Page 69 of Only in Our Dream
Cameron tenderly reached out and took Melanie’s hand. It was their first public display of affection where neither of them had to worry about being caught. They were free to be together with no strings attached, and Melanie couldn’t remember a time she ever felt freer.
“Are you hungry?”
“Starving. I’ve been so nervous today I could barely eat,” Melanie sheepishly admitted.
“If it makes you feel better, I’ve been nervous too.”
“Why are we like this?”
“Because going from friends to lovers is nerve racking.” Cameron winked at her, validating all of Melanie’s feelings.
As they walked hand in hand to the restaurant, Melanie tried to set aside all her emotions from earlier. There was no way she was going to tell Cameron she’d almost made herself so sick earlier she couldn’t have eaten if she wanted to. That would spoil the evening before it even started. But Melanie knew how much was riding on their date.
Not only was it their first date, it was the first time they would be out in public as a couple. Melanie tried not to overthink that. She was divorced and Cameron was single. Besides, it wasn’t like Rob wasn’t dating Janet. That fact had been found out officially thanks to a Facebook notification Melanie didn’t need to see.
But there was something else in the back of her mind that kept her from relaxing.
When Isla had arrived earlier in the evening to help her get ready, she’d told Melanie to pack an overnight bag. Melanie had waved her off. They were eating at the inn, not staying at the inn. But something in Isla’s eyes told Melanie she knew more than she was letting on.
At first, Melanie panicked. She hadn’t mentally or physically prepared to be intimate with Cameron for the first time. But on the other hand, she wanted it more than she cared to admit, even to herself. Thoughts of touching Cameron, kissing Cameron, making love to Cameron had been in her head for weeks and only amplified more at the thought of spending the night with her at the inn.
So far, though, Cameron hadn’t said anything about extending their date after dinner. All Melanie could do now was enjoy her first date with dinner and let the rest of the evening sort itself out later.
The restaurant was small—quaint, Vera had said—and was barely half full for the Thursday night. With kids still out of school for the holidays and tourists heading back home, the inn itself had seemed quiet all around. And it provided the perfect atmosphere for their first date.
They were seated at a table by a large window. A bouquet of fresh flowers sat in the middle of the table, along with two wine glasses. Instead of sitting across from each other, they sat next to each other. As they perused their menus, Melanie felt Cameron’s hand on her knee. Slowly, she’d trace circles on Melanie’s thigh to the point where Melanie could no longer focus on the menu.
“Cameron, dear,” she kept her voice low and teasing, “are you trying to distract me? Because you’re doing afabulousjob.”
“I just can’t keep my hands off you.” Cameron’s voice was low and husky, unlike anything Melanie could remember before. When Cameron leaned in to kiss her, Melanie melted like butter on a hot roll. “But I’ll try so you can figure out what you want.”
“You.”
“What?”
“You,” Melanie repeated. “You’re what I want.”
Cameron looked momentarily taken aback as she closed her menu and lowered her voice. “Like right now? Before dinner?”
The seriousness in Cameron’s question made Melanie laugh.
“We can eat dinner now, silly. It’s not like we have a room upstairs or anything.” She laughed Cameron off, assuming she was joking as well. But when Cameron placed her hand on Melanie’s arm and they locked eyes again, Melanie knew dinner was going to be put on hold.
“I do.”
“What?”
“I have a room upstairs. I don’t know why I booked it. Isla and Vera talked me into it in case the dinner went well. But I wasn’t planning on telling you until after because I didn’t want to pressure you into sex on our first date because that’s so stereotypical, right? Lesbians move so fast anyway that why wouldn’t they have sex on their first date, ya know?”
“Cam.”
“But I do have the room. I don’t have the key. I’d have to go check in. But I can do that. If you want. I can go check in and get a key to our room if you want.”
“Cam,” Melanie repeated, this time placing her hand on top of Cameron’s. “Stop rambling so I can say yes.”
“Really?”
“Really. Dinner can wait, but I’m not sure how much longer I can.” Melanie had no idea where the confidence coursing through her body was coming from. “Why don’t you go check into the room and I’ll grab us some wine to go?”
