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Chapter Thirty One - Addy

It was six forty-five. I had never done the whole ‘vanity’ thing, but yet I had the contents of my entire closet dumped at my feet. Nothing I had seemed right. I sat down amongst my pile of clothes and sighed.

That’s when I spotted it: the little white dress. It wasn’t the fanciest thing in the world, but it made me feel comfortable and pretty.

And I already knew Kevin liked it.

I grabbed it and doing a quick smoothing out of the wrinkles, I slipped it over my head. I paired it with a little red shrug and I was ready to go just as the doorbell rang. Dad was working late at the office. I crossed the living room and opened the front door.

Kevin was dressed in black pants, a red dress shirt and a black tie. He smiled the moment he saw me.

“That’s the dress,” he said. I smiled, self consciously smoothing out another wrinkle.

“You look great,” he added.

“Thank you.”

We walked out in the chilly February air. Kevin opened the car door for me and I slid inside, taking a deep breath.

“So,” Kevin said after he closed the door. His fingers wrapped around the top of the steering wheel. “I’m going to go out on a limb and assume you like steak.”

I laughed. “I’m a country girl. That’s a silly question.”

“Well there’s this great steak house in Georgetown…”

“Sounds good to me.”

Georgetown was closer to Sadieville then Lexington and also not quite so daunting. It was your middle-of-the road city, with just over twenty thousand people. Part of the city’s charm was their downtown area which was proudly kept in such a way that you felt like you stepped back in time.

It was in the downtown area that the steak house sat nestled next to a drug store and a printing shop. Kevin ran around and opened the door for me. I had never had someone open so many doors for me in all my life.

It was a nice feeling.

“This is cute,” I said, looking around. It had been years since I had seen downtown Georgetown.

“You’re cute.”

I looked up at him to see his teasing eyes, but instead Kevin leaned down and kissed me softly. We had shared many kisses in the last six weeks, but each one seemed like the first time all over again. I let out a soft sigh as he pulled away.

We headed into the restaurant. It was packed with tons of couples out for a romantic Valentine’s dinner. Kevin led me up to the maître d.

“Happy Valentine’s Day. Name?”

“Richardson.”

“Party of two?”

I didn’t think there was anything but parties of two there that evening. Kevin just smiled.

“Yes.”

We were led to an intimate table in the corner of the room and handed a fancy menu gilded in gold. When the maitre d walked away, Kevin reached over and took my hand as we studied the menus.

My eyes strayed from the menu and I looked around at all the other couples. I never thought I’d be a part of the ‘couple’ league again. That possibility had seemed so far removed even a couple months ago. Yet, here I was sitting across from a drop dead gorgeous man who also had a good heart.

“What looks good to you?” he asked softly after a few minutes. We lowered our menus at the same time; our eyes met.

I had always thought that the phrase ‘sexual tension’ was a stupid term thought up by women who wrote Harlequin books and ate bon-bons all day with a million cats roaming around at their feet. But at the moment I completely understood what that meant.

“The t-bone,” I managed to say. Kevin looked confused for a moment; I think he forgot that he had just asked me a question.

“I was thinking the same thing,” he finally said, glancing back down at the menu.

My heart beat rapidly; I took a sip of water. When the waiter came, Kevin and I both ordered the same exact thing.

“Would you like some wine with your meal?”

“No thank you,” Kevin declined politely. “I’ll take some sweet tea.”

The waiter looked at me.

“The same,” I said.

After he walked away, I glanced down at the table. Kevin was still holding my hand. I studied the dancing flame of the candle that sat in the middle of a rose centerpiece.

“Addy?”

I looked up slowly. I was surprised to see a hint of nervousness on Kevin’s face. I felt my palm grow sweaty. Getting sweaty holding hands was so seventh grade.

“I…” Kevin cleared his throat. “I was wondering if after dinner you might feel comfortable accompanying me back to my house.”

I blinked in surprise. I had been to his house dozens of times. I didn’t understand why he looked so nervous…

And then it hit me. I couldn’t help it; I felt myself blush.

“Back to your place?” I said, putting that extra innuendo in there. He nodded.

I took a moment to have a conversation with my inner self. The girl who was entranced by the man sitting across from me was excitedly jumping up and down. The girl who was still going to therapy and learning to face her demons was a little more cautious.

I think I took a little too long to decide. Kevin’s face softened in understanding.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Why not?”

He opened his mouth to speak, but didn’t seem to have a reason. I smiled.

“I’d love to go back to your place.”

They were the magic words; his face relaxed into a full on grin and his fingers squeezed my wrist warmly.

As our glasses were filled and our food arrived, we lapsed into comfortable conversation mixed with light-hearted flirting. Occasionally our legs touched, fingers brushed, and as the evening got later, we exchanged soft kisses across the table.

Finally the waiter brought the check and our meal was done. Kevin and I walked back out to the car. My heart began to pound. I prayed that I still remembered how to love…

And be loved.