Mary had been unsure of Luke, but she couldn't explain why. They had been seeing each other off and on for the past few months, but wasn't sure whether to open herself to him fully. He was a charming enough fellow, a quiet librarian by day and a jolly drunk by night. The problem was, at times he just seemed so nice. Maybe too nice. Mary liked a little edge in the men she dated, maybe someone with a slight bossy arrogance at times.
Of course Mary also wasn't looking for a jerk, she had already dealt with enough of those before. But the lack of excitement had led to the couple's relative chastity. Until that cold night in November, they had only kissed and held each other. Mary was pretty sure Luke wanted to move beyond just kissing, but she was having a hard time feeling ready to take the next step with him.
That night, Luke called Mary and asked her where they wanted to eat dinner.
"Well, I suppose we could do dinner at my place tonight, we haven't come over here quite as much," Mary decided. She always decided things for the two of them, it was something that bothered her to no end.
So Luke ended up bring wine and Chinese food over, and the two huddled next to the apartment's heater for warmth as the chatted and ate. Mary always liked the quiet moments with Luke, even if sometime there seemed to be too many of them.
The conversation passed with relative ease, but something about the way Luke spoke seemed different. He had a kind of confidence, a kind of charisma that seemed hidden before. After long, the dinner was over and the two moved to the living room.
He had moved across the couch, sitting so close to her. Him sitting close wasn't that unusual, but the relatively new authority that seemed to exude from him was different. Luke held her close, with a tightness and intensity she hadn't felt before. An old slasher movie played on the TV, but neither were paying particular attention to it. Mary kept wondering what he would do next.
Out of nowhere he leaned over and kissed her. She was surprised by the force of it, he usually was a lot more polite with his kisses. Mary kissed him back but already felt he was going somewhere with a new felt passion.