Brothers in Blue: The First Love Match Page 4

“Where were you going to get something to eat at?”

  “Taco Bell, its right up at the corner.”

  John maneuvered the car down the street and headed to the light to turn onto the main road. Pulling into the Taco Bell driveway they got in line at the drive-thru. John’s radio crackled every now and then in the background and Ariel fidgeted nervously with her hands John asked her how work had been the night before and why she had to stay so late. Ariel explained the incident with the patient and soon they were ordering their meals.

  “Do you mind eating in the car or would you rather go to a park and get out to eat our lunch?”

  “It’s so hot out right now, sitting in the car works for me.”

  John drove to a nearby parking lot and stopped the car under a large oak. He left the air on and opened the bag sorting out the food.

  “So.” He began.

  Ariel nodded, not moving to unwrap any of her food quite yet.

  “So, I’m sorry about the other day. I was an ass. After finding out that you’re a virgin I felt like a complete jerk for the way I acted.”

  Ariel was still staring down at the unopened food in her lap.

  “That’s ok, I’m sure it was really surprising considering the fact that I acted like a complete slut when I was at your house. I was practically begging you to have sex with me, and that’s really out of character for me. I felt really bad about the way that I acted.”

  “Ariel, there was nothing wrong with the way you acted. Hey, look at me.”

  John reached over and tilted her head up gently. He let his thumb softly caress her chin before letting her go.

  She looked up and finally met his eyes.

  “Listen to me, I was wrong. I kissed you. You didn’t start that situation. I’m very attracted to you and I would very much have liked to have sex with you the other day. That makes me the slut in the situation. I want to be honest with you though. I just got out of a two year relationship a few months ago and I was in love with that person. I don’t want to rush into something new right now and you deserve some sort of a commitment before we got into an intimate relationship.”

  Ariel felt her entire face blushing bright red.

  “Ok.” She mumbled out to him.

  “So, now that we got that out of the way, how about a movie tonight? I know your roommate is going to be working, so we can stay in and rent something to watch at my place. You can bring Bruno and we can just hang out, maybe get a pizza or something?”

  “That sounds good.”

  “I get off shift at 11 and then we do a quick brief of the next shift, so I should be at my house around 11:30. Do you want to pick up a movie from Redbox, and I’ll order the pizza on my way home? I know we’re going to end up finishing the movie and stuff rather late and I’d rather not have you on the road in the middle of the night so if you want, bring something to sleep in and you can stay in my guest room. I promise to keep myself in check.”

  Alright, I think I’ll do that, I hate going home really late when Sean isn’t there, I’m always worried walking into a dark house.”

  “Well you live in a pretty rough neighborhood as well. Did you know that there was a murder just a few houses down from you less than a month ago?”

  “Yes, how could I forget a double shooting on my own street?”

  Mike laughed. It felt like things were going to be back to normal between them soon enough and the thought of a sleep over, even though it was supposed to be platonic was pretty interesting.

  Soon dinner was over and John had to take Ariel home so he could take a call. She walked into her house feeling like she was walking on air. This was going to be a perfect night. But first she had to get ready. A quick call to the nail shop around the corner and she had an appointment to get her eyebrows waxed and a quick mani/ pedi in an hour. Now, what to wear to a movie night that was going to turn into a full on spend the night sleepover? Ariel went into her room wishing that she more clothes to choose from. She usually just threw on jeans and a t-shirt on her days off to run errands and work around the house. It had been so long since she had wanted to impress a guy that she wasn’t even sure she had clothes to get the job done. Deciding that she could run to the Beall’s outlet before her date to look for a cute skirt or something she started on her overnight bag. Toothbrush, deodorant, the basics went in first. Then a pair of clean jeans and shirt to wear home the next day, now, what to sleep in? She could probably find an excuse to go and change either before the movie started or if she got two movies, before they played the second one. She finally decided on a pair of light purple flannel shorts and a white t-shirt, it looked sweet and sexy and comfortable.

  Next stop was the nail shop where she was waxed and painted in less than an hour. Her toenails were a bright red, while she had gotten a more demure pink painted on her fingernails. At the store she had a more difficult time figuring out what to buy, and if she should even get an outfit to wear. Finally she found a long denim skirt with a very long slit that went up the front and back. It matched her style but still was feminine and a bit daring for her. She found a light cotton blouse with a low scooped neck that she thought would look very good with the skirt. Purchasing those items she left and walked over to the grocery store to find a movie, or two, to rent. Deciding on a comedy and horror flick she thought that would be sure to suit whatever John might prefer. He had told her he would order a pizza, but Ariel was in the mood for something light and fresh. She dug through her purse until she found her cell phone and dialed John’s number. He answered on the 2nd ring.

  “Hi John, its Ariel.”

  “I know who it is, is everything ok?”

  “Yeah, everything’s fine, I was just at the grocery store getting the movies and I was thinking that maybe I could just whip up something quick and easy for dinner for us. I know you said the other day that the only home cooked meal you get is your Sunday night dinner at your mom’s house. I thought you might prefer something home made.”

