“I’ve Been Waiting All Day For Sunday Night”
It’s Sunday. Game day. Delicious Daniel Day. After kissing him as thoroughly as I did last Friday, I can’t help but call him delicious now. He tasted of beer, a touch of mint, and made me feel like I was lying in the sun on a hot summer day. He transported me to another place and time, he’s just that good at it. And I want that again. I’ve been craving it. Not sex, just Daniel’s time-traveling kisses.
Damn, now I’m thinking about what it would be like for Daniel to do other things to me while I’m lying in bed. With that thought forefront in my mind, it’s no wonder I grab my phone off my nightstand to send the man in question a text message.
Mac: Good morning, Delicious Daniel. Sunday Game Day! Woohoo.
Delicious Daniel: Morning, gorgeous. Are you ready for some tailgating and football?
Mac: Hell, yeah! Do I need to bring anything?
Delicious Daniel: Only your beautiful self. Have you been up long?
Ha! Now’s my chance to test the waters with Mr. Delicious.
Mac: I’m still lying in bed actually.
Delicious Daniel: Really? And what are you doing in there?
Mac: Was thinking of last Friday night and how much of a gentleman you were. Are you always so chivalrous?
Delicious Daniel: I’ve been known to have my moments, but telling me you’re in bed thinking of me is not conducive to keeping my mind out of the gutter…or your bedroom.
Mac: Then don’t. Let your mind roam free in my bedroom. I’m a firm believer in free-thinking, especially dirty thinking.
Delicious Daniel: Is that so? And where would you like my thoughts to travel?
Mac: Me, in bed, naked as the day I was born, thinking of you and your kisses.
Delicious Daniel: Damn. Cold shower needed stat.
Mac: Why’s that?
Delicious Daniel: Because my mind is definitely being led astray right now.
Mac: Do tell…
Delicious Daniel: Eyes on the prize, Mac. Gameday, football, men running around in spandex.
Mac: Oooh, you know how to make a girl swoon, don’t ya? Now you’re reminding me of my Superman fantasy.
Delicious Daniel: *bangs head against wall* Damn, Mac, you’re not helping things relax right now. So, naughty girl, how about you go have a cold shower and I’ll see you in a couple of hours ;)
Mac: *pouts* Okay, no fun.
Delicious Daniel: Don’t you worry about fun, Mac. There’s plenty of time for that. I’m all about delayed gratification.
Mac: Until then, I’ll have to rename my shower head Daniel and have fun with him ;)
Two hours later, after my cold shower where I became very well-acquainted with my detachable shower head, I’m decked out in my Bears hoodie, dark blue skinny jeans, and my favorite tangerine chucks, finished off with an awesome Chicago Bears purse I bought last year. I’m the poster child for a sexy, fun, and carefree Bears fan.
Unfortunately for me, Kate didn’t come home last night after a date with her latest man toy, Jeremy, a.k.a. The Grunter. I’m all for a man who can express himself, but not a gorilla man who grunts his way through a three-minute horizontal mambo session from foreplay to finish. But he’s hot, and Kate’s happy-ish--so I’ll keep holding on to the hope that she’ll grow tired of him and his grunting. It’s an on/off, no strings attached kind of deal. No need for any three date rule to apply.
I’m just finishing my makeup when I hear the doorbell ring. Trying not to act like an excited puppy ready to hump his leg, I walk slowly to the front of the house. I crack it open and find a smiling, fully decked out Daniel leaning against my door frame.
“Morning, gorgeous” He has the biggest grin on his face as he scans me head to toe, from my orange-clad feet up to the large C in the middle of my chest. “Damn, you’re a beautiful sight in Bears’ gear.”
“I did tell you I was a fan, and a girl has to look fashionable while supporting them,” I reply with a grin, moving out of the doorway. “Come in, I’m almost ready.”
He steps inside, closing the door behind him, and walks over to take a seat at the breakfast bar. He looks around the living area. “Nice place,” he murmurs approvingly.
“We like it,” I reply, checking my purse to make sure I have the essentials: phone, wallet, and lip gloss. “Ok, I’m all set.”
Daniel moves to stand in front of me. He leans in until our chests are almost touching and gently sweeps a loose wisp of hair behind my ear. “And how was your cold shower, Mac?” he asks low and rough, his eyes showing just a hint of the fire I know is burning behind them.
“Warm and satisfying,” I croon, moving my hands to my sides to stop myself from dragging him to my bedroom, to hell with tailgating. Dammit! I’m not used to this kind of chemistry. It’s palpable. I’m seriously expecting sparks to start buzzing between us.
He glides his hands around my hips, and runs them up my back, bringing his lips to my cheek and brushing a barely-there touch against my skin. “And the showerhead?” he murmurs in my ear.
“Daniel was very satisfying,” I reply breathlessly. I loop my arms around his neck.
“Maybe one day you can experience the full Daniel experience.” He dips his chin and presses an open-mouthed kiss to that tender spot below my ear, causing my whole body to shudder against him.
