First Date (The Hollywood Dating Agency Book 1) Read online

  What was happening to her? She’d never felt this way before. Never, not once. Sex was something other people did. It was not a feeling she was accustomed to. She reminded herself that he had chosen this date for the same reason she had. No sex. It had sounded like a good idea at the time but now she wasn’t so sure. Now that it was all she could think about. Not the mechanics of it, the physical act of intercourse, but the feeling that was flowing through her, awakening within her. She was aware that they had been in the same position longer than politeness could dictate. He waiting for her to kiss him on the cheek and her, wavering between doing what was considered polite and what could be the most dangerous thing she ever did. She noticed his eyes were closed, in the same way someone might close their eyes if kissing properly. What harm could it really do if she kissed his lips instead of his cheek? They were but an inch away from each other right?

  She leaned forward to give him the quickest of pecks but once her lips touched his, she knew she wouldn’t be able to stop. He responded to her by pushing his lips onto hers, parting them slightly with his tongue to taste her. She matched his urgency with her own lips. It was as if a long forgotten part of her had awakened from a deep slumber and her body was taking over the rational part of her mind.

  She felt his arms encircle her as he greedily kissed her with an urgency neither of them had any business in having. And yet, she couldn’t stop. Her hands found his chest, and she marvelled at the muscles underneath his shirt. She pushed her body against his a little too hard causing him to crash into the wall behind him. Not that he seemed to mind. When she felt his cock, hard against her leg, she realised she’d pushed it too far. She jumped back away from him, embarrassment flooding through her.

  “Oh god, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” She stood, almost shivering with horror at what she had done. To go on a date with someone wanting a non sexual relationship and then practically sexually assaulting him before their second date was horrifying. She could feel her cheeks turning crimson with shame and the look of shock on his face only compounded the fear that she had done something so unutterably awful that she would never be able to look him in the eye again.

  Richard

  What was happening? One moment he was freefalling into bliss, the next she was backing away from him as though he’d suggested they go have a gangbang in a local orphanage. Had he come on to her too fast? No that couldn’t be it. She had definitely come on to him. She was the one that had initiated the kiss and the movement of her body towards his had been undeniable so what had happened to make her look that way at him?

  “I’m sorry,” he echoed back at her although he wasn’t sure exactly what he was apologising for.

  “I shouldn’t have done that. I don’t know what happened.”

  His cock began to deflate as he realised what had happened. She had expected them to move slowly. Some girls liked to leave the sex until after the second date. Not many around here but some. She was embarrassed. He quite liked the thought that he was so irresistible to her that she’d thrown caution to the wind before gathering control of herself.

  “Maybe you should come in for coffee after all,” he couldn’t help but grin at her discomfort. “Don’t worry, coffee, means just coffee.”

  This woman was going to kill him but if she wanted to play it slow, he’d hold out until the end of the second date. That would be in a few hours right?

  She stepped over the threshold, full of uncertainty.

  “I can’t believe you didn’t throw me out,” she said five minutes later as he handed her a freshly brewed cup of espresso. “Under the circumstances.”

  “Circumstances?”

  “I kissed you.”

  He saw the colour return to her cheeks. She really was shy. It was cute but alien in a city where virgins just didn’t exist.

  “I know.” And it was amazing!

  She looked at the floor, the counter top, anything not to look him in the eye. What was the big deal with kissing?

  He put his fingers under her chin and lifted her head until she had no choice but to look at him. Her eyes locked on his and he swore she looked like she was going to cry.

  “I enjoyed it. I’ve thought about nothing but kissing you since I first laid eyes on you.”

  If he thought that would allay any fears she had, he was wrong. If anything she looked even more upset at his words. Maybe he’d read the whole situation wrong. She was probably married with five kids and a boring husband and thought she could have an affair and kissing him made her realise what a mistake she’d made.

  “I enjoyed it too. I just thought, with...”

  She stopped, leaving the sentence hanging like he was supposed to understand what she means, but he didn’t.

  “With?”

  Her hands fly up to cover her face. Whatever this is, whatever secret she had, he knew it was about to come out and he almost don’t want to hear it in case it’s something bad like the punch line to some terrible joke of Tony’s.

  “With us being unable to have sex,” she mumbled under her hands.

  “You are going to have to take your hands away from your face because I can’t hear you properly. It sounded like you just said that we can’t have sex.”

  She pulled her hands down and gazed right into his soul. Then, like a dagger stabbing at it, she nodded her head.

  “Yes, because we can’t have sex.” She repeated it but it still didn’t make any sense.

  “Now?”

  “Well, no, not now but not ever. Please don’t tell me that you don’t know about this?”

  Suddenly it all became clear. Fucking Tony. Rick hoped his acting career took him out of town because if he saw him again he was going to rip his fucking throat out. The look of horror on her face was real as if she had revealed her most intimate secret to him, which she probably had. He just didn’t understand it.

