Playing the Field (Hot-Lanta Series) (15 page)

             
“Thank you.”

             
Marc just smiled and tried not to notice how good she looked in his sweatshirt. Her hair was drying in beautiful waves and the sunset was making her look even more gorgeous than before. He was not going to survive this night.

             
He started a fire and sat in the patio loveseat across from the fire and watched the flames dance around. Patty grabbed them another beer and some marshmallows. She was about to sit in the chair next to him when she looked at him and sat in the loveseat with him.

             
“It seems warmer over here.” She said while shrugging her shoulders.

             
“Nice excuse to just sit closer to me.” Marc joked but wished was true.

             
“Maybe.” Was all she said. Marc’s pulse leapt into high gear. Ok be cool, just relax and act like her closeness or innuendos were not affecting him the least.

             
She leaned over the side of her chair, grabbed two sticks and placed marshmallows on them. She handed a stick to Marc and they both stuck them in the fire and watched the marshmellows start to puff out from the heat.

             
“I meant to get supplies for s’mores but forgot.”

             
“That’s alright sometimes just a marshmallow is all I need. Oh look out, you set yours on fire.” Patty ripped her stick from the fire and blew out her smoldering mallow. She grabbed the charred outer part, popped it in her mouth and stuck the gooey center back in the fire.

             
“I like to torch them and eat them.” She said with a smile.

             
“Fascinating, I would have guessed you would like the slow roasting of a mallow instead.”

             
“I do like it slow but sometimes I’m just in the mood for it to be fast so I can quench that need you know?”

             
Marc had to swallow hard. He knew they were not talking about roasting marshmallows anymore. Patty brought her feet up to the chair and hugged her knees while she torched her marshmallow over and over again. They ate about four mallows each and then set their sticks down when they were done. They didn’t talk much, just enjoyed the fire.

             
Marc noticed Patty was still a little chilly.

             
“Do you want to go inside and call it a night? You seem cold still.”

             
“No I’m enjoying myself.” She said and then saddled up next to him lifting his arm over her head, resting it on her shoulder and then placed her head on his chest. Marc was in heaven. He was sitting next to his dream girl and she was allowing him to hold her. Finally, he was able to share a little bit of intimacy with Patty. He pulled her in closer and she didn’t pull away. She just snuggled up closer.

             
“Thank you for coming over today and making my day so much better.” He whispered into her ear.

             
She looked up at him with those big blue eyes and kissed him on the cheek.

“You’
re welcome, thank you for being such a great friend.”

             
Poof, just like that. Marc’s balloon was deflated.

                                          ***

             
Connor pulled up to Lucy’s apartment. She lived in a nice complex in Decatur which was convenient for him since she only lived about five minutes away depending on traffic. When Lucy sat down at the table across from him and Winnie at the restaurant, he could not take his eyes off her. She was beautiful, dark and mysterious. He just had to get to know her and he could not be more thankful when Winnie pegged her in the head with a carrot because it gave him an opportunity to talk to her which turned out better than he expected. She had a great sense of humor and her voice was so tender and sweet, Connor could not get enough of it.

             
He decided to take her to a Mexican restaurant he loved and then to the empty space across from the restaurant where there were always drinks and dancing. He needed an excuse to get close to her and dancing was a great one.

             
He knocked on her door, waiting patiently for her to answer. He was just about to knock again when her door flung open.

Connor’s breath fell short from his lungs
. She was wearing by far the sexiest dress he had ever seen. It was black and skin tight with a neckline that left nothing to the imagination. Her breasts were spilling out the top, begging to be touched. She wore her hair down curled around her face and her glasses were nonexistent which made him a little sad because he liked them. He realized he had been staring at her for an awkward amount of time and decided he should say something.

             
He cleared his throat and said, “You look, excuse my language, fucking amazing.”

             
She gave him one gorgeous smile and said, “So do you. Who knew a pair of black pants and nicely fitted button up shirt can turn a girl on?”

             
He walked into her apartment and noticed she didn’t move, so they were inches from each other.

             
“So you’re turned on right now? Because I can barely move I’m so turned on.”

             
“Yes, but don’t get any ideas. You have an apology to make up to me remember?” She said while playing with one of the buttons on his shirt.

             
“Then I would suggest removing your hands from my shirt because in two seconds I’m about to forget about all of our prior plans and rip that dress off of you.”

             
He felt a little empty when she quickly removed her hands but then she said with a wink, “Maybe later then.”

She grabbed her purse and keys and led the way out the door.

Maybe later indeed.

                            ***

              Lucy didn’t know what got into her but she liked it. Nothing ever happened for her when she waited around in the background hoping someone would notice her or realize she existed. No thanks to Austin. She decided that she was going to put herself out there and if people did not like it that was their problem.

