked.

   “You’re right.  I should probably just marry the next woman that catches my eye.”

   “I’m just saying, time is passing by you, and so are women.  If you aren’t paying attention, your future wife and mother of your children could slip away and you would never be the wiser.”

   Porter looked into Ella’s eyes and said, “Trust me, once I find her, I’m not going to let her go.”

Ella

   Ella could have stayed at the restaurant wi
th Porter forever.  She couldn’t deny the warmth that had spread through her body when she saw the table he had reserved for them.  The candlelight, the sunset, it was picture perfect.  If one of her friends had described it to her, she would have rolled her eyes and thought the guy was obviously trying too hard.  But with Porter it seemed sweet and totally sexy knowing that he had thought this date through and planned ahead of time.  She was enjoying talking with him and learning about his life, and more than that, she was enjoying looking at him.  He looked amazing in his black suit jacket and dark jeans.  She was now convinced that there was no shirt or jacket in the world that could hide his masculine form, and she was willing now to give in and just ogle him. 

   Between taking bites of the delicious dinner, sipping drinks and engaging in conversation, the two of them were fully engulfed in what Ella could only describe as Dinner Table Sex.  She was finding ways to brush her hand against his, and she fe
lt him gently caress her calf under the table with his foot.  The buzzing that was coursing through her body as they sought out each other’s touch was bringing her to new levels of arousal and a slow, achy knot was forming in her core.

   She stared at his
gorgeous body, not bothering to hide the fact that she liked what she saw, and she knew that he was enjoying his view as well.  When did dating become this much fun?  When she and Kyle started dating everything was calculated and expected.  She knew what the next step was before she took it, and knew what her role was from the get-go.  But here, with Porter, she had no idea what she was in for, and it was thrilling.   She knew that he was sweet and thoughtful, protective with a hint of aggression when challenged, sexy, and strong.  She also knew that he felt as out of his element as she did, but he was enjoying it just as much as her, if not more.

   When their waitress came to clear their dinner plates she asked if they were interested in dessert.  Ella lo
oked to Porter with raised eyebrows and he said, “I have some pretty decent cheesecake back at my place, if you want to go back there.”

   Ella’s insides seemed to implode with excitement. “I could go for some cheesecake,” she answered in a calm voiced tha
t betrayed every heartbeat that raced through her veins.

   As they were walking back to Porter’s truck, Ella felt him take her hand and link their fingers together.  It was such a small gesture, but it had caused her heart to falter slightly and a smile
spread across her face.  Who got this much excitement from holding hands?  Had she been missing something with every other man she’d been with?  She was starting to realize that every experience with Porter was going to be more exciting and exponentially more arousing than any other she’d had with other men.  And that was terrifying.  As they approached the truck Porter unlocked her side and opened her door for her.  He dropped her hand so she could climb in the truck and she ached for the warmth he took with him.  She turned to face him and before she could think too much about it, she rose up and lightly touched her lips to his.  She kissed him softly and she felt him respond to her mouth with his.  It lasted only a few seconds before she pulled away.   She opened her eyes to look up at him, “Thank you for dinner, Porter.  It was so beautiful.”

   He answered her by leaning down to take another kiss.  His lips met with hers and his hand came to cradle the side of her face.  This kiss was sweet and effective
ly made her forget everything except the feeling of his lips on hers.  She felt him ask to deepen the kiss and it was all she could do to remember to breathe.  He now had both hands on her, pulling her into the kiss, caging her in, and she loved it.  Their tongues were flirting with each other and when she instinctively nibbled on his lower lip she heard a masculine groan escape from him.  He pushed her back up against his truck as he took the kiss even deeper.

   She reached her hands around his waist and
up his back.  She could feel all the hard muscle she’d known was there.  He continued to kiss her senseless and she realized that even though she had started this, she was no longer in control.  They were all hands and staggered breaths.

   He broke away
from her mouth and spread kisses from just behind her ear, down the side of her neck and she melted.  If he hadn’t been holding on to her, she would have crumpled to the ground.  “Porter,” she breathed quietly, “this is crazy.”

   “You’re bare neck has bee
n torturing me all night,” he said between kisses.

   The idea that he had been thinking about kissing her there all through dinner sent a new wave of courage through her.  She found his mouth again and this time she wanted to explore.  She kissed him with
force, running her fingers through his hair.  It felt smooth and soft between her fingers, but gave her satisfaction when she pulled on it to bring him closer.  She felt his hands move past her shoulders, down her spine and settle on the small of her back.  She gave a little moan to indicate her need for more and he moved his hands over her ass.  She could feel him pull her towards him, even though there was nowhere left for her to go.  They were as close as two people could be fully clothed in a parking lot, but she needed to be closer.

   She pulled away, breathing heavily and leaned her forehead against his, “Porter?”

   “Ella?” he breathed.

   “Can we still go back to your place?” 

   Porter exhaled loudly.  “Definitely.  Let’s go.”