Roman

thirty-three

I don't think I can even greet anyone. I've been so bad I shouldn't even show my face. But...maybe this extra-long chapter with some steamy parts will help make it up to you? I have just been awful about focusing on this story, but I hope that with school starting again, I will find a rhythm again. Anyways, comment, vote, follow, the works. I will try to be better from now on. Promise.

I wait patiently as Roman instructed while he disappears upstairs to get something before we leave. A white knit sweater stretches across his broad back, and black jeans cling to his heavy thighs in a way that makes me want to seem them without the barrier of jeans. Turning away from his retreating figure, I look at the family portraits on the mantel, admiring the wholeness of this family. I'm nervous, but a happy nervous as I wait for him to get whatever he is grabbing. We are about to leave for a mystery destination for our second date. I wrap my sweater-clad arms tightly around me and let out a yawn.

Suddenly, Roman crashes back down the stairs a small bag in his hand. As he gets closer, I realize that it is Naomi's Polaroid camera. He pauses at the base of the stairs and just looks at me with a goofy grin on his face.

"What?" I say with a laugh.

"Nothing," he says before coming closer and wrapping an arm around my shoulder. He leads me towards the door to the garage, his warm body pressed against my side.

The white minivan is the only vehicle in the garage, so I can only assume that this will be our noble steed for today, which makes me laugh. It is imperfect and goofy, but somehow so wholesome at the same time.

"I know that it's not the most romantic, but my mom wanted to borrow my car this morning," he says, shrugging apologetically. He opens the passenger door for me and leans in to press a soft kiss to my cheek once I'm inside.

"You don't have to explain yourself. The car we take doesn't matter." I settle into my seat while he climbs into the driver's seat. Once he turns on the car, I adjust the heat, turning it up high and angling the contraption at myself. "So, are you going to tell me where we're going?"

"Nope." He reaches across the center console, holding his out for me to grab while he pulls out onto the street.

I lace my fingers through his and rest our hands on my lap; I use my other hand to hold his tighter to mine. He squeezes my hand and looks over at me, so I give him a bright smile, which he can't help but return. As soon as he turns back to watch the road, I lean over to press a kiss to his stubbly cheek, hoping he doesn't notice that I definitely didn't need to leave my lips on his skin for as long as I did.

About ten minutes later, Roman parks in a parking garage downtown. When I reach for the door handle, he leans over and grabs ahold of my wrist, pulling it away from the door. Wordlessly, he lets go of me and quickly comes around to my side of the car, opening the door for me. He immediately slips his hand back into mine and leads me out of the building and down the street until we find ourselves in front of a quaint breakfast shop.

When we walk in, we are hit full force with the smells of waffles, bacon, and all the best breakfast smells combined. The line is short, so Roman suggests that we wait off to the side until we decide what we want. Roman stands behind me, close enough that I can feel the heat from his body and his breath on the back of my neck when he looks down at me. It sends chills down my spine.

I am thankful that we don't have to have the awkward conversation about PDA. I love PDA, but only in the right circumstances. As in, I don't want us to be all over each other in the middle of a breakfast shop. It's just unnecessary. I'm not surprised that Roman seems to share my sentiment because I don't remember him doing anything more than hold hands with Cassey in public.