Pebble (Elemental Men #5)

Chapter 9

CHAPTER NINE

CLAY

First dates are a magical, terrible thing.

This is something I’ve dreamed of my whole life—dreamed of, wanted, desperately longed for, but I don’t think I was prepared for how nervous I’d be. Are other people this nervous before they go on dates?

Probably not. It’s probably just me who has this shortcoming. That makes sense—I’m the only person I know who got to my age without ever having a date and only having two friends, ever.

“Stop that,” Penny says from the doorway, and I turn away from the mirror I’ve been staring into. “Stop this instant.”

“Stop… checking my reflection?” I ask. “I need to make sure my clothes aren’t wrinkled.”

“They’re not, and George wouldn’t care if they were, anyway,” she retorts. “Stop finding fault with yourself.”

“I’m not,” I protest.

Her left brow rises.

“I swear, I’m not!”

Her right brow also rises.

“I was just wondering if other people are this nervous before dates. That’s all.”

My best friend’s expression softens, and she comes forward to put an arm around me. “Oh, honey, of course we are. We wonder how things are going to go, and if we already really like the person we’re going out with, we might have butterflies or even feel a little bit sick with the excitement of it. That’s normal, and it’s especially strong on our first ever date.”

I press a hand to my churning stomach. “That doesn’t help as much as I thought it would.”

Laughing, Penny kisses my cheek. “You have nothing to worry about. The nerves are normal, but this is going to be amazing. It’s George . You’ve loved him for years.”

My head whips around to face her. “You knew?”

She steps back and smiles smugly. “Of course I knew. I’m your best friend in the whole damn world. I know you better than anyone… which I hope is going to change soon. I could totally tell that you were ass-deep in love with him.” Pulling a face, she goes over to the bed and picks up the light jacket I laid out. “I was pretty sure he had feelings for you, too, but when he never made a move, I started to doubt that.”

“You were right. He was going to ask me on a date that first day, except you assumed we were friends and…” I trail off, squinting. I’m not really sure what happened after that. Somehow, George and I ended up being friends, which was the thing that truly mattered to me.

She gasps, looking stricken. “No! Don’t say it’s my fault!”

“Of course not,” I rush to assure her. “There’s no fault. It just wasn’t the right time.”

That doesn’t seem to help. “But if I hadn’t opened my big mouth and tried to ‘help,’ he would have asked you on a date?”

“That’s what he said. He’s loved me for years too.”

Penny hands me the jacket and slaps her hands over her mouth, backing away. “Nooooo! I am the worst .”

I rush over to put my arms around her. “You’re not. You were trying to help me—you did help me. You know that if George had asked me out back then, I would have stuttered and gone all shy and turned him down. If I could even answer him at all.”

“Your connection would have overcome that,” she wails. “The two of you are meant to be together. I just know it. You two could have been living in an adorable bungalow by now, fostering troubled teens and helping them overcome their issues by learning to garden and save the environment. Your family hikes would be epic!”

I wince. “That sounds like a Disney Channel movie and not at all like real life, Pen.”

Sniffling, she shrugs. “Maybe it is. But sometimes things like that happen. I’m pretty sure, anyway. And they didn’t happen because of me. I denied my bestie his chance at happiness.”

Fond exasperation wells up in me. “Could you stop it? George and I are going on a date now, and we love each other, and we’re probably going to be happy together forever.” We definitely are, but I don’t think she’s ready for the whole “fated mates” conversation. “Anyway, why are you making my big night all about you?”

There’s a knock on the front door, and I glance at the clock, surprised to see that it’s seven already.

“That’ll be George,” Penny says, stepping out of my arms with a smug smile, “and you forgot to be nervous.”

My jaw drops. “You’re so sneaky.”

Leaning in, she kisses my cheek again. “Have an amazing time.”

I’m still shaking my head over my best friend’s underhanded tactics when George and I get to the restaurant. He laughed outright when I told him—the way his friends say he rarely does yet I hear all the time—and declared that he’d been nervous too, because he didn’t want to fuck this up for me.

He could never fuck anything up for me, and I made sure to tell him so, which got me a special smile.

As we’re walking from the parking lot to the fancy-pants restaurant George decided on—I’m pretty sure with input from his human friends—he glances sideways at me and asks, “Is it okay if I hold your hand?”

Excitement explodes in my chest, but I rein it in and nod. “Yes. That would be nice.” I don’t think my restrained answer fools him, judging by the look I get, but the first touch of his callused fingertips against mine puts paid to any wish to seem aloof. I turn my hand to his, sliding our palms together, and he interlaces our fingers. Nothing has ever felt so right in my whole life.

We walk into the restaurant and are immediately seated at an intimate table for two tucked away behind some potted palms. It feels like we’re in our own little world, and any anxiety I had about being judged—I didn’t want people looking at me and George and wondering why he was with me—dissipates. It’s banished completely when our server approaches, takes in our hands, which are still linked across the tabletop, and coos, “Aww, you two make the cutest couple. Celebrating something special?”

“It’s our first official date,” George announces. “I need to treat him right so he doesn’t change his mind and decide to go back to just being friends.”

