Page 82 of Sheltered

“Sunday evening, after we went out for dinner with my family for my dad’s birthday,” I answered honestly.

“Wow. Did you know it was going to happen?” she questioned me.

I shook my head and started applying the color to Olive’s roots. “No. I mean, I’d been thinking about it a lot, as you know. But I didn’t know it was going to happen that night. It really was a culmination of everything leading up to that night, and then something happened inside me at dinner. I realized just how much I loved him, how much he meant to me, and how nobody would ever come close to comparing to him.”

“Holy moly. Dinner must have gone really well,” she noted.

I laughed and confirmed, “It did.”

And for the next few minutes, I went on to tell Olive about how dinner with my family and Blaze had gone. I shared how easily they welcomed him, the things my dad had said, and the effortless way in which Blaze conversed with them. Of course, I didn’t leave out how easy it seemed to be for him to talk about the way he felt for me, either.

I’d gotten all the color applied to her hair throughout the conversation about dinner, and while we waited until it could be washed out, I went on to share how it had all gone down between Blaze and me once we left dinner.

While I didn’t share any of the specific, juicy details with her, because I wanted to keep those private, I did reveal how nervous I’d been on the way home, how I’d asked him to stay with me, and how unbelievably sweet he’d been with me that night.

When I’d finally gotten through all of that, I said, “Honestly, it was the best night of my life, Olive. And I don’t know what I did to deserve him.”

My friend smiled at me. “I am so happy for you, Harlow. Not only does it thrill me to see you like this, but I’m glad Blaze made your first time so special for you. It’s not like that for a lot of people, so I’m over the moon about it for you.”

“Thanks.”

“I want to meet him sometime,” she declared. “We should plan a double date one of these days.”

I perked up. “Oh, I never even thought about that.”

“Do you think Blaze would be up for it?”

Nodding, I immediately replied, “Absolutely. When I tell you the man loves me, Olive, he loves me. All I’d have to say is that I’ve never had a double date before and that I’d like for him and me to have one with you and Ben, and he’ll make it happen.”

“Perfect. So, how have things been ever since Sunday night?” she asked.

I jerked my head toward the sink and said, “Let’s go get your hair washed, and I’ll tell you.”

As I washed her hair, I told Olive about how my week had gone. I started off by telling her how Blaze had gone to work last Saturday, so he could spend my day off with me. I went on and on about he made it a priority to see me several times throughout the week, spending a few nights at my place.

Somewhere in the middle of washing her hair, my phone rang over on the desk where my appointment book was.

“Do you want to grab that?” Olive asked.

I shook my head. “No. It’s probably Blaze, but we’ll get you finished up first. I’ll call him back after we get finished up here.”

“He won’t mind?”

“Not at all. He’s called or texted me before when I’ve been in the middle of working with a client. I always call him back when I’m finished. He probably is finishing up a little early at work or something.”

Once I got done washing Olive’s hair, we moved back over to the chair. She wasn’t getting a cut this time, so all I needed to do was dry and style her hair. While I did that, she’d filled me in on everything that had been going on in her life since we last spoke. It was nice to finally have the opportunity to talk to her in person. We’d both been so busy lately, so being able to have this time together was a real treat. There was no question I planned to ask Blaze about a double date when I called him back.

But just as I unsnapped the gown behind Olive’s neck to remove it from her body, the door to the salon opened, and I realized that wouldn’t be necessary.

My face lit up at the sight of Blaze walking toward us. “Hey,” I greeted him, completely surprised to see him there.

Blaze didn’t seem to care that anyone else was in the salon with me. He walked right up to me, kissed me, and murmured against my lips. “Hey, baby.”

I smiled, but I was instantly dazed by his kiss and the scent of him. It wasn’t until someone cleared their throat that I snapped back to reality, realized where I was, and who was there.

“Oh, God. I’m so sorry. Blaze, I’m so glad you’re here. This is my best friend, Olive. Olive, this is my guy, Blaze.”

Blaze offered a nod and said, “It’s nice to meet you, Olive.”