T It was Saturday and Kim was getting ready for her date with Kevin. She was in her room when the door bell rang. “I’m not ready!” She sighed, running down the stars barefoot. She took a deep breath and then opened her door. To her dismay, but also pleasure, it was Gerald on the other side. “What are you doing here? Is Kevin with you? He’s supposed to be here soon.”

He pushed his way in and gave her a once over, “Is this what you’re wearing?”

Kim looked down at her black trousers and her tucked in blouse. “I thought that I didn’t look that bad, and I’m not wearing this,” she lied, though now she regretted ever thinking it was sophisticated.

He sighed, pushing her straight hair behind her shoulders, his fingers brushing against her skin. She didn’t mean to shiver, “Sorry, am I cold?”

Kim shook her head, “Sorry. Um…what are you doing here?” She repeated. He began walking up the stairs. “Did I invite you inside?” She tried to recall following him upstairs.

“Is this your room?” He said walking inside.

Before he entered her cream-coloured walk-in closet, she ran to stop him, putting her arms on each side of the walls. “You can’t come inside.”

“Well if you’re going to pick something better off the rack, then I’d oblige, but no can do.” He pushed her gently to the side and looked at her overly organized closet. ‘Is everything colour-coded.”

She surrendered, “Fine, choose whatever you want, the faster you do this, the faster the date will go, and the faster it will be over.” She fell on the bed and sighed.

He came out holding something, “May I ask where on earth you’d wear this?”

She sat up and saw that he was holding onto a thin piece of fabric which some people would call lingerie. She bolted up and ran to snatch away it from his hands. “That…is…not…supposed to be in your hands, let alone in my closet.” She put it back on the rack. “Are you going to help me or not?”

“Would you mind doing a fashion show, I don’t think I saw anyone wearing something like that.” He and held it in his hands again.

She faked a laugh, “Ha! Right, possibly because your choice of wardrobe on your women is nothing.”

“I’d love to see that too,” he said his eyes wandering up and down her too covered body.

She rolled her eyes, and began looking through the closet, “How about this?” Kim pulled out a long, flowy, red summer dress. He made a sound like he gagged in his mouth. “Fine! Then what would you prefer?”

He went to the black section of her closet and pulled a dress out. “Now this is y, yet first-date appropriate.” It was a strapless, black, knee-length dress.

“Do you even know where we’re going? This dress says like high-classy place, I just met the guy a couple of days ago.”

“Will you please begin changing, I remember you saying you don’t have much time.”

She grabbed it out of his hands and walked into her conjoined bathroom. She walked out a few minutes later and walked out. “How’s this?”

He smiled holding up her ivory-coloured heels. “Sit in front of the mirror. Now you need hair done.”

“I didn’t realize you do wardrobe and make-up.” She said obeying him.

He leaned against the dresser behind her, his face right beside hers. Kim stared at his reflection The feel of his hands running through her hair was almost ic. He took her hair and bunched it up in the back of her head, securing it with bobby pins. He took the hair that didn’t quite make it behind and twirled it around his fingers until they framed her face in a loose curl. “There, you’re radiant.”

She smiled, and colour rushed to her cheeks. “Thank you. Any pointers for tonight’s date?”

“No need, I’ll be right there.” He said holding an ear piece up.

“Wow, someone’s technologically advanced,” she said securing it in her ear, and then he pinned a microphone on her dress right next to her . She tingled under his touch. “Am I ready?” She said twirling around.

He nodded, pulling a lock of hair behind her ear, and his touch lingered. Moving down her cheek, across her neck and down her shoulders. He began leaning in, ready to finally feel her against his lips.

She in a breath, and wasn’t about to oppose his movements, however she stayed where she was, and let him be the one to meet her lips. His hands were on the back of her neck, and it was a light brush when the door bell rang once again. He jerked away and laughed, “Perfect timing.”

Kim her lips and went downstairs to open the door. “Kevin, hi.” She said smiling at his suit. He handed her a bouquet of purple wild flowers, “Thank you, they’re beautiful. Let me just put it into some water. Come on in,” she said walking to her kitchen.

“You look beautiful,” he said walking inside. “Nice place.”

Kim put the flowers into the vase and turned to face him, “Thanks.” She wiped her hands with the towel hanging over the stove handle. “So if you’re ready…” She said.

“Kim! Don’t forget this, it might get a little cold, it is November.” Gerald came downstairs holding out a white, lace sweater. “You must be Kevin. I’m Gerald,” he held out his hand.