“You absolutely do, because that would be a travesty,” she agrees. “I’ll tell Chef that we’re on a mission to impress.”

I blush. “Th-That’s not necessary. I’m sure everything will be w-wonderful.”

She regards me gravely. “It will, but the cherry on top is absolutely necessary. I need to see you both back here for your relationship milestones. Now… can I interest you in anything from the bar?”

I dither for a moment, desperately wanting a mocktail but always feeling low-key judged about ordering a fruity drink that doesn’t have alcohol in it. George comes to my rescue, ordering one for himself, even though I know he hates fruity drinks, then glancing over the table at me. “Did you want one too?”

Nodding gratefully, I say, “Yes, please. That sounds perfect.” Just like him.

Just like this night.

Like us, together. We’re perfect.

Our server leaves, and I look over at my date’s handsome face. “George?”

He glances up from the menu, his dark eyes inquiring. “Yeah?”

I lean forward. “Tonight’s special.”

Smiling, he leans forward too. “I know. It’s our first date.”

“Yeah, our first date. And also… the first time we,” I drop my voice to a whisper, “have sex.”

The cutlery rattles as George bumps the table, but his face doesn’t change. “We don’t have to, Clay.”

“I want to. I know you. I love you. Tonight is already the most beautiful night of my life. I don’t want to wait anymore.”

His nostrils flare as he sucks in a deep breath. “Fuck, Clay.” There’s the slightest of tremors in his voice. “I can’t say no to that. But—” He swallows visibly. “But if you change your mind at any time, that’s fine. No hard feelings. I’ll still love you, and I’ll still want to spend forever with you.”

“Okay,” I agree, because it seems important to him. But inside, I’m smiling smugly.

There’s no way I’m changing my mind.

We go back to my place after dinner because we’ll have more privacy there. Penny’s gone out, so she won’t even notice that we’re there. I’m glad—the nerves are back, though not like before. I’m not nervous about having sex with George, just that I’m doing something for the first time ever.

He closes the door behind us and says, “Is it okay if I kiss you? I’ve been dying to for years, and?—”

Me throwing myself bodily at him cuts off the rest of what he was going to say. He catches me and boosts me in his arms so our faces are level. I wrap my arms around his neck and grip his sides with my knees. It’s the most intimate position I’ve ever been in with another person, but it’s George , so I feel… good. Comfortable. Safe.

“That’s a yes, then?” he rumbles softly, and I nod, smiling.

“Yes, please.”

The kiss starts slow, easy, but when I eagerly kiss him back, trying to match the movements of his mouth and not seem like an inexperienced loser, the intensity grows. My first real kiss is amazing . I never want this to end.

Except… we can’t have sex standing here. Or maybe we can, but I’m not sure I want to be that adventurous. Not my first time, anyway.

“Is it possible to have sex standing up like this?” I blurt, then feel my face go hot. Did I really break our kiss to say that ? What a waste.

George smiles at me, and it’s a fond, charmed kind of smile that says he thinks I’m special and nothing I say is a waste. I’m almost tempted to look over my shoulder to see if someone else is there, because I still can’t believe he feels that way about me.

“It is, but let’s save that for another time. I want you to be comfortable tonight.”

“Put me down, then,” I order. “I need to take off my pants.”

His laugh warms me from the inside out. “Your wish is my command.” He loosens his hold on me, and as my legs drop, I begin to slide down his fr?—

Whoa.

Is that…?

“Wait!” Panic tears the word from my throat, and he freezes.

“Clay? What’s wrong?”

I blink back tears. I don’t want to ruin this perfect night, but… “I-I… I th-think… P-Please don’t h-hate…” I can’t finish a sentence, dammit. The last thing I want is to disappoint George—or me.

His hand rises to cup my cheek, and he gently tips my face up so I have to either look at him or make it obvious that I’m avoiding him. “Hey,” he says softly. “It’s okay. You don’t ever have to be worried with me. I’ll never hate anything you do or say.”

I suck in a deep breath through my nose. “I want us to have sex,” I begin, then falter again.

He gets it, though. “But you’re not ready? That’s okay, Clay. We’re going to be together forever—fated, remember? We have plenty of time to explore sex. It doesn’t have to happen tonight.”

“I-It doesn’t? B-But I want to have sex with you.” It’s true—I want George. I’ve dreamed and fantasized about being with him this way.

“And we will. Lots of times, probably. Over and over again, in every position we can dream up. That doesn’t mean we have to rush into it. Tonight was our first date—both our first dates ever. We just had our first kiss. Why don’t we dedicate some practice time to kissing? Get to know each other that way?”

I chew on my lip, unable to deny how appealing the idea is. “Could I… touch you?”

He nods. “Yes. In fact, why don’t we make out like horny teenagers? On the couch, clothes on, kissing and feeling each other up. See how that works out for us before we decide to do anything else.”

I’ve never done that, and I’ve always wished I could have. “You really don’t mind if we don’t have sex tonight?”

George leans down to kiss me again. “I really don’t,” he murmurs against my lips. “I’ve waited a long time for you, Clay. I want to savor everything about us finally being together.”

Happiness bubbles up inside me. “Let’s go cuddle on my couch.”