“Play your cards right, buddy, and it might be your lucky night,” I say, trying to regulate my breathing and step back, getting some much-needed distance between us, especially if we’re going to make it out the door anytime soon.
He straightens but gently rests his hands on my hips. I may have needed to clear my head, but I’m not complaining about his apparent need to touch me. “I might just be the best damn cards player you’ve ever seen.” Then Delicious Daniel turns to Danger to my self-control when he moves in, cups my jaw, and crushes his mouth to mine, giving me a spine-tingling kiss that I feel in every single part of my body. “Now, let’s get tailgating before we come up with other games to play and never leave the house.” Is this guy a mind reader or what? Maybe he is a superhero.
We arrive at Soldier Field around 1 p.m., and with an arm wrapped around my waist, Daniel leads me toward the parking lot to see the lines of parked cars, tailgates open, and hordes of people surrounding them. The air is filled with the aroma of great food, and raucous laughter as the football fans prepare for the game.
Daniel watches me as I look around, taking the entire experience in. “Are you alright, Mac?”
I turn to face him and grin. “I’m perfect, Superman.”
“Superman? I like it,” he replies, kissing the side of my head. “I like that a lot.”
I can’t wipe the goofy grin off my face. This is almost comical. Makenna, the commitment-phobe, confessed objectifier of men, actually enjoying a second date with a man and being in no hurry for it to end.
That is until Daniel stops next to a white Dodge pickup and I come face to face with the amused blue eyes of one Dr. Noah Taylor. My Noah. Fuck!
My date—obviously not noticing my body go into premature rigor mortis—lifts his chin to his friends before introducing me. “Mac, this is Thomas, Cade, and Noah. They’re old college buddies of mine. And this is Mac,” he says, snaking his arm around my waist.
Thomas steps forward first, offering me his outstretched arm. I go to shake his hand, squeaking when he lifts my knuckles to his mouth and kisses them softly. “Nice to meet you, Mac.”
“Watch it, Tom. She’s my date,” Daniel says as I stifle a giggle.
“Just greeting the lady, Danny Boy. No need to get jealous,” he responds with a grin and a wink towards me. “If she just happens to realize I’m the better choice, so be it.”
I try not to meet Noah’s gaze. I can feel his eyes burning into me, though, so I burrow myself closer to Daniel’s side, earning a chuckle and a squeeze from him. I know I can’t avoid my doctor friend, but Daniel’s arms around me fool me into a false sense of safety… at least for a moment.
“They won’t bite, gorgeous,” he murmurs, gently kissing my forehead.
“I’m not too sure about that,” I mutter, thinking back to a few months ago when Noah got a bit carried away and left a hickey the size of Mt. Rushmore on my neck. I had to wear a turtleneck underneath my scrubs for an entire week to hide the damn thing.
Feeling brave, I sneak a glance at Noah. He’s standing there with the biggest smirk on his face, nodding my way. I’ve known Noah for two years, so it’s safe to say he’s well aware that I don’t date and definitely don’t do strings.
I grit my teeth when he steps forward and claps Daniel on the back. “Dan, my man. Long time no see!” he says. “And Mac, haven’t seen you in a while.”
Daniel’s head jerks back, a slow-growing smile curving his lips. “You two know each other?”
“We work at the same hospital,” I say as cheerfully as I can.
“Wow, small world then, huh? And where have you been Taylor? Haven’t seen you around,” he asks Noah.
“Out of town for a conference, but I haven’t seen anyone lately,” he says. I don’t miss the teasing dig at my expense.
“Nice work while you can get it then. You seeing anyone these days?” Daniel asks him, oblivious to the discomfort I’m feeling right now. That’s a good and a bad thing. It means he can’t get a read on the situation, but it also means he can’t save me from this situation.
“Not right now. I still see that nurse from work I told you about. It’s a friends with benefits arrangement. It works well, for the both of us,” Noah replies.
I still can’t look at him, and I can feel my blood pressure rising. Noah may be a friend and yes, we’ve screwed each other like rabbits for the past two years, but he’s talking about it right here in front of my date; my Daniel.
“Sounds grand,” I say through gritted teeth.
While Daniel’s head is turned and he’s talking to Cade, I give Noah a narrowed glare designed to rock his very soul, but he just smiles his panty-dropper grin back at me, riling me up even more.
“What’s that?” Daniel says, facing me again.
Putting my hand on Daniel’s arm, I lift up and give him a soft kiss on those delicious lips of his. “Nothing, I’m going to go get a pop from the cart over there. Do you want anything?” I ask, wishing a sinkhole would suddenly appear and swallow me up.
“I’m good. I’ll grab a beer from the cooler. Would you like me to come with you?”
“It’s okay, I’m a big girl, Superman. I’ll be back,” I say over-enthusiastically, giving him one more peck on the cheek before walking away from the group.
