Things she was clearly ready for.

Very ready for.

Things she was hoping would happen tonight.

“How do I look?” Trihn asked Lydia, coming out of her sister’s bathroom.

She had taken way too long in deciding on what to wear tonight and finally ended up on an emerald-green dress that matched her eyes. It hugged her figure like a glove and stopped at mid-thigh. She paired it with nude heels and light jewelry. Her makeup enhanced her beauty, giving her cat eyes and high cheekbones.

“Like you have a date,” Lydia said. She sat up straight on the bed.

“Well, I do.”

“A date you’re excited for.”

“I am.” She bit her lip. “Can you tell Mom and Dad, if they ask, that I’m staying with you tonight?”

“Oh my God!” Lydia shot up off the bed and jumped up and down. “This is so exciting. Who is this guy?”

“No one. I don’t want it to be a big deal. We’re not serious or anything.”

“You’re serious enough for a date in that! This is all-new territory for you!”

“This is the reason I haven’t told you,” Trihn said.

“Because I’d be excited for you?” Lydia looked at her in dismay.

“No, because you’d make me feel like a freak for not having gone on a real date like this before.”

Lydia rolled her eyes. “Whatever. You’re not a freak. You’re just…picky. But who cares? I’m happy for you. When do I get to meet him?”

“How about never?” Trihn said immediately.

“I don’t bite!” she cried. “Plus, I have to approve of him.”

“I don’t need your approval. It’s too new, Ly. I don’t want to scare him off.”

“I won’t scare him! I’ll be a perfect big sister.”

Trihn rolled her eyes. Yeah, right. “Give me the summer. Then, if this is still the real deal when I start school in the fall, then you can meet him.”

“That’s, like…six weeks away,” she complained.

“Less than six weeks away. Now, hand me my purse, so I can head out of here.”

Lydia pouted but handed over the black clutch. Trihn kissed her on the cheek before leaving the apartment. She hailed a cab to Preston’s apartment, and when she landed on the sidewalk outside his place, she shifted anxiously from foot to foot.

Preston came out of the door of his apartment building a minute later. She launched herself at him without a thought, and he chuckled into her ear, holding her tight against him.

“Hey, beautiful,” he whispered.

“I missed you.”

He kissed the top of her head and squeezed her a little bit harder. “I missed you, too. Are you ready to go?”

“Yeah. Are you going to tell me where we’re going?” she asked.

“You’ll see.”

“Oh, I see how it’s going to be. Trying to keep secrets,” she joked.

He raised his eyebrows. “I don’t want to hear it. You walked me into a model studio party with a hundred beautiful people without warning.”

“I probably should have warned you, considering the number of people who hit on you.”

“The only people in that room who hit on me were men,” he confessed, shaking his head and leaning out to hail a cab.

“Wait! What about me?” she asked with a pout.

“Were you hitting on me? I didn’t notice.”

She smacked him on the arm. “I think you noticed. You were making out with me at the end of the night.”

He pulled open the cab door, and as she slid by him into the backseat, he gasped lightly in surprise. “Was that you?”

Trihn shook her head in exasperation. Only this man could tease her like this without her strangling him. “Let me remind you,” she said.

When he sat down, she drew him in for a kiss. He tasted like cinnamon candy, and she just wanted to eat him right up. Their lips melded together, and she felt the world drop away, as it only could with him touching her.

Then, the cab driver cussed loudly, interrupting them, and Trihn pulled away, embarrassed. “Where are you headed? I don’t have all day.”

“Sorry,” Preston said quickly. “Lincoln Center.”

Her head snapped to the side. “What?”

“Ever been before?” he asked coyly.

“Are you kidding me? Do you know how many times I’ve been to Lincoln Center? I’m in love with The Metropolitan Opera House. My best friend just got into Juilliard.”

“Well, I thought this might be up your alley.”

He retrieved a pair of tickets from the inside pocket of his suit coat and handed them to her. She stared down at the tickets with delight. Preston was taking her to the ballet to see Giselle. It was one of her favorites, too.

“Thank you.” She beamed up at him and threaded their fingers together.

He gave her another deep kiss. “Only the best for you.”

The drive Uptown was surprisingly easy, and they made it to Lincoln Center with plenty of time to find their seats inside the theater. They were about midway back on the orchestra level, on the aisle. Preston took the inner seat so that she would have the best view of the stage.

Excitement was already coursing through her body at what she was about to see. She had seen many ballets, but each time it was as if she couldn’t breathe when watching. She could judge their movements, the precision behind their leaps and turns, and the extension of the men and women onstage, but all of that would seem to blur. She would just get lost in the dance. That was all that mattered.

The lights dimmed, everyone rushed to get to their seats, and then the curtain rose, transporting the audience into another world.

Trihn sank back into her seat just as the first ballerina floated onto the stage. As she reveled in the performance, Preston ran his hand up her arm and to her shoulder, sending shivers down her spine. She glanced over at him, and he had this dirty smirk on his face. He wasn’t even watching the ballet. His eyes were solely trained on her.

She swallowed and stared forward, but her attention was torn. His fingers brushed her long tresses off her neck. The palm of his hand pushed flat against her skin and went up into her hair. He gently pulled it, and as her head dipped backward, her eyes closed of their own accord.

With his other hand, he laced their fingers together, bringing her hand to his lips. He tenderly kissed each knuckle before drawing her thumb between his teeth. She inhaled deeply.

He seemed to be enjoying himself as he kneaded the muscles in her neck. He leaned forward toward her and planted a soft kiss on her shoulder.

“Keep your eyes open. You don’t want to miss a second of this,” he breathed softly.

Dear God! He was teasing her. This was sweet, blissful torture.

She could hardly concentrate. Keeping up with two things at once, when one was tempting her with everything she wanted, was harder than it seemed. As the ballet drew to a close, she was glad that she had seen it before or else she would have been entirely lost as to what had happened during much of the performance.

His touch was captivating, and she found she was a lost cause when it came to this man. She hadn’t just forgotten the ballet in front of her face. The world had disappeared all around her. In a sea of people, there was just him.

The curtain dropped unexpectedly, bright lights flooded the auditorium, and Trihn jolted upright. Preston sat up straight, as if he hadn’t just been working her into a frenzy with the lightest touches imaginable. The smirk on his face was the only indication that anything was amiss.

As the curtain rose and the dancers began to take their bows, Trihn stood on shaky legs to give the ballet that she couldn’t remember a standing ovation. Preston applauded at her side. They clapped until everyone left the stage, and people started filing out.

She exited into the aisle, and Preston grabbed her hand again.

“Hey, we’re not done,” he said. The words were suggestive and were accented by his hand squeezing around her waist.

“Oh?” she managed to get out.

“Come on. I think you’ll like this surprise better.”