Titus pulled back, a grin sneaking into every crevice of his face.
“Go on a date with me Friday. I’ve got it all planned.”
His enthusiasm was endearing. Last time I saw him this excited he’d won first prize in our science experiment senior year for building a suspension bridge out of sticks from the woods that surrounded the north end of Auburn Hill.
“Got it all planned?” I was confused. I literally just agreed to go out with him. “Cocky much?”
His smile grew. “Nah. Just had sixteen years to plan it.”
13
Titus
“For our second date we’ll go somewhere fancy. Figured for our first, we’d want to be somewhere we could be comfortable exploring what this could look like.” I laced my fingers through hers the second after I got the picnic basket out of the back of my truck. Wasn’t sure I’d ever get used to touching her like that. “And I kind of wanted you all to myself.”
Amelia smiled at me, pulling dark hair away from her face and tucking it behind her ear. The wide expanse of the coastline spilled out behind her, creating a backdrop that, while gorgeous, could never compare to the beauty of Amelia. While I was all in on this dating thing, I knew she was hesitant. I intended to show her tonight why she and I together was a very good thing.
“I’m in agreement on the alone part of this date. Last thing I want is everyone staring at us and placing bets on whether we’re on an actual date or not.” She bit her plump bottom lip and I almost dropped the basket in the dirt.
She’d made that gesture before, many times over the years, and I would grit my teeth and remind myself over and over we were just friends. Now that I knew what she tasted like and felt like against my lips, there was no way I could control myself around her. It was like a switch had been flipped in my body after our first kiss. There was no going back for me, which meant I needed to court her properly. I had one chance at this and I wasn’t going to screw it up.
I held firmly to the basket and her, steering us down the path to the beach. The sun was about to set and I wanted to see it with her in my arms and the ocean waves roaring in front of us. We made it down the hill in time, Amelia inhaling the ocean air as if she hadn’t taken a deep breath since the last time we’d been down here. Keeping her facing the orange ball rapidly sinking into the Pacific, I wrapped my arms around her from behind and rested my chin on top of her head. She snuggled into my body and then stood still, watching until the last strip of orange had disappeared from the horizon.
Amelia sighed. “That never gets old.”
I smiled and kissed her head. “Nope. Some things are absolute perfection no matter how many times you see it.”
She whirled around and wrapped her arms around my neck, reaching up on tiptoe to get it done. “Like me?”
I feigned like I had to think about it. “Yeah, I guess so…”
Fast as a snake, she whipped her arms back and pinched me in the side. I yelped and jumped back. “Hey! How about you spread out the blanket while I get the firewood?”
“Oh, I see how it is. I gotta work on this date.” She snickered and jumped out of the way when I swiped at her, intent on payback for that pinch. “Go! I’m going to be freezing in two point five seconds.”
I rolled my eyes. “True. You never dress warm enough for a night at the beach.”
She smiled smugly. “Maybe I just want a handsome man to snuggle with me.”
Considering I was the only one she snuggled with—sans Daire the Douchebag a few times—that made me feel taller than my already tall frame. I hustled up the path to my truck and came back down with an extra blanket and a huge stack of firewood. No way would I end this date due to lack of heat. I’d prepared for this date like a Y2K prepper, minus the canned meat. I had enough firewood in my truck to last the whole night. While I got the fire raging, Amelia spread out the blanket and unpacked the food.
“Umm…I like where this is going, but it’s a bit unusual for a first date picnic.”
I spun around to see her holding something purple in her hand, an expression I hardly ever saw on her face. Mild embarrassment. I walked over, intrigued by anything that could make Amelia blush.
“What is it?” Mild nerves hit my gut because this was the one detail of the date I hadn’t done myself. I was a horrible cook, so I’d enlisted the help of Lenora and Finnie to put together a basket of food for us tonight. They’d been eager to help, but now that I thought about it, maybe a little too eager to help.
Amelia plopped it in my hands. “A vibrator. Again, I ask. Cocky much?”
I threw my head back and burst out laughing. I laughed so hard I had to sit right down in the sand to collect myself. Damn Lenora, the vibrator fairy. Forcing her sex toys on unsuspecting friends. Amelia was smiling, but she wasn’t laughing with me. I needed to clear things up. I wiped my eyes and tried to quit laughing.
“So, I may have asked for some help packing the picnic basket.” Another peal of laughter hit me and I couldn’t keep explaining. That look on Amelia’s face was just too much. Embarrassment, a touch of shock, and a whole lot of indecision warring for top position.
Understanding dawned on her face. “Ahh, I get it. Lenora packed the basket?” At my nod,
