She got in a good workout, laughing at what she used to think was a lot of intensity. Her workouts were more like kids playing tag compared to the pure physical shredding Marcus experienced. But either way, the time at the rec gave her another excuse to think about him. She couldn’t wait until tomorrow morning when she could see his response in her notebook.
She got to work early that next morning and found the notebook there on the corner, but this time there was a small pewter heart resting on the cover. The charm was stamped with the word “love” and Erin held the token strongly in her hand. She teared up at his gesture.
Because of Marcus and her decision not to live like a stone anymore, she now had hope, strength, and love. She cradled that heart against her chest with one hand and picked up the notebook with the other. She went back to the cafe for coffee so she could read his note in the warm atmosphere of the morning.
E~
You see right through me and it scares the hell out of me. But I love it and I love you for doing it. And just so you know, I see right through you, too. This Friday, I’m taking you to one of those pretty damn restaurants you claim to hate, and we are going to enjoy it. No more hiding. For any reason.
I know the guy from that party must have been part of that upper class you try so hard to avoid. You don’t have to avoid it. He’s gone and done. You deserve to be a part of any world you want to be in, and I’ll be there with you. There’s no reason to be afraid anymore. Of anything.
~M
Erin welled up and then didn’t fight her tears. She sat at that sidewalk table and let herself cry quietly, blotting her eyes with her paper napkin. He really did see right through her. He understood her every fear, and only pointed out her own strength, with his support behind her. She was blown away again.
They spent the entire week that way, calling each other out on their issues and promising to stay in spite of them. Being so raw was easy to do on paper, and the process worked for them. They could write more than they could say.
Erin was reminded of what Bill had said about Marcus:
He’s smarter than he lets anyone see.
Marcus’s insight into her was proof of that. He wasn’t always good at saying what he wanted to, but he always laid everything out in the journal. Friday morning, she got to work and hugged the book tightly. She read the book there in the office so she could get as much work done as she could before her date.
E~
I’ll pick you up at seven. I got someone to cover my shift, so you’re mine for the night.
~M
Marcus knocked on the door at seven o’clock as promised. He had bought himself a pair of tan Dockers and a royal blue golf shirt for their evening. He wasn’t all that comfortable in the get-up, but the look on Erin’s face made the effort and cost worth doing. Her eyes bugged out at the sight of him dressed up.
“You look amazing,” she said, staring blatantly at his chest and arm muscles that were framed perfectly by the shirt. “Did you buy that just for tonight?”
“Well, I thought I would try to blend with my surroundings,” he said playfully. “Plus, I wanted to look better than you. Damn, I failed.”
He looked over her entire slender body. She wore a knee-length, flirty black skirt that danced around her legs when she moved, and a deep maroon peasant top. He grabbed her almost bare shoulders and pulled her in for a kiss.
“You look beautiful,” he whispered in her ear.
They went to a little bistro downtown that was known for its dark, intimate setting and eccentric chef. The tucked-away restaurant wasn’t city-wide famous yet, but was a favorite of those who were in on the secret. Erin had chosen the spot based on the reviews Scott gave her. She, of course, had never been there before.
They walked in and were seated right away at a dark little corner table. Their cozy vignette was half-hidden by a tall booth along one side and a gauzy curtain along the other. Only a small sense of a doorway existed between them and the rest of the bistro. Several tables were shrouded like that, and Erin figured that’s why Scott had described the atmosphere as “intimate.”
Their table felt very private even though there were people all around. The entire place was lit only by soft twinkle lights, with grape-vines and wine-colored tule curtains draping between columns and tables. Elegance permeated the very air around them.
Erin blushed at the way Marcus looked at her, half with lust and half with wonder. He pulled her chair over to sit directly next to him and he placed his hand on her knee. “You’re gorgeous and so sexy, it’s about killing me.”
Erin blushed more and pushed her leg firmly against his in response. Marcus raised his eyebrows at her and inched his hand up a little higher, his pinky finger slipping under the hem of her skirt. The moment was interrupted by the waiter taking their drink orders, but Marcus’s hand never moved back down.
When the waiter left, Marcus moved an inch further up. This time Erin’s eyebrows that went up. Marcus started rubbing his fingers softly against her inner thigh causing a soft, barely-audible moan from her lips. She rested her head down on his shoulder and opened her legs the tiniest bit.
Encouraged, Marcus moved his hand up a few inches further, now completely under her skirt and past half-way up her thigh. He brushed her sensitive skin feather-soft with his finger tips.
“I missed you this week,” he said in a husky voice, low enough for no one else to hear. She sighed at his words and his hand inched further. He kept his fingers moving while the waiter deposited their drinks on the table.
“Are you ready to order?” he asked politely.
“We still need a few minutes,” Marcus said, also politely.
When the waiter left the table, Marcus quickly hitched her leg over his, giving himself more access to the soft skin of her thighs. Erin looked at him, a little shocked at what he was doing, but unable to ask him to stop. She didn’t really want him to.
His fingers swirled circles on the inside of her leg, so close to the apex of her desire for him. He leaned in and gave her a slow kiss on her lips, but never opened his mouth to her. His kiss only promised more.
His hand squeezed firmly against her thigh, holding her leg over his. “Let’s order dinner, yes?”
Butterflies danced in her stomach because of the scandal of his touch in a public place, but she nodded. They looked at the menu together and Erin felt Marcus’s hand alternate between squeezing her thigh, pulling her legs further open, and lightly teasing the skin there with his finger tips.
The heat from his touch drove her crazy. She couldn’t focus on the menu enough to figure out what she wanted to order, but she was aware enough to be thankful the wine-colored table cloth draped low enough to hide what his hand was doing.
