It was early Friday afternoon, and Deana was getting off of work. She grabbed her phone from her pocket. 

Hey babe, just leaving work. Any ideas for dinner?  I can stop by the store on my way home. 

She started walking towards her place. A few minutes in, her phone buzzed. 

I’ll take care of dinner. I’ll even cook, not just bring Chinese. 

If you’re sure, it’s no problem. 

I want to cook dinner for my beautiful woman while she relaxes. Is that ok?

Fine by me. 

Any allergies or things I should know about?

I HATE fish, except shrimp and fish sticks. Otherwise, not really. 

Noted. I can come over early if you want. 

Hmmm, more time with my sexy man. Um, yes please. 

I’ll text you when I’m on my way over. 

See you soon. 

She walked into her bedroom and got more comfortable. She opted for a tank top and yoga pants, keeping certain things in mind from her talk with Danielle. She pulled her hair back in a low ponytail. She laid down on her bed for a quick nap, turning her ringer on full volume for when he texted. 

Next thing she knew, an hour had gone by and her phone went off. 

On my way, can’t wait to see you. 

See you soon, tonight’s gonna be great. 

He buzzed when he arrived, she buzzed him in. He knocked on the door to her apartment, and she let him in, greeting him with a kiss. His hands were full, one grocery bag in each hand, putting them on the kitchen table. 

He pulled out a bouquet of tulips, handing them to her. “They’re beautiful, thank you.”  She grabbed a vase and put the flowers in water. 

Go sit down, watch tv, read a book, whatever you do to relax. I need time to prep so we can have an early dinner since you’ve been up the longest. 

She walked to some shelving and pulled out her knitting. 

What are you making?

“Nothing, if I keep getting interrupted. Just kidding. I’m making a poncho for myself.  I started it in September, but with my paper, and a certain guy in my life, I haven’t had much time lately…”

Well, it’s a beautiful color. That would go well with that black dress for our fancy date. 

“I can definitely accessorize to match everything, that’s my goal finish date, whenever that is…”

Now that your paper is finished, you’ll have more time. As for your man, well, I don’t think he’d mind you knitting while watching the movie.

“But when would we kiss?”

There’s plenty of time for that, we have all night and tomorrow. 

“All night, huh?” she laughed. 

I’m certainly willing to try… he smiled. Ok. You knit, I’ll cook. 

She put on Jane the Virgin and began to knit. Justin could see her in his periphery. He stopped what he was doing and watched her. She was going fast, nimble fingers moving with careful precision, her eyes fixed on the screen. 

“Wanna see something REALLY impressive?” she asked. She closed her eyes and continued knitting. “I’m just lucky this round is plain knit and not the pattern row. Then I’d really need to pay attention.”

How long have you been knitting?

“Since I was 8 or 9? I learned in third grade, my teacher taught the whole class, even the boys.”

Alright, as you were. No more interruptions until dinner is ready. 

Deana went back to her tv and knitting. Everything smelled delicious, but she was resisting the urge to see what he was making and sneak in a kiss or two. 

He beat her to the punch, sitting next to her on the couch. Everything is cooking, now we wait a bit. He kissed her cheek before she turned her face to kiss his lips. Just as she was getting comfortable, Justin pulled away, signaling towards the kitchen. She pouted, returning to her show and knitting. 

Sorry, I did say no interruptions. Good things are worth the wait. I know you were, still are. 

Soon dinner was ready. Food was plated, some wine was poured, everything was ready. Deana was impressed by what she saw. Chicken with diced tomatoes, basil, and cheese, roasted broccoli, and spinach salad. 

I diced the tomatoes and garlic by hand just to be fancy. He smiled, proud of his work. 

She took a bite of the chicken, and her eyes went wide. “This is delicious!  You’re not such a bad cook yourself there, mister…”

They enjoyed their dinner, playing footsies under the table, stealing glances at each other. Deana helped do dishes and put any leftovers in the fridge. 

For dessert, I got a variety of things. There’s cheesecake bites in the freezer, brownie bites in the bag. I figure we can have them while we watch the movie. 

Justin put a dvd in the player. I figured we should watch a movie you could relate to, a beautiful young singer meant to be a star. 

Deana laughed. “I don’t know about young… I’m 35.”

Well, I still think you’re beautiful…

Deana’s jaw dropped. “This isn’t out on DVD yet, how did you get a copy of A Star Is Born? It’s not bootleg is it?”

When you’re in the business, you know people that can get you advanced copies… It’s legit. 

They started the movie, grabbing bites of dessert from the coffee table. Justin wrapped his arm around her, his hand on her waist. 

If you wanna knit while we watch, that’s fine by me. 

She picked up her knitting and continued her work on the poncho. They continued to watch, sneaking glances at each other. 

“I hadn’t seen this, so thank you for letting me watch it without distraction.  Now, shall we get more comfortable?” she asked suggestively. 

He pulled her closer and kissed her deeply. 

How comfortable were you thinking?