  “My mouth is already watering. Is it too much trouble to cook at your house and then bring hot food over, or , wait, better yet if you want I can meet you at my house before my shift ends and let you in, then you could cook and we could eat as soon as I get home? That is if you want to.”

  Time alone in his house, to go through his kitchen and wherever else she wanted, that sounded good!

  “That sounds perfect. I’m going to pick the ingredients I need, I’m at the store now. All I need to cook it is a skillet, and a sheet tray for the oven to bake some French bread.”

  “I have everything you need at the house. Just give me a call before you head over there and I will meet you to open the door.”

  They said good-bye and Ariel went through the store humming while she picked up items to make dinner. She planned on making a pancetta carbonara with fettuccine and fresh garlic bread. It was one of her favorite things to eat and it was pretty easy to make.

  Ariel returned home to change her clothes and collect Bruno. She called John to let him know she was on her way and got into the car checking her reflection in the mirror. Today she had taken extra time to straighten her hair, and do her make up. Combined with the skirt and blouse she felt pretty confident that Mike would be impressed. Pulling into the driveway she saw Mike was already parked at the curb. She waved towards the car and popped her trunk starting to unload the few groceries bags before heading inside.

  “Let me get that.” Came a deep voice behind her. She whirled around and the there was a cop standing behind her, but it wasn’t Mike. Almost dropping the bag with the eggs she jumped back.

  “Oh gosh you scared me.”

  “Sorry, I’m Jeff, Mike and I work together. He wanted me to come by and let you in the house, he got dispatched on a call while he was on his way over here and asked me to bring this to you.”

  “Thank you Jeff.”

  “Anything for a beautiful lady.”

  Ariel blushed and Jeff took the grocery bags from her hands and the remainin
g few in the trunk and headed for the front door. Ariel scurried after him grabbing her overnight bag and Bruno’s leash before going to the door.

  “You moving in here?”

  Ariel was a bit taken aback by the question but only had to take one look at Jeff’s face to know he was joking.

  “No, but I am going to cook dinner here and watch a few movies.”

  “Well John’s a lucky guy. He’s been happier the last couple of days than I’ve seen him in a long time. I’ve been telling him that he needed to get out and meet someone new, that’s the easiest way to put a past relationship behind you. It also doesn’t hurt that you are ten times prettier than any of the women I’ve seen him with in the past ten years.”

  Ariel blushed an even brighter shade of red. It felt weird to get so many compliments from a man. Normally it just made her feel unhappy or awkward, but tonight she soaked it all in and smiled back at Jeff.

  “Well thank you Jeff. If there are any leftovers from tonight I’ll see if John can bring you a bowl.”

  “That sounds perfect, I gotta run, it was nice meeting you.”

  With that he was jogging down the drive way to his car and Ariel was left to her own devices.

  First things first, groceries needed to be put into the fridge and glancing at the clock she saw that she had better get started to have dinner ready on time. It was already a few minutes after 10. Throwing her overnight bag in a chair by the kitchen table she let Bruno into the fenced backyard and turned on a radio that was in the living room. Soon she was browning the pancetta and singing along to one of her favorite songs. Johns’s kitchen wasn’t exactly what she would consider fully stocked with utensils and pots and pans, but he had the essentials. She started a large pot to boil for the fresh linguine and set about to mix together a few spices and grate the cheese needed for her carbonara sauce. Ariel was dancing around the kitchen and just getting ready to look for an oven mitt to pull the French bread from the oven when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She let out a yelp and turned around to find John looking right at her, a strange look on his face. While she caught her breath she watched him appraise her with his eyes, he looked up and down her body and she felt naked standing there in his kitchen while Beyonce sang loudly from the other room. The kitchen timer started to buzz and that seemed to break the tension.

  “Where are the oven mitts in this place, I have to get the bread out of the oven.”

  “They’re around here somewhere, let me look . . .”

  Oh men, they never seemed to know where anything was when you needed it. Ariel grabbed a kitchen towel from the drawer folding it a few times and used it to grab the sheet pan from the oven.

  “That smells so good, I can’t wait to eat.”

  “Your home a little bit earlier than I expected, its not even 11:15 yet.”

  “Well I sped up the process a bit, it’s not every night I have a woman in my kitchen making me a homemade meal.”

  It could be every night, Ariel caught herself thinking. She knew this was all so quick, but, being here with John felt so good, it felt right. She could see herself in this house taking care of this man and having many more dinners at his small kitchen table. She had better keep all of those domestic intentions to herself or she would scare him off for good. I cannot be falling for this guy, I cannot be falling for this guy, but what if I am?

  “So is it ready?” John asked reaching for a slice of the hot French loaf from the oven.

  Ariel swatted his hand away with the dish towel.

  “Go get changed or get comfortable or whatever you do when you get home and let me get a plate ready for you. What would you like to drink?”

  “Just a beer please, and we can eat in the living room if you want to start the first movie now.”

  “Ok, I’ll bring your plate in there.”

  John walked out of the kitchen and she heard his boots clomping down the hallway as he walked to his room.

