thevirginchronicles (3 page)

She really wanted to kiss him, to see what his lips tasted like and that was strange for her. There was never a true desire to kiss a man, for her it was just a finale to a mile mark. Date number three, not that she usually had a fourth to try out her lip-lock skills again. She had always been aware of him, even before when he never saw her. Her duties for the office were finished as she had wisely opted to delegate the smaller tasks off to her assistants, so she could head home without any delays. When she glanced discretely at the time on her PC, Jennifer saw the day was almost over. There was less than a quarter hour to go and impatient, she packed her things quietly and hoped no one noticed her quivering fingers or haste.

Jennifer felt the burn of his gaze on her skin, and when her phone buzzed, she knew that it was him. A quick peek at the phone revealed:
Have dinner with me tonight.

She answered before she could think about it and her fingers quickly swiped the touch screen.
Sure, why not? Call me.
When she looked up, he smiled at her and the quick flash of his grin confirmed his impatience for her response.

By the time their ocular tete-a-tete ended, the rest of her classmates chomped at the bit to be released for the day.

She saw Riordan check the clock before he told everyone to go home. He must have decided to dismiss them slightly early since only ten minutes remained. The other students dashed out quickly and the room was barren in moments. Jennifer was ready to leave as well, but he detained her with a quick hand motion. The quick flash of his hand only revealed two fingers cocked upright, but that was enough to make his intent clear, even across the small room. As he walked to the back row of the almost empty room he spoke, his voice husky.

"Would you like to eat at my house tonight?"

"But I thought you came in from out of town?" Jennifer was slightly confused, she was fairly sure he was staying in a hotel until the weekend.

"I decided to get a room to save myself a long commute every day. But I live outside of Raleigh."

Jennifer found herself surprised that he lived so close. Usually these types of contractors came from across the country, near headquarters. She had more questions that burned to be let out, but didn't think this was the appropriate time or place for them. She knew Riordan could see the queries in her eyes, as the quick quirk of his lips told her he enjoyed the idea that she wanted to know more.

"Jennifer, if there is anything you want to know about me, just ask. I'm an open book, and I don't mind telling you anything you'd care to know." He smiled and escorted her to the double doors, then motioned for her to exit first and held one door open until she was clear of the door’s frame. When she walked out, he flipped the wall switch and blanketed the room in darkness. The door locked behind him and he followed her to her car.

Jennifer made the decision to ask him to her house. She knew she may be over her head, but she had spent too many years as an ostrich to say no. Her whole youth was spent in hiding. She was queen of the wallflowers and watched life instead of living it. She was never much of a party girl, and when she did bother to go out, she spent the evening people watching. She would make guesses at how much better other people's lives were, instead of actually work at on bettering her own. She was the stereotypical homebody. But she didn't know this man, not well enough to be unaware of her surroundings or circumstances. Just to be safe, she would tell her best friend, Tresha, who she would be with. That way, if something bad happened, someone would know what was going on. Or who she was with at the very least. As she looked over at the man next to her she decided to throw her habit of caution to the wind.

Jennifer faced him, ready to get in, but he only quirked his left brow upwards. She knew what he was asking her.

"Would you rather eat at my place? That would save us a three hour drive... maybe we could eat at your place another day?"

"Actually, that sounds great. Is there anything that I could do to help out or anything you need me to bring along?"

"Just yourself is fine with me." Jennifer hadn't had a man in her home before, not a date that is. She had her gay friends from work, but that wasn't the same as having her own interested suitor.
 
"How about you go back to your room, change into something casual and come by my place at seven. By that point the food should be done at least."

"How about we meet in the middle? Say six? I really can't let you do all of the work. Gotta earn this home cooked meal somehow." He grinned, almost boyishly. How could she say no to that face? Finding herself unable to do just that she agreed with a nod.

"I'll text you the address now. It’s fairly easy to find and its only five minutes or so from here."

Jennifer has a case of the dropsies. When she left the office headed towards her house, she dropped her sunglasses twice. The worst part was she had them on her face both times. When she arrived at her front door, she dropped the mail and her house keys on the floor and left them in her haste to get ready. She had some chicken waiting in the kitchen, it should already be thawed. But as she was having company over she made a quick executive decision to change the menu slightly.

 
              
Shoot, she was lying to herself. The simple meal of grilled chicken and side salad wouldn't satisfy him. So, she was going to make Chicken Marsala instead. But with the extra calories from lunch, she now had to do an extra half hour workout tonight. If she were slutty, she could just burn the extra off on him. But she wasn't very good at the femme fatale act.

She opted to change into something casual before dinner otherwise she may not be able to save her favorite dress shirt. Walking in back of the three bedroom house to the master suite took only a moment. Deciding what to wear took much longer. Ten minutes went by as she waffled over her options, finally she closed her eyes and grabbed the first item she touched.

 
              
When she opened them the lace tank mocked back at her. The tank was a turquoise cotton long enough to be a mini dress or tunic. With its scalloped lace straps, neckline and hem, the tank was subtly sexy and would work well with a pair of tights. She quickly scrounged through her dresser and found the perfect pair of dark chocolate tights. If she added a simple turquoise drop earring and bracelet, the clothes should be okay to wear. Hopefully, she didn't look too made up. Choices made for her garments she padded back to the kitchen and seasoned the already marinated breasts.

When Jennifer glanced up to check the clock, she gasped at how much of her hour was gone. She had maybe twenty minutes before her hungry date was going to show up.
 
