Page 44 of Ruined Promises

After a quick kiss to my cheek, she hurries to the stage like a little kid entering a candy shop.

The TV monitor reads “I Wanna Dance with Somebody” by Whitney Houston. I’ve learned this to be one of her favorite songs even though it is not by her favorite band, Pentatonix, who she listens to faithfully. Her dance moves along with her barely looking at the screen with the lyrics is a dead giveaway that this is her not her first time performing this song. But the crowd eats it up, as do I, and I’ve never felt prouder of her.

Once she exits the stage, I stand, and she jumps into my arms, wrapping her arms around my neck. I bury my face into her neck and lift her off the ground. “Are you a professional karaoke singer or something? I don’t think anyone can compare to you up on there.”

She swats at my chest when I set her back on her feet. “You’re just saying that because you’re my boyfriend and you don’t wanna tell me that I suck.” Lexi laughs as she takes a seat, and I drag her chair closer to mine.

“Baby, I promise to never lie to you, and as much as I love it when you suck—” My pants growing tighter at the very thought of her pretty little lips wrapped around my cock. “—youdefinitelydid not suck there.”

“Will you get up there?” she asks, resting her head on my bicep.

“Oh, hell no, I don’t do that.”

“Please,” she pleads, pursing her lips together in a pout. Whining has always been a turn-off to me, but when Lexi does it, it’s cute.Too bad there is no way in hell I’m letting her convince me to get up there.

By the time we fall into bed, Lexi had me on stage with her singing two duets as well as one by myself. I consider myself rather outgoing, but that may have been the most daring thing I have done in years. Even from the stage, I could see the bright smile on her face as I had the crowd singing along with me with my rendition of “Sex on Fire” by Kings of Leon, which made it all worth it.

I pull Lexi closer, and she wraps her arm around my waist while tangling her legs with mine.

“You know, I’d say that you set the bar pretty high for first dates,” she says, looking up at me.

I think of honestly admitting that I don’t plan to go on any more first dates after this. Instead, I hold her face in my hands and kiss her fiercely. Her lips part, accepting my tongue. Actions speak louder than words, and I plan to show her how much she means to me instead of just telling her. But while I may have set the bar high on dates, she has set the bar high for women. If, God forbid, we don’t work out, I feel that I will always compare the way I feel to the way I feel with Lexi. Every kiss will be compared to the feeling of her lips on mine. Her kiss both drowns me and revives me at the same time.

The next morning, we savor our time together before heading back the real world, where our lives aren’t as simple as they were the past twenty-four hours, where we can just be. But the more time I spend with this woman, the more I know that anything we endure is one hundred percent worth it. This is a risk worth taking.

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