  Adding the final touches to the pasta Ariel placed a large pile on each plate and grated some fresh parmesan cheese on top along with a generous slice of bread. Grabbing a beer and fork she brought John’s food out to him. John was sitting in his blue leather recliner with his feet up. He had the TV on but looked up as she approached him.

  “You look really pretty tonight.”

  “Thank you.”

  Taking his plate and looking at the perfectly spun pile of pasta John looked up at Ariel.

  “This looks amazing, if it tastes half as good as it looks and smells I just might have to marry you.” John laughed and Ariel joined in, but that familiar tension was back in the room. Turning Ariel went back to the kitchen to get her own plate and glass of water.

  “That skirt has a slit in the back too, huh.”

  Ariel returned and smiled at John.

  “Yep.”

  “I really like that skirt. I think this is the first time I’ve seen you in a skirt, but I really like it.”

  “Thank you.”

  “With slits like that in the front and back though, it just makes me think about what’s under that skirt, your long legs are well hidden.”

  Blushing a little Ariel didn’t respond to his last comment. John cleared his throat and it seemed that this was an indicator that he was willing to spare her and change the subject.

  “So, should I put the movie in?”

  “I got two, you didn’t say what you wanted to see or give any hint to what movies you like, or don’t like, so I picked a comedy and a horror movie. Plus since I was already going to be spending the night I thought maybe we’d have time to watch two?”

  “Sure, let’s start with the comedy, after the day I’ve had that’ll help me lighten up a little.”

  Ariel wanted to ask about his day but didn’t feel like it was her place to ask him to share too much personal info at this point. This was the first real date that they were having after all. John got up and placed the first movie into the DVD player. Bruno lay at Ariel’s feet and Mallard was already snoring away at John’s. Ariel sat on the couch on the end furthest away from John. She wondered why he hadn’t sat by her. Maybe he was really trying to keep this physical distance thing between them going as much as he could.

  The movie started and they both cleared their plates. John had a huge second helping of dinner and by the end of the movie they were both laughing hysterically at the predicament of the main character. As the credits rolled John looked over to Ariel.

  “So are you up for that second movie still.”

  “I’m game if you are.”

  “Sounds good to me, it’s nice to have someone around who works hours like mine. Most people expect me to come home right at midnight and go right to bed, but I want to be up and relax a bit before going to bed.”

  “Yeah, I like that too, working the odd hours I do it’s hard to have a social life. While you put in the 2nd movie I’m going to go change so I’m ready to go to bed as soon as the movie gets over.”

  John nodded and Ariel grabbed her overnight bag heading into the hallway bathroom. She decided to leave on her push up bra, even though it was visible through the white t, it would be worse without it, she decided. She rolled up the waist band on the shorts a few times to show off her legs. Ariel wouldn’t ever be accused of being too skinny or anything, but she wasn’t fat. She was curvy and had breasts, hips and a nice rounded rump. Unlike many of her female counterparts she liked her curves, even though she was very shy about showing them off. Being as John had enjoyed the skirt so much she had a feeling that this little outfit would be an even bigger hit. Returning to the living room she noticed that the lamps in the living room had been turned off and John was sitting on the other end of the couch with his feet up on the coffee table. He turned to look at Ariel as she came into the living room and grabbed a blanket from the back of the couch. Now she was faced with two choices, either return to her previous seat on the other end of the couch or go and sit near John. She felt like going to sit next to him would be a bit
obvious, but she had just cooked him dinner and was planning on sleeping at his house anyhow. She went with her heart and walked over to him sitting down right next to him. John had watched her approach him and she wasn’t sure what he was thinking. He had definitely taken the time to stare at her legs and when she leaned over to grab the blanket his eyes were for sure on her butt. He didn’t seem to mind what he saw but he wasn’t saying a word. His eyes were now glued to the TV where the previews were almost over.

  Ariel was careful to leave an inch between them when she sat down. His arm was already up along the back of the couch but he made no move to re position himself so she decided she wasn’t going to worry about it. She had taken the step to sit right next to him, but the next move was on him. If he wanted to touch her or anything else he was going to have to be the initiator. Covering her legs with the blanket and propping them up next to his on the coffee table she leaned back into the couch to watch the movie. About ten minutes into it she noticed that John was spending an awful large amount of time watching her out of the corner of his eye. She pretended that she didn’t notice. When the first scary scene happened she jumped a little and John slid his arm protectively around her shoulders. While he didn’t necessarily pull her any closer to him she took that as a green light and snuggled right into his side with her head now resting on the crook of his arm. Every inch of her body that John was touching felt like it had little tiny warm sparks going off. Ariel tried to pay attention to the movie but she found herself focused on the fact that she was curled up in at least one of the arms of the most attractive and confident man she had ever met. And it would seem that he liked her too. It almost seemed too good to be true. As the movie went on John rubbed her shoulder with his hand. The feeling was just perfect. Ariel moved the arm that had been in between her body and his and rested her hand on his thigh. John seemed to flinch a little when she did that, but she was sure that she hadn’t hurt him. After a little while she followed suit and started to slowly rub his leg through his flannel pajama pants.