Chapter 184

Tessa’s POV

I wore a simple black dress that rested loosely above my knees and showed off my legs. The straps of the dress went around my neck and hugged my figure perfectly, showing off all my curves. The neck of the dress dipped between my cleavage, and it showed off the lining of my breasts.

There was a simple silver belt that went around my waist and matched the silver buckles on my heeled shoes and the silver jewelry that I wore. My hair was left down so the wavy locks lazily fell over my shoulders and down my back.

I wore simple makeup that brought out my features.

I never was one to think of myself as beautiful, but I actually felt very beautiful as I peered at myself through my mirror.

I would be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous. I wasn’t even sure why I was so nervous. It’s not like I haven’t been around Joseph before. I spent numerous nights with him; and met his friends and those he thought of as family.

We’ve had sex for crying out loud.

But this was our first real date and I really wanted everything to go perfectly. I think a part of me was still a little nervous that he would change his mind about pursuing this relationship. I don’t think I could handle it if he left me again.

After the whole fiasco with my father, I wouldn’t have blamed him if he didn’t want to talk to me again. But he was adamant about wanting to go out on this date and I was pleased, but also terrified at the same time.

My entire body froze when I heard the knocking on my front door.

This was it; Jospeh was here.

I swallowed the lump that formed in my throat and tried desperately to ignore the tightness that formed in my stomach. I took a deep breath to steady my rapid heartbeat as I turned on my very expensive heels and walked out of my room.

I grabbed the door handle and took another deep breath before pulling the door open and facing Joseph.

Seeing him took my entire breath away. His ashy blonde hair was neatly combed out of his face like it always was and he wore a short-sleeve suit that showed off his incredibly strong-arm muscles. My heart was racing in my chest as he tilted his lips up and smiled.

“Hi,” he said to me, looking around my face before his eyes dropped to my dress and his brows raised. “Wow. You look beautiful.”

I felt my face warming under the intensity of his stares.

“You look amazing yourself,” I said to him, meeting his eyes.

He ran his fingers up the side of my arm, sending goosebumps in his trail. His hand ran around the back of my neck, and he held me steady for a moment as he looked deep into my eyes. Then, in one quick motion, he bent and kissed me tenderly on the lips.

His kiss sent my heart into complete turmoil. His lips were soft and inviting; He kissed me like I was the only thing that ever mattered and like he couldn’t get enough of me. I wrapped my arms around him and pulled myself close to him. I ran my hands behind his neck and found myself massaging the back of his head with my nails.

I knew I was going to ruin his hair, but I didn’t care.

“I’m content staying in tonight,” I said breathlessly against his lips.

A smile formed on his lips as he kissed the bridge of my nose.

“That would ruin our plans for the evening,” he said as he pulled away from me. “There’s plenty of time for more of that later.”

I couldn’t help but smile up at him.

“Let me just get my purse,” I said, turning away and walking into the kitchen where I left my purse sitting on the counter.

I grabbed a sweater as well, just in case I got cold, and once I shouldered my purse, I turned back toward Joseph who remained near the front door. I couldn’t help but notice that he looked as nervous as I felt.

I wondered what was running through his mind at that moment. It made me smile knowing that I had this kind of effect on him.

I stepped toward him and took him by the arm, beaming up at him.

“Lead the way,” I said to him fondly.

….

I wasn’t really sure what to expect when it came to a date night with Joseph. I never went on an actual date this late at night before and I wondered how busy restaurants in the city would be at this hour. I wasn’t even sure if we were staying in the city or going somewhere else.

I assumed he’d take me somewhere that not many in the area would go to because neither of us wanted those around the school to spot us together. But when Joseph pulled into the parking lot of an ice skating rink, I was utterly shocked.

Glancing at Joseph from the side, I raised my brows at him.

“Ice skating?” I asked, curiously.

He smiled over at me.

“I thought it would be fun. Have you ever ice skated before?”

I nodded.

“My father used to take me when I was young,” I told him, but then I instantly regretted bringing up my father right now.

I didn’t want to talk about my father or think about him for that matter. Especially while I was with Joseph.

But it didn’t seem to phase Joseph; he just gave me a loving smile.

“Then let’s see what you got,” he said, winking as he got out of the car.

My smile widened as I followed closely behind him and together, we went into the ice skating rink.

The entire venue was incredible; there was music playing loudly and neon lights lighting up the ice. It reminded me of a club but with ice. There was a bar on the far side of the rink that sold both food and drinks and an area to get skates.

The one thing that really stood out to me though was the fact that there was nobody else here.

I frowned as I looked around the empty rink, and I noticed Joseph was not speaking to the man at the skate counter.

The man grabbed a couple of pairs of skates off the rack and slid them across the counter for Joseph to grab.

“Anything else I can get for you Mr. Evergreen?” The man asked, looking between me and him.

“Not at the moment,” Joseph said, turning away and walking toward me.

He held out a pair of skates and I frowned at him.

“Don’t tell me you rented this entire place for this date,” I said, furrowing my brows together.

“And what if I did?”

“I’d tell you that you didn’t need to do all of this,” I said, taking the skates from him. “I would have been fine with dinner.”

“I wanted tonight to be special,” he told me as he sat down on one of the benches and kicked off his shoes. “You deserve nothing but the best.”

I blushed at his words.

I sat beside him on the bench and kicked off my heels so I could put the skates on. Once they were on my feet, Joseph helped me stand. Not that I needed his help, but I’ll take any excuse I can get to hold his hand.

Together, we went toward the ice.

As soon as my skates landed on the ice, I released Joseph's hand and started to skate away. I admit, I was showing off a little. I wanted him to see that I was more than capable of skating and that I was actually pretty good.

I told him that my father would bring me to the rink a few times when I was young, but I didn’t tell him that I actually took lessons growing up.

He watched me in wonder as I skated around the ice and swayed my hips to the beat of the music. I raised my hands above my head like I was a ballerina and I twirled around to face him. He raised his brows at me, and I could tell that he was shocked.

“You got some moves,” he teased as he joined me on the ice.

“You are pretty good yourself,” I said in return as he caught up to me quickly. “Is there anything you can’t do?”

His smile was radiant and when he wrapped me in his arms and we skated together, I felt like I was truly flying. He lifted me in the air and oddly enough, I never felt safer.

“I’ll let you know when I find out,” he said, bringing me back to the ground. “It helps when you’ve lived many centuries.”

I released my hold on his shoulders and allowed my body to go limp as he twirled me around. I laughed openly as he brought me back up to him and his lips found mine.

Teasing him, I wiggled out of his embrace and began to skate further away. He looked surprised at first and maybe even a little confused. But then his lust-filled eyes found mine and a smile tugged at the corner of his lips as he began to skate quickly toward me.

I squealed and tried to skate faster, but he was too fast for me. Soon, he was scooping me into his arms and twirling me around the air.

I belted out laughing as he lowered me back to the ice and spun me around to face him.

I was incredibly dizzy and leaned against him for support, thinking I was going to fall over.

As he held me his hands traveled down my back and toward my lower waist. My hands drifted up his chest and around his neck. He lowered his head, and his lips found the nape of my neck. He gave me small kisses, leaving electric chills in the place of his lips and I found myself relaxing in his broad body.

The song turned slow, and we were soon entangled with one another; swaying to the rhythm of the music and not wanting to let one another go.

Then, his soft voice sent warmth throughout my entire being as he whispered into my ear, “I have another surprise for you.”