(New Year's Eve)
Cole chided himself for being nervous picking up Janice. They had been out before. Admittedly not to a black tie affair, but there wasn't really much of a difference. He knew why he was nervous. He had come home early to spend New Year's Eve with her. It was crazy, and he knew that she would have plans, but he'd called anyways, and it had been like she had been waiting for his call. He liked her. That was what was making him so nervous. It had been a very long time since he could say he honestly liked a woman that wasn't family.
She was an incredible woman. She never played with him, and she said what she meant. She knew how to laugh and tease, and he had to admit she knew how to kiss as well. He'd been startled the last time they had gotten together and ended up making out. He hadn't meant for it to happen, but they had kissed once, and that was it for him. She could make him forget anything when she turned those big brown eyes on him and smiled.
She hadn't protested at all when he had fondled her lightly that last time. Actually, he didn't think she had noticed that he'd unbuttoned her blouse a little. He hadn't realized he had done it until he was suddenly touching the softest skin in the world. She'd let out a little moan, but didn't try and stop him. He wasn't sure why they hadn't gone further that night. He had wanted her to the point that he was in physical pain. She would have let him, but he just couldn't. Stupid? Hell yes.
In the end, she had gone home, but first given him a kiss that took his breath away. He'd stood in the driveway for several minutes after she left, staring numbly in the direction she had gone. Then he went inside to bang his head against the wall. She had been right. He should have asked her to stay. He'd been incredibly aroused, and that took forever to go away. He normally had tight control over himself, especially where norm females were involved. He never got carried away. If he needed to have physical needs taken care of, then he'd get a woman for a short while – more of a fling than a relationship and be done with it. No ties. Janice was not a fling, and he had no idea if he wanted to change that.
He knocked lightly, feeling a little uncomfortable being so dressed up. He was used to a uniform at work and jeans for leisure. There was rarely a time he went anywhere in a regular suit, much less a tux. "It's unlocked," he heard her call out from inside. Cole smiled. She hadn't raised her voice above conversational level, knowing that if it were him, he would hear her anyways and come in, and if it weren't, they would think she wasn't home and go away.
Cole went into the apartment. He'd only been in there twice before, once while helping her move in, and then the second time they'd gone out. It was becoming more distinctively Janice each time he saw it. This time she had pictures on the wall of her family, and had unwrapped some beautiful Japanese vases that she had picked up at some point. The rest was more organized chaos, and Cole had a feeling it would be like that until Janice moved out again. Getting out knickknacks was just not a priority to Janice, however, her home theater system, complete with the filled 700 disk CD player and seventeen speakers, and that took up an entire wall from top to bottom had been set up within three hours of Janice getting the equipment into the apartment. She just prioritized.
"You certainly clean up nicely," Janice's voice came from behind him. He turned around, smiling at her. His eyes widened as he took her in from head to toe. Bloody hell, she was beautiful. She had never looked so…so exotic as she did in that long flame colored dress. The satin material went above the bodice of the dress, almost like a halter top, wrapping around the back of her neck to keep it from falling down, and leaving her arms and shoulders bare, except for the elbow-length gloves with the same pattern of sequins embroidered into them.
He knew he was gaping, but couldn't stop as she walked towards him, sequins flashing patterns of flame up the right side of the dress as they reflected the color of the material. The dress had a slit up the side, giving him an excellent view of all eight feet or so of her legs. She was wearing these shoes that were really barely there. He wasn't sure if her selection of footwear was deliberate or not. He had remarked once that he thought she had pretty feet, and she had teased him about having a foot fetish. It wasn't a fetish, but seeing her pretty feet in sexy heels was rather…well, hot.
She spun around, letting him see the low back of the dress, and how the skirt outlined her rear and legs perfectly. She faced him again, grinning wickedly. "Well?" she demanded playfully. She didn't really need to ask. His obvious admiration was enough of an answer.
Janice had borrowed the dress from her sister a few days before. Christy said that her second husband had bought it for her as an anniversary gift, so it was probably stolen, but that didn't make it any less beautiful. They both had inherited their Sicilian grandmother's olive skin, so the bright color was flattering to both of them. Christy had been wildly curious as to why her sister, who normally dressed so "nauseatingly plain" as she described Janice's wardrobe, wanted to look extra-good for a New Year's Eve function she normally hated. Janice couldn't tell her it was for someone in particular or else she would be risking her mother and sister showing up roughly five minutes before Cole did. Cole had seen much in his life, she knew, but she doubted he had ever had to deal with anything like them before.
"I thought you weren't trying to kill the people there tonight," Cole said casually, wrinkling his brow in mock confusion.
"You think I'm dressed to kill or something?" she teased.
"I'm thinking about eight old men are going to drop dead of heart attacks when they see you walk in," he replied with a grin. He took her hand and kissed it lightly. Janice felt herself shiver at such a chivalrous gesture. "You're stunning," he said softly. She blushed a little as their eyes met and she could see the plain and simple admiration lighting his eyes.
She took a step forward brushing a light kiss across his mouth. "Funny," she remarked. "I know I'm supposed to be working, but I was actually looking forward to tonight."
"I guess I better not disappoint you then," he said with a smile.
"For some reason, I don't think that's going to be an issue," she replied. They stood there for a moment longer, just smiling at each other. New Year's Eve. The night where anything seemed possible. A time for change. And it was only going to get better from here.
