I feel movement in my bed, and it takes a moment for me to realize that I'm not in my bed. I'm in Rain's bed with my back towards his muscular chest and his arm over my abdomen. My mind wanders to last night. I drank several glasses of wine but was in total control of every decision made with no regrets.
The problem is how to handle this morning. Is Rain going to want to take me home right away? I'm not looking forward to taking the walk of shame into my apartment building wearing the same dress from the previous night. Is he going to want to have breakfast together? New relationships are so hard to navigate at the beginning.
I'm not even sure what this is? The panic plastered on Rain's face at the mere mention of dating was quite comical at the time, but that was before we spent the entire night getting to know each other in a highly personal aspect.
It'll be hard to give up this man and mind-blowing sex if he decides that he got what he wanted from me and is ready to move on to the next girl. If that were the case, I'd hope that he would've been honest about his intentions from the beginning. Would I have still slept with him? Probably. Our chemistry is undeniable. He did say that he never falls this hard so fast. Maybe there's a chance of more with Rain?
Rain pulls me closer to him, and I smile. He speaks to me in a gruff morning voice, and I feel his hardness against my ass.
"What do you think about me starting coffee, then you joining me in the shower?"
I wiggle my ass against him.
"I like that proposal."
Rain kisses the back of my head before he rolls out of bed and leaves me to make coffee completely naked.
"Stay here. I'll be right back."
I unashamedly watch his tight ass leave the room.
I stretch out and decide not to overthink us, as Rain had told me when we first met. I'm just going to see where this goes. Rain returns and curls his finger, beckoning me to follow him. I eagerly obey.
I had noticed the shower earlier when using the bathroom. The shower floor is pebbled tile. White sub tiles go from floor to ceiling with gray and stormy blue accents, including a built-in bench. It has an extra-large, square rain shower head with a barn door-style glass door. I am beyond excited to use Rain's shower.
After retrieving towels and washcloths from his linen closet, Rain leans in, turns on, and adjusts the water's temperature. Once he is satisfied, he steps in and reaches his hand out to me. I accept, and he pulls me into an embrace as the spray of "rain" surrounds us, quickly drenching our skin.
"How'd you sleep?" Rain inquires.
I lean back and look into his dark eyes.
"Sleep? What sleep?"
He laughs and hugs me tighter as I melt into him. That damn laugh will be my undoing.
"Do I have to apologize for keeping you from your beauty sleep?"
I look up into his stormy eyes and reply sweetly, "If I had to be awake all night, our, um, activities would be the way to go every single sleepless night."
He chuckles at my response, takes a washcloth, and squeezes liquid soap into it. He works up a lather.
"May I?"
"Please," I respond breathlessly.
Rain gently sits me on the tiled bench, leans down onto his knees, and washes both of my feet. He has me stand and gently bathes my entire body taking his time on his favorite areas. It was the most erotic experience of my whole life. No man has ever made me feel the way Rain makes me feel.
"Mmm..."
A moan escapes my lips as Rain massages my head with shampoo.
I feel Rain's breath against my neck and shiver.
"Do you have any idea what your moans do to me?" he asks, pressing his hardness into me.
"I may have a clue," I croon.
He turns me to face each other and tilts my head back to rinse my hair. I watch his eyes follow the path of suds as gravity causes the bubbles to descend my curves. His eyes are dark and needy. He's ready to ravage me. I encourage him by catching some suds off of my breast, wrapping my small soapy hand around him.
Rain's head drops back as he growls, "Holy hell, Summer."
He startles me by grasping me by my hips and hoisting me up. My legs instinctively wrap around his slippery waist. He does not even turn off the shower. He slides open the door, holding me tightly against his firm chest, and walks us into his bedroom. He unceremoniously deposits me onto his bed. Our soaking wet bodies glide together as we have carnal sex.
Rain pulls up in front of my apartment building. The ride was comfortably quiet as we were both deep in thought processing the last twelve hours. He held my hand sweetly the entire ride home, his thumb rubbing circles against my skin.
We had enjoyed coffee and a brownie for breakfast. Rain offered me one of his tee shirts and a pair of gym shorts to wear on the ride home. I tied the back of his tee into a knot, tied the shorts tightly, and rolled down the waistband. He grinned and told me that I had a gift of making everything I wore look sexy. My dress and heels were in a plastic grocery bag wrapped around my wrist.
Rain turns to face me, "Summer, I had an incredible time last night." He pauses before continuing. "And this morning," he smirks. "As you know, I'll be out of town again this week, but, um, I'd like to take you out again when I get back."
"Yeah?"
I wonder why he seems to be struggling with asking me on a second date, especially after the night and morning that we just shared.
"Yeah," he replies sheepishly.
"Okay," I agree.
He smiles, leans over, and kisses me softly.
I wait to see if he'll offer to walk me up to my apartment; he doesn't. Instead, he gets out of his vehicle, comes to the passenger side, and opens my door. He takes my hand and assists me out of his car, then quickly embraces me.
"Thank you for dinner and dessert. I had a wonderful time and am looking forward to seeing you again." Seriously, Summer, you sound like you're setting up a business meeting.
He kisses the top of my head. "Talk to you soon."
"Um, sure, okay. Have a good week."
