"Yeah, right!" Felicia guffawed into the phone as she chatted with her best friend, Cassie. She placed the lasagna noodles in the pan for dinner that night. "There is no way he's going to be interested now. We've been friends for over 2 years and he's been broken up with Summer for more than seven months. What on God's green earth makes you think Daniel is going to succumb to my advances now? Shit! It's just a dinner!"
"Hell, you don't have to get pissy with me, hon," Cassie grumbled back. "I'm just saying that no man agrees to drive a hundred miles for dinner, and then asks to stay the night knowing you have only one bed…no man on God's green earth does that by mistake. He wants a little dessert, too," Cassie mimicked her.
"Sorry, I'm nervous," Felicia apologized. "You know how long I've had my eye on Daniel. I'm tired of feeling like I'm throwing myself at him. The whole time I've known him, he's been telling me I'm too much of a flirt. Pretty boy, or not, I'm past that stage now, and I sure as hell don't want to set myself up for deflated expectations. Who knows if he's even going to like this lasagna, let alone my lingerie."
"Well, take it easy and have a good time. I'll let you get back to finishing up dinner, goodbye," Cassie answered, not wanting to provoke anymore nervousness on Felicia's part. She didn't always have profound words of wisdom to offer, and her advice was more often cliché than not, but Felicia knew Cassie would do anything for her and whenever she could help, she did.
It wasn't entirely true that Felicia had given up hope on Daniel, and she knew it. Despite several attempts to skip the double entendres and the long, gazing grins, she had never been able to totally refrain from toying with Daniel. He was simply too intriguing. Felicia had always secretly thought Daniel was too attractive a catch for her, but she didn't find him intriguing in a mysterious-stranger way. They'd been friends for quite some time, which was precisely the reason she was curious about him. How did he kiss? How did he taste? What went through his head all those times she had given him massages sans his shirt?
Daniel had never given her any reason to believe that he wasn't sincere within the friendship or in his compliments. The few times he'd played along with the silly flirting had also seemed legit. Still, his hugs were always short, and he'd been stone-cold clear about just how much banter he was willing to take.
Last weekend in a phone conversation, though, Daniel had given Felicia every reason to think someone else had invaded his body, and that someone seemed almost as curious as Felicia.
"Would you like to come down for dinner Saturday night, hon?" Felicia tossed this off casually, as she often did.
"You know I'd love to, but I wouldn't be able to make it down until late that evening, and I don't want to have to drive back up here the same night."
"Well I don't mind taking the floor for an evening. I'll let you take the daybed if you'll share your company." She chuckled.
Daniel's retort blew Felicia away. "Well, I don't mind sharing the bed too."
Felicia let the words bounce around her head for a few seconds before breaking the silence with a sassy response. "Maybe you should reconsider that offer, Daniel. Are you sure you can trust me alone in bed with you all night?"
She thought to herself that Daniel was surely making an empty proposal. The mere thought of lying next to him inflamed her whole body.
"I'll come down, and we can work out the sleeping arrangement when I get there," Daniel answered, more timidly than Felicia expected.
Daniel was a man of few words, usually quiet. Never before in their friendship had he said anything that had affected her so greatly. She was no longer sure that this was an empty proposal. Was he insinuating that he didn't want Felicia to come to bed with trustworthy hands? How exciting, and frightening all the same, it was for Felicia to think about adding a sensual component to their friendship.
"Okay, that sounds great," Felicia chimed in, trying not to sound too baffled after her long thoughtful pause. "You bring the whipped cream, I'll bring the strawberries for dessert," she snickered nervously.
Knock! Knock!
Daniel was at her door before Felicia had time fix her hair or freshen up her face. It had never mattered much before. But tonight, though, she wanted to look the best she could without making it too terribly obvious how much work she's put into the evening. She opened the door and invited him in.
"Hey hon, come on in. How was the…" Felicia's voice staggered mid-sentence when she saw the two cans of whipped cream clutched in Daniel's hand.
"Oh fine, it was late enough that traffic wasn't a problem. It's still a long drive to come and visit you though," Daniel hinted, fishing for some empathy.
Felicia took the whipped cream from Daniel and smirked. "What a romantic gesture, shall I put them in some water?"
"You got what you requested m'dear," he retorted.
"And just how many strawberries did you intend on eating, Daniel? Did you have other uses in mind?
Daniel just smiled and asked, "Is that lasagna I smell in the oven?"
"Yeah, have a seat. It's almost done. How was the drive?" Felicia repeated herself nervously.
"Traffic was nasty. I tell ya, the things I go through to spend time with you," Daniel poked, anticipating a quick retort.
