Fated From the Start

Lunch With the CEO

Harlow POV

We walked and talked about anything and everything for the longest time. The conversation flowed effortlessly and we were having the most amazing time just enjoying each other's company. I honestly had never been on a first date that was so good and so comfortable in my entire life. The passage of time seemed almost nonexistent, but then my stomach grumbled loudly, signaling that I'd run on just coffee for way too long. 

Hearing my stomach roar for the second time Ash stopped and turned to me, "Can I take you to lunch? You sound like you're starving." He inquired. 

"Don't you have to get back to work, mister CEO? We've already been on this date for awhile…" I puzzled. 

His face contorted sheepishly as he thought about his answer. "I may have cleared my entire afternoon so I could spend as much time with you as you would let me…" he was staring at the ground twisting his shoe against the cement like a little kid that'd just been caught doing something they shouldn't be. This 6'5" mountain of a man was a puddle of embarrassment. He was adorable.

"Ok, mister CEO, I suppose I'll let you buy me lunch just this once so you didn't clear your day for nothing, but we're going somewhere cheap." I stated sternly like I was chastising him for his actions, but I couldn't hide the smirk on my face. 

He rolled his eyes and grabbed my hand, "I know just the place" he exclaimed as he started hurriedly down the street. "And stop calling me mister CEO, it's really not that big of a deal" he scoffed. 

"Not that big of a deal?!" I exclaimed. "You're 23 and your monthly income is probably more than my net worth." I yelled at him, dropping his hand as I stopped in my tracks and crossed my arms on my chest in exasperation. 

He simply walked behind me and placed a hand on each shoulder. "Just wait till you find out about my net worth," he jokingly jabbed. "Now let me buy you lunch," he groaned as he began pushing me down the sidewalk. It was a good thing we had stumbled into a less populated area of town because I was certain we looked ridiculous at the moment.

The heel of my boot caught a crack in the sidewalk and before I could process what was happening I was toppling face first towards the cement. I didn't even have time to try and catch myself and somehow just before my nose collided with the sidewalk I was staring up at the sky, cradled gently in someone's strong arms. Ash's dark stormy blue eyes replaced the baby blue sky in my sight line, his gorgeous face stone hard. As his eyes met mine his face softened and his lips twitched up into a gentle smile. He just stayed like that, cradling my body just off the sidewalk, his face inches from mine, his eyes gently studding my face, not saying a word.

Finally, I had to break the silence. "Why are you looking at me like that?" I lifted an eyebrow at him with the inquiry.

"I just, really like looking at you... And the way it feels to have you so close is something else entirely… and I can't stop thinking about what it'd be like to have those perfect lips of yours against mine…" his words were breathy and it was like he was straining to form thoughts.

"Are you implying you want to kiss me?" I was impressed with how confident I managed to make the question sound. 

As if my question finally broke his trance he lifted me back to my feet, but he stayed just as close to me and his hands moved from my back to resting on my hips. "Would it be ok if I was?" His question was not quite as confident, he sounded like a 10 year old boy asking permission to hold a girl's hand for the first time.

I paused for a second, looking up at his delicious looking lips and the perfect silver glint in his deep blue eyes- the amount of softness and sincerity they held in this moment was astonishing for a man that by looks alone you wouldn't expect either from. Being so close to him was causing this weird vibrating sensation in my body, where his hands rested on my hips felt like tiny firecrackers against my skin in the most amazing way. I wanted to bask in the warmth of his closeness forever. 

"We don't have to, please don't feel pressured" he stated reassuringly in response to my hesitation, starting to slowly put some distance between us. I was a dumbass, I'd stood here so long staring at this gorgeous unbelievable man that I let him believe that I didn't want him.

With more confidence than I'd done anything in my entire life I slid my tiny hands up this massive chest and wrapped them behind his neck, pulling myself up towards his face. As the realization of my movements hit him his lips came crashing down on mine in the most amazing kiss I'd ever experienced, it even put Flynn the bartender to shame. It was aggressive and passionate and yet somehow still soft and innocent. It sent shocks through my entire body that made me crave this feeling more than air, it was indescribable. It went on for the longest time and yet all too soon it seemed, Ash pulled away and left me gasping for the air I'd deprived my lungs of. His massive hands held down firmly on my waist like he was preventing me from coming closer to him again, but he had a completely star stuck expression on his face. We both just stared at each other breathlessly. Before either of us had a chance to speak my stomach growled loudly, breaking the silence and reminding us of the mission we were supposed to be on. We both just erupted in laughter and started back down the sidewalk, he interlaced his fingers with mine as we walked.

Seriously, this was the most perfect date I'd ever been on. It had been something like six hours by the time we decided we should probably head our separate ways, yet things never got weird or boring. He graced me with one last very intense kiss before he left me and my lips were left buzzing from it. 

"The way I feel about you already scares me," I stated honestly as we finished our goodbyes.

"Ditto." He squeezed my hands one last time and finally turned to walk back towards wherever he had parked his car and I headed in the opposite direction towards home.