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  “And what do you plan on doing with me?” I asked, while leaning in closer to her.

  “I’m planning on…” She closed the gap between us even more then brought her sandwich to her mouth and took a bite. “Eating this sandwich and learning more about you.”

  A loud laugh left my mouth in response. “You’re too much.”

  “Is that a good thing?”

  I nodded. “It’s a great thing. I really like you already, Diana. I gotta be honest though. I was nervous when I didn’t hear from you this weekend.”

  Diana sighed. “Sorry. Work kind of controls my life. That tends to be a deal breaker for a lot of people. But if it isn’t for you, I just need you to know that when you don’t hear from me, it honestly has nothing to do with you or how I feel about you.”

  “How do you feel about me?” I asked in a moment of courage.

  “I really like you. You’re funny, easy to talk to, and not so bad to look at.”

  “It looks like I’ve got the trifecta going. Lucky you.”

  “You’re telling me,” she answered breathlessly.

  I took the next few minutes to look at Diana as she finished her sandwich. I could have watched her for hours. She had this lightness about her that made it seem like she didn’t have a care in the world, but there was something in her eyes that told me I had so much more to learn about her. Surprisingly, I found myself wanting to learn it all. I had dated a lot of people, but none of them had felt like this. They were all fun, but none of them felt like much more than that. Diana was already causing me to think about the future—about our future.

  Once she was done with her sandwich, I looked at my watch to see we still had about fifteen minutes before we had to head back. “So, what now?”

  Diana tapped her chin. “Well, the way I see it, we have two options. We could sit here and talk or we could make out in the back of my car.”

  I hadn’t made out in the back of a car since high school and, unfortunately, that had been with a guy. The offer was tempting, but so was the thought of learning more about Diana.

  “I have a proposal. Since I don’t want whatever this is to be purely physical, but I also can’t turn down the offer to repeat that amazing kiss from Friday night, how about we tell each other one thing about ourselves and then we make out.”

  The smile on Diana’s face grew, and I even saw a bit of blush hit her cheeks. “Deal. I’ll go first. I love everything salty. Chocolate and flowers are sweet, but it would make me much happier to get chicken nuggets and french fries.”

  I smirked. “Noted. Sticking to the topic of food—my favorite meal is steak and mashed potatoes.”

  Diana lifted an eyebrow. “Noted on my end as well.”

  With the talking out of the way, we both smiled at each other, then ran toward her car, holding hands along the way. We laughed as Diana struggled to unlock the car and open the door. Soon enough, we were laid out across the backseat of the car, with Diana on top of me, sharing a make-out session that was somehow even better than the first.

  Chapter 6

  It wasn’t until Saturday that I was able to see Diana again, but we had found some time to text each other throughout the week. Diana volunteered to plan the date again and, since I was interested to see what she would come up with, I agreed.

  She called to say she was at my apartment complex at precisely 5 p.m. “I hope you’re okay with a bit of a drive. Where we’re going is about forty minutes from here,” she announced once I was in the car.

  I immediately agreed because the truth was, I would’ve gone anywhere with her at this point. Our first stop was a family-owned bar and grill. Diana informed me that after tons of research throughout the week, this restaurant appeared to have the best steak and potatoes in the area, and boy was she right. They cooked my medium-rare steak perfectly, and the potatoes had hints of a few different spices in them. The combination was to die for. I was happy to see that Diana was also a fan of steak, even if I did have to mock scold her for not getting hers as bloody as my own. She was a good sport though, and the smiles were wide on both of our faces as we skipped out of the restaurant holding hands, like two kids.

  The childishness continued as our next stop was a miniature golf course. It was hard to focus on my golf game though since Diana’s tight dark jeans and low-cut red shirt served as a very welcome distraction. After getting my ass handed to me and dealing with Diana’s constant teasing, I figured our date was over. To my surprise, she had one more stop in mind for us.

  We pulled into a park that reminded me a lot of the one by work. Diana pulled a blanket, two wine glasses, and a bottle of wine out of the back of her car and set them up for us on the bank by the river.

  Once we were seated, I smiled over at her and took her hand in mine. “How do you know about all of these super secret places?”

  Diana shrugged in response. “I feel the need to get away a lot, so I find these places to escape to.”

  I wanted to ask her what it was she was trying to escape from, but decided it might be too early in our budding relationship to get so deep. We hadn’t even defined what was happening between us yet.

  I took turns between focusing on the stars above and the perfect girl sitting beside me. As more time passed, it seemed the pretty girl was winning out over the stars more and more.

  “The view is beautiful here,” I said, breaking the silence.

  “It sure is.” The fact that Diana didn’t take her eyes off me as she answered wasn’t lost on me. After a few seconds of staring back at her, I forced myself to look away. The chemistry between us was almost too much to handle.

  Feeling a bit more confident, I cleared my throat. “I’m sorry to get all serious after such a short time of knowing each other, but I can’t take it and have to know that we’re on the same page. What is this exactly between us?”

  Diana closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath, almost like the question had taken her breath away. “Honestly, I’m not sure. All I know is that I like you… a lot. I think I like you more than I’ve ever liked anyone in my entire life, which is saying a lot. Trust me. I don’t know exactly what that means, but I’m really happy about it and I’m not looking for it to end anytime soon.”

