Page 6 of Here You Are

The way he joked around helped me relax, and I said back to him, “I saw your fire escape, so I’m good with coming in.”

My joke is rewarded with a big smile and a laugh.

“The food is almost ready. I would like to have impressed you with a five-star meal, but I mostly survive on frozen food, so I had to call in reinforcements.”

Reinforcements? “Did you order takeout? If so, that is totally fine with me. I like trying new places without actually having to go to the new places.”

“No way! I said I would cook for you, and I did. I just had my mom come over and help me. Pretty dorky, huh?” he said.

“Pretty sweet that your mom will come do that,” I replied, internally dying of cuteness.

“She’s a great cook, and I had her help me make my favorite. She didn’t even ask questions about who I was cooking for, although I could tell she was dying on the inside to ask. She is happy to have me back from college and see me more, so she is pretty down for anything I ask her to do.”

“Well, thank you to you and your mom for going to all of the trouble. I’m pretty reserved, but I’m not a girl who holds back from eating around guys, so I hope you made enough.”

“My mom is used to cooking for eight; trust me, there is enough.”

Luke’s apartment is clean and minimal. It’s one step up from a bachelor pad, which I appreciate. Perhaps this is a pleasant part of dating someone a few years older. We sat down to eat a chicken, rice, and vegetable dish that was shockingly delicious. Luke started telling me about his big family. He is the oldest of six kids. His home life sounds like a riot, with a lot of people and chaos at every turn. It was just my sister and me growing up, and we were a few years apart, so we were often in different places in our lives.

“Do you want to have a big family?” I asked as we finished eating.

“Not really, at least not as big as the one I grew up with. I can vaguely envision myself with kids someday, but not in the near future. I have a lot I want to do with my career, and the whole world to explore. What about you?”

“I want a big family. I'm mostly introverted, but I also don’t like being alone all the time. I like to be with people I'm close to and comfortable with. So I would like to create those people and have them live in my home for my entertainment until they become adults.”

“That makes sense. Why go out and make friends when you can stay in and literally make friends?” He gave me a little smirk. “Should we clean this up and go watch our regularly scheduled Thursday night programming?”

After cleaning up dinner, we settled on his couch for American Idol. I make it a point to never schedule anything on Thursday nights, and I hope that he takes this as seriously as I do. If he interrupts while we are watching, I am going to have to ask him to wait in the hallway of his own apartment.

“Do you want to tell me who you think is going to win?” he asked during a commercial break, which is permissible.

“I’m not really interested in giving you hints about who the best singers are,” I replied.

“Ah, pretty cocky about our picks, I see. Maybe we can make a friendly wager.”

The show resumed, and he put his arm around my shoulder and pulled me in closer to him. I flashed back to when I walked up to his apartment, sweating through all of my pores, and hoped that I was dry and smell-free. He snuggled me in closer, so I must have been tolerable. After my nerves settled down, I realized it was really nice. I liked being close to him. It felt cozy and comfortable and familiar. During the next commercial break, I took a risk and looked up at him. He was looking right back at me, and his eyes were burning with intensity. It felt like he might make a move, and I was filled with anticipation. Should I be kissing him this soon? Will I give him the wrong idea? Maybe I want to give him that idea.

“Cassie.” He moved a little closer. “I'm dying to kiss you.”

“Kiss me,” I replied.

He eased me back into the couch, leaned over me, and kissed me. This was not a normal kiss. I was completely swept up in the moment and couldn’t get enough of him. I had been on the fence about my attraction to him. This moment solidified that this guy majorly turned me on.

He gently pulled back from our kiss and said, “The show is back on.”

My heart was racing, and I was practically panting. I know what I said before about not accepting interruptions during Thursday night television, but my focus was completely on him. He settled back on the couch, and I tried to focus on the TV, but all I could think about was continuing that kiss.

I took a risk and peeked over at him, and he had the cutest smirk on his face.

“Having trouble concentrating?” he asked.

I knew this was my moment to be bold and take a chance. I grabbed the remote from the table and turned the TV off. I leaned over on top of him and brought my mouth to his. Our lips crashed together, picking up right where we left off. I let out a little gasp when he pulled me onto him so I was straddling his lap. We were deep in a heavy makeout session, our hands roaming all over each other's bodies, when he pulled away.

“Cassie, I'm so attracted to you, and I really like you. I want you. But I also know we just met, and I don’t want to rush things with you. If you want to stop, tell me to stop. If you don’t want to stop, I'm just as on board for that,” he whispered, with heavy breaths.

“I don’t want to stop,” I whispered in his ear.

He grabbed my face and resumed our soul-melting kiss. I felt his hands come under my shirt and hold me at the waist. Slowly, his hands moved up my body until they rested around my rib cage, just beneath my bra. I felt his thumb brush over the cup of my bra as he kissed his way down my neck.