I smile and rub my hands together greedily. “My master plan is working then.” She laughs and shakes her head at me. Our waitress returns, and even though we didn't look over the menu, we both ordered as if we did. Our conversation picks right back up as our waitress leaves us--we laugh and throw playful banter back and forth. I am so happy with Veronica. I feel content to just sit here and talk with her. She makes me laugh and smile with all her quirks. I've known her for so long and never thought that we'd be here together. I wouldn't change it for anything. I want to feel this for as long as I can.
Soon our plates are placed in front of us. My steak to her seafood platter. She wiggles excitedly in her chair. “This looks so good!” Veronica doesn't waste any time digging into her food. I like that. She's comfortable enough to be herself with me. She moans at her first bite, groans with her second. With every bite--and with every tantalizing sound--my pants become tighter until I'm sporting a tent. Thankfully my lap is covered by the table, and I'm the only one aware of my problem. She notices that I've barely touched my food, “Are you okay? Is your steak alright?” she asks, concerned.
“It's perfect,” I tell her.
“This is so good.” She takes another bite.
“I've gathered,” I smirk.
“Do you want some?” she asks, covering her mouth.
“No, I'm okay.”
She stops chewing, and her face falls into a frown. “What's wrong?” she asks and then, almost instantly, her eyebrows shoot up as if she's come to some kind of understanding. “I'm sorry!” She swallows her food and removes her hand from her mouth, “This is probably so unattractive.”
I cut her off before she can get the wrong idea and berate herself further, “Uh, no. It's the complete opposite, actually.”
“Huh?” Her expression is one of deep confusion.
“First off, nothing you do is unattractive. Second, if you could see over here right now, you'd notice the tent I'm sporting in my pants right now.”
Her face morphs from embarrassed confusion to a mischievous glint. “Really?” she asks.
“Yes, really. Keep moaning over your food, and I'll take you upstairs to our room and give you something else to moan about.”
“You got us a room?” she blurts out.
“Fuck.” I hiss and then laugh at my own stupid mistake. I glance up at her, “Is that okay?”
Although she's probably trying not to show it, I can tell she's nervous. That's the last thing I want her to feel because while I want nothing more than to sleep with her, I don't want her to think that's why I did this. Internally, I cringe at that thought as well. I place my hand on top of the table, palm up, and wiggle my fingers to indicate I want her hand in mine. She places her small, soft palm on mine, and I intertwine our fingers. “Veronica, I don't want you to think I did this for any other reason than to spend time with you. We don't have to stay. We don't even have to share the bed. You have me so wrapped around your little finger, and you don't even know it.” I continue, “Well, now you do.”
She smiles shyly and says, “I want to stay.”
“Are you sure?”
She nods slightly. “Yes.”
I squeeze her hand in reassurance, and her smile widens. “So, do I have a bag or am I going to wear this?”
“I prefer nothing,” I tell her and add, “but unfortunately Taylor agreed to pack you a bag.”
“She knew?!”
“You wouldn't be here otherwise.”
“True.” Her lips pucker.
It's an hour by the time we finish up our meals--we're in no rush and savoring every bite and every moment together. Here, just us two, there's no stress of the outside world. I wish it could always be like this and I push away the impending news that I'll have to reveal to her.
Veronica rubs her stomach, and the waitress comes to remove our empty plates. “Any room for dessert?” the woman asks us. My dessert is sitting across from me, so I shake my head while looking at the beautiful girl I adore.
“No, thank you,” Veronica responds.
The waitress smiles wide. “Okay, if you change your mind the kitchen is open until eleven. We only serve dinner until ten but you can have your dessert delivered to your room. Enjoy the rest of your night.”
I thank her before she turns to leave, then look to V. “You ready to check out our room?”
“Is it fancier than this?” she asks.
I shrug my shoulders and unfold myself from my chair. I reach my hand out for her to take, and she obliges. We move through the dining room hand in hand. The room has thinned out and there are only, maybe, two couples still dining. I guide us towards the lobby desk to collect the room key and the clerk informs me that all is ready and our bags have been placed in our room. I thank her and move towards the staircase.
The inn isn’t massive, but it's big enough to provide twenty-five rooms. Five of those are suites, and one of those suites is ours for the night. At the top of the staircase, it splits into three hallways, and according to the plaque on the wall our room is to the right. We follow the numbers but regretfully take a few wrong turns. We joke about getting lost and never making our way home. I honestly wouldn't mind. We reach the end of the hall and the last room--smack dab in the middle--is ours.
I place the key into the card slot--a soft click of the lock sounds--and the green light allows the door to open. The room is dim, but there’s a source of light coming from a table in the entryway. There’s a door that leads to a bathroom on our right. We move further into the room, and I allow Veronica to go first, and come up behind her. There are candles scattered around the small living room that gives the room just enough light for us to see how beautiful it is.
Veronica's attention moves to the open door to the left--the bedroom--filled with candles. They cover every surface of the room. I remain behind her as she takes in the view. She’s taking small steps forward until we're both just beyond the threshold. The bed is covered in flower petals and placed in the middle is a tray holding a bucket of ice with a bottle inside. Alcohol? I know. I never claimed to be a saint. We won't be leaving the room for the rest of the night, so there's no harm done.
I allow her one more second before I move forward and wrap my arms around her waist. She lets out a soft breath while placing her smooth hands on mine. She still hasn't said anything so I break the silence, “What are you thinking?” I whisper, moving my head to rest on her shoulder.
“I-” she starts and stops. “Just...wow. You did this all for me?”
I nod my head, and my chin nuzzles her shoulder. “Well the staff did it for me, but I thought of it.” She turns around in my arms, the loss of my head rest causes me to straighten my stance. Her eyes are glistening, which catches me by surprise. She's not supposed to cry. Her eyes scan my face before she places her hands on my cheeks and pulls me forward. Our mouths meet in a sweet kiss, and then she's placing kisses all over.
She moves away, but her hands are still holding my face. “Thank you.” Her smile seems to make the room brighter, or maybe it's just my life it makes brighter.
“You're welcome.” I move forward to kiss her nose, and her hands move to my shoulders. She puckers her lips when I move back. When my girl wants a kiss I will always comply. I feel her tongue, but I don't allow the kiss to deepen. “I have one more thing to show you,” I whisper against her lips.