Page 134 of Love, Luck & Clusterf*ck

I grinned even wider, and did I just freaking clap? I’d taken the day off work to pick him up from the airport, and it was finally time to leave.Pathetic and proud, Perry.

I fished my keys out of my purse and went to the door, swinging it open. My purse dropped to the ground with a heavythud.

“Stephen?”Holy shit, am I hallucinating?I felt his face to make sure it was real. “Ohmigod, Stephen!” He laughed as I crashed against him. “What are you doing here?” It’d been way too long.Waytoo long.

“I got an earlier flight.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“God, you’re fucking beautiful. Do you have any idea how much I’ve missed you?” He pressed his lips to mine, and it was like they’d never been separated. All that craziness? Poof. Gone.

What in the hell are we doing hanging out in my doorway?I dragged him inside, kicking my purse, still attached to his mouth. I moaned and he pulled away. I tried pulling him even closer, running my hands up his back. There was no reason to be apart; we’d already played that stupid game.

“Perry.” My name left his throat as a groan. “If you don’t let me stop, I’m never going to.”

“And that would be bad because…?”

“Because then we’d miss our first date.”

“What?”

He held up a bundle of something colorful. Where’d that come from? Not that I’d been focused on his hands but…. I took a closer look and noticed it was a bouquet of jelly beans, all different flavors. My heart turned gooey. Wasn’t the first time, and most definitely wouldn’t be the last.This man.

“Jelly beans,” I said, probably looking all sappy-eyed.

He shrugged. “I thought you’d appreciate it more than flowers.”

“I do. So much. Thank you. I… love it.”Love you.

“You’re welcome.” He brushed his lips against mine, too briefly. “Aren’t you going to show me around your apartment?”

I waved my hand about and laughed. “You’re looking at it.” I nuzzled my face against his neck, dragging my tongue along the side. “Mmm…. The only other room to see is the bedroom.” I was definitely the kind of girl who’d put out for him on our first date.

He made a low sound. I knew I was getting to him, but he pushed me aside again anyway. Was he really going to waste that hard cock of his?

“You’re fucking killing me here,” he said. “You know that, right?”

I humphed. “You keep pushing me away. Don’t you know how long it’s been?”

“Believe me, I know. But we have a date to go on, and if we don’t leave soon, we never will.”

All right, I could be reasonable. We had many more days—I hoped—to get naked. I glanced down at my candy flowers and felt a rush of excitement. A date? I loved surprises. Scratch that—goodsurprises. I’d filled my quota of bad ones.

“Okay.” I gave him my best smile and picked up my purse. “Do I need to change or anything?” I was wearing a casual tank top and shorts.

“No, you’re perfect.”

“You haven’t even asked about my tattoo yet. Aren’t you the least bit curious to see it?”

“I’m dying to see it, but it can wait. If you start showing me more skin, I’m going to throw you down right here.”

Mmm. “And that would be bad because…?”

He laughed, taking my hand. “Come on. Let’s go on our first date.”

A few minutes later, we were driving in his truck with my hand still in his and my hair whipping every which way.

“You sure you don’t want me to turn on the air?” he asked.

---