As soon as I’m out of sight, I pull out my phone and call Kate. We have this thing, whenever one of us is freaking out or having issues, we call and vent. We let everything hang out, usually talking way too fast for the other person to even hear every word we say, but it works. Lately it’s been me on the receiving end of these kind of calls from Kate, but now it’s my turn. This time I know she’s going to laugh her head off at me. She’s always said that my little arrangements would come back and bite me in the ass. Seems like she called it right this time.
“Hey, Mac. Shouldn’t you be on your date?” she asks as soon as she picks up the call.
“I am on my date. Just happens that Noah is here too!” I spit out quickly. I have a habit of talking fast when I’m worried or pissed off. Right now, I’m a mixture of both.
“What? You’ve got to be shitting me! How did that happen?” I can hear both shock and amusement in her voice. Maybe I’ll find it funny later when I’m home and drunk.
“They’re old college buddies, but get this. Daniel asked Noah about his love life, and he said—right in front of me—that he still has that arrangement with ‘the nurse.’ Seriously, Kate, I could have died. And he would’ve been turned into stone had he bothered to glance my way at that exact moment. The fucker even kept a straight face.”
She’s full-on laughing at my predicament now. “Sorry, Mac. You have to admit that it is kind of funny. So where are you now?”
“I left to go buy a pop. What are the fucking chances, though? I mean, really? Delicious Daniel and Noah knowing each other? Holy flying shitballs, Batman!”
“Okay, take a deep breath,” she says calmly, thankfully getting over her giggling fit. I follow her advice and focus on breathing. “I guess you need to decide if you’re gonna stick this date out, or make a cowardly escape right now?”
I think it over. I’ve been looking forward to this date with Daniel all week, and I’m not going to let Noah ruin it. If he tells Daniel I’m the nurse, I’ll explain everything. That will be after I’ve kicked Noah in the junk and left him in a sobbing pile of doucheness on the ground.
“Thanks, babe. I knew you’d talk me round. See you when I get home?” I ask, hoping that I’ll be able to debrief with my best friend tonight.
“I should be home, but I’ll let you know if I’m not,” she explains, sounding way too cheerful for someone not getting some bedroom action.
“Oh my God, Kate. You got laid!” I exclaim down the phone, earning a few strange and intrigued looks from people milling around me.
“Did you just announce that to Soldier Field, Mac?”
“Maybe just the parking lot, not the entire stadium,” I say before cracking up. “Sorry.”
“Now go play nice with Noah and Daniel and I’ll see you later, my little man-eater,” she says, not hiding her amusement.
“I’ll try,” I grump back to her ending the call.
Shit. This might go down as the worst date in history, and none of it will be my actual date’s fault! Of all the freaking people in the world Daniel had to know!
After looking forward to today for so long, now I can’t wait for it to be over, and it’s got nothing to do with Delicious Daniel, and everything to do with the men my vagina has chosen to play with. Just my luck!
Thankfully, the rest of the date is uneventful. I swallow my pride and my anger, and play nice with Noah, who thankfully behaves for the rest of the day.
When we get back to my place after the game, he parks his car just down from my apartment. I invite Daniel inside for a drink. He declines in the nicest way possible, telling me has an early start in the morning.
“And if I come inside with you, in that hot Bears’ get up, I might not want to leave, and as much I want to do that,” he adds with a growl, “you have your three-date-rule to abide by…”
I groan with disappointment, pouting like a petulant child. He throws his head back and laughs. “You’re even cute when you pout. How is that possible?” Turning toward me in the passenger seat, he leans over the center console. “Gorgeous,” he murmurs, looking at me intently. “I think I can trust myself to give you a goodnight kiss though.”
Cupping my cheek with one hand, he glides the other into my hair, and nips my bottom lip, requesting entry. I comply immediately, wrapping my hands around his neck and pulling us together as close as we can get, stroking his tongue with mine, and giving myself over to the exquisite feeling of Daniel Winters’s lips on mine.
I’ve always loved kissing. I may not do strings, but kissing is a must-have. It’s intimate, it’s hot when done right, and Daniel seems to be an expert in it. I mean, of course he is! I’m starting to wonder if there is anything this man can’t do well.
I move my fingers through the back of his hair. I hear a growl rumble deep in his chest when I tug at the strands and I sense he’s getting close to his breaking point. His hand moves along my arm, the slight roughness of his fingers tracing an invisible line of lust down my body. Sliding his hand up my side, he cups my breast, rubbing his thumb across my erect nipple which is straining and begging to be released.
My hands move to his back and I gently rake my nails down his skin, loving the way he arches against me. Then we’re lost in a frenzy of mouths, lips, tongues, and hands, neither one of us making any moves to stop. Suddenly the car jolts as a dog jumps up against the side of the now fogged up car, forcing me to scream in shock.
We pull apart, both of us sucking in much-needed air as I erupt into a fit of giggles. Daniel leans in and brushes his lips against my cheek before he whispers, “I’m starting to think you might be the superhero, Mac. You make me lose my mind without even trying.” I meet his eyes and smile at him, feeling happier than I ever thought possible—especially after Noah’s surprising cameo earlier.
“Right back at ya, Superman.”