Page 74 of Living with Fire
Savanna lifts an eyebrow at me. “Maybe?”
“Well, yeah, I mean… you know. Maybe it should be longer than that. Maybe you should just, you know, be my girlfriend. If you want. I know this is only our second date, but—” I catch myself, realizing I’m stammering my way through this like a fool. I take a steadying breath and try again. “With the way we’ve been living together, it just feels… longer. Feels right. You know?”
Nope. No game. And now my palms are sweaty. Unfortunate for me since I’m still holding her hand.
I can tell she’s trying her best not to giggle right now. I’m fairly sure this is highly amusing for her, but she does her best to keep a straight face when she says, “Are you asking me a question? Or merely suggesting this?”
Running my free hand through my hair, I take a deep breath. I’ve seen this woman gloriously naked. I’ve made her come multiple times. I’ve gotten very intimate with many parts of her body. This shouldn’t be that hard, but I’m nervous as hell.
“I’m asking a question,” I hedge, gauging her reaction. I never want to play poker against her, because her face is remaining rather neutral while I try to gather some courage. “Will you be my girlfriend?”
I feel dazed by the smile that lights up her face with such happiness it makes my heart swell and my chest puff with pride.
She starts to lean towards me over the console. “Well, to my boss Nate, you should know I might want to take weird days off during the week.”
“Oh?” I raise an eyebrow. “Why is that?”
“Because my boyfriend does long shift work, and I think I’d definitely like to spend some days off with him,” she says with a grin.
“Hmm. Well, I’ll have to see what I can do for you, but I’m sure we can work something out.” I grin back at her, moving across the console to meet her halfway.
“Dating the boss comes with some perks, huh?” she asks, her lips almost touching mine.
“It definitely does. I’ll have to show you some others later,” I tell her, closing the last bit of distance between us, my lips capturing hers in a sweet, tender kiss.
“Where have you been? You’re late!” My mother admonishes as Savanna and I walk in the front door. When she notices Savanna in the next breath she squeals with delight. “You made it!”
We could have gone through the side yard to the back, but Savanna needed the bathroom before we joined the party, so I opted for the front door thinking we’d be in and out without anyone noticing. I should have known better.
“You told him not to show up without me,” Savanna teases as my mom embraces her in a hug. “Good to see you again, Elizabeth. Happy birthday.”
“And you, my dear. This dress is lovely. You look beautiful,” my mom says as she lets go of Savanna and turns to me. I get a smack on the shoulder instead of the warm embrace. “Where’ve you been?”
“Picking up your gift,” I tell her smoothly, holding up the gift bag in my right hand. Inside is a beautiful white gold pendant in the shape of a heart with a rose gold rose through the center. It’s a bit of a lie considering I picked it up the other day. I hold up my other hand, showing her another bag with a bottle of wine in it. “And picking this up for the collection.”
My mom doesn’t need to know the sweet kiss Savanna and I shared turned into a full-blown make-out session like we were a couple of teenagers. When we were finally done, I needed another five minutes to lose the raging hard-on we’d created. It took every ounce of willpower in me not to drive us to some deserted parking lot so I could be inside her. Because fuck, I wanted to be inside her. Knew how bad she wanted the same. Knew without going up the skirt of her dress she’d be dripping wet for me.
She makes me delirious with need. If I were ever to be caught in a compromising position in public, it could cost me my job, one thing I love the most in my life, and two days in a row I’ve considered it.
I glance at Savanna now. She’s smiling brightly at my mom, but steals a look at me. The memory of the truck passes between us, and the only thing keeping my dick from going rock hard all over again is my mother standing before us, taking her gift from my hands.
“Oh Nathan, you shouldn’t have! But I’m so glad you did,” she says with a twinkle of laughter.
Much to my chagrin—or relief, I’m not sure—she chooses that moment to finally give me the hug I was waiting for. It’s easier to control raging hormones when you’re being hugged by your mother.
I give her a tight squeeze and press a kiss to the top of her head. “Happy birthday, mom.”
When we release each other, Savanna doesn’t meet my eyes, instead looking at my mom. “Could someone point me in the direction of the bathroom?”
“Right down here, dear!” my mom says, pointing down the hallway to our left. “First one on your right.”
“I’ll wait for you in the kitchen,” I tell Savanna, pointing towards the back of the house. She’ll have to go through the formal living room and dining room before finding the more casual areas of the house, but I have no doubt she’ll be able to find it.
She gives me a smile, our eyes catching once more. My dick twitches, begging me to go after her as she heads to the bathroom. A room with a lock. Away from prying eyes. No threat to my job.
Use the other head, man. Mom’s birthday. Think of mom’s birthday.
Right. My mother. Who is staring at me with a bemused look on her face, like she knows exactly which head was doing the thinking. My neck burns and I know I’m turning crimson, but she remains silent, shockingly, as I hook an arm around her shoulder and start to lead her towards the kitchen.