  “Are you telling me you don’t want to have sex with me ever because after that kiss, you sure are sending me mixed messages.” He laughed to break the tension even though it was the last thing he felt like doing.

  “I can’t have sex. Sacha told me that you were looking for a non-sexual relationship too. I should have known it was too good to be true. Men like you don’t want a platonic girlfriend.” She jumped down from the barstool she was sitting on and slammed her coffee cup down on the breakfast bar counter, slopping hot coffee everywhere. “Sorry!” she said again before marching right past him towards the door.

  “Wait!” he said, still confused about the whole thing. One thing was clear. A big huge thing, but he still didn’t want her to leave. Not in the state she was in. She was obviously upset and he had caused it, if only by accident. “Please sit down. I don’t want you to go.” He mopped up the spilt coffee and poured some more from the coffee pot.

  “You don’t?” She looked both hopeful and afraid, both the feelings he was currently battling himself. He knew that if she walked out that door, he’d never see her again and that would be terrible but at the same time she’d just told him she couldn’t have a physical relationship with him. Both options were intolerable but only one was something he was able to consider, or work with at the very least.

  She took the coffee gratefully and sipped at it while he tried to wrap his head around the situation.

  “Who’s Sacha?” He asked. He’d never heard the name and he wasn’t sure why she’d be telling people he was looking for a non sexual relationship. He might have been out of action for the last few years but he was still a hot blooded man with needs.

  “She runs the dating agency. Surely you met her when you went for your interview?”

  “Fucking Tony!”

  She eyed him quizzically and he knew he was going to have to tell her his own secret.

  “I didn’t set this date up,” he admitted. “My friend did.”

  “Your friend, Fucking Tony?” she smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes.

  “That’s the one. He thinks he’s funny. You know,
when he told me about this date I thought he had set me up with a man or goodness knows what but when I saw you, I thought that for once he wasn’t playing a joke on me. I wanted to kiss him.”

  “But now you don’t,” she replied sadly.

  “Not as much as I want to kiss you right now. I’ve thought of nothing but you for the past week. I even had to leave work early because I couldn’t concentrate.”

  “I should go,” she said, stepping down from the stool for a second time.

  “I don’t want you to,” he replied honestly.

  “I don’t want to either but I don’t see how this can work between us.”

  “You are attracted to me. I see it in your eyes and I felt it when you kissed me.”

  She gazed at him in a way that he knew his words were true. He could feel the electricity between them but she didn’t say a word. Walking around the side of the counter, he stood right in front of her and, moving slowly, kissed her lightly on the lips. It was not the greedy passion with which he had kissed her in the hallway but something much slower. At first, she didn’t move, but then after a second he could feel her lips working with his. Desire raced through him but he kept it in check. He didn’t want to scare her. He practically had to hold his hands behind his back to stop himself touching her but oh, when he responded, her tongue finding his, he could barely control himself. He let her take control, and she kissed him back with such passion that he could barely breathe with the intensity of it. The kiss became desperate no matter how hard he’d tried to keep it in check, and he felt her hands running down his neck until she got to the top of his shirt where she slipped a hand inside. The touch of her hand on his skin was like lightning and if she went any lower he knew he was not going to be able to stop himself. She pushed her body onto his and he knew there was no way he was going to be able to hide how hard he was. He pulled back to catch his breath and when he did, she grinned like a cat that had got the cream. She wanted this as much as he did. Her pupils were dilated and her breathing was as heavy as his. There was no hesitancy at all so what was with the no sex thing?

  He grabbed his coat, and her hand and pulled her out of the front door, slamming his hand on the elevator call button.

  “Where are we going?” she asked, her breathing still ragged and beautiful from their kiss.

  “We are going to your favourite restaurant. It’s our second date remember?”

  Juliette

  They were on to the Pacific Coast Highway before she had realised that neither of them had said a word since the apartment. Every time he caught her eye, she can’t help but grin and he returned the grin back to her. She very rarely had the roof down on her convertible but as they drove through Malibu, she pressed the button that sent it back allowing the warm winter air flowing over them.

  She could just stop the car right now and kiss him again. She loved Tandy’s restaurant but nothing they had on the menu was as delicious as the taste of Richard’s mouth. Just thinking about it made her toes tingle and other body parts that she had thought were long since broken. They pulled into Tandy’s parking lot as the last rays of sun flickered over the horizon. The outside deck was completely lit up with thousands of small white lights which flickered below reflected off the Pacific Ocean. Richard took her hand, sending signals of pleasure shooting up her arm. Who knew holding hands could feel so amazing? She took her usual seat on the edge of the deck. She loved it here and came often. It was so quiet with just the lapping of the waves below breaking the silence. Tandy himself came to take their order. He’d seen her dining there alone or with Laura enough times to know that it was a big deal she was here with a man. He offered her the menu with a wink and backed off, leaving her and Richard alone together. She had never felt so alive before as she did now, sitting with him, and yet the issue of her not wanting a sexual relationship and him most definitely wanting one judging by the hard rock she felt in his pants earlier was looming over them like a great pink elephant in the room.

