Until December (Until Her/Him #8)(26)

“Yes.” I unhook my belt as he opens his door and hops out, and when I open my door to do the same, I pause. Logically, I know the distance to the ground isn’t that far. Still, I’m not sure I’ll be able to make it without spraining my ankle or worse.

“I got you.” He appears in my open door, holding out his hands.

I don’t think about what I’m doing. I lean toward him and wrap my palms around his shoulders, feeling his muscles bunch under my fingers. His hands curve around my waist and he carefully lifts me from the seat. When my feet touch the gravel, I tip my head back toward him, feeling off balance by our closeness. “Thanks.”

“Anytime.” He doesn’t step back. Instead, he lifts his hand and touches my temple with a finger before slowly sliding my hair away from my face and tucking it behind my ear. I hold my breath as I stare into his eyes and fight the urge to use my hold on him to lift myself up and press my lips to his. “We should go in before they give away our table.”

He takes a step back, leaving me off balance once more, even with his hand on the curve of my hip still holding me steady. With no other response, I nod as he lets me go and lift my purse over my shoulder, stepping away from the door so he can shut it. I take his hand when he offers it, and try to ignore the zap of electricity that zings through our connected palms as our skin makes contact. There is no denying there is some serious chemistry between us; I just hope we have something deeper than sexual attraction. Otherwise, this thing between us will burn out quickly. When we finally make our way through the crowd that is gathered around the front door, Gareth stops at a podium where three women, all dressed in black, are gathered around the tablet in the middle one’s hands. It doesn’t take long for them to look up, and when they do, I recognize one of them immediately as the mother of one my students from last year.

“Miss Mayson.” She smiles at me.

“Hi, Lina. Please, call me December,” I return, and she nods then looks at Gareth. Her eyes fill with appreciation before meeting mine once more. “This is Gareth,” I introduce, then ask, “How has Tiffany been?”

Her face softens at my question and my heart warms. Lina is a single mom, and the relationship I witnessed between her and her daughter was something special. “Good. She loves her new school and her teachers. Though, she still talks about you all the time.”

“I think about her often.” It’s not a lie. I think about all my kids when they are no longer under my care. Normally when they graduate from my class, they stay in the building I work in, so I’m able to check up on them from time to time. But Lina was forced to transfer Tiffany to a different school when the zones were changed. “I’m glad she’s doing good. You should bring her by the school sometime. I’d love to see her.”

“I’ll have to do that. She’d enjoy that,” she says, and then glances at Gareth quickly. I notice he hasn’t said anything, but his fingers around mine have gotten tighter. “Sorry.” She shakes her head, looking a little embarrassed. “We’re not here to catch up. Do you two have a reservation?”

“We do,” Gareth puts in, letting my hand go to wrap his arm around my waist. “Under Black.”

Lina looks at the two women still standing next to her listening to our exchange, and the one in the middle types quickly on the tablet then looks up at us with wide eyes. I don’t know what to make of her expression, or have time to ask about it, before Lina is grabbing long sheets of paper out of a holder at the side of the podium. “Your table is ready.” She starts to walk away then looks at us over her shoulder. “Sorry.” She smiles. “Please, come with me.”

We follow her through the packed restaurant, and I notice that every single table is taken up with people either enjoying their food or chatting with smiles on their faces as they wait for their meals to arrive. I feel Gareth close on my heels as we walk through a doorway behind Leah and up a set of stairs. When I crest the top of the stairs and see the view before me, my breath catches. Through the glass-enclosed space, there is nothing to see at this vantage point but twinkling stars and city lights. And with only four tables within the space and only one of them taken up with an older couple, it feels private.

“This is beautiful,” I murmur as Lina stops at a table near the edge of the building, and Gareth pulls out my chair for me to sit.

“Mack just finished this two days ago. You two and that couple over there, who are his parents, are the first to eat up here.” She looks at Gareth. “You must be good friends with Mack.”

“You could say that,” he responds casually, and she eyes him for a moment then looks between the two of us.

“Your waiter Simon will be with you shortly to go over the menu with you, but I have to tell you my favorite thing here to eat is the ginger, garlic, and honey baby back ribs, the house mac and cheese, with a side of greens.”

My mouth waters. “That sounds good,” I say, because everything she mentions does. Still, I know I will never, not ever, order ribs to eat on a first date.

“Trust me, everything on the menu is delicious,” she replies, looking pleased, before she bows slightly. “I hope you two have a great dinner.”

“Thanks,” I tell her, and she smiles at me. I watch her walk away then look at Gareth, who touches his fingers to mine on top of the table.