Kevin looked put back, and shook his hand. “And you are her…”

Kim looked towards Gerald and kept her lips closed, “Um…he’s my…he’s…he’s my…”

“Cousin,” Gerald finished. “I’m her cousin. She doesn’t have a big brother, so I’m that figure in her life, looking out for her.” He smiled.

Kim laughed nervously, “Okay cousin, I’m going to go. Kevin, let’s go.” She ordered, letting him out first. When Kim turned around, Gerald sat on her couch and the TV. She scoffed, and shut the door behind her.

Kevin drove to the small Italian restaurant, and took their seats at a table next to the kitchen. He pulled her chair out, and she took a seat. “Thanks,” she whispered.

‘He pulled your chair out for you?’ The voice in her said, ‘Let me guess, Fresco Bistro Italiano Restaurant on the corner of Sixth and Twenty-Second.’

Kevin left the little table to speak to the waiter giving Kim a moment to answer. “How did you know?” She whispered holding the device in her ear.

Gerald scoffed, ‘That’s where everyone goes on their first date. Good food, romantic lighting, amazing service; it makes you want to go on a second date.’

“Shhh, he’s coming,” She said. She plastered on a smile, and was shocked when the waiter arrived without even a glance to the menu.

“I’ll have the Alla Boscaiola and she’ll have the Veal Marsala.” Kevin ordered for both of them.

‘Oooh, he ordered for you. Someone likes to take charge.’ Gerald said.

Kevin seemed to have the menu memorized which made sense if Gerald was right about bring dates here often; and Kevin looked like he went on a lot of first dates. “We’ll also get the Sauvignon Blanc, Jason.”
‘First name basis with the waiters, we are talking big dater. And that Sauvignon Blanc just cost him $42. He must be a really expensive suit.’

Kim choked on the water she took a sip from. “Are okay?” Kevin asked her.

“Yeah,” she chuckled. “Wrong pipe.”

“I hope you don’t mind that I ordered for you. I’m good friends with the head chef, and I know what’s really good.” He explained.

Kim could hear Gerald laughing and she tried to ignore it. The waiter arrived with their wine and poured some in each glass. “So Kevin Ramirez, what is it you do?”

‘Nice one, that’ll hold him,’ Gerald said in a sarcastic tone.

She cleared , “So?” She pushed.

“I’m an Editor-in-Chief at GQ Magazine.” He said quite smugly. “And what about you, Miss Chiu?”

She smiled, looking down, “What about me?”

“What do you do?” He reached over and touched her hand.

Her breath was shaky and Gerald’s voice brought her back to reality, ‘He touched your hand, didn’t he? Classic date move, but I think it was a little too early. Touching you when you’re talking about a job, but it’s like he’s reading from dating one-oh-one.’

She scratched her head, “Shut up,” she said to the side.

“I’m sorry?” Kevin said.

“Teacher.” She smiled, looking at him. “I’m a teacher. I teach English literature to the Senior Classes at Constance, the high school. And I am a part-time wedding planner. I’m planning my sister’s wedding, so that is what I do.”

“Wow, teacher at day, planner at night. Like my very own superhero,” he .

Kim chuckled, rose staining her cheeks. ‘Oh, what a line, this guy is so full of it. Don’t agree when he invites you to his house.’ Gerald said.

Kim saw Kevin’s mouth moving, but she couldn’t hear him, all she heard was Gerald in her head. “Will you excuse me for a second? Just one second, I’ll be right back.” She stood up, feeling bad that she interrupted him.

She walked straight into the ladies room and looked at herself in the mirror. ‘You’re in the bathroom? Was his talking too much, he kept going on and on about being editor-in-chief.”

“No, because I couldn’t hear him, all I heard was you,” Kim explained. “Is this little ear device supposed to be helping me, because all its doing is distracting me.” At that second, a woman came out of the stalls and stared at Kim with a weird expression. She smiled and waited until the lady left. “Now I think a complete stranger thinks I’m crazy. Are you still at my place?”

He chuckled, ‘Yeah. You have an amazing home. Everything is so organized and neat, even your movies. I mean who has time for alphabetizing movies?”

“What are you still doing there? Are you watching TV, or snooping through my lingerie drawer?”

‘No, but that is definitely on my list. I can’t believe you have Pay-Per View.”

She laughed, “You better not be watching any , or else you’re paying the bill Gerald.” She warned. “Okay, I need to go back out there. Please, don’t ruin my loft. Goodbye.” She took out the ear piece and the microphone and stuffed them in her purse. She walked back out and saw that the food arrived. “You didn’t have to wait for me.”

