Page 23 of Blue Moon

Before she could answer, the waiter brought over a bottle of white wine. So much for the Tsingtao beer I craved. After the waiter poured me a sip of the wine to taste, I okayed it, and he filled Sol’s glass and mine. Then, Sol took a picture of the wine label.

“I’m going to do a quick story.”

“Knock yourself out, babe.” I still wasn’t used to her phone addiction, but I was hungry and horny, so I didn’t care at this point. Her eyes were hypnotic, and her bright pink lipstick contrasted with her skin, which was the color of the harvest moon. She really was stunning. But I wasn’t just physically attracted to her. I was impressed that she was financially independent, even if her job seemed pretty superficial to me. I’d met many women who wanted to marry men in the military just so they could get free benefits, but that definitely wasn’t the case with her. Hell, Sol probably made more money than I did, which pissed me off.

She positioned her phone in front of her face. “Hey! So, we’re at Harborview Restaurant and Bar in the Embarcadero.” She turned her phone toward me.

Fine, I’ll play.

I waved. “What’s up? I’m Sawyer—a Blue Angel pilot. Come out and see our show tomorrow. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I want to get back to my beautiful date.”

Sol’s face lit up at my words. She turned the phone back towards her heart-shaped face and continued, “Check back to see what we have for dinner.”

I turned my attention to the incredible view outside the ferry building. I had a blast flying today at the air show. Sol had only experienced a few of my tricks in the plane—I couldn’t wait for her to see me fly with my squadron.

Our first appetizer came, which the waiter informed us was Kurobuta Pork Xiao Long Bao, which consisted of these small dumplings set in a bamboo steamer. I’d tried this dish before in Chicago and loved it. I used my chopsticks to place one of the steamed dumplings on my spoon, but Sol gave me a dirty look.

“Wait one second, please. I need to take a picture.”

Oops, too late. I’d already popped that little sucker into my mouth. I bit into the dumpling and my taste buds danced, relishing the mix of the tangy broth and impossibly tender meat. I’d never tasted Chinese food like this before. No wonder Sol loved the culture of this city.

“Sorry about that. These are amazing.”

She gave me a reluctant smile and put down her phone.

I studied her face as she chewed. She had a sexy mouth, and I loved her long flowy hair. She was definitely a perfect ten.

My eyes dropped to her legs. I was grateful she was seated next to me in this booth so I could stare at her entire body without being too obvious. I wanted to touch her tan flesh and lick her all the way down to her fuck-me heels. I planned to do just that later tonight.

Damn. If I wanted to seduce her, I’d better start talking to her before another dish came, and she ignored me to take more pictures.

“So, babe, tell me more about yourself. What do you like to do for fun?”

She gave me a blank stare. “Fun? Most of my fun is sponsored and scheduled. But I like to go hiking in Muir Woods. And I love the opera and the ballet. How about you?”

Well, at least we both liked hiking because I wouldn’t be caught dead inside a theater. “Anything outdoors. Sky diving, rappelling, BASE jumping, boating.”

“So . . . you’re a thrill seeker. I mean I guessed that by your job choice. Why is that? Do you ever like to just chill?”

Chill? What was that?

The truth was that nothing sounded more awful to me than sitting around and doing nothing. I liked to keep my mind and body active, that way I didn’t start reliving my past. But I wasn’t going to tell her that.

“I’ll chill with you.” I gazed into her eyes and whispered into her ear. “Hey, this restaurant is great, but I need a change of pace. After dinner, let’s stop by my favorite dive bar, get a few more drinks, maybe play some pool. And then, we can head to my hotel room— it has a great view of the city. We can drink some champagne and get to know each other.”

She let out a nervous laugh and pulled away from me. “That sounds great and all, but I was hoping we could go see the Blue Moon. There’s a great view on the top of Mount Tam.”

Great. That sounded romantic, and romance definitely wasn’t my thing. But I was never one to say no to adventure, and I loved being outdoors. Maybe I could fuck her on top of the mountain, under the moonlight. I smiled and nodded.

“Sounds like a plan.”

A few more dishes came, including the crab. She was right—it was delicious, and I savored every bite as I had my fill. I was ready for dessert, and by that, I meant feasting on Sol’s luscious curves.

Finally, she confidently flipped back her hair. “Let’s get out of here.”