Love Finds the One (Sully Point Book 2) (12 page)

Her phone rang again when she got into her car.
"Hello?"

"Hi, it's Cody."

"Hi. What's up?"

"I was wondering if you'd like to go to dinner
tonight."

"Sure, this time I could bring something--from Deb's
deli of course."

There was quiet on the other end of the phone.

"Cody?"

"Uh, I actually wasn't talking about dinner at Dad's
house. I meant the two of us, going to dinner, like a date."

Now there was silence on her end.

"Julia?"

"I was thinking."

"About?"

"Whether this is a good idea."

"Because?"

"Hmm. Well, I'm not on much of an even keel these days,
to use a boat metaphor."

He laughed.

"And you do have a reputation, you know."

"Yes, I'm sure you've heard all about my exploits all
over town by now."

"Yes."

"What if I told you, this is different for me? That
what I'm beginning to feel for you is different than anything I've ever felt
before."

"I'd be astonished. But, you seem honest to me, Cody. I
guess I'm hesitating because of where I'm at in my life right now. You know
what a mess I've been. I wonder if the attraction to you, what I feel about
you, is coming out of wanting stability and calm in my life. Or is it real?"

"I'm betting that it's real, because I feel the thing
between us, too."

"That's a good point. A very good point. If we both
feel it--"

"That's right. It has to be real. Do we have a date?"

"Yes."

She heard his sigh of relief over the phone.

"I'll pick you up at seven tonight, all right?"

"I'll be there."

"You aren't hanging up the phone," he said softly.

"You first."

He laughed. "Or we could just keep talking."

"I like that idea."

"Tell me, what's your favorite kind of music."

"Hmm. Music--I like a wide variety. Sometimes I listen
to old Metallica songs. Mostly though, it's alternative stuff. And if I'm
having a down day, I pull out the show tunes."

"Show tunes? I didn't expect that one."

"How about you? What would I hear playing right now on
your car stereo?"

"Today, it would be jazz."

"I can get into jazz, if I'm in the right mood. I think
jazz can be very sexy."

"Yes, it can be."

Silence reigned. Then they both spoke at once.

"Anyway--"

"So, yeah--"

"I'd better get back, customers, you know."

"Okay, I'll see you tonight then?"

"Absolutely.

"Bye, Cody."

"Good bye, Julia."

* * * *

Cody stared at his phone for a minute and then put it away.
For better or worse, he was going for it, and not like he had with any other
woman. He realized he didn't want to go the usual route of dinner at Alberto's,
or the ritzy seafood place one town over. He needed something unique. Cooking
dinner for her on his boat? But what if she got seasick? Some people did, just
sitting at the dock if the boat rocked at all. Better to have her spend time on
the boat without food being involved first. Wait a minute, he thought. How
about the Lobster Shack? It wasn't all fancy and upscale like restaurants in
the city. But the lobster was fantastic and some nights there was a live jazz
band.

He felt nervous about a date for the first time in years.
Maybe
because it counts a lot more than those others did.
Seeing Julia tonight
would give him another opportunity to get to know her better. And he found he
wanted to know everything about her.

The Lobster Shack was 'bring your own bottle' and he decided
to run down to the liquor store for a good bottle of wine. When he walked in,
George and Al greeted him happily. They owned the store and knew Cody was
always good for a nicely priced bottle of wine at the beginning of his
romances.  

"Hi fellas. Need a nice--"

"Bottle of wine," they chorused.

"Yes," he said, a bit disconcerted.

They recommended several before he settled on a Russian
River Valley Sauvignon Blanc. George and Al were thrilled by the sale, and Cody
walked out figuring forty-six dollars for one bottle of wine wasn't too
outrageous considering it was for Julia.

* * * *

Julia spent part of the afternoon shopping the internet from
her laptop. She avoided looking at her email still. She found a couple of good
possibilities for Mrs. Gilchrest's new computer. By five o'clock she decided it
was time to pamper herself.

