His teeth dug into his bottom lip as he tried to keep his smile from widening. She appeared nervous, but it added to her appeal. “I’d consider it an honor and a pleasure, Karen.”
A giggle slipped out as she ducked her head and blushed. “Well, I don’t know about the honor, but I have a feeling it will be pleasurable.”
He signaled for the server and paid for his dinner and their drinks. He waved away her protestations that she should pay her bill. “Remember, Karen. My parents raised me to pay a lady’s tab.”
She laughed again as they slid from their stools. He didn’t mention that his mother would be mortified to think he was going to sleep with a woman he’d just met. Thank God she never knew what my Navy days were like. Glancing to the side, he had a feeling that Karen’s parents would have had the same objections based on what she’d indicated.
They walked out of the restaurant together, and it only took a couple of minutes to follow her and park downtown. Walking into the lobby of the Baytown Hotel, they headed to the elevator. Once on the third floor, he escorted her down the hall, where she stopped outside one of the rooms and dug into her purse for the key card.
It had been a long time since he had been in the hotel because he didn’t make it a habit to pick up vacationing women. Some of his good friends and coworkers had enjoyed the single life to its fullest, and he wondered how many of the rooms here they’d been in. Stepping into Karen’s room, he shook that thought out of his head. The last thing he wanted was to take his attention off her by thinking of his friends doing exactly what he was getting ready to do.
She tossed her purse onto the dresser next to the widescreen TV, then turned and smiled as she moved closer. “This will sound so cliché, but I almost never do this. Picking up a guy in a bar and taking him to a hotel is a new experience for me.”
She smoothed her hands down the front of her dress as he stood close without touching her. “There’s no pressure here, Karen. We won’t do anything you don’t want to. If you’ve changed your mind, I can walk out the door right now, no worries.”
She held his gaze and smiled. “That’s a really nice offer, Jose. But honestly? I don’t want you to walk out that door. I guess I just told you what I did because I’m a little nervous about expectations.”
“Then why don’t we throw out expectations and just have a good time for tonight? And if at any time you want to stop, just say the word.”
She tilted her head to the side, considering his words carefully. Finally, she nodded, stepping closer and gliding her arms around his neck. Lifting on her toes, she angled her head and kissed him lightly. She settled back on her heels and grinned. “I like the sound of having a good time… just for tonight only.”
Wrapping his arms around her, he pulled her closer. “I do, too.” He didn’t care about her experience level but was glad she’d verbalized that she understood a hookup. One time. No hard feelings when he walked out. No sharing phone numbers with hopes of a repeat performance.
Her smile widened as she nodded, and he lowered his head to seal his lips over hers.
A couple of hours later, he dressed while she slipped into the bathroom for a shower. She was wrapped in a robe when she emerged, smiling almost shyly. An evening with a pretty woman who’d had no expectations other than sex had been good, but he was anxious to get home.
She walked him to the door and smiled up at him. “This was really nice, Jose. Thank you.”
“I told you that it was my honor and pleasure. It was absolutely both,” he admitted, smiling.
With a final goodbye, he walked out the door. He didn’t often hook up, but when he did, she fit the bill perfectly. Pretty, funny, a good conversationalist, and no expectations or hurt feelings when it was over. There also hadn’t been sparks, fireworks, tingles, or jolts—none of the things he thought he might feel when he met someone he wanted to spend more than a few hours with.
Once at home, he showered before falling into bed. When they returned from early church service, his parents expected his presence at their house for brunch. No way would he be able to get out of a family meal. He knew his mom would have questions about his blind date, and she was part bloodhound sniffing out details and part guard dog when it came to her children. Telling her that his blind date stood him up would not go well.
An hour later, he sat at his parents’ table, surrounded by familiar chaos. His dad, Carlos, sat at the end, the place of honor he’d held for as long as Jose could remember. His dad’s black hair was now liberally sprinkled with gray around the temples, but his five-foot-eleven-inch frame was just as trim as when he was a much younger man.
He and his brothers had their father’s olive complexion and lean build and the height of the men on his mother’s Italian side of the family. Her two brothers were over six feet tall.
His sister Rosemarie sat across from him, continually jumping up and down as she bounced her toddler on her lap while her husband, Stanley, kept an eye on their two other rambunctious children.
His brother Jimmy sat next to their father, talking business since they were both in the fishing industry. Jimmy’s wife, Katy, sat next to him, also helping keep an eye on Rosemarie’s kids.
His sister Bethany held her phone down in her lap to keep their mom from realizing what she was doing. He shook his head and chuckled, not surprised when their mom called out, “Bethany! No phones at the table!”
She sighed and rolled her dark eyes. “I know, Mom, but I’m trying to study.”
“You can do that when it’s not time to eat. Anyway, how can you study on an empty stomach? Eat, and you’ll learn more.”
At their parents' house, Mom’s rules prevailed, and Bethany dutifully turned off her phone and slid it into her pocket.
There was an empty chair at the table for his other brother Jonas, who was currently on tour in Germany, serving in the Army. It didn’t matter how many extra chairs they might have to put around the table to accommodate everyone. Their mom insisted that Jonas’s chair always be there for family meals, even if he couldn’t be there.
“I can’t believe Paula’s daughter stood you up!” his mom grumbled as she sat down.
He opened his mouth, but she shook her head. “You know we have the blessing first! Carlos, pray.”
His father looked around at his family, a slight grin curving his lips. Jose knew his father smiled because he was proud to have his family together but also amused with his mom. They were a perfect team. She managed to rule the roost while still giving deference to her husband. And while Carlos was confident in his role as the patriarch, he usually allowed his wife to have her say. And considering they’d been married for thirty-five years, raised five children, and all still got together on Sundays for lunch, Jose figured his parents must have done something right.
As soon as the prayer was over, everyone dug in, plates piled high with food. And it only took his mom a moment to jump back in.
“I can’t believe the rudeness of some people today. In my day, if you agreed to meet with someone, you met with them, no matter what!”
“She said she wasn’t feeling well, Mom. If she was ill, then I’m glad she stayed home.”
“Pfft! If she was in such a bad way, she could’ve let you know early, and then you wouldn’t have wasted your time going to the restaurant to meet her.”