Tate (11 page)

“I’d like you to make a dress for my date.”

I felt panic slowly crawl into my gut, and then noticed the crooked-ass, dimpled smile that took over the serious look on his face as I asked, “Who would that be?”

“You. I’d like you to go with me.”

“Are you having ribs or the brisket?” I asked, changing the subject. I wasn’t ready for the commitment my answer involved.

“Don’t do that, Maisie. You don’t have to answer me yet. Just think about it.”

“Are you having the ribs or the brisket?” I asked again. When he wouldn’t stop watching me, I said, “You told me I didn’t have to answer yet.”

“I know what you’re thinking,” he said.

I heard the bark in my voice as I asked, “Do you?”

“I think so. It was that night.” His response was calming, but it made my emotions bubble to the surface.

“It was,” I said drawing the back of my hand across my eyes to wipe away the tears that were about to start. “I have to gather my thoughts. Now, will you please tell me?”?

“Brisket,” he said. “Please come sit beside me.”

“You said you wanted to look at me.”

“I changed my mind.”

He rose for me to slide into the booth beside him. Settled in my seat, he slipped his arm around me, pulled me close, and kissed my forehead. 

***

Tate

I was afraid the evening would be ruined, but she just seemed to breeze right past it. When we got in the truck to leave, she turned to me with misty eyes. It was a look that broke my heart.

“Do you have to go home?” she asked.

“Do you want me to stay?”

“There you go, I ask a question and you reply by asking me another question.” Her laugh wasn’t humorous; it was more like a nervous sigh.

“Answer me, Maisie. I need to hear you say it.”

“I want you to stay. I don’t want to have sex with you. I’m noready for that,” she said quickly, “but I loved when you held me in your arms.”

“I
want
to hold you. No, Maisie, I don’t have to go home.”

She was quiet during the rest of the ride to her house. I could tell she was thinking about something, because her focus was out the passenger side window.

“Blake didn’t live here,” she said as we pulled in the driveway. “I sold the house and everything in it. I had to in order to even attempt to move forward. I let him go a while ago. I just haven’t been ready to share myself with anyone.”

“Thank you for sharing yourself with me. Something about you got inside me, and I find that I don’t I want to do anything without you.”

“Why me?”

“Because you pissed me off. You became a challenge, and as I tried to figure you out, I wanted to know more and more about you.”

She went in the bathroom to wash her face. I was already lying in bed waiting. I took my shirt off, but I was still wearing my jeans. She crawled in beside me and I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her closer. “Maisie, I won’t push you. All of this – us – this is on your schedule, but I want you to know something that’s really important to me.”

She turned to face me and I took her face in my hands. “I don’t want to have sex with you.”

“You don’t want to have sex?”

“When we make that leap, I’ll make love to you, Maisie.” Tears glistened in the corners of her eyes, and I kissed them away. “I don’t know why God placed you in my life, but I’m glad he did. I love being here, right here with you. You’ll know when you’re ready for more. I can wait, but I can’t live without this. You feel like heaven in my arms. I hope you feel real. I hope you feel genuine. But mostly, I hope you feel honest, because I’m ready for more with you.”

“I do, Tate,” she said in a sleepy voice. “Thank you for being patient with me.”

“I’ll be patient, because I want you, Maisie. All of you. But I want to make sure that you realize all the things I feel. I want to share everything with you.”

“I do…”

I don’t know that I slept. I rested. I didn’t want to miss a moment of what was happening with us. When she stirred, I pulled her to me. Her breath on my bare chest was like a purr. It was a sound that I longed to hear again and again.

“Maisie, can you hear me?”

When she didn’t respond, I just started talking in a hushed tone. “I’m just gonna talk, and hope that some part of this seeps through to your heart. I’ve never felt anything like this before. Ever. I can’t explain what or why, I just know how incredible and amazing I feel. You are an amazing woman, and I feel so blessed by you, blessed that our paths crossed, and that I can be part of your life.”

“Me too,” she said turning in my arms, scooting close, pressing her lips to mine. “I feel the same way. You’ve opened not just my eyes, but my heart as well. It feels amazing. Go to sleep or we’ll never get up in the morning.”

I woke her early so that I could get her to the shop before Dion came in. I didn’t want her to have to explain anything she wasn’t ready to talk about.

It was after eight when we arrived. When she got ready to get out of the truck, I turned to her. “Thank you.” She smiled and I added, “Tonight?”

“Tomorrow night.”

“I’m not sure I can wait that long, but I told you – your timing.”

She leaned closer and placed her lips to mine in a kiss. “Tomorrow at six. Meet me here.”

***

Maisie wasn’t in sight when I walked in. Finally, I heard the click of her shoes on the old wooden floor. When she rounded the corner, she left me mesmerized. I couldn’t take my eyes off of her. She wore jeans and boots that came to her knees with a very high heel. The top she wore was pink and lacy and she wore something like a tank top under it. It flowed down her small frame, and she carried a denim jacket. She’d pulled her hair up, and loose curls fell out here and there.

“I’m ready.” She smiled, knowing that I appreciated my view.

“Are you going on a date?” I asked.

“No, but you are,” she said. “You can drive.”

“Where we were going?”

“Do you like Thai food?” she asked, when I started the engine.

“Yep.”

“Take 70 to Midtown. There’s a small place there that I love. It’s off the Nashville tourist path, quiet, and I think you’ll like it. I haven’t been there in a long time.”

We talked about the day as we drove. She seemed more relaxed than she had on our previous outings. And she looked hot as hell.

“Observation,” she laughed.

“Waiting,” I replied.

“When you think it’s a date you wear nice crisply pressed white shirts.”

“These are my dress up clothes,” I said.

