Once I had everything, I headed back in and I sat back down next to her again, handing her the popcorn and candy. “Wake me when it finishes,” I joked, settling in my seat and resting my head back, pretending to get comfortable.

She threw a piece of popcorn at me. I laughed, laying my arm over the back of her chair. I tried my hardest to concentrate on the movie, but, to be honest, by the end I couldn’t even tell you what it was about. But I could tell you that Rosie didn’t seem to like lime flavoured candy, because she didn’t eat a single green one from the bag. That she twisted her hair around her index finger in a clockwise motion while she was engrossed in the movie, and that she cried at romantic parts. I hadn’t been able to take my eyes off her. It was the best movie I’d ever seen.

When it finished, she bit her lip and looked at me apologetically. “You hated that, didn’t you?”

I shrugged noncommittally. “Yeah, it sucked, just like I thought it would.”

“Why did you suggest we come see it then?” she asked, as she pulled on her jacket and stood up.

“Because you wanted to see it.”

She smiled and even in the dim strip lighting I noticed the blush that coloured her cheeks. “That’s-” she started, but I cut her off.

“Sweet, I know!” I rolled my eyes and took her hand, proudly leading her out of the movie theatre with an enormous smile on my face. Holding her hand as we walked was nicer than I thought it would be, kind of natural.

By the time we got to her place and she let us inside, I was so excited I could barely breathe. Had I done enough to get her into bed yet? I sincerely hoped so because she was all I could think about and I desperately wanted to take it to the next level.

Once I’d had my hands on her body, I’d either get over this obsession that I was fast developing and my life would go back to normal, or I’d want more. At this point, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to happen the most. Before the date tonight I would have hoped for the former because I didn’t want my life to change, but after spending another incredible night with her, I actually hoped that this would continue. I hoped that after we’d done the deed I’d still want to hang out with her because she was an awesome girl.

We sat on the sofa still talking freely; everything just seemed so easy with her. I didn’t feel the need to put on an act or try to be something that I wasn’t, she seemed to accept everything at face value and actually be interested in me, instead of what I looked like. I loved that she was intrigued by me as a person; it didn’t usually work that way with girls.

While we were talking, some of her hair fell across her eyes and before I could stop myself, I reached out and tucked it behind her ear so I could still look into her eyes when I talked to her. Her breath seemed to catch in her throat as she bit her lip lightly making me so freaking horny it was unreal. It had been exactly two weeks since I’d had sex now, and if I didn’t get some soon then I was going to die. Alright, that was a slight exaggeration, but it was certainly a long time for someone like me to go without.

I needed to kiss her. My mouth was already watering at the thought of it. As I bent my head to hers, I watched her closely for any signs of her not wanting it, but all I saw was passion and lust. My crotch rejoiced at the sight of her excitement, and I barely managed to stop myself from moaning out loud.

I pressed my lips to hers softly, giving her a chance to pull away. She didn’t though; instead, her arms wrapped around my neck and she kissed me back. One of my hands found her waist, pulling her closer to me, as my other hand cupped her cheek, feeling her soft skin under my fingertips. As she pulled back and looked up at me with those sultry eyes, I gulped and brushed my thumb across her full bottom lip. The urge to suck that lip into my mouth and bite down on it was so strong that I couldn’t fight it. I leant in, pressing my lips against hers again, loving how her hand tightened into the back of my hair.

As I nipped on her bottom lip, she gasped, and I took my opportunity to deepen the kiss. When my tongue touched hers, she moaned into my mouth. My arousal spiked immediately, turning me on so much that my jeans were starting to pinch across my crotch. I kissed her deeply, exploring every inch of her mouth, wanting to memorize it all.

Still needing more, I slid my hands down her back, moving forward more so that she had nowhere else to go but lay back on the sofa. I shifted fluidly, following her movement, hovering above her, never once allowing my lips to leave hers. I was so excited that my dick was actually throbbing in anticipation.