             
Connor was more handsome then she remembered. She was tempted to just take him right there on the floor in her hallway and skip the whole evening but she very much looked forward to being wined and dined. She hadn’t been on a nice date in quite some time, thanks to waiting around for Austin to take his head out of his ass. Ok stop, she was not going to think about him anymore.

             
They arrived at the restaurant and Connor came around to her side of the car, opening the door for her. He held out his hand to help her out. When she got out, he didn’t let go of her hand instead he guided her to the entrance. She didn’t mind holding his hand one bit; it was masculine and comforting at the same time.

             
“Do you have a reservation?” asked the hostess.

             
“Yes, Cartwright table for two.” Connor said.

             
“Oh yes, we will have your table ready in a second Mr. Cartwright. You are welcome to sit at the bar as you wait if you would like.”

             
The bar was packed but Connor led her over there anyway. He found an empty stool and made her sit in it.

             
“What are you drinking, love?” Connor asked.

             
“Shall we have some margaritas? Blend into the atmosphere?”

             
“Good thinking.” Connor said winking at her.

             
They got their drinks and talked about why he moved to Atlanta. He wanted to be closer to Winnie and his parents. Apparently his parents, Marcia and Jim, were nervous about Molly and thought she might need a little bit more support. Lucy understood their reasoning since Molly seemed like a terrible mother.

They also talked about his new job that he got working for the Atlanta Falcons doing corporate marketing. For some reason his job was a bit of a turn on for her but she had no clue why
and she wasn’t going to tell him because he didn’t need his ego to be boosted any more than it was.

             
Finally, they were seated at their table which had a nice view of the garden that separated the restaurant from the building that housed the dancing. She could not wait to get on the dance floor. She was known between Jane and Patty as the dancer. Lucy always let loose when it came to music and she could not wait to show off her moves.

             
They both ordered their food, Lucy asked for the enchiladas and Connor got the steak quesadilla. While they waited for their food, they snacked on some chips and guacamole.

             
“You know, Mexican has got to be one of my favorite foods besides Greek.” Lucy said.

             
“A girl after my own heart, although for me it goes Mexican then Greek followed up by American which to me is burgers and fries.”

             
“Oh I agree completely. Now when we go out again, yea that’s right I already said we were going out again you better not take me to an Italian place.”

             
Connor raised an eyebrow. “Just so you know, I have already planned out our future after I saw you reading your kindle under a shade tree so second date is already worked out in my head. But I must ask why no Italian?”

             
Lucy could not help but get giddy when he said he planned out date number two already. Lucy really liked Connor and hoped that he was not just playing her and was actually as genuine as he seemed.

             
“Don’t get me wrong, I love Italian but anyone can make Italian food. Why do I want to go somewhere and eat pasta that I can throw in a pot and make myself? No, I want to go to places where they put magical ingredients in the food that are not marketed out to the masses. For instance this guacamole, I cannot find this in any store, nor can I replicate it at home therefore I choose to enjoy it at a restaurant.”

             
“Oddly enough, I agree with you. I never thought about it that way. Although, I would never say that to an Italian. They would chew your head off.”

             
“Oh I know.” She said. “But I know I can trust you to keep my secret.”

             
“That you can, love.” Just as Connor took her hand in his their food arrived. There will be time for hand holding later, she thought.

             
They finished their meals which Lucy could not stop raving about. How come she had never been to this restaurant before and Connor just moved to Atlanta and knew about this gem of a place? This might be her new favorite restaurant.

             
Connor paid the bill and lifted his hand toward her. She grabbed it as he pulled her in closer and led her out to the garden.

             
“Are you too full to do some dancing?” he asked.

             
“Not at all, I’ve been waiting all night to dance with you.”

             
“Same here, but just so you know I have one mean two step.”

             
Lucy laughed as they proceeded to the next building. As soon as they opened the door the music hit her like a brick wall. It was a combination of salsa and techno. Lucy was in heaven.

She grabbed Connor’s hand and led him out to the dance floor. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her in close. She placed her hands behind Connor’s neck and started moving with the music. She lost herself completely.

              She shimmied up and down Connor as if he was her own personal stripper pole, flinging her hair from side to side to the beat of the music. As she shimmied back up Connor’s body she felt his excitement in his pants, it was unmistakable and it was big.

She loved that she turned him on. She turned
her body, so her back was toward him and backed her ass up into him rubbing her back side in his protruding crotch. She reached up from behind him and grabbed his neck still moving her pelvis.

             
He whispered in her ear. “I don’t know how much longer I can dance with you. You have me so turned on I feel like I’m poking the other dancers with my dick.”

             
She laughed turning around running her hands up his chest. He ran his hands down her back and cupped her ass squeezing it gently.

People were bumping into them and spilling t
heir drinks everywhere but Connor and Lucy didn’t care. They were connected and in their own world. They moved to the music together equally, trying to turn the other one on more until they were about to burst on the dance floor.