“Ace, I thought we said we’d talk tomorrow,” she said, opening the door and leaning on the jamb. She had changed out of her dress into grey lounge pants and a tiny pink tank. Her taut nipples pierced the thin fabric, making everything in my lower region swell. Her styled ponytail was gone, leaving her blonde locks loose around her shoulders. She wound a strand with her finger and shifted from foot to foot. Her face was free of makeup, but there was a hint of red in the whites of her eyes and circling the rim, almost like she had been crying. “You shouldn’t come in.” Her voice was hoarse.

“But I want to.” I removed my hands from the top of the door jamb and held the door. She inched to the side, indicating her reluctant approval. I stepped inside and walked toward the fireplace to flip the switch. The flames roared to life and settled into a perfect glow. I felt her presence right behind me.

“I’m scared,” she whispered.

“Of me?”

“No … yes. Of this.”

I slipped my tux jacket off and slowly turned around. Her arms were wrapped tightly around her waist. Her stare was emotional and penetrating. A tingle ran up my spine.

“Do you trust me?”

“What?” She looked confused. It was plain and simple as far as I was concerned.

I repeated, “Do. You. Trust. Me?”

She didn’t hesitate. “Of course I do, you are so … you are-”

I closed the mile between us. “You’re more, and I’m starting to realize you always have been. Friends is impossible, I want more. I want you. I want everything. I have no idea what it looks like or how it’s going to work. I’ve never done this before, hell, I’ve never wanted to. But I know I want to give us a chance, I want to try.”

“I want that too, all of it…” I breathed again, encasing her in my arms. “But I’m not that same teenage girl. Not even close, there’s so much stuff, so many years, I don’t even know where to begin, if I even can.” She buried her face deeper into my chest and clung to me.

“Look at me, Tal.” She lifted her head. “I have stuff, too. We’ve spent twenty years building separate lives, of course there’s gonna be stuff. No one said we have to spill out every last detail the first night we’re together. We have time.” We have a lifetime. I walked her back to the sofa and led her down onto my lap. Her warmth pushed down on top of my cock. “I’m gonna kiss you now. It’s gonna be slow and soft and then it’s gonna be hard and hungry.”

She inhaled sharply and widened her eyes, that was my sign she wasn’t going to stop me. I moved her legs to straddle my lap. Cupping her cheeks I brought her mouth down to hover just above mine. I ran my tongue across her bottom lip and sucked. She slid her hands up my chest kicking my heart into high gear. I had waited long enough. I continued to explore her lips as promised, soft and slowly before inching my tongue inside. She opened without hesitation and I dove deep. I gripped her hips and crushed her body against mine, pinning my cock right where it wanted most. Every drop of blood in my body pulsed inside. She tasted of her bubbly mixed with fresh mint. I was starved for more. Desperately, and as promised, our union turned raw and full of passion. She matched me stroke for stroke as she rocked against my groin. My hands abandoned her riding hips to find bare skin under her tank. I massaged my way up her toned back and fisted a handful of blond silk. Pulling back I broke our kiss to expose my next target. Her eyes were still closed and she was breathing heavy. My tongue tasted her neck and she quietly moaned. It was the sexiest sound I ever heard. My cock throbbed but this wasn’t a race to the finish. No way, I waited too long.

“Fuck, you taste delicious.” Conscious filtered thoughts were gone, and I was no longer responsible for what came out of my mouth. “I wanna taste all of you.”

Her hands must have made their way to my hair because I felt the tug before she said, “Wait … we should wait.” Her forehead rested against mine while my heart jackhammered in my throat. We both marathon panted trying to regain some semblance of composure which involved me mentally talking to my dick. Baseball, baseball, I hate baseball. Whoever says this works—lies. Damn baseball. Shit I’m thinking—ah fuck. Monkeys regurgitate food to their young, dolls can shit themselves, slugs make slime trails.

Shit, it wasn’t working. Stupid dick.

She moved first, shifting herself off my lap and collapsing next to me on the couch. I took a deep breath, hoping the extra oxygen might turn my other head back on. I needed to say something, needed to make sure she was okay, but I couldn’t formulate a single coherent thought, other than my current state of arousal. I had a J.D. summa cum laude, for god’s sake.

“I um, wow, I’m sorry … wow.” She was flushed with fuck me hair, stumbling over her words. So it wasn’t just me. She was adorable. I probably looked like a fool.

“I’m a lot of things right this second, but sorry isn’t one of them.” My head finally kicked back on. She laughed at my candor. I pressed my palm to her warm cheek and she kissed it.

