Leah Starting Over

I'm pacing back and forth, stopping to look out the front window every other time I pass. It's Friday night and a friend has set me up on a blind date. He should be arriving any minute. This is the first date I've been on in almost 6 years. Damn! I can't believe it's been that long. Oh well, I'm hoping that this blind date is worth stepping back out into the world for. I force myself to sit down and flip through a magazine.

The doorbell rings and I jump. Wow! He's five minutes early. That has to mean something. I'm so nervous that I almost don't open the door, but I do. As the door slowly opens, I'm forced to look up because he is six feet tall and very handsome to boot! He's dressed in khaki shorts and a pale blue polo shirt. The color matches his eyes, I notice.

"Hi, I'm Matt," he smiles. "You must be the lovely Leah, my date for this evening."

"Yes, I am," I say, staring up at him. I reach out to shake his hand but instead of shaking my hand, he lifts it to his lips and places a kiss on the back. My cheeks have turned ruby red. Matt reaches up and rubs his thumb across my cheek.

"You are so sweet, I think I'm going to owe our mutual friend big time."

He waits for me to shut and lock up the house before guiding me to his truck, his hand touching the lower part of my back. His hand makes me feel tingly and warm all over, even though it's been years since I've actually felt a mans hands upon my body. As we get to his truck, he opens the door and even helps me in, before going around and getting in on the driver's side.

"So, where are we going?" I ask.

"Since we're both dressed in casual clothes, I thought we could have a late evening picnic up by the lake." He looks over at me as if to ask my opinion on that. I smile back at him.

"That's a lovely idea."

"It's awfully crowded," I notice as we pull up at the lake.

"Does that bother you? We could go somewhere else, if you like?" I look over at him and can't help smiling at his genuine concern for my comfort.

"No, this is alright. To be honest, I've never been on a picnic by the lake before. I'm looking forward to it."

"Well, that is about to change right now little lady," he says, giving me the biggest smile I've seen yet.

As I get out of the truck, Matt hands me a single red rose with a note attached to it and wraps his arm around my waist to guide me to the spot he has already picked out. The attached note reads "this is for the special lady that I've been looking for all my life."

I look up at him. He leans down and kisses me on the cheek.

"I have a feeling that is going to prove very true."

We've made our way to a private spot near the water under a shade tree where we spread out a blanket and sit down. Matt unpacks the picnic basket cooler, which contains ham & cheese sandwiches, chips, lemonade and a surprise.

"For later," he says, with a wink and a smile.

We enjoy the dinner and the breezes off the water as we chat and get to know one another. When we've finished, Matt pulls out the surprise and opens it.

"Smores," he says with one of those smiles I am getting to love. "I heard they were your favorite so I brought the fixings for them. As he gets up to start a fire to roast the marshmallows, it starts raining. We were so wrapped up in each other we hadn't noticed the approaching clouds and thinning crowds.

Before we can get everything packed up and make it to the truck we're both drenched. Matt looks at me sopping wet and we both start laughing.

"My place is just down the road?" he offers.

"Sounds good."

We head to his place to get out of our wet clothes. At his house, Matt leads the way to his back door, which is closer. Inside, he shows me to the bathroom.

"Why don't you just jump in the shower to warm up? There's a bathrobe on the back of the door you can use after you're done. I'm going to get a hot shower in the upstairs bathroom. Meet me down the hall here in the living room when you're finished."

He leaves me to my shower. Shivering, I strip down and step under the hot water, as it helps to warm me up after the icy cold rain and wet clothes. After a few minutes, I step out and dry off then put on the robe. Clearly Matt's, I notice, as I inhale his unique scent.

As I make my way to the living room, I'm trying to roll the sleeves up and find myself walking right into his waiting arms.

"Let me help you with that," he smiles and proceeds to roll up the sleeves for me. I notice that he has a fire going in the fireplace and the Smores fixings are laid out.

We settle before the fireplace and Matt starts fixing a Smore for me. After it's ready, he starts to fix one for himself.

"We could just share mine?" I suggest.

We take turns taking bites of the gooey confection.

"You have chocolate on your upper lip and fingers." He lifts my fingers to his mouth where he proceeds to lick and suck on them. I shudder at the intimate touch of his soft, wet tongue on my fingers. He sits back and looks at me then bends forwards and kisses me, licking the chocolate off my lip in the process.

"That was the sweetest kiss I've had in a long time," he says as he pulls back a little and smiles at me.

We just sit there, holding hands and staring at each other for some time.

"Can I kiss you again?" Matt asks softly.

"No," I say and Matt looks surprised but then I stretch towards him to start the kiss this time. The robe is stretched tight against my breasts, the terry cloth almost feeling rough against my hardened nipples.

Gently, Matt eases both of us to the floor as we caress each other's body. He reaches between our bodies to untie my robe as I'm untying his...