She took a long hot bath after washing her hair and shaving
her legs. Taking her time, she sorted through her clothes until she found a cream-colored
skirt that came to mid-calf, and a crepe top patterned in various shades of
blue and green on a cream background. The top would tuck in with her favorite
leather belt on top. She decided to wear flats and be comfortable. She took her
time with her makeup and by the time she was all done and dressed, with the
addition of a gold chain to match the gold belt buckle, she felt good. It had
been too long since she'd gotten dressed for a night out with a good-looking
man.

As she put gold drop earrings in her ears, she glanced in
the mirror and said, "Are you nuts to be going out with him?" She
knew the answer. She'd already thought about it--all afternoon in between
looking at computers. He was attractive, sexy as hell, funny, kind, smart and
she'd be nuts not to go out with him. Whatever came of it--well, she was a
grown-up and would deal.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door and she grabbed her
small evening bag and a cream crocheted shawl for warmth. Smothering a desire
to run to the door, she walked instead and opened it to see Cody. He was nicely
dressed, but not dressed up, and she felt she'd dressed right for wherever they
were going.

He didn't say anything for a moment, but stood there.

"Cody?"

"Julia--you look great. Are you ready?"

"All set."

They got into the Corvette and started out. Cody said,
"I decided we'd stay in town and go to a place I like. It's called the
Lobster Shack."

"That sounds great. I haven't had lobster in a while
and I bet it's really good around here."

"Don't worry about your clothes--they give you a
plastic bib to protect the front of your shirt."

"Good. Wait--you mean, we have to crack them open and
everything?"

He chuckled. "You haven't truly eaten lobster unless
you do that."

"This ought to be interesting."

There was a pause in the conversation.

"Cody--"

"Julia--"

They laughed after they both tried to talk.

"You first," he said.

"Does it seem strange to you--our going out? Are you
nervous?" she asked.

"Honestly? Yes, a little strange, and yes I'm nervous.
Something I'm not used to by the way."

"Yeah, I'm kind of nervous too. And really, we
shouldn't be. We've spent time with each other."

"Heck, we even slept together," he said with a
little laugh.

There was silence. Then Julia said, "Maybe that's part
of the nervous feeling."

"You know, I don't expect anything at the end of the
date. I wanted to spend time with you tonight. That was my motivation for
calling you. I like being around you."

She smiled in the darkness of the car. "I like being
around you too. I feel very comfortable, normally, with you. Let's just be
together tonight, and not worry about it being a date."

He nodded. "That sounds good."

Chapter 5

Cody decided his earlier nervousness must have translated
into some kind of dating bad luck. Things kept going wrong. Managing to crumble
cork in the wine bottle when he opened it had been the first thing. Julia had
been gracious saying, "What's a little cork in your wine? Don't worry
about it."

The piece of his lobster that hadn't wanted to come out of
the shell, until it shot out and across the table to hit Julia in the face, had
been a bigger surprise. But she'd rolled with it saying, "Not to worry,
missed my eye by a mile."

When he knocked over his own glass of wine to spill all over
the table, she'd started to grin and finally to laugh. "Cody--what on
earth is going on with you?"

He leaned back and said the honest truth. "Julia--you
undo me. I've had a ton of dates in my life, but being with you...I wanted
everything to be special and I'm a wreck."

She reached over and patted his hand. "I'm going to
take that as a compliment. A very nice compliment, from a handsome man who
needs to stop trying so hard."

He sighed. "Should we risk having dessert?"

"Here? I'm thinking we should change venues. Isn't
there some kind of ice cream shop where they make their own homemade?"

"Sure, Wally and Velma's Ice Cream Shoppe. They had to
put the extra 'pe' on the end of shop because Velma insists that makes it
classier. Wally always says, 'What's classy about ice cream?' but Velma won the
argument."

"Sounds great. Let's go."

Cody readily agreed, thinking it was best to get out of the
sphere of bad luck influence as quickly as possible.

When they were in the car, Julia said, "Thanks for
taking me there. The lobster was excellent and I liked the jazz band. I'm
actually a little full right now. Do you think we could take a drive before we
hit the ice cream place? I love riding around in this car."

