“What’s this?” I asked breathlessly.

“You need to eat cake on your birthday.”

“You bought me cake?” I stated, astonished beyond belief.

“So it seems.” He fired a wink toward me before digging into the piece of cake that sat on the table in front of him, a moan of delight escaping his lips. I stared at him completely overwhelmed and at a loss for words. His eyes left the cake and met mine and a perfect smirk flitted over his lips. “You need to pick up the fork and put it in the cake and then eat it. It's delicious, my aunt knows how to bake a mean cake.”

Lifting the fork, I sunk it into the rich looking cake and lifted it to my lips. The smell alone caused me to sigh in anticipation. I felt his eyes on me. My eyes closed as the chocolate wonder set off my taste buds, smashing the emptiness of my stomach with pure delight, and a soft moan escaped. This was hands down the best cake I’d ever eaten.

“Why did you do that?” I asked between bites of cake.

“Why did I do what?”

“Um, back at the club. With that uh, that guy.” I stuttered, immediately regretting bringing it up.

He placed his fork down on the plate and gave me his full attention. “I have never seen someone look as terrified as you did. I knew you didn’t want to be there and I had to do something. I had to stop that asshole from putting his hands on you.”

“But why me?”

“I couldn’t take my eyes off you from the moment I saw you so yeah, I noticed when a fucktard came onto you and took you away and I refused to sit around and watch that.”

He couldn’t take his eyes off me? I tried to let his words settle within me but to be honest this whole situation was freaking me out. What was I meant to say to that?

“Is that not what you wanted to hear?” He leaned in and his eyes twinkled in amusement.

I felt my lips curl slightly. “I’m not exactly sure.”

“How about we just eat our cake?” He suggested and dropped his eyes to the half-eaten piece of cake sitting in front of me.

I nodded and picked up my fork. Silence fell over the table as I got lost in a world of rich chocolate goodness and I soon I forgot where I was and who I was with.

“This is so good,” I spluttered between mouthfuls of cake, losing all sense of manners. His laughter flooded my ears as my cheeks flushed crimson. Nice one Eden, way to play the sophistication card. “Thank you so much for bringing me here. What was a pretty shitty night is finishing pretty awesome.”

“The night isn’t over yet,” he declared with a straight face.

His fork clinked against the plate once he finished his mountain of cake, and he folded his hands together and sat watching me. Every bite I took, his eyes followed the fork to my lips. My hands trembled with nerves under the intensity of his gaze and what would have usually been massive forkfuls of cake were now tiny, petite bites as I sat opposite this handsome stranger.  My head throbbed with his declaration that the night wasn’t over? What the hell did that mean? He said we wouldn’t be going to his apartment.

I licked the fork before the icing dripped off and the sound of his sharp intake of breath grabbed my attention and my eyes met his.

“I never thought I’d witness someone who could make eating chocolate cake look so sexy.” His voice had dropped dangerously low, rumbling with intent and seduction. “Fuck, I am damn jealous of that fork.”

Heat rushed to my face, and I knew I was a billboard for how his words were affecting me. I slowly put the fork down because suddenly I felt like I couldn’t stomach another bite. I wanted to finish it, but I didn’t want to encourage this guy any further.

“It looks like our night is coming to an abrupt end.” His amused expression focused on something over my shoulder at the same time a loud crash sounded from the doorway. I jumped in my seat and shifted to find out what the commotion was. Deep laughter flooded out from within me. Josh walked in with Tori on one arm and Ashlyn on the other and both girls looked a little worse for wear. Ashlyn’s eyes locked onto where we were sitting, and she slipped out of Josh’s grasp and stumbled across the diner.

“We found you!” she cried in over exaggerated sing song and slid in the booth opposite me. Her eyes squinted as she tried to gain focus. “You bought her cake. Oh my God, you do have a beating heart in there.”

Crawford rolled his eyes at Ashlyn and huffed, “And on that note, it’s time for me to leave.”

“Let’s all go,” Josh suggested, gaining an exasperated look from Crawford.

Ashlyn slid out of the booth just as quickly as she slid in. My hand was soon encased by hers, and I was pulled to my feet. She marched out of the diner and hooked her arm with mine. What the hell was happening? Deep voices mumbled behind me, but I couldn’t make out what was being said. Within five minutes, we were entering the brightly lit foyer of City Towers that was still abuzz with chatter.

“What are we doing Tori?” I asked as we all lingered in the foyer. All I wanted to do was go back to the hotel, have a shower until the hot water ran cold, and go to sleep.

“Well I am going to be doing him,” she slurred and drunkenly pointed to Josh. “What do you want to do?”

“I’m going to call a cab and go back to the hotel.” I announced swiftly.

Tori grabbed my hands. “Are you sure? I can come with you.”

“You stay. Have fun. I’ll be okay. I just want to go to bed. It’s been a crazy night.” I admitted.

The sharp ding of the elevator’s arrival sounded, and Josh, Ashlyn and Tori piled in. Crawford still hadn’t said another word to me. I finally allowed myself to look at him and surprise, surprise, his entire focus was locked on me. The color of his eyes intrigued me. I had seen so many shades tonight. The longer I spent with him, the more nervous I became, the more fidgety, the more desperate I was to escape.

“Can I have a word, Kellie?”

I nodded, and he stepped towards me and I knew we were under Tori, Ashlyn, and Josh’s inquisitive gaze.

It happened so quickly.

With two confident steps his body, like an impenetrable wall, was in front of me. His warm hands cupped my face, the warmness colliding harshly with the coldness the New York winter had inflicted on my cheeks. His eyes danced with mine. My breath caught.

This couldn’t.

I couldn’t.

He couldn’t.

With a swift movement he dropped his mouth to my ear, the soft caress of his breath caused my emotions to roar to life.

“Happy Birthday,” he whispered in my ear. “Until we meet again.”

His lips peppered a kiss on my cheek, leaving me feeling like he had seared a burn so deep into my skin. Without another word, he turned and disappeared into the elevator, his eyes glued to mine until the closing door broke the intensity of our gaze.

 

Monday morning barreled into my life like a catapulting freight train. My body felt weak, my brain felt fried and my mind was compacted so tight with memories of Friday night that my weekend had been spent rehashing conversations, looks, and flashbacks—all revolving around the girl in the red jacket.

Saturday had been spent locked away in my apartment working until I couldn’t stand looking at my laptop any longer and then I stopped briefly to go and visit my parents for a long over-due visit. The usual conversations happened; how was work? How was Ashlyn? Had I got myself a girl? When was I going to give her grandchildren? Just the usual topics of discussion mom decided to start when I visited. Dad chuckled in the corner and let mom run her course.  When I informed her that I was going to remain a bachelor for the rest of my years I received a warning glance that would frighten even the hardest of men.  On Sunday, I had spent three hours at the gym with Josh; boxing, running and doing weights until I could barely stand. It was fucking fantastic and for those three hours I was distracted from thinking about her.