“Oh no, the food just arrived.” Kevin assured her.

Kim took a seat and smiled at the food, and began eating. During dinner, she began looking at Kevin and began noticing the differences. Gerald’s complexion was lighter then Kevin’s, and Kevin’s eyes were more like a honey-brown, rather than normal brown. And Gerald had a crooked smile, unlike Kevin’s now. Her eyes went to his lips, obviously Kevin hadn’t put any lip balm on because it looked rough. Her thoughts went to Gerald’s lips, which were soft and pink. They were so irresistible, that she was surprised when she wanted to kiss him. And then she remembered his touch on her skin, how she tingled everywhere.

Her eyes wandered to his hands, they looked smaller than Gerald’s, and more feminine-like. She leaned back and shook her head, “The Champaign must be going to her head because she was using Gerald as a way of measuring, and not only that but she saw his face also. She blinked hard and then was happy when she saw Kevin again, but was a bit disappointed when it wasn’t Gerald.

She realized Kevin was staring at her. “I’m sorry what?”

He laughed, “Do I have something on my face? You’re staring at me weird.”

She chuckled embarrassed, “No, it’s nothing. It’s just, I was thinking…never mind, it’s nothing.”

The rest of the dinner, Kim tried to pay more attention, but her mind kept going back to Gerald who was in her house, sitting on the couch and watching television, probably drinking a beer. How good he looked in that light blue t-shirt, and how it fit snugly against his chest and body. How large his arms, and powerful presence he possessed. She bit her bottom lip when she remembered his manly scent, and how close he was to kissing her lips. She wanted to feel him, wanted to know him, wanted to know what it felt to be with him.

Apparently she missed the whole dessert thing, but thinking of Gerald was her own little dessert fantasy. She was over eager to leave the restaurant, so when he asked for the cheque; she released a breath of relief.

He drove her to the front of the condo, and stepped out to open her door. He did win some chivalry points. “I had a great time tonight.” He said smiling.

“I did too, thank you.” She replied.

“You seemed kind of distracted lately. Is everything okay?”

Kim nodded, “Yeah, it’s just I haven’t been on a date in a really long time. But I did enjoy tonight.” He leaned in, but before he caught her lips, she moved her head slightly, and he kissed her cheek instead. “Thank you. Um…good night.” She walked passed him and opened her apartment door, finding Gerald asleep on the couch.

She dropped her keys on the table next to the door and locked the door. She took off her heels and walked towards Gerald. She bent down and rested her chin on her forearms which were also on the couch next to his face.

Kim smiled at how at calm he looked, how serene. His eye lashes were long and thick, unlike Kevin’s. She laughed to herself when she went back to comparing the two. She traced a line down the side of his face and his skin was so soft.

She wondered what he was dreaming about, was he dreaming about castles, horses? No because he wasn’t a ten year old girl. Was he dreaming about women? Most likely, considering his playboy looks. Maybe he was dreaming about her. She was just sitting there watching him breathe in and breathe out.

She closed her eyes herself and began breathing deeply herself, until she felt wind being blown on her face. She winced and opened her eyes seeing Gerald continuing blowing on her.

Kim fell back on her bottom and began laughing, “You could’ve brushed your teeth,” she complained.

He laughed, “I do not smell!” He defended.
“Not you, maybe your breath. What, my house too boring for ya?”

“The wasn’t nearly as interesting as I thought it’d be. I turned it off an hour ago.” He replied.

I looked around and got a pillow, beginning to hit him continuously. “I’m jok…I’m….I’m joking!!!! I’m…Stop hitting me!!! I was joking!” He yelled grabbing the pillow from me, and holding it high so I couldn’t catch it. “My goodness, I’m joking Kim.”

She glared at him, “So then what the hell were you doing?”

“I was reading this,” He pulled a booklet from behind him. “It’s good. It’s actually really good.”

Kim snatched it away from him. “Where did you find this?” Kim put it on the shelf with all her books.

“I found it in there,” pointing to a stack of papers I kept for my classes. “You wrote that? That was…amazing.”

“Not necessarily; you did fall asleep.”

“Well, I do with all stories and books. But that…what is it, a manuscript?” Gerald asked.

She sighed, no one has ever read that before, or even knew it existed. “It’s a work in progress.” She didn’t want to talk about it, because it was sort of an autobiography of her life, only using different names.

He sensed her reluctance, so he sat back down on the sofa and began another topic. “How was your date with Mister Big Shot, Editor-In-Chief of GQ Magazine, Kevin Ramirez.”

