We take an Uber to Gabby’s place. When we get to the front door, she turns to me and says, “Wait here.”
“Outside?”
“Two minutes… maybe three.” My face must show my confusion because she adds, “It’ll be worth it.”
“Yeah, okay.”
She lets out a squeal, stands on her tiptoes to kiss me on the cheek, and then rushes into the apartment, shutting the door behind her. My back hits the wall and I let out a breath. I’m anxious and nervous and hella curious about what’s going on in there. If she’s filled a kiddie pool with Jell-O, I may ask her to marry me on the spot.
The time on my phone says it’s well past my bedtime, but I feel confident that whatever is about to go down here will be worth it.
The door opens and Gabby’s head pokes out. “Ready?” she asks like she’s been waiting on me, but my momma didn’t raise no fool, so I say, “If you are.”
“Close your eyes.”
I start to protest, but then think better of it. There’s nothing in there I don’t want to see, so it’s pointless to put up a fight. When my lids are shut, I hear the door creak and then her hand takes mine and pulls.
Without my sight, the first thing I notice is the sound – Color Me Badd is crooning about how they want to sex me up and I laugh. “You made a sex playlist, didn’t you?”
“Duh,” she says like I should have expected it.
The music is coming from somewhere not in the living room, it’s too faint. The second thing is the smell – matches and wax, she’s lit candles.
She drops my hand and her voice comes in a whisper. “Open.”
The room is lit with more candles than I can count, giving the dark room a soft glow. “Wow, Gabby this is…”
“There’s more.” She takes my hand again and leads me toward the bedroom. She’s still wearing the shorts and tank top she had on at the bar, and I admire the view. It’s a good look on her. They’re all good looks on her.
The candles continue in her bedroom, scattered on a table by her bed and on top of a dresser on the far wall. The music is louder here too, and I find the source of the sound coming from her open laptop on her desk.
She’s set the mood and though I don’t need it, I find it endearing that she went to such lengths. She obviously had a plan for her first time, and I feel completely unworthy showing up with nothing but a condom and a determination to make tonight everything she ever imagined.
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t hoping the night would end with sex, but now that it is… I’m fucking nervous.
Her eyes are wide, tension bouncing off her as she waits for my reaction.
“This is amazing. Highly flammable, but truly amazing. You did all this for me?”
She nods and lets her chin dip. “Listen, I know that what we’re doing is just…” She waves a hand in the air like she’s searching for the right word. “Casual, but I guess I still want it to be romantic or memorable or whatever. Is that okay?”
I reach her in a single step and wrap my arms around her. “Just because this thing between us is temporary, it doesn’t make this, tonight, our time together, any less special. It’s more than okay. It’s perfect.”