Page 45 of Hat Trick
?1She doesn’t even hesitate, which puts a smile to my lips. “I’m in. I have one more client, but it should just be a quick eyebrow wax. I can come clean up in the morning, so just give me…” She goes silent for a moment. “Give me two hours? I need to wash my hair tonight, so that’ll be a whole thing.”
I huff a laugh. “Sounds good, Baby Doll.”
“What should I wear?”
It’s actually the perfect Florida day. It’s not too hot outside, the humidity is low, and there’s just the right amount of breeze. Perfect evening for what I have planned. “Something casual. Wear comfy shoes.”
“Okaaaaay,” she replies, but I know she wants me to elaborate. Not gonna happen. My girl deserves to be wooed. And woo her I will. Once she realizes I’m not going to explain further, she sighs dramatically before saying, “Fine. Casual it is. See you soon, Baby.”
“See you soon, Honey,” I answer before hanging up the phone, just in time to pull into the parking garage of my building.
Grabbing my phone out of the cupholder, I see a text from Emerson.
Emmy
Have a fun night. Send pics.
Me
I just saw you twenty minutes ago. Need a dick picalready?
He answers immediately.
Emmy
Not what I meant and you know it. I need a new lock screen.
AND NOT ONE OF YOUR PENIS.
Laughing, I pocket my phone and head upstairs to get ready for a night out with my girl.
I knock on the door to Lil’s apartment as I—for some weird reason—anxiously wait for her to answer. She knows I’m here, plus I know the code to her door, so I could easily just walk right in. But, I’m determined to make this a proper date. Which means, here I stand, bouquet of dahlias in hand, waiting for Lil to answer the door.
We’ve been hooking up on-and-off for a year now, and yet, this is the first time I think I’ve taken her on an actual date. Don’t get me wrong, we’ve gone to parties here and there, met up for coffee or lunch, and we’ve spent countless nights wrapped up in one another, but I’ve never taken her on an honest-to-god date. Which, I am now kicking myself in the ass for because, dick move, Dom. But seeing as how the entirety of Pensacola now knows most of our personal business, or at least they think they do, I figured now is as good of a time as any.
I hear a loud thud followed by a couple of muffled curses, which causes a smile to pull at my lips, before Lil unlocks and pulls her door open. The smile on my face falls in a split second, and my mouth pops open in awe. Because even in what should be a “casual” outfit, Liliana Campos steals my fucking breath away. She’s rubbing at her elbow, which must have been the loud thud I heard, as she looks me up and down, a small smile of approval on her lips. It lights me on fire. “Why didn’t you just come in?” she asks, slightly out of breath.
I hold out the flowers. “Because this is a date. You don’t just barge into your date’s apartment. You knock like a gentleman.”
She raises a brow. “Oh so you’re agentlemannow?”
I nudge the flowers further in her direction, and she takes them from me. I watch as she sinks her face into the top of the bouquet, closes her eyes, and draws in a deep breath. When she opens them and looks back up at me, I reply, “When I want to be.” Before she can get another word out, I reach out, wrap my hand around her arm, and bring her to me. Lifting the arm she was holding, I bring her elbow to my lips. “Kitchen counter?”
She scoffs. “I’ve lived here long enough. You’d think sooner or later, I’d stop acting like it jumps out at me.”
I chuckle before kissing the small red mark. Then I drop her arm and place another small kiss on her lips. As featherlight as it may be, my entire body lights up at the touch. She smiles against my lips before spinning onher feet and walking back into her apartment. “Let me just put these in a vase, then we can go.”
Following her inside, I close the door behind me. I lean against the wall, cross one foot over the other, and put my hand inside my shorts pockets as I watch her mill about the kitchen. She’s wearing a simple outfit, light-washed skinny jeans that are cuffed at the bottom and have holes on each knee, a tight-fitting black tank top that’s tucked into the jeans, and a pair of black-and-white-checkered vans. Her long dark hair is down and straight, with her aviators perched on top of her head, and her makeup looks light and effortless.
But with the way I’m looking at her right now, she might as well be dressed in a black-tie gown. She’s beautiful. Perfect.
Swallowing the lump in my throat, I push off the wall and go to her. I have the inexplicable urge to have my hands on her. So I do. As she stands at the counter, carefully cutting each stem on each flower before putting it in the vase, I wrap my arms around her waist, pressing my chest against her back, and drop my chin to her shoulder. We stand there just like that for the next few minutes until she’s done. Once the flowers are arranged just how she wants them, she pushes them back so they rest in the center of the countertop and turns in my arms. Wrapping her arms around my neck, she says softly, “Thank you for the flowers, they’re beautiful.”
I press a gentle kiss to the tip of her nose, staring into her sage-green eyes the entire time. “You’re welcome, Honey.”
Her eyes dance between mine for a moment before she finally unwinds her hands and pats the center of my chest. “Alright, let’s go. You gonna tell me where we’re going?”
“There’s some live music down at the farmer’s market on the boardwalk tonight. I figured we could grab dinner and drinks down there before a round of night-glow mini golf. How does that sound?”
