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A pit forms in my stomach because I know where this is going.
She holds it up to me. “Do you mind reading it to me?”
Desperation sweeps over me as I glance at the playbill, then back up to her face. Lifting her chin, I say, “I have something more fun in mind.”
Leaning in, I leave just the tiniest bit of space between our lips. We’re so close I can feel the warmth of her skin. “I know it’s customary to wait until the end of the first date to do this, but I’d very much like to kiss you right now.”
22
If Cinderella Had Been Set in the Time of Smart Phones…
Allie
Oh my God. Is this happening? Does he actually want to kiss me? Here? Now? The look on his face says the answer is yes. He wants to kiss me. In public, where any one of the hundreds of people in the audience could just look up and see us sitting in this box. Hudson Finch wants to kiss me. Every cell of my body hums with excitement. I lick my lips, then I hear myself saying, “But this isn’t a real first date. It’s a PR stunt.”
What the hell, Allie? When Hudson Finch says he wants to kiss you, you say yes.
He glances at my lips and moves in a little closer. “We get to decide what this is,” he murmurs, cupping my jaw with his hand. “And I want this to be a real first date.”
Say yes, idiot. Say yes and kiss him before he changes his mind. “You do?”
Giving me that smile from his People’s Sexiest Man cover, he nods. “But only if it’s what you want, Allie.”
“I don’t know. I mean, it definitely sounds so much more fun than you reading the playbill to me, so…”
“Yes or no, Allie.”
“Yes.”
My eyelids drift shut and he closes the distance between us, kissing me softly, carefully, making sure I want this. And after a second, my grip on the playbill loosens and I feel it slip out of my fingers. I lift my hand to his jaw and feel his smooth skin against my fingertips and breathe in the scent of him that’s been making me wild for three long, torturous weeks. I let out a little moan that feels suddenly desperate and slightly embarrassing, because that little sound is an admission that it’s been years since I’ve been properly kissed. But his reaction tells me I have nothing to be embarrassed about. I part my lips to give him more access and he takes it, sliding his tongue into my waiting mouth, doing things to me that I never thought would happen, things I’ve been dreaming and thinking about when I’m supposed to be working.
Our mouths move together like they’ve always known each other, and yet it’s also new and fresh. It’s intoxicating and amazing and terrifying all at the same time. I know we shouldn’t be doing this, but there’s no way I want to stop. He tilts my head back a little further, his hand moving to the back of my neck, his thumb caressing my cheek tenderly while his lips and tongue wake up parts of me that have forgotten what a man can do. All this time I’ve been pretending I don’t need or want or care about this. But I do. I want it. I want it all. And I want it from him. I’ve never felt more like a woman than I do in this very moment, here with Hudson.
A light cough from behind us interrupts the moment, and we pull away from each other, both of us trying not to laugh as an older couple who will be sharing the box take their seats behind us. My face flames with … well, everything … while Hudson turns to them and smiles. “Good evening.”
“Hello,” the man says with a knowing grin.
“Say, aren’t you that actor?” the woman says.
“I’m Hudson, nice to meet you.” He holds out his hand to shake each of theirs while the man says, “I’m Jack and this is Jackie, my wife. And who’s this lovely lady?”
“This is Dr. Allegra Cammareri. She’s an astronomer and the most impressive person I know.”
Oh my God. Best introduction ever. Yes, I will marry you. I will be your wife. Not that he’s asking…
Jack offers me a wry grin. “Yeah, you looked pretty impressed with her a minute ago.”
Jackie smacks his arm. “Shush. You’ll embarrass them.” She turns to me. “We were young and in love once too. Pretend we’re not here.”
“They’re hardly going to make out with us sitting two feet away,” Jack says. “Sorry to kill the moment.”
“That’s fine,” I tell them, even though my lady bits are yelling at me that it’s absolutely not fine at all. “It’s probably better that we stopped there.”
The lights dim and the audience starts to applaud. Hudson and I turn to face the stage, my mind swirling and my heart pounding as the opera starts. He slips his hand onto my lap and interlaces his fingers with mine, spreading warmth from the top of my head to my toes. This is a proper date. A proper first date, he called it, which means he wants more of them. We’re all dressed up and I look beautiful for once in my life and he’s holding my hand and I have no idea what’s happening on the stage because my thoughts are booming and sparkling like fireworks and my heart is exploding with joy and all I can think about is how very badly I want to climb onto his lap and crush his mouth with mine and run my hands all over him and frantically take off this dress and his tux and go so much farther than would be considered even remotely smart with a man like him.
The entire first half of the opera my mind races like this, thoughts of all the lusty, wonderful things I want to do with him swirling around in my head. What if we do them all as soon as this is over? What if we get in the limo and pick this up where we left off? Would I actually have sex with him? In the back of a limo? Yes. I would. I’d happily go for that ride. And it may sound cheap or sleazy, but it wouldn’t be. Not with him. Not with the way he takes care of me at every turn. He’s everything I’ve always wanted, and the truth is, I’m in love with him. Totally and completely in love with him. As much as I’ve been trying to convince my heart to stay dammed up, he’s managed to break it open and now all the emotions are just pouring through me. There is literally nothing I can do to stop it. Not that I’d want to. So I’m going to sit here holding his hand, and after the standing ovation, when we get back in that limo, I’m going to have a glass or two of champagne to bolster my courage, then make it very clear that I want him. All of him. And I want him tonight.
The lights come up for the intermission and Hudson turns to me. “How about a glass of champagne?”