"You, too," he quickly responds.
He stayed by his car until I walked barefooted to my apartment building. I turned and waved goodbye before entering.
I haven't heard from Rain all week. My experience from the last time he was out of town prepared me for this possibility. That's just what he does. It doesn't stop me from hoping that this time would've been different after our night together. Especially since he did mention a second date, he wouldn't have asked about a second date if he wasn't interested. Right?
"Summer?"
I jump at Kelsey's unexpected voice behind me.
"Whoa, girl, are you okay?"
"Of course, you just surprised me." I shrug.
"You look like you could use a drink at McGrath's."
"Really?" I raise my brows. "Maybe you need a momma break because I've already been at McGrath's several times this week."
"Ahh, to be single." Kelsey muses.
"Stop. You love being a wife and mother." I chastise her.
"Yeah, you're right. It's just that sometimes I need a break." Kelsey laughs.
"I wasn't planning on going tonight. If you want to, text Tim, and let's go get a couple of drinks," I suggest.
"I can't go tonight. Lizzy has a piano recital." Kelsey pouts.
I feel my phone buzz in my pocket.
"Go ahead and get it. I have to finish my last report before I leave for the recital," Kelsey explains as she walks away with a wave.
I pull out my phone to see that Rain is calling me.
"Hello."
"Summer."
"Rain."
"McGrath's tonight?"
I sigh. "I'm not feeling McGrath's. Want to stop by my apartment?"
"Sure. What time?"
"I'm leaving here in five minutes."
"I'll be there in twenty with dinner," he promises.
"Okay. Thank you, Rain."
He hangs up, and I stare at my phone. We need to talk. I told myself to see where this goes with Rain. It's not that a commitment is required, but it would be nice to know what the hell this is between us. Am I just a phone call when he decides that he wants me? Not this girl.
I finish up and make my way across the street to my building. After informing security to expect Rain and taking the elevator up to my apartment, I change into gym shorts and an oversized off-the-shoulder tee-shirt. I see Rain's laundered tee-shirt and shorts folded on my dresser. At least he can get his clothes.
I pour myself my regular after-work lemon vodka over ice, hoping that liquid courage will give me the grit to approach Rain regarding what we are to each other, booty call, friends with benefits, or a budding relationship.
As promised, Rain arrives at my apartment twenty minutes later with Chinese food for dinner.
He gives me a brief kiss hello before walking into the kitchen. "I wasn't sure what you wanted, so I got us a little bit of everything."
"Honestly, you can't go wrong with Chinese as far as I'm concerned," I respond while getting plates and setting them on the bar.
"Wine or beer?"
He looks curiously at my drink.
"What are you having?"
"Lemon vodka over ice," I say, tipping my drink back to take a sip. "However, with dinner, I'm having a beer."
Rain's eyes go right to my lips.
"Perfect." he smiles.
"So, how was your week?" I ask curiously.
Rain and I catch up while eating. As usual, our conversation flows with ease. Rain talked a little about his week away. Unfortunately, he didn't have any funny lobster-type stories to share.
"What do you do with your free time when you're away?" I inquire. Hell, I don't even know what he does here at home with his free time.
Of course, he's vague. "I don't have a lot of free time. My days are full of meetings. In the evenings, I schmooze the clients. When I'm not doing either one of those, I'm preparing for the next presentation."
I sip my beer.
"I bet that makes for a very long week."
Rain nods as he shoves another bite of his egg roll into his mouth. I find myself wishing that I was that egg roll.
I, in turn, tell Rain about a couple of complex cases that I had. He intently listens as I share. We finish up dinner, and Rain helps me clean up. He grabs a couple of fresh beers and follows me to the sectional.
I sit first and curl my legs underneath me. Rain settles close to me and places his hand on my thigh, instantly causing my body to react. Before anything physical begins, I need to see what this is between Rain and me.
I decided to ease into the conversation.
"So, what brought you here tonight?"
He rubs his chin in thought and says, "I missed you."
Awe, his comment causes my heart to flutter.
"I missed you, too."
He wiggles his brows adorably.
"Can this count as our second date?"
"Hmm." I smile. "Well, I did invite you here. Yeah, this can be our second date."
He smiles like a cat that just caught a canary. It's a good segue into the question that I wanted to ask since he called me earlier.
"Rain, what are we?"
His brows furrow in confusion.
"What do you mean?"
I draw in a deep breath.
"We don't need a label or anything, but I'm curious as to what you think this is." I move my hand between us. "Am I just a booty call? Are we friends with benefits, or are you possibly looking for a serious relationship?"
He removes his hand from my thigh, leans back into the couch, and runs his hands nervously through his thick hair. The loss of his warm hand leaves me craving his touch.
"Look, I'm not good with the whole relationship thing, but I like you, Summer."
He places his hand back on my thigh, and I breathe out a sigh of relief.
I place my hand over his.
"I get it. I am not the best at relationships either. I think the longest that I've dated the same man was six weeks."
I notice his shoulders relax.
"I'm in uncharted territory here, Summer. Can we see where this goes? No strings attached. No expectations. No intentions."
He looks deep into my eyes, and I feel like throwing caution into the wind. Instead, I choose to keep my heart protected because falling in love with Rain Grant has heartache written all over it.