Mara was coming back from the supermarket. It had been a week since she moved in and things were finally starting to feel a little normal. She was used to her big house back home, but when her husband Keith passed away it suddenly felt so overwhelming. It was hard to throw so much out and pack everything up in the home she raised Jillian in. But in some ways, it was exactly what she needed in order to move on.
She spent most of the week organizing the house and shopping for more furniture. She was able to keep herself busy, but things were winding down now. Maybe she would plan to visit her daughter soon. Mara couldn't wait to see her and get out of the house for a little while. She was dressed in her usual plaid flannel with some black running shorts on, carrying her bags. Walking towards the front steps she had to do a double take and couldn't believe the vision in front of her. Her heart skipped a beat.
Sam was sitting on the steps with flowers in a parcel and a beautiful vase. He looked so hot. He was wearing his police jacket, with jeans and had a baseball cap on his wavy brown hair. He smiled when he saw her and lowered his sunglasses. "Mara Sidney...brown hair, which is now blonde, brown eyes, 5 ft 2 inches of beauty. And you passed a solid white double line last year." Mara made a face, "Wait, I fought that." He laughed at her.
"So you did your detective work, I see." Mara didn't know whether to be excited that he had actually looked her up or a little freaked out. No, she was definitely more excited. She noticed the flowers right away, beautiful white lilies. "Wow these are beautiful. I love fresh cut flowers." She put her grocery bags down and tried to stack them against a brick step. "Yeah well it sounded like we broke a vase last time, so I wanted to replace it," he coughed.
It was actually some of her wedding china, but she didn't have the heart to tell him. "Here let me help you." He grabbed the groceries and Mara opened the door. She didn't know if she would see him again. Her mind went back to that night. The vision of him pressed in between her legs sent a jolt right through her. Her cheeks felt warm and she went to take the flowers out of Sam's hand without staring right at him. But now she felt goose bumps on her arm at the thought of him coming inside.
She had gotten scolded by her mother. "How could you let a man in your house you don't even know, what if he murdered you!" She heard her voice playing back. Hey elderly mom was of course scared of her living on her own now. But she had to admit, it felt nice to be yelled at again like when she was still a teenager. Sam placed the groceries on the new kitchen table. "Wow you brought the place together really quick, it looks great in here." "Thanks," she yelled back as she walked into the kitchen.
"So listen I wanted to ask you out, you know on a real date," Sam said with a cute smile. Mara put the flowers down and turned to face him. She didn't know why she was blushing all of a sudden. She put some water in the vase and arranged the flowers in them. "Sam, you're so sweet. But I...what we did.. I really I'm not like that. I don't want to give you the wrong idea."
Sam feeling rather brazen, walked over to her and grabbed her hands in his. "We didn't do anything Mara, nothing to be embarrassed of that's for sure," he said as he moved in a little closer. Just his touch sent tingles down her spine. "You're right, but I just moved here and I, I don't really know you…you don't know me." Sam grabbed both her hands and then looked into her eyes. "Yeah but I want to know you, how can I if you don't give me the chance?"
He tucked her hair behind her ear again. God, she loved it when he did that. She licked her lips and looked down. He gently grabbed her chin between his thumb and forefinger, "Let's go out for dinner, Friday night. There's a great place in town. I can show you around the area more." Her heart fluttered a little, she didn't want to say no. In fact all she really wanted was to kiss him again. But then she remembered she just told him she wasn't a girl like that.
Geez, Mar you're really sending out mixed signals here she thought. "Ok, ok, but promise me we can take things a little slower than the last time," she smirked. "I want to start things off the right way." He loved how she was trying to be proper, but somehow he knew deep down she had a wild side. He couldn't wait to find it. "I can surely try Mara, but I can't make any promises."
Just being this close to her, he could feel his heart beating in his chest. He had been waiting all week to see her again. He was scared she might think he was a bit of a stalker, trying to get info on her. But she left him no choice, when she wouldn't tell him her name. He wondered what other things he would discover about her.
Not realizing he was biting down on his lower lip, he was nervous waiting for her reply. Mara watched him biting his lip and parted her own lips. Her eyes glanced down to his white t-shirt and then his jeans. She didn't realize how just the sight of him was doing things to her body. It was already becoming a challenge to keep her hands off him. She pressed her lips together and put her hands on his jacket. "Well, so it's a date... See you then officer."