*Mom looked over at me and smiled. "You look terrific this morning. Get a good night's sleep?"

"I did, and I have a date tonight."

Mom and Kalen exchanged glances. "With Hailey?" Kalen asked.

"Yep." I knew I was beaming.

"Where are you taking her, sweetie?" Mom asked.

"I have no idea."

Mom and Kalen exchanged glances again. "You don't know?"

Kalen asked before she shoveled another spoonful of fruit into her mouth.

Mom grabbed my arm. "Honey, it's got to be somewhere special."

"Well, I wasn't thinking about McDonald's," I said nervously as they looked at me like I was crazy.

"What about Antoine's, Court of Two Sisters, or Arnaud's?"

Kalen ticked off on her fingers. "Those are all romantic places."

"Yes, excellent choices," Mom agreed.

"Now what are you going to wear?" Kalen waved her fork at me. "Well, I was planning on jeans."

"No," Mom and Kalen said in unison.

I dropped my napkin onto the table. "I'm not showing up at her place in a prom dress."

"Do you have something s.e.xy?" Mom asked.

"Mom!"

"What?"

"I feel funny about discussing this with you."

"Well, honey, I know lesbians do more than just talk."

"Are we done here?" I looked around to see if anyone else was listening to the conversation.

"I think we need to go shopping," Kalen said, ignoring me.

"Maybe visit Victoria's Secret."

Mom gave me a teasing grin. "I think you'd look really nice in a pair of black slacks, you know the ones that ride low on your waist with a snug-fitting top. Something to show off that new figure of yours."

1.

*"The malls are full of sales," Kalen offered seriously. "And Mom says I need to walk a lot to combat fluid buildup." She batted her eyes at me.

"What's up with you?" I narrowed my eyes at Kalen. "You haven't been hip on me seeing Hailey at all, and now you want to dress me up for her."

Kalen popped an orange slice into her mouth and looked at Mom.

Mom gave a warning glance at Kalen and smiled at me. "We've had a talk. Now about dinner. You need to make a reservation, instead of winging it."

Kalen pulled out her phone and had the number to Arnaud's in about half a minute. "Want me to call for you?"

"Yes," my mother replied before I could and turned to me.

"We are going shopping."

"Seven was the best they could do," Kalen said as she set her phone down.

"I need to call Hailey. That's what time I'm supposed to pick her up."

The noon sun felt good on my face as I stepped outside and dialed Hailey's number. "Hey," she said brightly when she answered.

"Hi, have you recovered from last night's hike?" I asked.

"I have, but Fuzzy is on nap number two. Are we still on for tonight?"

"Yes, but I'm going to have to pick you up at six thirty instead of seven. We have reservations at Arnaud's."

"Oh, wow, I've heard about that place. Very pricey." Hailey lowered her tone, sounding sultry. "Are you trying to impress me?""Yes?"

Hailey laughed. "I'm already impressed. Dinner at McDonald's wouldn't diminish that."

"I look forward to spending time with you tonight."

"Me too," Hailey said, sounding suddenly shy. "See you soon."

1.

Chapter 30.

Steak, crab and ahhh...

In hindsight, it was good to spend time with Mom and Kalen.

Their playful banter and being dragged from store to store made the day pa.s.s quickly. Otherwise, I would've sat home and waited impatiently for the hours to tick by. I returned home to relax for a while and launder my new outfit.

Now as I stood in the mirror, I was actually happy that Mom and Kalen were so insistent on dressing me for the occasion.

The black slacks and the lightweight burgundy sweater showed off the figure that I'd worked for. It wasn't so dressy that I felt uncomfortable, yet the ensemble looked a lot dressier than jeans.

I slipped into the matching blazer and wished for a second that Marvin had been around to do my hair and makeup.

I rode the elevator down to Hailey's floor with a grin. My arms were full with flowers for Hailey and a gift bag for Fuzzy since her chicken-hunting stunt provided the perfect segue for me to ask Hailey out.