Kim laughed, “Sounds like someone’s jealous of his success,” she opened the fridge and took out a bottle of water.

“Pfft, jealous? Never. Gerald Anderson does not get jealous.”

“Whatever,” she rolled her eyes. “It was…nice.”

“Uh oh.”

“No ‘uh oh’; other than you talking in one ear, he kept up a good conversation. It was nice.” She repeated.

Gerald nodded, “So what was it about?”

“What?” Kim asked.

“The conversation. What did you talk about.”

She drank from the bottle to stall, wondering what to say. She didn’t remember anything about the conversation, or any conversation. But it must’ve been funny because she laughed along when he laughed. “Um…stuff. His likes and my likes. Whatever, it was nice.”

He shook his head, “You don’t come back from a date and describe it as nice. Nice is what you say after you see a movie with a friend, you don’t describe a date as nice.”

“Nice is a perfectly appropriate word.” He laughed at her. “What is so funny?!” She threw another pillow at him from her chair.

“I just kept replaying the part where you moved out of the way and he missed his target.” He laughed. “I bet he’s describing that kiss nice.”

She covered her face, “Oh I was an idiot! I’m sorry, I haven’t been on a date in a really long time!”

He stood up and stretched his neck, “Okay. Come up!”

She shook her head, “No.”

“Yes, come on. Do you want to ever get a call back? Come on.” She groaned reluctantly and he mimicked her. “Up, up, up!” He pulled her up and she crossed her arms. “Relax, please.” She obeyed. “Okay, now when the date’s over, if he really likes you, he’s going to go for the kiss.” Kim nodded and she her lips, making him hard. He sighed, “Now if a guy really likes you, he’s going to touch the side of your face. He might make up some hair to push away to make it a smooth move, but the face touch is almost a definite call back.”

She nodded, “And an absolute definite call back?” Her insides were moving in a tremendous speed and the blood rushing through her veins made her more aware of everything, despite the six glasses of Champaign.

He made a soft sound and did just as he said, touched the side of her face softly, arousing each sense in her body. Her eyes fluttered closed, never wanting the contact to end. “He’s going to hold you in place by the back of your neck, but gently.” He drew tiny circles on her neck and her breath came out ragged. “And before you know it, your lips are going to touch for a moment.” He tilted his head slightly, and leaned forward, doing what he wanted to do for the longest time.

His lips grazed hers for a moment, and then his eyes closed, pressing his lips against hers. What started as a closed-mouth kiss progressed to a more open-mouthed kiss, their heads tilting to be able to get more of each other. His hands pulled her body against him, and the thin fabric of the dress made him feel the coolness of her body. He could feel her pressing against his chest and her hands moving up his muscular arms to his face. He her back softly, finding no need to hold her in place because she took on the job herself.

He was just about to pick her up and bring her to the bedroom, but that would’ve broken everything he had planned, which was want. He wanted her to want him, build it up until she couldn’t handle it anymore, until the desire was too much to handle. Lord knows he’d been wanting her.

He pulled away from her and her eyes were still closed, her lips parted. He cleared his throat and took a step back reluctantly. “Now…that’s,” he cleared his throat again. “That’s a definite call back.” He took his jacket from the hanger by the door and opened it.

She saw walking to the other side, but he didn’t close the door. She walked towards him, still not completely back to earth. She her lips again, feeling and tasting him, and enjoying it. “Thanks for tonight.” She said smiling.

“I hope it wasn’t…just nice.” He winked before walking down the hall.

She shut the door, and rested the back of her head against it, breathing heavily. She touched her swollen lips, feeling the intensity of it everywhere inside her. “Definitely better than nice,” she exhaled. She laughed at herself and brushed her fingers through her hair. “Beyond better.”

She changed into her pyjamas smiling and staring at the dress he picked for her hanging it back on the rack. “You are my new favourite dress,” she muttered.

She walked back to the living room and checked her door, got a bottle of water and the manuscript from the shelf. She turned off the lights and hopped onto her bed, and took a piece of paper and a pen. She read the last line of the manuscript, scribbled something on it and began writing on the paper. “Sam had no idea what hit her. She was in the arms of the man she knew she was destined to be with. He locked her lips solidly against his, and her heart thudded hard, waves rushing over an around her, as anticipation and need grew. His mouth was hot and greedy and his hands busy…” She continued writing because she was inspired. It was her biography, and that kiss was something she could not ignore. A kiss so hot, so passionate, so intense, that she not only wanted more, she needed more. Way more.