Free Give Us a Chance by Allie Everhart Page B

I've been doing it for years." She smiles a little. "But thanks. And thanks for taking me out. I had a good time."
    "Does that mean there's going to be a second date?"
    She looks down, then back up again. "Jake Wheeler doesn't date."
    "Says who?"
    She glances to the side. "Just about everyone."
    "And yet I was on a date tonight. Maybe you should stop listening to whoever it is you're listening to. They obviously got their facts wrong."
    "Jake, you said we weren't going to play games."
    "I'm not. Why would you say that?"
    "Because I don't know what you're doing. I know you only date a girl once, if that. I also know you've never had a girlfriend and don't want one. You're not a relationship guy, and I'm not saying I'm looking for that right now, but—"
    "Stop." I put my finger over her lips and hear her sharply inhale a breath. She's either angry I did it, or surprised, but I needed to stop her because if she kept going, she'd talk herself out of going on another date with me.
    I drop my hand from her lips. "I'm not playing games with you. I want to take you out again, and again after that. I admit this is new to me, and you're right, I've never had a girlfriend, but maybe it's because I just haven't met the right girl. Maybe that girl is standing right in front me and I don't know it yet because I need more time with her." My eyes are locked on hers and I hear her breath quicken. It draws my attention down to her mouth and her slightly parted lips. Shit, I want to kiss her. I want to kiss her so bad, but I can't. I promised myself I wouldn't. I force my eyes back to hers. "So would you go on another date with me?"
    She pauses a moment. "Okay."
    I give her a slight grin. "Good. Now that we've got that settled, I'll head out. Have a good evening. I'll call you tomorrow."
    I turn to leave, and when I'm almost at the door, I hear her voice again. "Jake?"
    "Yeah?" I turn around and see her still standing there, her mouth slightly parted, her eyes locked on mine. Then she bites her lip, and that promise I made to myself just seconds earlier is instantly broken.
    I stalk back to her, take her face in my hands, and put my mouth over hers. I kiss her hard, rushed, then force myself to slow down. I don't want this to be fast. I want to take my time, savor how it feels to kiss her. I've waited months to do this. I've imagined it in my head so many freaking times, but what I imagined isn't even close to the real thing. Her mouth is perfect, her lips soft, and responsive in a way that feels like we've done this before. There's no awkwardness of a first kiss, no hesitation. I feel her lips part for me and when my tongue slides over hers, she moans and grips my coat, pulling me closer, so close that she can feel how hard I am. It's right up against her, and so hard it fucking aches. I can't remember ever being this aroused, not even as a teenager. If Ivy dumps me tomorrow, she'll have ruined me for every kiss I have from this point forward. Who knew a simple kiss could feel this damn good?
    She backs away just enough to take a breath, so I take one too, then plant my mouth on hers again, my fingers threading through her long silky hair, gripping the back of her neck as my tongue devours her mouth, tasting her. I want to slip my hand under her coat and touch her breast, but I know that's too much, too soon.
    So I continue to kiss her as long as she'll let me. A few minutes pass, and I feel her lips slowly pull away. I'm already longing to feel them again, but that'll have to wait until some other night.
    "I should go," she whispers, trailing her hand down my chest.
    I have to touch her one last time so I run the back of my fingers over her cheek, then along her lips. She closes her eyes and breathes out at my touch, then her eyes open again and meet up with mine.
    "You have nice lips," I tell her.
    "Is that why you kissed me?"
    "I kissed you because I wanted to. I've wanted to for months, so when you gave me permission, I took it."
    "I