Page 50 of Falling for the Unexpected

We continued to talk about her plans once she finished school. She couldn’t wait to be a teacher and I knew one day her dreams would come true. By the time we were leaving, I knew, without a doubt, I wanted to continue seeing Simone. She was beautiful, intelligent, ambitious, and more mature than most women her age. I was completely entranced by her.

We loaded up in Simone’s car and made our way back to her apartment. Stella fell asleep on the way home so I got her out of her car seat and carried her into the apartment. Instead of going directly into Stella’s room, Simone directed me to her room and told me to place Stella on her bed.

“It’s easier to change her on my bed when she is asleep,” she explained.

I sat next to the sleeping girl while Simone went to get a fresh diaper and pajamas. She came back and started to work on getting Stella ready for bed. As she did that, I took the time to glance around her small bedroom. The walls were freshly painted white. Her furniture was mismatched, probably pieces she found on sale somewhere, and her bedding was a very girly purple and pink flower pattern.

“I didn’t take you for the super girly type,” I teased, rubbing my hand across the top of the comforter.

She chuckled. “I’m usually not, but I needed a fresh start in my new room.”

“New room?” That had me confused. I knew this was the same apartment she’d lived in with Brad.

“Yeah, this is the second bedroom. The master is across the hall and is now Stella’s room. I scrubbed that room clean but still couldn’t stand to sleep in there knowing what had happened,” she told me, matter-of-factly. “I figured changing the rooms around would help me deal with everything. Truthfully, I like this room a lot more than the other one and I feel better knowing my room is the first one that is accessible from the hallway rather than Stella’s.”

She really was a pro at this mom stuff.

I watched as Simone picked up the still-sleeping Stella and carried her across the hall. I stood by the doorway and watched as she kissed her daughter and placed her in her crib.

We walked back to the living room together and sat on the couch. It was obvious neither of us were quite ready for this evening to end.

Deciding I wanted to know where she stood with us continuing to see each other, I broached the subject gently. “So, I had a really great time tonight with you and Stella,” I said, meaningfully. “I’m hoping we can go out again soon.”

“I had a wonderful time, too,” she said with a slight blush crawling up her cheeks. That blush was super cute.

My intention was to take this slow, but I still leaned in to brush a soft kiss on her lips. As soon as our mouths met, the kiss became much more passionate than I had anticipated. I wasn’t complaining at all, Simone could kiss and I enjoyed the feel of her lips on mine.

I started to run my hands up her torso, and as soon as my thumbs brushed under her breasts, she pulled away from me. That was a bit unexpected, so I wasn’t going to push anything.

“I’m sorry,” she said, breathing heavy. “It just feels weird to be making out with someone while Stella is here. That sounds stupid, I’m sure.”

“Hey,” I said, lifting her face to meet my eyes. “There is no need to rush here so please don’t apologize. If you need to slow things down or set some boundaries, I’m totally fine with that. That’s not to say that I’m not anxiously waiting to get you back in bed. Once you are up for it, I definitely want a repeat,” I said, winking at her.

That made her laugh, which I was happy about. I didn’t want her feeling bad about stopping, but I also wanted her to know how much I desired her. We spent two more hours just talking. That was definitely the most I had ever talked to a female in one night.

It was just after ten, so I got up to say goodbye. “Are you doing anything this Saturday? I really want to go out again,” I told her.

“Saturday works for me. Trent actually asked if he could have Stella that day,” she said, following me to the door. “I don’t think he’s planning on keeping her overnight, but he’ll have her most of the day.”

“Why don’t you come over to my house and I can make you lunch?” I asked, thinking that was safe, and not too fast for her. Thank God Ian had found a place of his own and I had my house back to myself. “Then we could either take a walk along the beach or just hang out at the house.”

“That sounds perfect,” she said, sounding excited.

At the door I turned around and kissed her gently. As I pulled away I noticed the slight smile playing across her lips. I was happy to be the person to put that smile there.

“I had a great time with the two of you tonight.”

“Me too,” she said. After another kiss, she gently closed the door behind me. I waited to hear her turn the deadbolt and then I walked down to my car. I didn’t want to leave her tonight, but at least I had Saturday to look forward to.