Chapter 16 (5/27/16)

            Dan did text.  On Sunday morning, I got a text from him asking if I wanted to come over for dinner that evening.  “You cook?” I asked in response, realizing just how little I knew about him.  “I cook, but I can’t promise I cook well!” he replied immediately.  I laughed. 

            As usual, completely unable to make minor decisions on my own, I texted Erica and Kelly.  “Third ‘date’: going to his house for dinner.  Crazy, or not crazy?”  An immediate text back from Erica declared it ‘not crazy’, while a couple minutes later, Kelly said, “Can we define crazy?  I mean, I guess you probably won’t get murdered.”  I rolled my eyes and thanked them for their insight, then texted Dan back that I was in.  After confirming, I texted Kelly and Erica, “This has ‘good chance of getting laid’ written all over it.”  “Except for the part where he hasn’t even kissed you yet,” Erica helpfully pointed out.  She quickly followed up with, “But I’ll cross my fingers for you!” 

            I tossed my phone down onto my bed and went back to packing.  I had one week to finish packing all my stuff to be ready to move.  I never realized how much stuff I had until I started packing it, and I wasn’t pleased by it.  I was trying to get rid of as much as I could, but there was still too much. 

            I packed until it was time to get ready to go to Dan’s house.  Once I was ready, I programmed his address into my phone’s GPS and headed out, managing to completely avoid Kevin for once. 

            Dan’s house was in a nice, established neighborhood.  It was probably one of the newer houses in the neighborhood, and it was bigger than I was expecting.  He pulled open the door and I smelled something delicious.  “Whatever you’re cooking, it smells amazing,” I told him, after he’d hugged me in greeting.

            “I hope you’re okay with pork,” he said sheepishly.  “I didn’t even think to ask.”

            “I am,” I assured him. 

He noticed me looking around curiously and took me on a quick tour of the house, ending in the kitchen.  “I want to do some renovating in here but I haven’t really had the time yet,” he said, looking around the room.  “I’ll do most of it myself, and it just seems like a really daunting task at the moment.”

“You cook and you’re handy?” I asked, grinning.  “That’s a deadly combination.”

“Anyone can strip and stain cabinets,” he replied modestly.  “I’m not going to do anything too crazy.”

Dan had made pork chops with a mushroom and Dijon sauce, green beans, and roasted potatoes.  My mouth was watering by the time we sat down.  Partway through the meal, I said, “This is really good.  You lied when you said you couldn’t promise you cooked well!”

Dan chuckled.  “Well, actually I didn’t.  I can’t take credit for this, even though I’d like to because you’re obviously impressed.  My friend who is a chef did most of the work.  I just finished it all off in the oven.”

I shook my head.  “I don’t even care,” I said.  “It’s so good that it doesn’t matter who cooked it!” 

I helped him clear the dishes after we finished.  “I don’t have dessert, but I do have more wine,” he informed me. I let him pour me another glass and we moved to the living room.  He turned on the TV and we flipped through Netflix to pick out a movie.  We playfully argued over the choices until we found one we both liked, then we settled under a blanket next to each other on the couch.

Throughout the movie, I kept waiting for him to make some sort of move.  But he didn’t talk, he didn’t look at me, he didn’t even touch me.  I shifted slightly closer to him at one point and he subtly shifted away.  Rebuked, I wiggled back to my original spot.  “Sorry,” he said ruefully, noticing my movement.  “I’m not much of a cuddler.”  He moved his hand beneath the blanket and squeezed my leg gently, then left his hand there.            

When the movie finished, he looked at me.  “What do you want to watch next?” he asked.  Before I could control my face, my brow furrowed slightly.  “What?” he asked, noticing.

“Are you going to kiss me, or what?” I blurted before I could stop myself.  I immediately felt my face heat up as he laughed gently.

“I think I could manage that,” he teased, gently gripping the back of my neck and bringing his lips to meet mine.  It felt weird, kissing someone new for the first time in years and years, but he was a good kisser and I felt myself relaxing into the kiss.  But then it was over, and he was smiling at me.  “So,” he said, grinning lazily.  “What do you want to watch next?”

This time I kept the perplexed look off my face and just took the remote and scrolled through the options.  I picked something and we got comfortable.  This time he slipped his arm around me and pulled me against his side.  I settled against him but quickly got sleepy.  About 20 minutes (and 6 yawns) into the movie I sat up and stretched and said, “I think I should get going.”

“Already?” he asked, looking disappointed. 

“Yeah, I’m really tired,” I replied.  “I’ve been packing all weekend, apparently it’s draining.”  And I had to work in the morning.  And go to my home inspection.

He stood and offered me a hand, pulling me up off the couch.  “Okay, well thanks for coming over,” he said. 

“Thanks for inviting me, and sort of cooking,” I responded, grinning.  “I had fun.”  He followed me to the door and watched me get my stuff together.

“You know,” I said tentatively as I put my shoes on, “it’s totally cool if you’re not into casual sex, but I think we might want different things.”  I straightened and looked at him, anxiously awaiting his response.  It was the most direct thing I’d said to him.

He grinned and hooked an arm around my waist, kissing me lightly.  “I’m fine with casual sex,” he replied.  “I just like to get to know people a little bit first.”

I once again barely caught my face before it contorted into a confused frown.  Didn’t getting to know someone kind of defeat the purpose of casual sex?  “Okay,” I said, nodding, even though I was still confused. 

“So I’ll see you soon?” he asked, grabbing my hand and tugging me closer.

“Yes,” I answered, letting him pull me toward him.  He bent his head down and kissed me again, and I kissed him back, letting my mind wander briefly to wondering what else he did well with his tongue.

When I got to my car, I checked my texts.  I had a couple from Erica and Kelly.  “Well?” Kelly’s said simply.  “I hope you got some!” Erica’s said, optimistically.  I texted back, “Nope, but he did kiss me.  After I basically told him to.”  Then I tossed my phone back in my purse, put my car in drive, and pulled away from the curb.