Page 135 of Rise Above

Smoothing my hands down my green button down,

I took another look at my attire. I never cared this much about my appearance; I was by no means a looks-centered guy. Yet for this date with Aife, I wanted to look perfect. My attire was fancier than normal but not over the top. It would have to do.

With a sigh, I grabbed my keys and went to pick up

my soon-to-be girlfriend. That felt so right to think and say. Aife was my girl. She knew me better than anyone, and I could probably say the same for her. Aife felt like an extension of myself. We were connected.

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Before I knew it, I was at her apartment door.

Nerves wracked my body. I was a professional hockey player—an enforcer—and a little social worker was about to bring me to my knees. That was insanity.

Her door opened, and any breath I had in my body

immediately escaped me. Aife was breathtaking. She was wearing an emerald, green skirt that hugged her curves and a tight, off the shoulder black shirt, allowing her tattoos and scars out. She even had little black heels on. She left my mouth dry.

“Fuck.” That was the best word my mushy brain

could come up with. “You look stunning, Aife.”

Her cheeks flamed pink. “Thank you. You look

extremely handsome yourself.”

I realized we had unintentionally matched. Holding

an elbow out to her, I walked her to my car. I wasn’t one to flaunt my wealth, but I did want to spoil her a little tonight. We were headed to an upscale restaurant. It wasn’t crazy fancy, but it was on the nicer side of town.

Aife smoothed her hands down her skirt. Clearly I

wasn’t the only one that was nervous. We both knew each other inside and out, yet we couldn’t help but be weirdly anxious. Placing a hand on her thigh, I threw a smile her way.

“Breathe, darling. It’s just me.” I hoped that was

what she needed to hear.

She released a breath before her beautiful smile

graced her face. Any nerves we were feeling seemingly dissipated. This just felt like the natural next step for us. Dating seemed like the right next step.

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We pulled up to the restaurant, and I jumped out

and opened her door. She placed her small hand in mine as I helped her out of my car. We walked in holding hands, and I couldn’t help the grin on my face.

The hostess greeted us and guided us to our table.

Aife thanked her once she handed us our menus. We both scanned them, focused on picking our dishes before we even bothered to talk. The waiter quickly took our orders, and then we were left to our own devices.

“This feels a little weird, huh?” Aife asked quietly. I nodded a little. “Yeah, maybe. But it doesn’t need

to be. The only thing that changes is I’m going to kiss you.”