My mouth expertly trailed across her cheek, nibbling on her jawline before peppering kisses down the side of her neck, sucking on her creamy skin. When she let out a sexy little moan, I smiled knowing that I would make her moan a hell of a lot more than that before I was done with her.

Just as my hand slipped under her sweater and headed up towards her chest, I pressed my crotch against her hip, desperate for some relief. She gasped and her fingers dug into my shoulders.

“Nate, stop… shit, you need… stop,” she mumbled breathlessly, pushing on my shoulders gently.

Stop? Oh, come on, seriously? I looked at her curiously, trying to figure out what I had done wrong. Clearly, she was going to make me wait longer than a second date. I had kind of hoped I’d at least cop a sly feel though. Disappointment settled in my stomach. My aching crotch was trying to force me to beg her, to throw myself at her feet and beg for one night with her.

“Sorry, that was way too fast for me,” she mumbled, still panting lightly.

“It was?” My voice was so thick with lust that it was almost embarrassing. I was still on top of her, still pressed against her, and it wasn’t helping me calm down in the slightest. The fact that she felt so right there was doing nothing to help me in this situation at all.

“Yeah, I told you I don’t sleep with guys unless I’m in love with them. That was just… too much. Sorry.”

She looked at me apologetically, the death grip that she had on me while I was kissing her was loosening now, so I knew the moment was completely and utterly over. I’d blown it, crashed and burned, and now she probably wouldn’t want to see me tomorrow because I rushed it.

“You really don’t go with a guy without being in love first?” I asked curiously. How long did it even take for a girl to fall in love? A couple of weeks? A month? Could I wait that long for her?

She shook her head. “No. Look, I’m sorry if you thought I was kidding around and that you’ve wasted your time with me, but I was being serious. I’m not putting out anytime soon.” As she spoke, her big brown eyes didn’t leave mine.

I didn’t quite know what to do or say. I wanted her, but I’d never even tried to wait for a girl before. Was she worth waiting for? I looked at every inch of her face trying to decide. Player Nate wanted to strut out of the apartment and never look back, but for some reason I couldn’t get up. I couldn’t force one inch of space between our bodies. I knew that the more time I spent with her, the more I would like her, but did I really want to give up my easy life for a girlfriend?

“Can I ask why?” I questioned, looking at her curiously. Part of me still hoped this was some kind of test to see if I’d stick around for more than a couple of dates.

She frowned. “I was burned once, really badly, and I don’t ever want that to happen again. The guy I was with, he was a player just like you, and, well, it doesn’t really matter what he did, but what I’m saying is this; if a guy is willing to wait for me then he’s less likely to cheat and hurt me. If he can’t wait for me, then I guess I’m not missing out on anything.” She looked so vulnerable and hurt that I wanted to hunt down the guy that had hurt her and beat seven shades of shit out of him.

“This player guy, he cheated on you?” I asked, shifting my weight slightly so I could brush her hair from her face. Why would a guy even cheat on someone as amazing as Rosie?

“Yeah, and I won’t ever let anyone treat me like that again. I’m a stronger person than I was back then; I won’t put up with any crap. So maybe you should just go, because you’re not going to get what you want. There are plenty of girls out there willing to fall for your looks and confidence, Nate. Go find one of them because, seriously, you’re wasting your time with me.” She said the words confidently, but I felt her hand grip the back of my T-shirt. She didn’t want me to go anywhere, she wanted me to stay and wait for her to be ready.

Can I wait?

I knew only one thing for certain – I couldn’t seem to move off her. My body was frozen in place as my mind started racing through things so fast I could barely keep up. I wanted to wait for her, but I wasn’t sure I would physically be able to. I’d been in a routine for so long now that I was used to instant gratification. Waiting would mean throwing out everything that was natural to me, and starting something new.

I pressed my face into the side of her neck and breathed in her intoxicating smell. I wanted to see her again; I knew that for sure. Even if I didn’t get any for tonight, I knew I still wanted to take her out for lunch tomorrow. I’d had such a good time tonight with her; I still wanted more of her.