  Her answer was perfect. It was committed without being suffocating. It was honest, but not laced with unsurmountable promises.

  For once in my life, I wanted to completely put myself out there with someone. I didn’t want to just put on my best face. I wanted Diana to see the real me and I just hoped and prayed that she would still like that person. “I have to be honest with you. I’m kind of a mess. I put on this outward appearance that I have my life together, but I really don’t know if I ever will. I have a past that I can’t seem to escape from, and I’m just broken.”

  To my surprise, Diana ran a hand along my cheek before placing one light kiss on my lips. “We all have baggage, Carly. Trust me, I’m far from perfect. You’ll learn that soon enough. You may feel broken, but that doesn’t change anything for me. To me, you’re perfect.”

  Diana and I lay down on the blanket together and I rested my head on her chest as we stared up at the stars. We stayed like this for the next hour, neither of us saying a word. There were truly no words needed in that moment. I was starting to drift to sleep when I felt a kiss on my forehead.

  “I better get you home,” Diana whispered.

  The car ride home woke me up as we blasted music and sang poorly together. By the time we were at my apartment, I had gotten my second wind. “Would you like to come up?”

  “I’d rather not,” Diana breathed out. “Tonight was amazing. I feel like we really opened up to each other and made amazing strides in our relationship. If I come up, there’s no question what is going to happen and trust me, I really want that to happen. I just don’t want that to be what tonight is about, so I’m going to reluctantly say goodbye to you right now.”

  I felt like I was floating as I made my way into my apartment. Who woul
d have thought that a night that involved nothing more than one simple peck could leave me feeling this way?

  I grabbed my cell phone out of my purse and immediately called Samantha. “I think I’m falling in love with her,” I blurted out, not even giving her a chance to say hello.

  “Wait. What?”

  “I know it sounds crazy, but I really do.”

  She laughed sarcastically on the other end of the phone. “Man, you must be having some amazing sex.”

  “We actually haven’t had sex yet.”

  “You haven’t? I’m shocked.”

  I scoffed. “Why is that so hard to believe?”

  “Because I know you. You’re normally not the type of girl to get past date one without having sex. Heck, normally sex is your first date.”

  I opened my mouth to argue with her, but then shut it when I realized she was right. Most of my relationships had budded out of what I believed was going to be a one-night stand.

  “Well, it’s different with Diana.”

  “Oh…” Samantha hesitated. “Okay. Just be careful, okay, Carly? Listen, I’m really sorry, but I have to go.”

  She hung up without so much as saying goodbye. I stared at the phone, wondering what had just happened. I continued to wonder as Sunday passed and I still hadn’t heard from her. At work on Monday, there was no time to talk before the lunch break because the schedule was so busy. As soon as she was done with her last morning patient, she came to find me.

  “Could I take you to lunch?” she asked tentatively, to which I agreed.

  Once we were inside the sub shop next door and seated at a table, Samantha gave me a long look. “Listen, I’m really sorry about the other night. I should have listened to you more rather than cutting the conversation short. The truth is… I just worry about you. I care about you so much and I guess it just surprised me to hear you sounding so vulnerable. I don’t want you to get hurt. Trust me though, I know that’s no excuse for how I acted.”

  I waved a hand at her. “Don’t even worry about it. I think it’s amazing that you care so much. I would probably have the same reaction with you. This is new for both of us. Somehow, neither of us have ever had a serious relationship.”

  I watched Samantha’s face relax with my words. She clapped her hands together. “Alright. You have my attention now. Tell me. What makes this girl so special?”

  I sighed, fully aware of how ridiculous I was being. “Well, she’s fun, super silly, and sexy as hell, but that’s not even the best part. I feel comfortable around her. For once, I feel like I can finally open up. I’ve told her things I’ve never told anyone before… aside from you, of course.”

  “So, does that mean you told her about Callie?”

  A sick feeling washed over me just hearing that name spoken out loud, and I had to remind myself not to break into tears. I forced a smile onto my face as I looked over at Samantha. “No, but that’s all in the past. It’s not worth bringing up now.”

  Samantha shot me her stop bullshitting me look that I knew all too well by now. “She was your sister, Carly. No matter how much time passes, that’s never going to be the past to you.”

  I blatantly rolled my eyes at her. I hated how she always spoke the truth, even when I didn’t want to hear it. “Okay, fine. You’re right. But I just don’t feel the need to discuss that with anyone other than you.”

  “Yeah, except that you won’t actually talk to me about it,” she mumbled.

  I laughed. “Calm down, Killer. Didn’t you bring me here to apologize?”

  Samantha’s eyes became soft. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”

  “No big. Let’s just talk about something else, okay?” I made a silly face at her, until she couldn’t help but laugh.

  “Yeah. Let’s talk about how pathetic you look with those ridiculous puppy dog eyes you’ve been sporting lately.”

  And just like that, we were back on track.