"Wow, you look amazing," Hailey said when she opened her door. I wanted to return the compliment, but it froze on my tongue when I took in the black c.o.c.ktail dress she'd chosen for the evening. It hugged every delicious curve and left me breathless.

"Is it too much?" Hailey asked when I stood there gawking.

"No...I...Oh, my G.o.d, you're beautiful." I felt as awkward as a schoolboy as I presented the flowers. "These are for you. A small show of grat.i.tude for taking care of me when I was sick and a thank you for agreeing to accompany me tonight."

1.

*Hailey sniffed at the one red rose in the center of the bouquet.

"And this dinner, is this some sort of show of grat.i.tude?

"No," I said, looking deep into her eyes. "This is just about wanting to spend time with you."

Hailey sighed as she looked at me, a small smile pulled at the corner of her mouth. "I'll put these in water."

"This is for you." I looked down at Fuzzy. I opened the gift bag covered in tiny dog prints and pulled out High School Musical 2, a chew bone with a chicken-flavored center, and a stuffed lamb.

"I figured that this might make you happy while I steal your mom away for a while."

Fuzzy did a dance as I handed her the lamb.

"I'm going to get my coat," Hailey said. "If you'll unwrap the bone and put in the movie, I think Fuzzy will be grateful."

I watched Hailey walk from the room and looked down at Fuzzy, who seemed to say, Open the bone, fool. She took it and lay down next to her lamb in front of the TV and waited as I put in the movie.

"Thank you for that," Hailey said as she came back into the room and nodded toward her pooch that was happily gnawing the bone and eyeing the TV. "Are we ready?"

"Yes." I walked over to the door and prepared to open it for her. Hailey put her hand atop mine and stopped me. She tugged on the lapel of my blazer until we were scarcely an inch apart. "I want to willingly give you this," she said before her lips met mine.

The kiss was gentle and sweet at first. I heard her purse drop to the floor as she wrapped her arms around my shoulders and pulled me tight against her. All thoughts of dinner fled my mind as her tongue slipped into my mouth. Her teeth grazed my bottom lip as she broke the kiss that left me shaken and breathless. "Yes, I think we're ready now," Hailey said with a coy smile.

"I'll get your purse," I said dumbly as I knelt in front of her.

I felt Hailey's hand weave into my hair and tug me back up to her. "I was wrong, we're not quite ready." She pushed me against the door and kissed me again. My hands roamed over the backless dress, and I moaned at the feel of her warm skin. She pressed

1.

*harder into me, straddling my thigh. The sound of our breathing drowned out the intro music to the movie. When she pulled away from me this time, she looked as unhinged as I felt. "Okay, we're ready now." Hailey took an unsteady step back.

I bit my lip to keep from asking, ready for what? I wasn't sure we were talking about dinner anymore. I felt like we skipped straight to dessert.

Hailey wiped her lipstick from my lips with the pad of her thumb. "I'm sorry. I think I kissed away your lipstick and mine."

"You'll hear no complaints from me."

Hailey slipped the toe of her shoe under the strap of her purse and lifted it high enough for me to grab. After she plucked it from my trembling fingers, she opened the door. "Let's go," she said with a pleased smile.

I knew my face was flushed when we stepped into the elevator.

I smiled at two tenants I didn't know very well and wondered if they could sense the s.e.xual tension flowing off of Hailey and me in waves. No one said anything as we rode to the ground floor.

They followed us into the courtyard, and when I glanced over at Hailey, she was grinning from ear to ear. "What's so funny?" I asked when we were alone.

Hailey took a tissue from her purse and wiped around my lips. "I didn't do a very good job of cleaning away the lipstick.

I think it was fairly obvious to our neighbors that we'd been making out."

I kissed her again, making her repeat the process with a laugh. We were still standing on the step when the cabbie I'd called honked the horn.

"Is that for us?" Hailey asked as I tugged her hand.