“What have you done to me, Lily?” I asked her as I ran my fingers through her hair.

“The same thing you’ve done to me,” she responded.

“As much as I want you right now, I think we should wait.”

Lily looked at me and nodded her head; then I pulled her into me and held her tight.

“I’m scared. I don’t know where this is going. There’s so much I don’t know about you, and there’s so much you don’t know about me. I don’t want us to have sex on a whim and end up regretting it later. That’s not who I am, Lily, and I need you to trust me.”

She whispered in my ear, “I do trust you, and I agree with you.”

I tightened my arms around her, knowing that this woman before me was truly perfect. She slowly got off of me and sat up on the couch, so I sat up next to her and ran my finger along her shoulder, making small circles. “Will you go on a date with me tonight?”

“I don’t do dates.” She smiled.

“I don’t either, but I thought maybe tonight we could both make an exception.” I smiled back.

She took my finger from her shoulder and tenderly kissed it. “I think maybe I could make an exception this one time.”

“Me too.” I grinned.

I got up from the couch. “I’m going to go now, before it gets any hotter in here,” I said as I pointed to the door.

Lily got up and followed me. “Maybe I should call my maintenance guy over so he can cool me off.”

“Somehow, I think your maintenance guy will make you sweat.” I smiled as I leaned into her and kissed her lips. “I’ll pick you up at 6:00 p.m. We’ll go to dinner and then figure it out from there.”

“That sounds great. I’ll be ready,” she said as she closed the door.

“Dude, where the hell were you?” Sam asked as I walked through the door.

“I was over at Lily’s,” I replied and headed towards my bedroom.

Sam followed behind me. “Bro, your hair’s all messed up. Did you have sex with her?!”

“No, we didn’t have sex. We almost did, but I stopped it.”

“Dude, are you crazy? Why did you stop it?”

“Maybe I am, but I’m not thinking with my dick. I’m thinking with my head and my heart, and I want to—no, I need to know her better. I have too much hurt going on and so does Lily. Neither of us needs to just have a sympathy fuck just for the sake of it.”

“I get it, and I’m proud of you,” Sam said.

“I asked her out on a date tonight. I’m going to take her to dinner and then I think I’ll take her to the cove so we can really talk to each other without anyone else around.”

I heard the door open and little footsteps running around the apartment. I walked out of my bedroom and saw Charley in the kitchen. “How’s my favorite niece?”

“Uncle Luke!” she exclaimed as she ran to me and hugged my legs. “I’m your only niece, silly.”

I kissed her on the head as Maddie walked over to me. “Hey, do you think you can watch Charley for a few hours while I go out with some friends?”

I looked at her, and she could tell something was up. Immediately, Sam spoke up. “Your brother isn’t available tonight, but I am, and I would be more than happy to look after Charley for you.”

“Not available?” Maddie asked as she looked at me, surprised.

Sam walked over to her and whispered in her ear, “Luke has a date with Lily tonight.”

Maddie put her hand over her mouth. “Oh my god, yay!” she exclaimed.

Charley walked up to Sam. “What are your plans for tonight, Uncle Sammy?”

He bent down and looked at Charley square in the eye. “Well, little one, if you must know, Gretchen’s coming over, and we’re going to grab some chicken fingers and fries for dinner; then we’re going to go for ice cream and maybe play a little miniature golf.”

Charley’s eyes widened. “Can I come?”

“You sure can!”

“Thanks, man. I owe you,” I said to him.

Maddie motioned for me to follow her into my room. “I’m so happy for you. I can’t believe you actually asked her out.”

“Me neither, but both of us still have a lot of personal issues that we need to work out.”

Maddie hugged me. “It’ll be ok, Luke. You’re a great guy, and from what I can tell, Lily’s a great girl. Charley loves her.”

We walked back to the living room, and Maddie kissed Charley goodbye. “Thank you, Sam. It’s a school night, so I’ll be back by 9:00 p.m.”

“We’ll be here, waiting.” He smiled.

“Uncle Luke, where are you going that you can’t watch me?” Charley asked.

“I’m going on a date with Lily.”

A beautiful smile graced her face. “I hope you have fun.”

“We will, peanut. Make sure you give Uncle Sammy a hard time.”

“Stop being silly, Uncle Luke.” She giggled.

Lily

I was on cloud nine. Luke left me breathless with that kiss, and for the first time in a very long time, I was happy. Nothing was on my mind except Luke and our upcoming date. I walked to the bedroom to change. As I stood at my closet and stared at the clothes hanging on the rack, I picked up my phone from the bed and sent Luke a text message.

“Hi, casual or dressy?”

“Hi right back. Which do you prefer?”

“Casual?”

“Casual it is then. Actually, it was always casual.”

I smiled and replied, “Good. See you soon!” I heard a soft knock on the wall.

“Did you just knock on the wall?”

“Yes.”

“LOL, why?”

“I just wanted you to know that I’m right on the other side if you need anything.”

“Thank you, but I need to get ready, or I won’t be ready when you come to pick me up.”

“Pick you up? Why don’t you pick me up?”

“You asked me out, remember?”

“Of course I do, but that doesn’t mean you can’t pick me up.”

I laughed. “Fine, I’ll pick you up.”

“Good. I’ll be waiting.”

I smiled and shook my head as I pulled out a pair of black Capri pants. The floral print maxi dress I bought was hanging there, with the tag still attached. I haven’t had the chance to wear it yet, so I put the pants back and pulled out the dress—it was casual enough. I picked up my phone and sent another text message to Luke.

“Are we taking your motorcycle?”

“Do you want to?”

“Not really. I needed to make sure because I want to wear this dress I bought.”

“I thought this was casual.”

“It is causal; it’s a casual dress.”

“Then maybe we’ll take my bike. I’d like to see you get on it in that dress.”

I smiled as I bit my bottom lip. “Bye, Luke.”

“Bye, Lily.”

I took the tag off and slipped it on—it was perfect. I walked into the bathroom and decided to wear my hair wavy. By the time I was done, it was already time to leave. I slipped on my flip- flops, grabbed my purse, and walked next door to Luke’s. I knocked on the door and gasped when he opened it. He was wearing dark jeans with a white, button down cotton shirt that he left untucked. Once again, he took my breath away. He smiled at me, grabbed my hand, and turned me around.

“You look amazing,” he said.

I smiled as he pulled me into him, and we shared a small kiss. “You’re looking pretty sexy yourself, Mr. Matthews.”

“I try.” He winked.

He shut and locked the door; then we headed to his Jeep.

“Do you like Mexican food?” he asked.

“I love Mexican food.” I smiled.

“Good; then Mexican it is.” He smiled back.

I found myself no longer being nervous around him. He was such an easygoing guy, and he made me feel safe, unlike the first time I met him when I thought he was an ass. We pulled into the restaurant and got out of the Jeep. Luke grabbed my hand and held it. I looked at him and smiled as we made our way to the entrance. We sat outside on the patio for dinner. I ordered a margarita, and Luke ordered a beer. We talked a little bit about Charley, and he asked me how I got into teaching, so I told him how much I loved kids. Just as we finished our drinks, he touched on a taboo subject—my family.