Chapter 50: Chapter 50

The warmth from Kyle’s hand radiated throughout her entire body, sending little shock waves and tingles that enveloped her. Even though she’d only known him a week and usually didn’t have so much trouble controlling her own emotions, as Ru sat in the passenger seat of his BMW, she couldn’t keep her mind from wondering what it might feel like if those hands were placed elsewhere.

She’d sat through an entire movie and had no idea what the plot was about and probably wouldn’t have even noticed it was over if the lights hadn’t come up. So absorbed was she with the man who sat next to her, she couldn’t even remember who the lead actors were, and for her, that was saying something. Normally, she was very engrossed in any movie she watched, regardless of genre. She thought this one had been some sort of an action movie, but she couldn’t remember a single chase scene.

Dinner had been another story. He’d taken her to an Italian place on the way to the movies, and Ru had enjoyed her eggplant parmesan, but that had been before he’d reached over and taken her hand when they were walking into the movie theater. From that point on, she was nothing but putty.

They were approaching her house, and Ru was both disappointed that the evening was coming to an end and excited to see if Kyle would kiss her goodnight. While she wasn’t certain he was feeling quite the same way about her as she was about him, she saw the way he looked at her. Not kissing on a first date was one rule she intended to ignore this evening.

He pulled into her driveway and placed the car in park before turning the ignition off. The porchlight glinted off of his dark hair, and Ru couldn’t help but think how sexy he was even in the dim light. “I had a really great time tonight, Ru,” he said quietly. Their entwined hands had been sitting on the console between them, but now, he slid them over to rest on her thigh.

“Me, too,” she replied as the heat from his hand spread throughout her leg.

“I really hope we can do it again. Sometime soon.”

“Yes, definitely,” she replied, thinking perhaps he would lean over and kiss her right now. She’d let him.

Kyle smiled and popped his door open, squeezing her hand gently before he let it go. Ru attempted to regain her breath. He had her feeling so light headed, she thought she could float to the house.

Opening her door, Kyle offered his hand to her, and Ru took it, immediately losing herself again at his touch. He led her to the porch, and Ru couldn’t even feel the ground beneath her feet.

Standing next to her on the small front stoop, Kyle looked into her eyes, and Ru felt lost in his hazel ones. He licked his bottom lip, and Ru followed the tip of his tongue, finding herself biting her own lip in return. He opened his mouth as if he was going to say something, but instead, he brought his lips down to meet hers, and Ru surrendered to his kiss, her hands rising to wrap around his neck.

For days, she’d been wondering what it would feel like to have his mouth pressed to hers, and she was not disappointed. A slight nudge for her to part her lips, and Ru let him in, tasting cinnamon and inhaling his musky cologne. If it weren’t for his strong arms around her, she felt that her knees might buckle. Thankfully, Kyle had a firm grasp around her waist, his hands caressing her as he continued to kiss her with a passion that matched the fire Ru felt burning inside her soul. She ran her thumb along his jawline and tangled her fingers in his hair.

Eventually he pulled away, and she allowed herself to take the first deep breath she’d taken in hours. He smiled down at her. “Sorry. I might’ve gotten a little carried away there.”

Ru could find no words so she only giggled.

“I guess I better go before… I can’t.” Kyle took a step backward, but before he even approached the porch steps, Ru flew at him, finding his lips with her own and pressing against him. Like a magnet, he had drawn her in, and she felt powerless to escape his pull.

“Ru…” he whispered into her ear as she began to softly kiss his neck. “If you want me to stay, I’ll stay. Just say the word.”

Something about his phrasing caught her attention for a moment, like an alarm going off somewhere deep inside her, though she couldn’t place it, and Ru was able to regain her composure. She took a step back. “Oh, Kyle. I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m not sure what’s gotten into me. But… I… you should go.” She resisted the urge to remind him she was an elementary school teacher and took her responsibility as such very seriously. Not to mention, she just wasn’t the type of girl who slept with a guy on the first date, as much as she had thought she might be just a few minutes ago.

He nodded in understanding. “Don’t apologize,” he replied, his crooked smile sending shivers down her spine. “I understand.” He took a step backward onto the top step. “Can I call you tomorrow?”

“Yes.” She didn’t hesitate to answer him.

“Have a good night, Ru.”

“You, too,” she somehow managed as she followed him down the steps with her eyes. She fumbled for her keys, which were somewhere in her jacket pocket, still watching him. He waved to her right before he pulled open the car door and slipped inside. Ru waved back and then turned to unlock her house, thinking how polite it was that he waited in the drive for her to get inside before pulling out and disappearing into the night.

You’re awfully quiet,” Lyric surmised as she drove Cutter’s truck toward Angel Grove. “You haven’t said more than a couple of words since you got in.”

Pulling her eyes off of the trees in the distance, which littered the ground with the fleeting remains of what had once been autumn revelry, Ru said, “Oh, I’m sorry. I was just thinking about… something.” It had been so hard for her to get Kyle off of her mind. Even though she’d spoken to him just a few hours ago, she wanted to see him again. Instead, she was being hurried off to a meeting at a place that gave her the heebie-jeebies with a group of people she was pretty sure might be certifiably insane.

“It’s okay,” Lyric shrugged. “I don’t mind just listening to the music. I just wanted to make sure you were all right.”