Daniel ushers me out the door with a hand at the center of my back. I step out and walk slowly down the stairs. The sun is bright and I lift a hand to cover my eyes. “Where do you have to be at midnight?” I ask.
“I just have something I have to do,” he says. And he suddenly looks sad. I’m sorry I asked.
“Okay,” I say. “Where do you want to go first?” I ask.
“We should probably go to the hotel and see if we can even get tickets for the show.”
“You want to have some hot chocolate, first?” I ask.
His eyes open wide. “At this time of the day?”
I grin. He has a list, and I’m going to help him accomplish everything on it.
Daniel
Her boots crunch in the snow as she walks on the side of the sidewalk, leaving an unobstructed path for me and my bum leg. It’s sweet of her, but not necessary. I grab her elbow and jerk her over to me. I almost upend myself in the process, but it’s worth it when she falls against me. She’s warm and soft and she smells so good. I breathe her in, knowing I don’t get long with her. I’m going to enjoy every minute I have.
“You manhandle all your dates?” she asks, and I can’t bite back my grin.
“That wasn’t a manhandle.” I tap the tip of her cold nose with my finger. “That was a well choreographed tactical maneuver. Worthy of a medal, if I do say so myself.”
Her left eyebrow quirks. “I only give medals for one thing, soldier. And since I just met you today, I seriously doubt you’ll be earning that on this date.”
I narrow my eyes at her. Hello manmeat. So nice of you to pay a visit. I try to subtly adjust my junk. She grins even more, her rosy cheeks blushing. “Did you really just say that?” I ask. But I’m grinning so wide my face hurts.
“Say what?” she asks, looking all innocent. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Her gaze drops toward my lap. She hooks her fingers in my belt loops and rocks me toward her, until we’re touching below the belt. I grimace, because I know she can feel that.
“Sorry,” I whisper.
“For what?” she whispers back.
“For being a guy,” I say.
She points southward. “Oh, that’s your excuse. Here I was thinking I’m irresistible.”
That too. I lift my hand and cup the side of her face. Her skin is soft and warm. My hands are calloused and rough, and I almost hate to touch her with these hands. They’re scarred and not nearly good enough. I take a deep breath to fortify myself and just when I’m about to pull my hand down, she covers the back of my hand with hers. She turns her head and places her lips against my palm.
“You make me want to wake up,” I say. I close my eyes as soon as the words touch the cold air, because I didn’t mean to say them out loud.
“Then wake the f**k up,” she says back playfully. She inches a little closer, until her chest touches mine.
“I don’t know if I can. Time stopped for me a long time ago.” I glance at my watch.
“Look around you,” she says quietly. There’s a soft smile on her face, and her eyes don’t look away from my face as I take in the city. It’s just starting to wake. People scurry from place to place, and traffic is moving. “Time didn’t stop. You did.”
Our breaths mingle in front of us. My f**king breath is getting closer to her than I am. It’s going to be inside her on her next inhale. And. I. Never. Will. “Did you come with me today because you think you can fix me?” I ask.
She shakes her head. “It’s because you promised me Cinderella,” she says. This time she blushes even harder than when I was talking sexy to her. “I’ve always wanted to see it.” She shrugs. “It’s on my bucket list.”
Why would someone with so much left to live for even need a bucket list? “What else is on your list?”
She shakes her head again. “A lot of foolish stuff.” She turns and starts to walk beside me. She points to a street vendor who’s just getting set up. “Buy me some hot chocolate,” she says, chucking my shoulder with hers. She’s gentle, because I think she knows it wouldn’t take much to knock me over. But I like the way she plays around with me. No one has done that in a long time.
“Anything the lady wants,” I say.
Her face sobers. “Don’t say it unless you mean it,” she warns. I pass her cup to her, and she wraps her hands around it and breaths it in. She smiles over the rim. “Thank you,” she says quietly.
I follow her to a nearby park bench and she sits down. She’s going to freeze her ass off on the metal, but she doesn’t seem to mind. She sips her chocolate slowly, savoring every drop. She doesn’t talk. She just sits quietly.
“My mom and I did this every New Year’s Eve,” I say.
She looks up at me and scoots closer, her thigh pressing against mine. The heat of her seeps through my pant leg. I put one arm behind her on the back of the bench. “Your mom is gone, too?” she asks.
I nod. Then I grunt. I don’t mean to do the last. But she doesn’t seem to mind. “Cancer,” I say.
“Before or after you got hurt?” she asks.
“Before.” I drink my chocolate and pretend like I’m interested in it. But all I’m interested in is kissing her.
“So, you and she came here every year and brought the new year in together?” She lays her hand on my thigh. It’s comfortable and so… not.