Page 43 of Creep

It tooksome time to convince her to let me pick her up for our date. In the end, she settled for me picking her up at a coffee shop near her apartment, as if I didn’t already know where she lived.

Any attempts to prolong our text messages in the days leading up to this first date had been cut short by her.

It was cute that she thought her keeping a little distance between us would deter me. She was going to find out soon enough that when I want something—someone—I go after them wholeheartedly.

And there was nothing and no one in this world that I wanted more than her.

I pulled up outside the coffee shop. Before I could get out of my car, she was pushing the front doors open, two coffee cups in hand. She came over to the passenger side of my car. I unlocked it for her and pushed it open, watching as she hesitated for a good long second before climbing in. Her scent instantly invaded my senses, bringing with it a feeling of contentment that I knew I would never be able to find with anyone else in this world.

She closed the door and turned to me. Dusk was slowly setting in, and there was still enough daylight for me to make her out clearly. Her long, dark brown hair was down, the ends curled slightly and settled gently over one shoulder. Her makeup was kept light, even with the red lipstick she had on, and she was wearing a knitted white sweater, black pants, and knee-high black boots.

She was fucking beautiful.

“What?” she asked when she noticed me staring.

“You’re beautiful,” I said, my voice gruff.

She looked to the side shyly before turning back to me. “Thank you. You are too.”

I let out a small chuckle, and she cleared her throat, indicating one of the coffee cups in her hand. “I got you one.”

“Thank you, baby,” I said, taking the drink from her and taking a small sip. Black Americano. Just the way I liked it.

She turned to face forward, pulling the belt over her, the cup firmly in her grasp and on her lap.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

I didn’t say anything for a beat, trying to savor as much of the moment with her as I could. She was so much more than I had imagined.

“It’s a surprise,” I said.

Her eyes lit up. “Surprise?”

I nodded, putting the car into drive and getting out of there.

“Can you give me a hint?” she asked five minutes later.

“And what would you be willing to trade for this hint?” I asked.

I could feel her peeking sideways at me. “A secret?”

I laughed before I could help it.

“What?” she asked.

I shook my head. Silly girl, what kind of secrets could she have that I didn’t already know?

“You can save your secrets for now, darling. We’ll take our time learning each other's secrets, one by one.”

“You mean I will also learn your secrets?”

“Yup. I’ll be an open book with you.”

There will be no such thing as secrets between us. I would make sure of it.

“Somehow, I don’t buy it,” she muttered.

I grabbed one of her hands and brought it up to my lips, kissing the back of it. She didn’t try to pull away. If anything, she melted into her seat, her breath catching from such a simple contact.

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