“Appetizers only,” she whispered to him, placing her hand on his and moving his fingers the rest of the way up her thigh. One of his knuckles grazed her panties and she squeezed her legs to hold him there. Marcus teased her gently with his knuckle, watching her reaction. She was trying to hold herself together and he loved the sight of her struggling to keep her composure under his touch.
“Agreed,” he whispered back. The waiter returned in that moment and Marcus ordered a lobster and artichoke bruschetta.
“And for dinner?” the waiter asked.
“Nothing, thank you.”
The waiter walked away with a smirk. This probably wasn’t the first time he saw a couple enjoying the privacy of the restaurant.
Marcus continued to tease Erin slowly under the table while they waited for their food. She leaned up and kissed under his ear a few times, but found it too difficult to maintain her own control when she did that.
“Marcus, you have no idea what you’re doing to me,” she said in a breathy voice.
“I know exactly what I
want
to do to you,” he said with an unapologetic smile. “I can’t wait to get you home and show you.”
He kissed her, deeply this time, still rubbing her leg seductively. They broke the kiss at the “ahem” of the waiter. The smirk was back on his face when he handed Marcus the check and the appetizers in a fancy wine-colored carry-out box.
“For your convenience, sir,” he said knowingly before he turned and left the table.
Erin was embarrassed, but Marcus just smiled at her. “Don’t worry about it. If he had someone as beautiful as you next to him, he’d be doing the same thing.”
She laughed and blushed a shade darker. Marcus let go of her leg long enough to give her one of the appetizers and took one for himself. A generous tip was in order for the waiter’s helpful insight. Marcus finally let Erin have her leg back and placed his hand at the small of her back as they walked to the car. He didn’t even remember to take the box with them.
Evening had completely settled around them by the time they reached his big car. Instead of opening the door, however, Marcus backed her up against his big Oldsmobile and held her there for a moment. He took her same leg and pulled her knee up around his hip, rubbing now along the outside of her thigh, still under her skirt.
He began kissing her like that, on the road just two blocks from the bistro. Her hands clutched at his shirt while he licked along her teeth and kissed the corners of her mouth. His hand grasped at her leg and her ass while he drew everything he could from her kisses.
“Erin…” he breathed through his lips while he kissed her. She loved to hear her name in that heavy breath.
“Take me home,” she whispered. “I need you.”
He pulled her leg against him harder and kissed her one last time before letting her go and helping her into the car. He walked to the driver’s side door then sat down on the bench seat. Erin pressed herself against him as tight as she could.
He started the car and drove toward her apartment. He hitched her leg back over his while he drove and began teasing her again with one hand while he steered the car with the other. She didn’t shy from his advances. On the contrary, she opened her legs wider and let her head fall back against the seat. He pulled her skirt all the way up and revealed her soft thighs and a pair of scarlet lace panties.
Marcus groaned at the sight when he glanced over. Barely able to drive, he moved his hands up to her stomach and let his fingers dip under the lace to find the heat hidden within. All the moans she held in at the restaurant poured freely from her mouth while he moved his fingers around her already very-wet folds. He moved inside of her and then back out to tease her clit.
His pace was slow, but he could barely keep his hand under control with her heated reaction. He enjoyed listening to her go almost over the edge there in the car beside him, but he wanted to look at her when she came. He couldn’t do that while he was driving.
“Not yet, baby,” he said.
He slowed the pace of his fingers and she groaned in frustration. She was desperate for more of his touch. He loved knowing how much she wanted him. Her need was
almost
as strong as his…and he couldn’t wait for Erin’s apartment. He needed her.
Now
.
In the late evening, he looked around for some privacy and saw a car repair shop closed for the night. Perfect camouflage and privacy. He pulled behind the garage and stopped the car. Erin’s eyes widened with surprise, but Marcus didn’t give her the chance to protest before he scooted her over on the bench. He pushed her gently against the car door and kissed her desperately, still incredibly hot from playing with her at the restaurant and in the car. He loved getting her so worked up.
“Get out,” he said with a lust-filled smile. “There’s more room in the back.”
Before she could even get in the back seat, Marcus got his hands under her skirt and stripped the lace down her legs. Thanking heaven for old cars and bench seats, he lifted her in and crawled over top of her.
He fumbled with the button and zipper of his own pants and she helped him as quickly as she could. The back seat of his car was a mania of heat and hands between the two of them. Steam fogged the windows in no time from the passion of their movements.
Erin felt even more scandalous than she had in the restaurant and completely turned on by his bold desire. He couldn’t take her fast enough. She responded to his every thrust desperate moans through her breath and strong grips with her hands. She pulled at him, trying to move him even faster. By the time they came together, they were panting heavily and thoroughly exhausted.
“I really can’t get enough of you,” Marcus said, grinning. “You are so damn sexy. I’m not even close to being done with you yet.”
Erin, now more confident, gave him a seductive smile and said, “I’m not done with you, either, but I think I can at least make it to the apartment. Don’t expect me to leave you alone much longer than that.”
Marcus grinned wickedly. “Put your panties back on, because I
can’t
wait for the apartment and I liked feeling you under all that lace.”
She grinned back and did as he asked. She sat herself right up against him again, and rested her leg over his, and opened herself completely. This time, she was the one who pulled his hand between her legs. He got right back under her panties and worked on getting her hot all over again.
When they finally got back to the apartment, she was moaning again in need. He about dragged her from the car and pulled her up the walk to her door. She fumbled for her keys and when she finally unlocked the door, he almost pushed her inside. He followed her in and she turned immediately around and kissed him passionately. He grabbed her and turned her around, switching places so she was against the door.