  Chapter 7

  It was almost two weeks before Diana and I were able to go on another official date. In that time, we had been able to arrange it so most of our lunch breaks overlapped, but it wasn’t enough. I was in desperate need of some actual alone time, so I offered to make dinner for us at my place. I rushed around, trying to make it as pristine as possible. I had to imagine that Diana’s place was much nicer than my rundown, one-bedroom apartment complete with neighbors who were either rude or perpetually high as a kite. Even though she hadn’t told me much about her house, I pictured her living in a nice suburban townhouse with neighbors who said hello every morning as they picked up their morning paper. It seemed fitting, since her life was so put together. Every time I had reminded her of the fact that she was killing this life compared to me, she reminded me that she did have six years on me. I didn’t mind the age difference though. I enjoyed dating someone who was mature. It was a pleasant change from my normal dating life.

  When Diana arrived, I had our dinner sitting on the counter. I’d made chicken parmigiana, mostly because it was one of the only meals I could cook that seemed appropriate for a romantic dinner. We ate while exchanging stories about patients we’d dealt with during the week. It was all so simple. I pictured this being my life—Diana coming home after a long day at work to a homemade meal, and we would chat and sip wine as we talked about our days. I was starting to want that, and she was exactly the person I wanted it with.

  Once she was done, Diana pushed her plate aside and leaned onto the table, placing her chin in her hand. “So, aside from work, what else have you been up to lately?”

  “Honestly, nothing. Samantha is really the only other person I consistently spend time with, aside from you, and she has been kind of MIA the past few weeks. I’m not sure why.”

  “Maybe she’s dating someone,” Diana suggested.

  “Nah, I don’t think so. She would tell me if she was. We tell each other everything.” Though it made sense when I thought about it. On the days we worked together, she rushed off at the end of the day. Anytime she had other plans, she hadn’t invited me along, which was very unlike her. Still, the thought of her dating someone and not telling me made my heart sink a little. Why didn’t she want to share this with me?

  Diana must’ve read the look on my face because she reached across the table and took my hand in hers. “I’m sure if she is dating someone, she’ll tell you all about it soon.”

  When I smiled at her, she squeezed my hand, before letting go to stand up. She grabbed her dishes and mine as she headed to the sink, where she immediately began cleaning. I walked over to her and wrapped my arms around her from behind. I laid my chin on her shoulder and watched her work diligently.

  “You don’t have to do that, you know.”’

  “I do actually. You made dinner, so I do the dishes. That’s just how it works.”

  I turned my head slightly and began placing light kisses on her neck. “You could always do them later though,” I whispered in her ear.

  Diana put the dish she was working on back into the sink and turned so she was facing me. “True. You still haven’t given me the tour,” she said with a smile.

  I turned my head to take in my small apartment. “There’s not too much to see. You’re standing in the kitchen. About five feet from us is the living room and I guess that small space where we ate could be considered the dining room.”

  “But you haven’t shown me the bedroom yet,” Diana purred into my ear, causing every single hair on my body to stand upright.

  Without saying a word, I grabbed her hand and led her down the short hallway. There wasn’t much to see in my room since it only had space for my bed, but that seemed to be all that Diana was interested in anyway. She sat on the edge of the bed, then pulled me down so I was straddling her. She leaned in and placed her lips on mine, kissing me slowly and sensually. Soon, her hand reached for the bottom of my shirt, and she pulled it off of me in one swift motion. She wasted no time in reaching behind my back and unclasping my bra as well. I did the same to h
er, and soon we were crawling further onto the bed and removing the rest of our clothes. I took a moment to take in Diana’s body. Of course she was even more perfect under her clothing, having a body free of any sort of scar, mole, or even freckle.

  Diana masterfully flipped us over so she was on top of me. She kissed her way down my body until… holy… hell… where did she learn to use her tongue like that? It should be illegal to do the things she was doing to me. The feelings she was evoking had to break some kind of law, but I was more than okay with that. She started out with long strokes, then began to move her tongue in and out. As if that wasn’t enough, she replaced her tongue with her fingers, moving them inside of me as she continued to suck and lick. It wasn’t long before the orgasm hit, and I was whimpering and pulling her up to me. She licked her lips and then leaned in to claim mine.

  “Wow,” was the only word I could muster, before forcing myself out of my stupor so I could take control. I wasn’t sure if I could do as well as her, but if the way she was reacting to my touch was any indication, then she was enjoying this just as much as I was. After just a few minutes, we both lay staring up at the ceiling.

  “Wow, is right,” Diana said, repeating my sentiment from earlier.

  I turned onto my side to face her and ran my hand along her cheek. “Diana, I think I’m…” I stopped myself before I could continue. What was I about to say? Falling in love with you? Already in love with you? I was always told this was the type of thing you shouldn’t confess after having sex since it had the habit of convincing you that you were having feelings that you really weren’t.

  As I lay there contemplating how I should finish that sentence, I noticed that tears were starting to form at the corners of Diana’s eyes. I moved my hand from her cheek into her hair. “Shh, baby. It’s okay. What’s wrong?”

  Diana shook her head and pulled away from me slightly. “You really shouldn’t be so nice to me. I don’t deserve it. I haven’t been… completely honest with you. Actually, that’s an understatement.”