Second Chances

Date

We walked slowly down the street hand in hand, waving in and out of the people rushing to get home. It had felt so completely normal when Noah took my hand outside the coffee shop that I hadn't given it a second thought. He had his large hand wrapped around mine, and it was a very familiar feeling. It was also kind of strange. And not very friends like.

It had been a long time since I held someone's hand, and especially Noah's. I remembered how I used to love his hands. They were large and warm and very talented... I used to love the feel of his hands as they stroked over my bare skin, over the curves of my body... The things he could do with those hands... the scent of him, the way his body felt against mine...

"Em," Noah said, and squeezed my hand. "Em."

"Oh sorry. Did you say something?" I silently cursed myself as I snapped back to reality.

"Yeah" his face broke up into a huge, breathtaking smile. "I asked if it was okay if we went to this restaurant."

He pointed to the door of a small Italian restaurant I'd never been to before. I hadn't even realized that we stopped. I'd been so caught up in my thoughts of a much lesser dressed Noah...

"Fine. Yes," I answered, and it sounded like I was short of breath. I silently cursed myself. We were supposed to be friends only. That had been my rule. No inappropriate thoughts or touches, but I'd clearly already messed both of those up.

Noah wrapped his arm around my shoulders and smiled devilishly down at me. "What were you thinking about?" His voice was deep, and I felt his hot breath on my face as he whispered in my ear.

I gulped. This was definitely not how friends were supposed to act. "Eh... it was a bit inappropriate," I admitted stupidly.

"Inappropriate how?" He mused. "Did it involve me, Em?"

He winked at me as he pulled the door open and held it for me. My heart rate picked up because, despite everything I'd said about us just being friends, he was affecting me in non-friendly ways. The answer was yes to both his questions, but I couldn't tell him that. So instead of answering, I bent my head to hide my blushing cheeks and walked past him into the restaurant.

Noah chuckled as he followed behind me. We stopped by the hostess station and he kept his hand on my low back while we waited for the hostess.

"Two for dinner?" The perky blond woman asked as she smiled up at Noah.

"Yes please," he responded and let his hand glide down lower until it rested right above my butt. My mind ventured off again, thinking of other inappropriate things. All of them involving Noah.

I needed to get a grip.

We followed behind the blond hostess over to a small table in a dimly lit corner that had a full view of the small, intimate restaurant. There was a fire burning in a nearby fireplace that was surrounded by stacked stones with a large wooden mantle, which was appropriately decorated with autumn leaves and pumpkins. Dark wood beams went across the ceiling and dark wood paneling covered the bottom of the walls and a baroque-looking wallpaper in a blue covered the top part. It created an intimate and romantic feeling. So far, Noah had done well, and it impressed me.

I was surprised that the restaurant wasn't crowded. Granted, it was a Wednesday night, but it seemed to be the perfect place to spend a romantic evening. Only a few other tables were occupied. Mostly with couples, but a group of four men in suits sat at a round table across the room. There was a bar off to the side from the entrance, but there were only a few patrons there as well.

Noah pulled the chair out for me like a perfect gentleman. I thanked him and sat down, after placing my jacket over the back of the chair. I had decided to keep it with me, instead of using the restaurant's closet check in, because I tended to get cold. The waitress had left two small menus on the table and excused herself, promising a waiter would be with us in a couple of minutes.