I jogged to the door, grabbing both sides of Nikki’s face and crashing my lips to hers. I exhaled as I pulled away. “Sorry, I just couldn’t wait. Come in.”
“No, don’t apologize for something so fantastic.” She flashed a mesmerizing smile, following me into my apartment.
We sat down on the couch and I tried to contain myself. I wanted nothing more than to rip her clothes off and explore every inch of my ballerina’s petite, perfect body.
“Want something to drink? Pizza is on its way.”
Her eyes got wide. “Chase, I have to be good! Pizza is not in the dancer diet.”
“One night of pizza is not going to undo your diet, promise.”
Nikki was adorable when she was nervous. She kept fidgeting with the hem of the couch cushion and avoiding eye contact. “I guess you can’t be in New York City without trying the pizza, right?”
I pulled her close to me. “Exactly. That’s my girl.”
“I like the sound of that,” she cooed as her head rested on my chest.
“Of what?” I started to flip through the movies on Netflix, trying to find something to have on as background noise.
“Being your girl,” she remarked, and my heart raced.
“Babe, you’ve been my girl since you got into that cab with me earlier.”
I settled onLove Actuallyand pressed play. I figured it was a good backdrop and a total chick flick to help Nikki be more comfortable.
“Oh, this movie.” She swooned, cuddling up into my arms even more.
Perfect.
We watched the movie in silence until the pizza arrived, and then I dished out our slices of pepperoni and cheese-covered heaven and took my seat back next to Nikki.
“Are you ready for this?” I asked, waiting anxiously for her to experience the greatness of a real New York City pie, dripping with grease, flopping over in her tiny hand.
Her face lit up. “Will you take my picture? I feel like this is a Kodak moment.”
Grabbing my phone, I snapped a quick picture of her holding up the slice with a goofy grin plastered on her face.
“My mom is not going to know what to do with herself when I send that to her!” Nikki exclaimed as she looked at my phone screen.
She finally took a bite and stopped dead, savoring the deliciousness as her eyes slowly closed. A moan of satisfaction rumbled and I couldn’t help but laugh.
“That good, huh?”
She nodded, wiping her mouth with the paper towel I handed her. “Euphoric is the word you were looking for, Chase. Utterly euphoric. How have I gone nineteen years without knowing this type of pleasure?”
“I am glad I could be with you when you experienced it for the first time.” I kissed her cheek before chomping down on my own piece.
“Today has been such a wonderful day of firsts.” She bounced a little in her seat.
Still chewing, I asked, “What else was your first? I know the park and the pizza, anything else?”
Her cheeks dusted with crimson as she looked down. “I had never been to Times Square,” she muttered, but I knew there was more, something she was holding back. “And there was that coffee shop where we met, it was my first time in that place.”
“And?” I shamelessly queried.
“You were my first kiss today,” she finally spit out.
I was stunned. I could tell she was a tad bit inexperienced, but never kissed? That was a shocker. When we kissed at the Cloisters, she was timid but I thought it was just because we had just met. I would have never guessed from how perfect that encounter was that she had not had any form of practice on that front.