DANIEL AND DESTINY WALKED HAND IN HAND UP HER walkway from his car to her townhouse-style apartment. “Did you enjoy yourself tonight?” he asked.
“I had a great time,” she said. “It was a perfect evening.”
He shook his head. “Not perfect, but close to it.”
“What was missing?”
“Nothing was missing,” he said. “There were just too many people for it to be perfect. Perfect would have been just you and me. We’ll have to do that soon.”
She chuckled. “The way we’re going, we may be destined for group dates only.”
“I’m not going to claim that,” he said. “In fact, the next time we go out, it will be just you and me. I claim it. Now. In Jesus’s name.”
“Now you’re being silly.”
“Just a little,” he admitted. “All kidding aside, there is something affirming about being out with a group of friends who know both of us.”
When they reached the courtyard near the front door, Daniel stopped. “Do you have to go in?” he asked.
She shrugged. “You’re welcome to come in with me,” she said.
He shook his head. “It’s such a beautiful night that I’d rather sit out here in your courtyard. That swing is calling my name. What do you think?”
She smiled. “I think my couch might be more comfortable, but the view of the night is nowhere near as good as it is out here.”
“Then come and sit with me,” he said, leading her to the wicker glider that was the centerpiece of the courtyard. After they were seated, he stretched out his legs, leaned his head back, pulled her close, and put his arm around her shoulders. “Now this is more like it,” he said.
She kicked off her shoes, folded her legs on the glider, and leaned closer to him. Smiling into his shoulder, she said, “It’s not bad.”
He lifted his head and peered down at her. “Not bad?”
Her smile grew broader. “All right. It’s nice. Very nice.”
“That’s more like it,” he said, leaning his head back again.
It was nice sitting here with him listening to the quiet of the night.
“You’re not falling asleep on me, are you?”
She shook her head. “No way.”
“I thought you said you lived in an apartment,” he said.
“This is a townhouse-style apartment. It’s the only community I’ve seen that’s like it. It’s perfect for me and the kids.”
“But you’re going to move away?”
She sighed. “I don’t want to, but I have to for the kids. Kenneth is right. We can’t keep shuttling them across town next year the way we did this year. It’s too much and it’s unnecessary.”
“What’s your schedule for moving?”
“I wanted to be settled in before the kids get back from California. The move and the house will be my surprise for them. I want them to know that their mom was thinking about them when they were away. I’ve already decided how I’m going to decorate their rooms. They’re going to love them.”
He squeezed her shoulder. “I’m sure they will.”
She looked up at him. “What are you thinking about?” she asked.
Looking down at her, he said, “You. Us.”
She swallowed. Hard.
“And this,” he said, lowering his head until his lips touched hers. The kiss was soft and so very sweet. When he lifted his head, he said, “I’ve been wanting to do that since I picked you up.”
“So have I.”
He moaned and then he lowered his head for another kiss, a kiss that was deeper and longer than the first one. When he lifted his head this time, he gave her a satisfied grin and then leaned his head back again.
She giggled.
“What are you laughing at?”
“I’m just happy,” she said.
She felt him smile. “So am I.”