There was no time left to waste and she dashed into the bedroom, grabbed a towel and twisted her hair up after she hopped in the tub. Her shower was swift, and eight minutes later she was applying a quick layer of makeup. Not much, just a dusting of powder with a golden shadow and gloss. She pulled on the clothes she'd chosen earlier, the earrings in hand when she heard the doorbell.

Damn! Jennifer thought as she slid the shoulder length stone beads in her ear. "Now I can't even do my hair." Peeking in the mirror, she was good to go even as she wished that she wasn't wearing a school marm bun up top.

Riordan: Eager Beaver

When they left the classroom Riordan knew he needed to lock an answer down their plans for the night. For some reason he was afraid she would ditch him and he would spend the rest of the evening alone, instead of in her company. He was the type of man that left nothing to chance. A man that plotted every move he made from the time his feet hit the floor until the moment they hit the bed again. His diligence and self-sacrifice made him into the man he was today. He wasn't filthy rich, but he was close enough to have any creature comforts he desired or that he didn't have money concerns. Neither would his future wife or any children they were blessed with have to worry about their day to day existence or futures. His brother said he had a Midas touch with money. The fact wasn't that per se, but for a habitual planner, the ability to watch and understand economic patterns was an essential talent. Over time a patient person could make money, even in ailing markets. By the time he opened her car door, she was packing her bags inside.

He wanted her alone with him, not just for seduction, although that would be nice. He wanted her all to himself, her smiles and laughter for him only, at least this first night. His offer to take her to his house was insane. No other woman had ever been inside, save his mother and grandma. But he wanted to show her what he could give her if she were willing to get to know him. She didn’t seem the type to be impressed with money, he knew what type of bottom line someone in her pay scale earned and it was a pretty penny in this day and age. But, he did want her to know that he could match anything she could bring to the table, and that he was no wastrel.

But her offer to entertain him in her home was perfect and Riordan could definitely work with that. He wouldn't have presumed to invite himself to her house. But this was better than he planned. Not only did she show her intention was to see him again, but she was willing to come to his home in the future, if he didn’t make a mistake tonight.

The plans they just made would give him time to pick up wine and grab a decent dessert to follow. As he walked back to his car, he felt a quickening in his gut that told him he was doing the right thing. Even though he was by all accounts a self-proclaimed nerd, he was a man first and foremost. Men leaned hard on their gut feelings. It was how mankind was able to forge through the unknown. How mankind survived catastrophe and vagaries of fate. Now his gut told him that if she were the one that got away, he'd regret it for the rest of his life.

Even though this was far from his first date, Riordan still felt nervous as hell. He went to the store and grabbed the wine first, a really nice rose' that he'd enjoyed before. Before he could see her he had to run downtown to his hotel, change clothes, brush his teeth and he could leave right back out. To see her and the thought of their date made him smile. Even with his jubilant new attitude, Riordan found himself in an unfamiliar mood. He was clock-watching, a habit he had never taken up before. He quickly saw why watching the ticking of seconds roll by was futile, it was worse than waiting for water to boil. But he couldn't stop himself.

He knew he was slightly early when he arrived, but to his thinking, he was better off being five minutes early than even one minute late. When he pulled up the drive way, her home was beautiful just like her. There was a winding cobbled stone driveway, the front of the small colonial trimmed with azalea hedges. There were patches of flowers clustered in pockets around the yard. All in all, a neat home, but large for a single woman. From what she told him, he knew she wasn't in a relationship. But he didn't know her full history, and maybe there used to be a man in the perfect picture of manicured lawn. He parked his Range Rover behind her car at the apex of the path and walked to his destiny.

While Riordan stood at the door impatient to see Jennifer outside the confines of work, he thought about her. He wanted to know the real her, not the person she showed the world as a professional. He'd clenched the flowers he picked up from a florist in the hotel in his right hand. They weren’t much, just an assortment of gerbera daisies in yellow and white. He didn't want to appear overeager, even though she probably could see how much he liked her. How much he wanted her. Hell, he'd spent half his day hard just looking at her. The rose' was safe under his left arm along with a bag filled with fresh cupcakes from Sweet Tooth Bakery in hand and he rang the bell.

Jennifer: Home Training

Moments later, Jennifer tucked the earrings in each ear before she opened the door and was struck dumb. He changed clothes, just as she did. But the effect was so startling, she barely recognized him. The jeans were a trendy brand with western pockets and button fly, with slide on plaid sneakers and completed with a dark green concert tee. The clothes were simple, but on him transformed to a sexy casual. The outfit looked so good on him it seemed as if it were made with him in mind and the garb showcased his full masculine beauty. His hair was wind tossed and she itched to touch the loose waves with her fingers. Then she realized that she was being rude, not only with her ogling, but by leaving him standing on her front porch. When she stepped back she waved him in her house as she attempted to decipher if the look on his face meant he liked what he saw too.

"Sorry about that, as you can see, I'm not used to having guests. Please make yourself at home."

"It's okay, I was staring too."

Jennifer smiled shyly. No other man had ever cared enough to buy her flowers and she always loved daisies. The flowers always seemed humble, as if innocent of their natural beauty. The slight fragrance of the blooms wafted upward to her nose. Needing to busy herself, Jennifer arranged the blossoms in a glazed earthenware vase. She took the floral arrangement to the dining room and sat them in the center of the oaken round breakfast table.
 
She looked up at her guest and looked away, then wandered over to her stove. It was more than enough that he was here and she could barely contain her excitement.