“Give me a minute and find out…” She walked down the hall to her bedroom. Justin felt a nervous excitement, unsure what to expect.   She stood in the doorway to her room, her hair down, gesturing for him to come follow. There was a look in her eyes he hadn’t seen before. 

She grabbed his shirt and pulled him close to her, kissing him deeply. She pushed him against the wall, her hands framing his face. 

His mind was racing a mile a minute. Is this really happening? Did she change her mind about things? 

He broke the kiss. Are you sure you want to do this? he asked. 

“Danielle helped me find some loopholes where we can be physical without getting naked and having sex.”

Wait, she talked to Danielle about this? He thought. Never mind, let’s see where this goes…

She laid down on the bed, he followed soon after. “You can kiss me from the neck up, hands anywhere, but above clothing. Otherwise, kinda follow my lead.”

Justin laid next to her, eyes locked on her, surprisingly soft in a moment like this. He held the base of her neck, fingers in her hair, kissing her deeply. He was a little surprised when her tongue went towards his. She was gentle but sexy as hell. 

His hand went to her breast, finding she wasn’t wearing a bra. He raised his eyebrows as they kissed. She hummed against him. “It’s ok, I want this,” she said in a low, reassuring voice. He massaged her through the thin material, feeling her nipples against his hand.  He started kissing her cheek and neck, taking gasping breaths. 

He continued at her breasts, now using both hands. Her own breathing was now interspersed with moans at his touch. 

“Yes, baby, yes…” He kissed her neck, along all he could reach. “You can lick or suck on my earlobes,” she guided. He slowly licked the outer edge of her ear, flicking her earlobe with his tongue before pulling on it with his teeth. “Fuck, yes…”

Her hands had stayed fairly central along his back and shoulders. Once his attention turned more to her ear, his body shifted. She could tell he was hard, feeling the bulge in his pants he was no longer nervous about. One hand traveled down his back before settling on his ass, giving it a squeeze through his pants. 

He pulled back for a moment, she noticed a hunger in his eyes. “What, baby?” she asked. He took the hand off his ass, moving it to the bulge in the front of his pants. 

“Baby, I’m glad you pointed that out…” she said in a low voice. She gently pushed him onto his back. “Don’t worry, I’m gonna take good care of you…” She climbed on top of him, kissing him, her tongue gentle against his. She slowly grinded against him, a low groan escaping his lips. She set a slow pace, slowly getting faster as she went. 

He took advantage of his strength and rolled her under him. He looked into her eyes. “What are you gonna do to me, baby? Remember, over clothes…”

He used one leg to get between her legs, slowly spreading her legs around him. She had a look in her eyes, she was being extremely vulnerable in this moment. He started to grind against her, the thin material of her yoga pants making it so his bulge rubbed against her most sensitive area. Not as fully satisfying as skin against skin, but enough to elicit a low moan from her. 

He maintained eye contact with her, lowering his mouth over her breast. “Yes, babe, go ahead,” she said in ragged breaths. He nipped at her through her tank top, finding her nipple and sucking on it as he grinded against her. 

His pace was picking up, they were both breathing heavily. He maintained eye contact, ready to stop at a moment’s notice should she change her mind. Then she uttered words he wasn’t  expecting. “Cum for me baby, it’s ok.”  His grinding continued, his shaft rubbing against her. Soon he locked eyes with her before kissing her deeply, his body shuddering in release. 

He lay next to her, gasping for breath. “Oh… my… god…” he mouthed silently as he caught his breath. 

“Baby, thank you for rolling with this. It’s a good preview of what our real first time will be like…”

He grabbed his phone. Oh baby, this was JUST the beginning…

Deana chuckled. “I’m ok with this until I’m ready for the real thing.  We keep this up and I’ll be ready in no time.”

No, I want us to take our time. I’m ok with this, but I feel bad that you aren’t fully satisfied in return. Also, what do we do about my clothes? It’s gonna get awkward as it dries. 

“There’s a laundry room downstairs. You can borrow a pair of my lounge pants, I’m sure they’ll fit around you.  It’s open all hours, you should be fine.”

What about you? I can’t stand the thought of you not finishing after all that…

“Then I’ll be a very lucky woman when it’s the real deal…. This is more for your benefit.”

No. I’m not ok with that. Don’t do this for me, that’s what every other relationship you’ve been in has been, doing things because you think that’s what they want. As great as that was just now, it can’t be just to please me. I’d rather blue ball myself than have you justify things to keep me satisfied. I’m not going anywhere for a while, not until around next month last I heard. 

“Get changed and start your laundry, we’ll talk while we wait.”

Do you have anything that can go in so it’s not a waste of a load of laundry?

She nodded and pointed to her hamper. “Let me change too, then.”

He gave her a confused look.

“You DO know how women work when THEY get turned on, right?”

He thought about it for a second before finally getting it.  She opened a dresser drawer, tossed a pair of pants to him, before getting what she needed for herself. “Please be changed by the time I come back out, otherwise this is all out the window and I might do something I regret…”

He looked at her again.  She sighed.  “If I see you naked I’m gonna want to fuck you, clear enough for you?”  She was starting to blush.  “Let’s just change and then we’ll talk…”