“I didn’t mean to say that, I’m definitely not sorry either.” Phew. “I um, just thought we should maybe consider taking things a little bit slower.”

“I can do slower.” I can do anything you need.

“Besides, I wouldn’t want you to think I put out on the first date.” She wryly chuckled and played with the hem of her tank. “I told you I’m not that promiscuous high school girl with daddy issues anymore.”

I never saw her that way. “Psst, look at you all self-reflective. Was psych your back-up plan if the whole acne healer thing didn’t work out?” She hit me in the face with a throw pillow. We both laughed.

“You sarcastic ass, ha.” She rolled her eyes, but they radiated genuine affection. “More like a few dozen hours and few thousand dollars in therapy to point out the obvious. I was pissed at my dad for cheating on my mom, so I slutted it up for a summer.” Her facetious tone didn’t mask the disappointment in her eyes, a look that needed to be erased.

Hell, as far as I knew, I thought she only slept with two guys the summer before she left New York. Far from slut territory.

“Some friend you are. You were putting out back in the day and didn’t hook me up?” I caught the pillow mid-air this time and tickled her back on my lap. Her laugh sounded almost as sweet as her singing.

When I was sure I tickled the nonsense out of her, I showed some mercy and released.

“What am I going to do with you?” she challenged, winded from giggling. Her body laid draped over mine, and her head rested against the arm of the sofa. Her eyes sparkled something fierce.

“You’re going to date me.”

“Date? How old are we?”

“Old enough to know I was the moron not to ask you out when we were kids, so yeah, we’re going to date.” I brushed a stray hair off her face and she bit her lip. I wanted that job.

“I like bossy Ace.” She laced our fingers. I kissed them.

“As opposed to?”

“My perfect gentleman.” All I heard was my.

“Trust me when I say that I will always treat you with respect, Tal. Always. No promises I’m going to be a gentleman in the bedroom though.” I might have winked, but I was serious. Her eyes widened, she knew it. And undoubtedly she liked it. I leaned over and gently touched our lips together.

“So we’re officially dating then,” she whispered with genuine happiness behind her grin. Beautiful.

“Yup.”

Her fingers ran the pleats in my shirt. “You do realize we live three thousand miles apart?”

“I’ll get a bigger plane.” Her smile reached those damn eyes and she licked her lips. That combo was going to be the fucking death of me. Then she raised her head and kissed me. And I let her. But not for long, once her tongue sought entrance, I took over. We made out like horny teenagers for entirely too long. No doubt our mouths were going to be chapped tomorrow. Somehow I managed to keep my hands on her waist, but any and all conversation with my arousal was futile.

“You know this counts as the first date,” I murmured between kisses. “Just want to make sure we’re on the same page.”

She shifted back an inch, panting, and opened her eyes. I already had them pinned. “Oh, we’re on the same page.” Something about the way she said it stirred an unfamiliar tight sensation deep in my chest. This was seriously unchartered territory.

I sat us upright and kissed her forehead, not wanting to push my luck, especially after she got spooked earlier. I couldn’t blame her. We were risking a lifetime friendship. “Happy New Year, Tal, I have a gut feeling it’s going to be a good one.” Then I stood to get ready to leave. It was almost three AM.

Talia tucked her lean legs underneath her. Her voice was laced with promise when she said, “Do you know what I’d really like?” I put my jacket back down on the desk and turned to give her my full attention. Of course I wanted to know. “I’d really like to know what it feels like to wake up in your arms.” She tucked her hair behind her ear and almost looked embarrassed. “Well, without vomit in my hair this time.” She remembered.

Done. I toed off my shoes and undid my tie. She stayed put and clocked my every move. I unbuttoned my cuffs and then my shirt. Her eyebrows rose when I slipped it off, clearly enjoying the view. That once-over alone solidified I would never skip a workout.

With two strides back to the sofa, I held out my hand the way I did when we started the evening. “Time to sleep, Teeps … don’t get any ideas.” I smirked. “Sweet dreams only.”

She smiled and unfolded herself off the couch, steadying her rise with my hand. She released her grip almost immediately and traded it for a tight embrace. Barefoot and much shorter, her head nuzzled right into my shoulder. She was so small in comparison to me, soft, but not waify. Even though we were separated from skin on skin by her paper-thin tank, her tits felt amazing pressed against me. Suddenly I felt cheated by the night and not from my lack of release. “You owe me a slow dance.”