Chapter 61 Chapter Sixty-One

Chapter 61 Chapter Sixty-One
Danny POV 

Vanessa's eyes opened, as she mewled in confusion, I cupped her face and stared at into her eyes and the desire warring in those green depths. 

"What! Why?" she moaned 

God, she was killing me. She looked absolutely beautiful— her hair messed up from my hands, cheeks flushed, breathing hard looking at me like she wanted me to stay, like she wanted me to keep kissing her, like she wanted—

I stopped that train of thought before it could go any further.

"Because if I don't leave now, I'm going to do something we're not ready for yet," I said honestly, forcing myself to take a step back even though everything in me was screaming to move closer. 

"And I want to take this slow, Nessa. I want to do this right."

I saw the disappointment flicker across her face, quickly masked, but it was there. And knowing that she wanted this as much as I did made it even harder to be the responsible one.

"Okay," she said quietly, looking sullen. an idea struck me. I stepped forward and cupped her face in my hands, making sure she was looking at me. 

"Hey, how about this—let me take you on a proper date tomorrow. Dinner, maybe a movie. Something normal and romantic” I stopped myself before I said something that would make this even harder. 

"Anyway. A date. Tomorrow. What do you say?"

"I have a meeting with Dr. Han tomorrow," Vanessa said.

"But after that? Sure. I'd love to go on a date with you."

"It's settled then," I said, feeling pleased that we had a plan. Something to look forward to, that wasn't just sexual tension and a healthy dose of frustration bubbling in my veins.

"I'll pick you up at seven?"

"Seven works," Vanessa agreed.

I leaned in and kissed her one more time—intending it to be quick, just a peck. But somehow it turned into something longer, deeper, my hands finding her waist again, her arms wrapping around my neck.

When I finally pulled away, we were both breathing hard again.

"You're not making this easy," I said, resting my forehead against hers.

"Neither are you," Vanessa countered.

I forced myself to step back, to put physical distance between us before I changed my mind about leaving.

"I should really go now."

"Okay," Vanessa said, but she was smiling.

I headed for the door, grabbing my jacket from where I'd tossed it over the back of the couch last night. At the door, I turned back one more time.

"Vanessa?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you," I said. 

"For last night and breakfast. "

"Always," Vanessa said, using the same word I'd used with her countless times.

The drive back to the Hockey House should have calmed me down, given me time to get my head straight.

Instead, I spent the entire fifteen minutes replaying that kiss in my head, the feel of Vanessa in my arms, the little sounds she'd made.

Taking it slow was going to be the death of me.

I pulled into the driveway to find Dylan sitting on the porch, drinking coffee and scrolling through his phone.

"Well, well, well," he said as I climbed the steps. 

"Look who's doing the walk of shame at nine in the morning."

"It's not a walk of shame if I didn't do anything," I pointed out, collapsing into the chair next to him.

Dylan raised an eyebrow.

"You spent the night at your girlfriend's place and you didn't do anything? Cap, I'm starting to worry about you."

"We're taking it slow," I said, and even to my own ears I sounded defensive.

"Slow is good," Dylan said, surprisingly supportive. 

"Smart, even." He stopped, probably remembering that the whole Sophia situation was still a sensitive subject.

"Yeah," I said. 

"Exactly."

We sat in silence for a moment before Dylan said,

"So are you going to tell me why you look like someone just ran over your puppy, or do I have to guess?"

"Vanessa asked me to come home with her for Christmas," I admitted. 

"To meet her family."

Dylan's eyes widened.

"Dude, that's huge! That's like, serious relationship territory. What did you say?"

"I said yes, obviously," I said. 

"But I'm worried, Vanessa didn't like hockey players until recently, her brothers may like them but her mom–?” I muttered breaking off 

"Right meeting the mom" Dylan said, nodding sagely. 

"Tell me about it," I muttered.

My phone buzzed, and I pulled it out to see a text from Vanessa.

Did you survive the drive home? 

I smiled despite myself and typed back.

Barely. You're very distracting.

Her response came quickly.

Good. See you tomorrow at 7. Don't be late.

Wouldn't dream of it. Good luck with Dr. Han.

I pocketed my phone and found Dylan watching me with an amused expression.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing," Dylan said, grinning. 

"Just amused at how much of a lost cause you are” he muttered glancing at my phone. I flipped him off, but I was laughing as I headed inside.

He was right it didn't matter if meeting her mother would go horribly, I would do my best now. 

Tomorrow I'd take Vanessa on a proper date and I would worry about the rest later. 

But today, I was going to take a very cold shower and try not to think about how good she'd felt in my arms.

Taking it slow was definitely going to be harder than I thought.