Make Time For Me

“I know.”

“But I love it. Now come on, I guess this means that dinner is on me.”

“You didn’t tell me we were playing for that!”

“Well, I play dirty, too. But you won, so…”

He grabbed her hand, pulled her to him until she was pressed against him, and smiled at her.

“You get the win. Do I get a kiss?”

“Jason…”

“Not excuses. I want to kiss you, Olivia. I’ve been dreaming of kissing you, touching you, for weeks. You’ve been ducking out of sight every time I manage to get you alone. I want you. You have no idea how much I want you.”

When had she stopped breathing? She couldn’t breathe, but she didn’t care, because she wanted his lips on hers more than she wanted her next breath.

“Jason.”

“Say it.”

“Kiss me. Kiss me now.”

She didn’t get to finish the words before his mouth covered hers in a long, passionate kiss that left her in no doubt that he had missed her. That he wanted her, as much as she wanted him.

“Jason,” she whispered against his lips, breathless as she shuddered in pleasure. His lips were firm and sure as he stroked hers. His tongue was demanding as he slipped it between her lips, licked along her teeth before sliding along her tongue to make her shudder again.

When he finally lifted his head, his eyes were darker and his hair was mussed from her hands.

“I missed you. I missed that, Olivia.”

She didn’t know what might have happened next if a bunch of teenagers hadn’t started hooting. Laughing, a little embarrassed, they let go of each other and walked back to the car. But he didn’t let go of her hand even if he let go of the rest of her.

“So, where are we going for those famous crab cakes?” asked Olivia, breaking the silence and the tension that simmered between them.

“It’s a secret until we get there.”

“Close to the beach,” she guessed.

“Easy guess,” he countered, and he drove. She stopped trying to guess and sat back, trying to get her heart to settle back down. Trying to get her body to stop pushing her to lean towards him and kiss him again. And again.

She didn’t think she would ever get enough of him.

“Oh, I didn’t know there was a restaurant here.”

“It’s more like a boardwalk bar, but it’s got the best crab cakes I’ve ever had. Come on.”

Olivia smiled, told herself to stop making so much out of it, and walked with him to the bar. It didn’t look particularly remarkable, but the lights were pretty, the music was upbeat but not loud enough to drown out the sound of the sea, and they could watch the sunset from there. Jason got them a table, ordered crab cakes and beer for both of them, and took her hand from across the table in a casual gesture that seemed intimate, as if they’d sat like that, holding hands, so many times before.

“Let me just lay my cards on the table here, Olivia. I want you to come home with me after dinner.”

“What?”

“I want you to come home with me. I want you to spend the night with me.”

“Jason, that’s…”

“No, hear me out. We don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do. Ever. That stands forever. I want you to come home with me because I don’t want the evening to end. I don’t want to drive you back and watch you walk away tonight. I want this to be perfect. The only way it could be perfect is if it ended with you in my arms, even if all I do is hold you and watch you fall asleep.”

“You don’t mean that.”

“Why not? Of course I mean it. I don’t say things I don’t mean. Ah, here’s our food and our beer!”

As if he hadn’t just told her all of that, he charmed the waitress who obviously knew him and glanced at her jealously, making her wonder just how he knew her.

No, she wouldn’t be jealous, and she wouldn’t think about things like that. It was none of her business. He could be with whomever he pleased.

He was a free man, just like she was a free woman.

But when he turned back to her, there was no embarrassment. There were no secrets.

“Try it and tell me if I was right.”

So she did, and she closed her eyes in sheer pleasure.

“Oh my God. Oh my… We’ve got to come here, all of us. Ellie would go nuts for this and Paul would pester them for the recipe and Angela would pout about how much she’s eating but eat it anyway.”

Jason laughed.

“We will. I wanted it to be just the two of us this time. Do you mind?”

Olivia shook her head.

“Olivia, I want to keep seeing you.”

Olivia’s eyes flew open, and she chewed furiously and swallowed, making him laugh.

“Sorry. Wrong time, huh?”

“I… You mean, like, you want us to date each other?”

“We’re on a date. We’re having fun. I think we are dating each other.”

“No, I mean… You know what I mean.”

“I mean that I want to date you, and only you if that’s what you want, as well.”

“We’ve been on one date. You want us to be exclusive already?”

“Why, are you dating somebody else?”

He asked that casually, but she had a feeling that if she said yes, he wouldn’t take it quite so casually.

“No, but we work together. It will get messy and complicated.”

“Like life. But we still live.”

“I… Jason, I don’t want this to be gossiped about. I don’t like being talked about, pointed at, laughed at. I don’t want…”

“All right,” interrupted Jason. “I don’t care what anybody else thinks, but if you say so. But this is nobody else’s business but ours. Is that what you want? Is this, what we have, what you want?”

Asked that direct question, what choice did she have but to be honest?

“Yes.”