I kissed the side of her neck lightly and pushed myself up, going onto my hands and knees so I was still above her but not touching her at all.

“Okay, muffin. I’ll pick you up at about eleven thirty tomorrow.”

Her eyes widened as her lips popped open comically. I grinned at her shock. She’d actually expected me to run after her admission; that much was clear. I chuckled and hooked one finger under her chin, closing her mouth before bending and pressing my lips against hers for a second or two. When I pulled back, I winked at her and got up to my feet, gripping her hands and pulling her up too.

“You can walk me to the door, that’s the polite thing to do,” I teased.

She cleared her throat weakly. “Nate, seriously, did you hear what I said? I’m being completely honest with you now; I’m not going to have sex with you anytime soon.” She frowned and crossed her arms over her chest defensively.

“I heard what you said. I get it, the as**ole hurt you so you need to be sure before you take things further, I understand. I’m disappointed that I won’t get to see you na**d for a while, but I understand. I have a pretty good imagination so I can just have sex with you while I’m on my own.” I waggled my eyebrows at her suggestively making her giggle and hit my arm in playful reprimand.

Taking both of her hands in mine, I interlaced our fingers and pulled her closer to me. She actually looked scared, like a little frightened animal. I hated her being scared of me, and I didn’t want to hurt her or cheat on her. Of course, it would be hard for me, but I was pretty sure she was worth it. Her personality had already hooked me, I could wait for the physical stuff to follow after.

“Don’t look so nervous, cupcake, we’ll see how we go. Hopefully it won’t take you too long to fall for me.” I pulled her flush against me and pressed my lips to hers again lightly. The passion I felt inside instantly sparked back up again but I tried my best to ignore it. I pulled out of the kiss just as I was getting a little lightheaded, and put my forehead to hers.

She sighed a little and left her eyes closed, her hands squeezing mine gently.

“Okay, so I’d better go. I’ll pick you up in the morning. Oh, and because we did girly crap on this date, tomorrow I need to get a dose of testosterone, so we do something of my choice, alright?” I asked hopefully.

She laughed and rolled her eyes. “Strip club?”

I faked shock. “How did you guess that?”

“Get out of my place, player.” She smiled, indicating towards the door.

I kissed her again softly as we said our goodbyes. I sighed as she shut the door behind me. This was going to be hard, but I was certain that she was worth the effort. If, after a couple of dates, I lost interest in her, then we could just end it. No big deal. My mind wandered to how good we looked together in the mirror at Ashton’s place, and how her hand felt in mine as we walked out of the movie. I was almost positive that she could hold my interest.

Chapter Eight

I barely slept that night; all I could think about was Rosie and what she said. She’d been burned by a player before, but if she was telling me that she wanted me to wait then she was clearly not opposed to the idea of sleeping with me at some point. Which meant that I was in with a shot. And that also meant that she didn’t have a boyfriend, after all, how could I be in with a shot if she were dating someone else? Rosie really didn’t seem like the type of girl to cheat and cause someone any pain.

That still left the huge question of DJ. I knew he existed because Ashton had asked about him, but he wasn’t her boyfriend I would put money on it. She had never actually specifically told me she had a boyfriend, in fact, she’d never mentioned the word ‘boyfriend’ at all. I was just jumping to conclusions, and she was playing along trying to ward me off because she was scared of players.

Due to her cancelling the evening date, I called Seth to see what he was doing instead; I didn’t really want to sit in on my own on a Saturday night, that wasn’t my thing at all. He was going to a bar with the boys, so I arranged to tag along for a couple of hours. That way I’d still get my fill of Rosie, but I could still see the boys too. Perfect.

When I pulled up outside her place, I started to get a little worried that I’d chosen the wrong thing to do. My choice of entertainment wasn’t a very good date to take her on, but I had wanted to be original and do something she would remember. Though I was hoping she’d remember it as inventive, rather than the worst date in the history of bad dates.