“And they’re not competition?”
“Uh, no. Macon is more like a brother—or I guess not exactly that. But not competition. Brody is nice and all, but once again, not competition.” I left out the name of his only competition—he was only competition in my head.
“How’d you end up living with them?”
“Macon and I have been friends our whole lives. I didn’t know what to do this summer, so he invited me down. He had an extra room, and it sounded much better than moving back in with my parents.”
“I take it you’re not close to them.” He finished his shrimp. “Your parents.”
“It’s more like we’re having a disagreement right now.”
“Over you reapplying to med school?”
“Yes.”
“That’s tough. It’s got to be hard enough on you without that.”
“Yeah, I think they’re embarrassed, and that’s fine. But that doesn’t mean it’s my fault.”
“Of course not.” He reached across the round table and took my hand. “You have to do what’s best for you.”
“I know. It’s like the UVA rejection letter was a wake-up call. It was almost a slap in the face. I’d been spending my life trying to achieve someone else’s dream. If I reached it, great. But I couldn’t. Why torture myself for something I’m not sure I ever really wanted?”
“You’re only twenty-two. You’ll find something else you want to do.”
“Right now I’m happy enough working at the Grille.”
“It’s not the worst temporary position.” He didn’t let go of my hand, and I didn’t pull it away until the waiter came over to ask us about dessert.
“Do you want something?”
“No thanks. I’m pretty stuffed.”
“All right. We can always grab something on the way home.”
“Sounds great.”
We didn’t end up stopping for dessert, but we did take a walk on the beach. The moon was still pretty full, and it lit up the ocean as we walked along the sand.
I dipped my toes in the water. “I’m glad you called this morning.”
“Me too. I made the decision not to play by the rules with you.”
“Not to play by the rules?”
“I usually wait a few days before calling for another date. I usually don’t make jokes about sex and toilet paper on a second date. I usually don’t tell a date that I’m overwhelmed by their beauty on the second date either.” He laced his fingers with mine.
I turned to him. “You haven’t told me that.”
“I have now.” He placed his hands on my shoulders and looked me directly in the eyes. “And in case you missed it, I’m overwhelmed by your beauty.”
If most guys had said something like that to me, I probably would have laughed. I didn’t laugh. My chest clenched as the intensity in his eyes burned into mine.
Instead of laughing, I hugged him. The kind of hug where I leaned my head on his chest and let him wrap me up in his arms. The hug wasn’t the “second date” kind of hug, it was more of a “we’ve been together three months” sort of thing. Most guys would have kissed me, but he didn’t. I was already seeing that Colin wasn’t other guys.
We didn’t say much after that, but there was something comforting in the silence. I liked it, and I think he did too. Eventually we got back in the car, and he drove me home.
We stopped in front of the door to my condo.
He took both of my hands in his. “I had a great time tonight.”
“Me too.” I smiled.
“You are everything yet nothing like I thought you’d be.”
“What does that mean?”
He moved his hands up my arms. “It means you are even more amazing than I expected.”
“Then thanks.”
He leaned over and brushed his lips against mine. I shivered, wanting the kiss like I hadn’t wanted a kiss in years. He started to pull away. I reached out for him, ready to protest when his lips crushed into mine. Our lips moved together, and I wrapped my arms around his neck. His response was to pull me closer, and to let his hands move down to my hips.
His tongue pushed against my teeth, and I welcomed him into my mouth. He tasted like cinnamon, and I wanted more. He groaned as I pressed my body against his.
“Maddy?”
Colin groaned again, but this time it wasn’t a good one.
We broke the kiss.
“Can we help you, Brody?”
Brody smiled sheepishly. “I heard some noise and wanted to check it out.”
“You can go inside now.”
“Oh, yeah. Okay.” He backed up and closed the door.
“So…that was a little awkward.”
Colin took my hand again. “Not awkward, just frustrating.”
“Thanks for a great night.”
“Thanks for a great ending to the night—minus your, uh, roommate interrupting.”
“Make sure to kiss me somewhere else next time.”
He laughed. “I’ll remember that. Sleep well, Maddy.”
“You too.”
He kissed me on the cheek, and I walked inside.
As soon as the door clicked closed, I confronted Brody. He was sitting on the couch with his feet up on the ottoman.
“Was that necessary?”
“You think I did that on purpose?” He pointed at his chest. He was wearing a ragged, old t-shirt. I felt completely overdressed.
“You heard a noise?”
“Yeah. I was just checking things out.”
“Do me a favor: next time, don’t.”
“How was it?”
I wasn’t sure if he meant the date itself or the kiss. “Great.”
“Yeah?”
“Nice dinner, nice conversation, and a good kiss.”
“Only good?”
“Wonderful. He tastes like cinnamon.”
“Was he chewing gum?”
“No. I think he just tastes that way. The funny thing is I don’t usually like cinnamon-flavored things.”
“There’s probably a deep metaphor in there somewhere.”
“One we’re not discussing tonight.” I slumped down on the couch next to him and kicked off my shoes.
“When are you going to see him again?”
“I don’t know. I guess whenever he calls.”
“Letting him call all the shots, huh?” Brody stretched out his legs next to mine.