Here Comes the Sun: Chapter 8

I'm sitting in my car in front of her building. It's nearly 7pm, and I've been sitting here for ten minutes. I've got the air on full blast, so I don't get all sweaty. Yeah, that's how nervous I am.

As soon as I finished up with deliveries at the bar, I took a quick shower and got dressed. Then I headed over to Ashley's to pick her up.

So here I am. It's 7 o'clock on the dot. I would get out of the car and up to the door, but my ass seems to be made of lead. I take a few deep breaths, collect myself, and finally open the door of my navy Volkswagen Jetta. I run my hands down over my skirt, smoothing it out. One more deep breath and I make my way into her building.

Once I am standing in front of her door, I knock. Not more than two seconds afterwards, she opens the hardwood door.

"Hey Spencer, it's great to see you again."

She's wearing dark, skin tight, low rise jeans with a black halter top that stops just far enough to show off her Abs of Glory.

"It's great to see you too, Ashley. You look…uh…wow."

She giggles. "You look wow, too, Spence. Are you ready to go?"

"Ready when you are."

I follow her back out to my car, making sure to check out her…assets. I open up the door for her to get in, and then make my way to the driver's side. The car ride starts off quiet, but we fall into conversations about the bar, Ashley's music, and how beautiful she looks. Ok, I made that last part up, but I was thinking about how beautiful she looks.

She wasn't kidding when she said she lived close. After no more than ten minutes, we're parking in the lot of The Red Maple. We walk up and inside the dimly lit restaurant. The hostess takes us to our table in the corner and gives us our menus.

"Can I get you both something to drink?" Her eyes linger a little longer on Ashley.

It's time to flip the sexy switch.

Ashley goes first. "I'll have a Yuengling, please."

"Ok, and for you?" She turns to me.

I look Ashley dead in the eye and say, "I'll have a Sex on the Beach."

Her eyes go wide and a deep blush tints her cheeks. I smirk at her, and she suddenly takes interest in her menu. The waitress leaves to go get our drinks. Ashley glances up at me over her menu.

"See something you like?" I say, and flash her a smile.

If her eyes get any wider, they'll get stuck.

"What?"

"On the menu. See anything you like on the menu?"

"Oh. Um, the crab and shrimp pasta sounds good."

The waitress comes back with our drinks, takes our orders, and then leaves.

I push some of my blonde hair behind my ear and say, "So do you have any more shows lined up?"

She sips her beer and says, "I've got one next Saturday, actually, at a bar downtown called Rainbow House."

"Oh, ok. I've heard of it."

"Yeah." She fidgets with her hands. "I was kind of hoping maybe you'd want to come by and see me play? That is, it you're not busy with work or anything…"

I reach across the table and put my hand over hers, rubbing her thumb with my own.

"I'd love to, Ashley."

The waitress chose that exact moment to bring our food.

"Ok, crab and shrimp pasta?"

"That's me." She places the dish in front of Ashley and flashes her a big smile.

"And you must be the steak, medium-well." She practically throws the plate down in front of me and shoots me a hateful look.

She's so not getting a tip.

We fall into easy conversation over dinner, with covert glances and lingering touches.

Once we finish eating, she looks at me and says, "You've got a little bit of steak sauce right next to your mouth."

God, do I feel like a dork.

Wait. I can make this sexy.

I drag my finger over the sauce, then swipe my tongue out and lick it off the tip of my finger. I make sure to take my sweet time, and her eyes stay glued to my lips.

"Did I get it all?" I say, my voice sounding slightly huskier.

"Uh…Uh huh…"

The waitress brings the check, and I notice Ashley taking out her wallet.

"Oh, no, Ashley. I've got it."

"No, Spencer, I'm not going to let you pay for all of it."

"Hey, I'm the one who asked you out, so I'm going to pay."

"Well, alright. As long as you let me take you out sometime."

"Ashley Davies, are you asking me on a second date?" I smile at her.

She blushes and smiles right back. "I suppose I am, Spencer Carlin."

"Well in that case, how can I say no?"

I pay for the meal, don't leave a tip, and we head out to the car. All too soon, we find ourselves in front of her building. We walk to her door together, and all of a sudden, my sexy switch gets shut off.

Shit.

"So can I call you sometime?" she asks, timidly.

"Yeah, I think I'd like that."

She smiles sweetly and fumbles with her keys.

Ok. I've got this beautiful girl in front of me. Beautiful, smart, talented, funny, sexy as all hell. Should I go in for the kiss? Should I hug her? Shake her hand? Kiss on the cheek? Yes! That's it! Kiss on the cheek. Not too forward, but not too dorky like the handshake.

Just as I'm about to kiss her on the cheek, she beats me to it. She places her left hand on the right side of my face and kisses my other cheek.

That sneaky, sexy woman.

Her lips are unbelievably soft as she places a barely there kiss on my cheek. She starts to pull away, but let's her lips linger millimeters from my own. I can feel her warm breath as her stunning brown eyes flicker up to look into mine. Her thumb brushes against my cheek as I gaze into her eyes.

God, she's gorgeous. I want to kiss her so bad. I wonder what she tastes like. There's only one way to find out. But I'm too nervous! What if she doesn't want me to kiss her? What if…

Her lips are on mine. I'm too shocked do anything at first, but as she starts to pull away, I come to my senses. My hands go to her hips and I crash my lips back into hers. Strawberry lip gloss. That's what she tastes like. Her arms snake around my neck and she drags her fingernails very lightly on the back of my neck. Jesus Christ in a bucket, that feels amazing. Almost as amazing as the feel of her tongue lightly brushing over my bottom lip, asking to deepen the kiss. I waste no time as I part my lips slightly while her tongue makes its way between them, gently massaging its partner. My fingers play with the small strip of exposed skin between her halter top and the waist of her jeans.

Ok, if I don't stop this now, we could end up in a very compromising position. I start to pull away and she gently nips at my bottom lip.

"I've wanted to do that since I first saw you on Tuesday night," she confesses breathlessly.

"So have I." I rest our foreheads together.

After taking some time to catch our breath, I look at her and cup her face in my hands.

"I should probably get going."

She makes a growling noise that travels from my ears to my…well, you get the idea.

"Do you have to?"

"I'm afraid I do. I have some work to get done tomorrow. Call me?"

"Of course."

I give her one last soft kiss on her slightly bruised lips, and we say our goodbyes. I finally tear myself away from her and walk back down to my car, ending what is quite possibly the best night of my life.