“I like the white shirts and jeans.”

“Then tonight, I wore it just for you. Your outfit is…”

“Is what, Tate?” she asked, coyly.

“Hot.”

“Then tonight, I wore it just for you,” she repeated.

We pulled up in front of a place called The Lemon Leaf. When we entered, I observed a small establishment with only a few tables. Bamboo print wallpaper covered the walls. Varying colored orchids lined a shelf behind the hostess stand. The lights hanging over the tables were multi-colored paper balls with soft lighting. It was fanciful and I loved the ambience. When we settled in the booth, Maisie took control of our evening.

“Do you have the Muscato d’Asti?” she asked and the waiter nodded. “We’ll have a bottle and two glasses. Thank you. We’ll order from the appetizer menu – the chicken satay, coconut shrimp and the Lemon Leaf spring rolls.”

She looked up as the waiter walked away. “What?”

“You’re different tonight.”

“No, I’m hungry and I’ve been thinking of this place all day,” she said with a grin that showed off dimples I hadn’t seen before, and I have looked at that face – a lot. Something was definitely different tonight.

We ate the appetizers, sipped our wine and talked. “What are you having for dinner?” I asked. I’m not sure I could explain the look on her face when I did.

“That wasn’t dinner?” she asked, with a pause.

“Oh. That
was
dinner?” I observed.

Suddenly, she was laughing. “I thought that was a lot of food. I guess I need to realize that you are a lot of man!”

“Yes. I am.” I smiled, and she blushed.

“I meant…”

“I know what you meant,” I replied. “How about I order an entrée and you have a bite or two. You’ll have to move over here close to me. Do you like it spicy?”

As she rose, I got up to allow her to slide in beside me. “I can handle it,” she told me.

We shared the meal. I loved the closeness of her. I brushed her leg with mine every chance I got.

“Are you taking me to the shop or my house?” she asked, as we were driving back toward her side of town.

“What do you want?”

“Take me to my house,” she said.

“How will you get to work in the morning?” I asked.

“You can take me in. Unless you have other plans,” she added, quickly.

We stopped at a red light and I leaned closer to whisper in her ear as I reached behind her seat. “I brought this just in case.” I said, as I put a duffle bag in her lap.

She opened it and laughed. “Stripes?” she asked pulling out a pair of boxer briefs, twirling them on her finger like some kind of flag.

“You should see the ones I’m wearing now,” I teased.

“Maybe I will,” she replied with a sideways glance, her blues eyes teasing and bright.

I have fallen madly in love with this woman. I’m trying hard to wait on her to realize that she feels the same.

Once we were inside, I sat on the sofa wondering what Maisie’s next move would be. She went to the bathroom, and when she returned, I watched her make her way toward me. Standing in front of me, she reached for my hand. I rose and she stood on tiptoes to put her arms around my neck. Wrapping my arms around her I lifted her off the floor. She wrapped her legs around me and I looked in her eyes. When I did, I saw mischief. Finally, leaning closer she pressed her lips to mine. It was soft. It was sweet, and I wanted a million more.

“No fair,” I said, as I leaned back to look at her. “You’re minty tasting.”

“Shut up, Tate.” I shifted her weight and she placed a hand on the back of my head drawing me closer. This kiss was deeper and I felt myself pulling her tighter in my embrace.

“Maisie,” I whispered against her lips before I let my tongue sneak in to explore. I heard her draw in a breath as her tongue began a dance with mine. I started toward the bedroom, still kissing her. It was like a drug that I couldn’t get enough of. She didn’t stop me – she encouraged me by bringing more intensity to the kiss. I placed her on the bed and lay down beside her.

She wrapped her arms around my back. Her lips moved to my neck as her body pressed closer. I took a big breath and slid my hands beneath the shirt she wore. Touching her skin, I heard her breath hitch. I felt her pulse race and her heart beat beneath my touch. “I’ve said it before, Maisie. You feel like heaven in my arms, and this feels like exactly where I belong.”

She kissed lightly along my jaw line and down my neck. Her lips were driving me insane. I hugged her tighter and whispered in her ear, “You’re driving me crazy…”

“Tate?”

“Whatever you want, Maisie. Say it. Tell me. I need to know. I need for you to tell me what you want.”

“I’m ready. I want you to make love to me. You’ve stirred feelings in me that I could never dream possible, feelings beyond what I’ve suppressed. Please, Tate. Make love to me.”

I looked in her eyes, because I’d learned quickly that her eyes spoke volumes. Drawing her face to mine with my hands, I saw happiness, and I devoured her mouth with mine.

I felt her fingers opening the buttons on my shirt. She ran her hands up my chest. “I’ve been dreaming about this since the day I pinned your shirts.”

“You have?” I asked, pulling her close.

“Yes. Your body fascinated me,” she whispered, kissing me wherever she touched. 

“Maisie, I want you so bad.” Her shirt zipped up the back. I slid the zipper down and brought her to a sitting position to lift it over her head, followed by the tank top she wore. I unhooked her bra, cast it away, and kissed every inch of skin I could reach. My hands felt firm breasts, and I slid lower to kiss them.  Each kiss made her breath come in soft pants.

“Maisie, are you sure?” I dreaded the possibility that the answer might be no, but I had to know she was sure.

“Tate, if you don’t want to, then stop touching me,” she smiled, pulling me back to look in my eyes. “Yes. I’m sure.”

“Jesus, I gotta get a condom,” I said, and rose to slide my jeans off.

She rolled away and opened a drawer in the nightstand by the bed. “I bought these yesterday. I didn’t know for sure when, but I felt that we were getting closer to this. I hope I got the right ones,” she said breathlessly.