"Absolutely. I love driving this car, so a ride sounds
great. I'll take you out along the road that runs all the way out to the point.
Eventually, you can see water on both sides. Kinda cool."

The silence in the car was peaceful and the closeness of the
two of them seemed like something solid to be touched. Finally, Julia reached
out her hand and found his resting on the gear shift. He held her hand in his
and felt calm for the first time all night.

"Nice," Julia murmured.

"Yes."

He didn't know where the evening would end up, but right
this minute he felt happier than he ever had in his life. Her touch on his hand
was everything.

"It's beautiful," she said softly, as he parked
the car at the end of the road. Moonlight illuminated the water and waves.
"Can we get out?"

"There might be a bit of mist, but sure."

They stepped out of the car and stood at the point of land,
staring out at the ocean. Julia shivered and wrapped her shawl tightly around
her body. Cody took one look and put his arm around her, pulling her in close
to his side. He waited a second more, and then turned to face her. Her eyes
were dark and sparkling jewels in the night, and her lips curved into a smile
as she looked at him. He bent his head to hers and slowly kissed her.

She responded by putting her arms around his neck. As the
kiss deepened, she felt herself melting inside, connecting to him on every
level. The kiss was like a doorway into her, and what flowed between them was
more than passion, more than heat. He pressed her body against his, and she moaned
into the kiss. He held her tighter.

Finally, she pulled away.

"I didn't expect that," she said after a few long
moments.

"You didn't expect me to kiss you?"

"I didn't expect to feel like that when you did."

"I have news for you--I didn't either."

"Oh? We're just full of surprises."

"Come on," he said to her, releasing her only to
grasp her hand. "Let's get back to the car because it's freezing out here
by the water."

"You're right."

They dashed to the car and Cody cranked up the heat until
they were warm again.

"So," he said. "What do you feel like doing
now?"

"I think we both know the answer to that, but--I want
my ice cream too."

He chuckled. "There are many things I can think of to
do with--"

"Don't go there," she said and laughed. "How
about we get ice cream to go. Then--where? The beach house? Or--didn't you say
you have a place in town?"

"Yeah, the loft apartment. It's closer."

"Close is good."

She held his hand all the way back into town.

* * * *

Julia loved the Ice Cream Shoppe. It was quaint and charming
and she could imagine it filled up with tourists in the summertime. There were
booths as well as tables to seat two to four people, all done in pastel retro
colors. Wally and Velma were complete opposites. He had a big belly and a jowly
face with a wide smile. She was skinny and short and intense. Velma showed them
all the new flavors while Wally kept saying, "Leave them alone. Let them
look."

Julia finally decided on a butterscotch-praline swirl. Cody
ordered rocky road. They got a pint of each to go, along with pink plastic
spoons. "Because it's the spoons that make it taste better," he said.

They arrived at the loft apartment within minutes and Julia
was surprised at the space. "It's huge."

"Anna used to paint here."

The loft was comfortable even with its size. Cody took the
ice cream and put it into the freezer of the red refrigerator in the kitchen. Julia
found the bathroom and escaped into it. She stared at herself in the mirror and
whispered, "Am I doing this?" Slowly her reflection nodded.

When she came back out into the living room, Cody had turned
on some music at a low volume, just enough to hear but not interfere. She
walked over to where he stood next to the couch, watching her come to him.

"Do you think that kiss was a one-shot deal?" she
asked.

"I think we'd better find out," he said in a deep
low voice.

She was suddenly in his arms and the kiss was even more than
before. Every part of her body tingled and she pulled away from his lips for a
moment to say, "Bed?"

He agreed by swooping her up and carrying her across the
room.

* * * *

It had been the best night of his life, he thought, lying
next to her. She was still asleep, but he'd woken up after only a few hours of
sleep. She slept sprawled across the bed with abandon, one leg over his, one
arm across his stomach. He gently moved her hair away from her face, so he
could stare at her.
She really is beautiful.
They'd had a night filled
with passion and intensity and laughter and fun and it had been the best--the
best ever.