Ever wish you could speed up time and slow it down all at once? Reid and I are sitting opposite each other in an adorable restaurant. The walls are made of wood, the chairs covered in velvet, and the black chopsticks on the table taunt me.
I tried hard to eat with them. It didn’t work well, so I opted for a fork.
“Tell me about your very first date with a girl,” I say.
“Rosie Westwood. We were fifteen and we went bowling. Cliché, I know, but it was the only place we could walk to, and I didn’t want my mum taking us.”
“That’s so cute.”
“It wasn’t. I was awkward, she cried when she lost, and she never spoke to me again.”
“You dodged a bullet. What fifteen-year-old cries when she doesn’t win a game of bowling? Have you looked her up? What did you say her surname was? I’ll check if she’s a psycho. She’s probably one of those who airs her dirty laundry on Facebook. I love those train wrecks.”
“We’re not social media stalking my first date while we’re on our first date.”
“Okay, we’ll save that for the second.”
He looks at me darkly and shakes his head.
I dig into my ice cream. Reid watches with intense eyes as I put the spoon in my mouth. He didn’t want dessert. I thought that was weird at first, but now I realise there’s only one thing on his mind.
It’s a little strange having a first date with a man I know intimately. I can picture him naked very explicitly anytime I like.
But tonight has been nice. The romance as well as the heat is making my heart beat hard. This is the start of forever.
“If you could have any superpower, what would it be?” I ask. “Please don’t say invisibility so you can spy on women.”
He smirks. “I would fly.”
“Me, too. You could go anywhere.”
“Where would you go first?”
“To that waterfall you took a photo of.”
“We can get there by plane.”
“Before or after Bali?”
He smiles in amusement. “Whenever you want, Mila. We’ll travel the world collecting memories and photos.”
“I honestly can’t believe I didn’t see you sooner. I’m such an idiot.”
“Stop looking back.” He reaches over the table and takes my hand—the one not holding the spoon. He knows he’s got no chance of taking my dessert away from me.
“Sorry, I’m just constantly kicking myself over the lost time. I’ll stop, I promise.”
He arches a brow. “The time wasn’t lost. Everything is happening how it should be.”
“You believe in everything happening for a reason?”
“Not everything, but I think that maybe if we’d jumped sooner, you might not have been ready. That doesn’t work for me.”
“It doesn’t?”
“No, I’m not just dating you for a few months then walking away. I was fine to wait.”
“Ah, and now you’re sure I’m ready?”
“I can see that you are. You show me every day that it’s me and not him.”
I squeeze his hand. “It’ll never be anyone else now.”
His chest expands on a deep breath. “You’re that sure.”
“Yeah, but don’t let it get to your head, okay?”
“I’ll try not to,” he replies sarcastically.
I eat another spoonful of ice cream. “What are we doing next?”
“I’m going to need to get you alone soon,” he admits, watching my mouth.
“Reid Walker, this is our first date. What kind of girl do you take me for?”
“Mine.”
The possessive tone to his voice almost makes me come at the dinner table.
“Weren’t we supposed to take this slow?” I ask, telling him how I feel without outright admitting that I’m planning a summer wedding, someplace hot.
“We did. Now we’ve jumped, nothing is going to slow this down anymore. If you scare particularly easily, do let me know.”
“Why, are you planning on tying me up to keep me?”
“I’m most definitely planning to tie you up again.”
I squeeze his hand. “Shall we get the bill?”
Reid looks away, nodding to a server across the room.
I laugh and put my spoon down. There’s no way I can eat another mouthful with the butterflies in my stomach now.
He asks for the bill then turns back to me. “Don’t scare easy,” he says, and my heart skips a beat at the vulnerability in his voice. I’ve never heard him sound afraid before. Losing me is a fear. It’s equally the best and worst feeling I’ve ever had.
“Okay, I’m going to level with you here. I watch out of the window for when you come home. I hold my phone if I’m waiting for a reply from you. You’re pretty much the only thing that I think about, and I kick myself daily that I didn’t see you—really see you—before now. The only place I want to be is by your side.”
Reid’s lips part. He pulls some notes out of his wallet and throws them on the table. I watch him stand up and offer his hand.
Should I worry that he hasn’t said anything? Did I go too hard with the crazy stuff?
He helps me up, and we’re suddenly walking very fast.
“I was kidding, you know. The stuff about watching for you out of the window.”
We fly through the restaurant, and Reid shoves the door open. The icy December air pinches at my skin.
“I know what you’re thinking, and you’re wrong. I’m actually sane, I swear. Sometimes my mouth just—”
Reid pins me to the side of the building, silencing me with his mouth.