  Tandy came back with a couple of beers and took their order for food. Juliette ordered a seafood risotto and Richard went for the lobster. Tandy had such a smile on his face, she know what he was thinking. She couldn’t help but blush like a schoolgirl even though she was thirty one years old on her first real date since college.

  “I never thought he’d leave,” said Richard when Tandy finally left them alone.

  “I come here a lot. He’s just not used to seeing me here with a man.” She blushed again, knowing how that sounded.

  “Let’s give him something to talk about then,” he said, taking her hand from across the table and kissing it. It was so cheesy and yet so romantic.

  “He’s not even here now,” she pointed out, waving her arm around the deserted deck.

  “Is the food here bad because I can’t help but notice that we are the only one’s here,” he said, looking around.

  “No one knows about this place. The tourists drive right past the little shack, not knowing that this wonderful deck is just out back. I’ve told Tandy a million times to advertise or at least make the front appealing but he says he likes it the way it is. It gets busy on weekends but during the week it’s usually fairly quiet.” she knew she was mumbling because he still hadn’t asked her the one question she had been waiting for him to ask since the they were in the kitchen in his apartment.

  “So...” she said, letting the question hang in the air. She needed him to ask her, to get it out of the way. Even though she knew it would spoil whatever this was, having it hanging above her head was making her stomach churn.

  “So...,” he echoed her words, gazing into her soul through her eyes, “You look absolutely stunning by moonlight.”

  It was not what she expected him to say but it made her feel happy all the same. “There’s no moon,” She pointed out. It had been there, but was now hiding behind a sliver of cloud.

  He looked up to see that she was telling the truth.

  “The lights on the deck then,” he grinned. “I was wondering why the moon was twinkling so much.”

  The side of his face was illuminated in much the same way hers must have been. Soft shadows flickered each time one of the lights twinkled. It made his face seem animated and made her so aware of it, his chiselled jaw with just a tiny smattering of hair growth as if he’d forgotten to shave that morning. She longed to reach out and see what it felt like, would it be soft or would it feel bristly. She’d not noticed when she’d kissed him earlier, she’d been too caught up in the moment but now she wanted to know.

  “What do you do?” he asked, taking her focus away from his stubble. Yet again, he hadn’t asked the right question. Was he avoiding it? She drank down the rest of her glass of beer to calm the nerves that were coursing through her.

  “I’m a librarian, I can’t have sex because I’ve already tried with my college boyfriend. After the third or fourth time of him trying to stick his...you know...and it hurt so much we gave up. He said he understood but three weeks later I found him in bed with my roommate fucking her brains out.” She said it so quickly, she didn’t even pause for breath until she got to the end. It was like one long word without pauses. She quickly refilled her glass from the remaining drops in the bottom of the beer bottle and drained that one too. She had never felt so embarrassed in her whole life. Here she was with possibly the most gorgeous man she had ever laid eyes on and she was telling him the one thing she‘d kept to herself for the past twelve years.

  “Wow, that is an interesting job. You don’t see that advertised in the job section of Craig’s List very often.”

  She looked at him unsure what to say. The corners of his gorgeous mouth curled up at the edges and his eyes began to crinkle. He was making fun of her. It might have been the two glasses of beer drunk in quick succession or the massive weight that had gone from her shoulders but she began to laugh.

  “I work at a small library in Glendale,” she said, once the laughing had subsided.

  “If you don’t m
ind me asking a personal question, how does a librarian afford the thousand dollar fee for the dating agency?”

  “That’s the personal question you wanted to ask me?” It was not what she expected him to ask at all. “The LA dating agency is free for women.”

  “That sounds very sexist.”

  “It does but since when is anything in Hollywood not sexist? Usually it’s the women that get the bum deal.”

  He sat looking at her with the strangest expression. She’d read a lot of books in her time but he was unreadable. She could feel her heart hammering as she willed him to say something. To end whatever this magical thing between them was. Instead he took hold of her hand and brought it up to his lips. He didn’t kiss it as much as just hold it there. The smallest touch from him had her melting but she also felt safe. It was not a feeling she was used to with men.

  She expected him to say something about her college roommate, her ex-boyfriend, her lack of sex, but by the time the food had arrived he’d not said a word about any of them.

  The food was delicious, the evening so serene with only the gentle lapping of the waves to keep them company and the view, the view was beautiful. Of course, she could only see him but that was enough.

  After they had finished and paid, she took him down to the beach. She’d walked this beach so many times but never had it been so beautiful as it was now. The moonlight gave the sand a bluish glow and reflected off the sea. Occasionally a car would drive past on the road at the beach’s edge but apart from that, it was as if they were the two last people on earth.

  Pulling her shoes off, she raced to the water’s edge and paddled about through the small lapping waves. He followed, holding his shoes in his left hand and taking her hand with his right.