Lorelei kept checking her phone to see if she had another text from Jesse. The only text she had received from him since meeting at the coffee shop was simple.

Lorelei had hesitated before giving her address to Jesse. She did not mind meeting him outside the building. He would never be able to guess which unit was hers in the highrise building.

It was two minutes before seven, but she was eager to get outside. She had changed into a red sundress. She replayed Jesse's comment about her being braless over and over in her head, and it persuaded her to not wear a bra again.

"Lorelei."

She looked up from her phone to see Jesse. He had on a red tie that matched her dress and it caused Lorelei to smile. Jesse's face lit up when he saw her reaction.

"You look beautiful," he said.

"Thank you," she said.

"I found a restaurant close by," he said. "It's casual."

"Is that why you're wearing a tie?"

"Hey, you're wearing a dress."

Lorelei giggled and stepped closer to him. Jesse put his hand on the small of her back and guided her forward. Lorelei's heart fluttered as she realized that his hand was only inches away from her ass. She expected him to move his hand once they started walking, but he kept it on her back.

"So where are you taking me?" Lorelei asked, her mind trying to ignore the placement of his hand.

"It's a bar I've gone to a few times," Jesse said. "Good food, even better beer."

Lorelei smiled. It was the kind of casual that she was hoping for. She only hoped that it wasn't going to be one of those loud obnoxious bars where they would be yelling at each other all night. She wanted to hear every word that Jesse had to say.

They made the short trip around the block. The bar front was made of stone with black letters spelling out the name. Tables of people were outside, and a sign in handwritten chalk advertised the specials. Jesse opened the door and they stepped in. Music was playing, but it did not overpower the bar. A waiter showed them to a table by the large window. Jesse's hand finally parted with Lorelei's lower back.

Lorelei was overwhelmed by the choices of beer, so she copied Jesse's order. He raised a brow, and Lorelei took a sip of her water.

"Are you much of a drinker?" he asked.

"No," she said. "Why?"

"You just ordered an 8% beer," he said. "I would suggest only having one."

The heat rushed up to Lorelei's cheeks and she took another awkward sip of her water. They had not even ordered yet and she was already embarrassing herself.

"I'll only have one," Lorelei said.

"Good," he said. "I want you sober tonight."

Matthew always tried to force drinks onto Lorelei. She was surprised that Jesse did not want her to have a few drinks to loosen her up.

The waiter returned to the table, brought them their beers, and they ordered their food. The waiter took the menus and walked away.

Jesse reached across the table and held his tattooed hand open so that his palm was facing up. Lorelei looked at his hand and then up at him. He smiled and curled his fingers in and then out. She held her hand out and took Jesse's hand. He clasped his hand around hers and rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb.

Lorelei's heart fluttered in her chest. Matthew never showed her affection in public. She kissed him in front of his friends one night, and he lectured her for hours. Now she was holding hands with a man in a restaurant.

"Your hand is really soft," Jesse said.

"Yours is pretty rough," she said.

Jesse chuckled.

"I was at work today," he said. "I spent the last hour trying to clean the grease out from under my nails."

Lorelei giggled when she pictured Jesse at a sink growing frustrated as he tried to scrub the grease off his hands.

"You're even more beautiful when you smile," he said.

"Are you always full of compliments?" Lorelei asked.

The corner of Jesse's lip twitched into a wider smile.

"Only to some," he said.

Lorelei let out a deep breath. Her eyes darted across the bar to a couple sitting at the table behind Jesse. The woman's head was in her hands as she was sobbing. The man sitting across from her was casually eating a burger. Lorelei leaned in closer and lifted her chin to gesture over to the table to Jesse.

"I think that couple is breaking up," she said in a hushed voice.

Jesse looked over his shoulder at the couple. The man reached across the table to the woman's plate and took a handful of fries. Lorelei bit down on her lip to stop herself from bursting into laughter.

"You can tell he's been wanting to do it for a while," Jesse said.

"How can he even have an appetite right now?" Lorelei asked.

Jesse shrugged.

"My ex broke up with me at a steakhouse," he said. "I'm just glad that she did it at the end of the meal."

Lorelei was tempted to ask about his ex. He had mentioned her when they were at Roasters and now he was mentioning her again. She wondered if she was still on his mind. She was curious to know if he still had not gotten over his feelings since the break-up. Lorelei did not feel like she had the right to ask about his ex.

This was not a relationship.

Anyways, she would not want Jesse asking her questions about Matthew. She would be perfectly satisfied if Jesse never knew about him.

The waiter brought the food to their table, and Lorelei pulled her hand out from underneath Jesse's. Her skin felt cold no longer being under his warm touch.

They ate their dinner and talked superficially. Lorelei learned about what kind of music and movies Jesse liked, and she talked about how she had been stuck in the endless details of Molly's wedding. They laughed and shared a few stories about work.

At the end of the dinner, Jesse held out his hand. Lorelei laced her fingers with his and he pulled her out of the restaurant. She was prepared for him to walk her home, but he did not move. He stared at her and smiled.

"Do you want to come to my place?" he asked. "So we can finally talk alone?"

This was it, she thought.

Lorelei had been so distracted by their mundane dinner that she had forgotten about Jesse's profile. He did not seem like the sex-deprived maniac that she was expecting, so she forgot that he was a Dom. Something she had always been interested in.

Her mouth had grown dry as her mind went wild. She thought about all of the toys he had displayed in his profile picture. She wondered if he was going to show her all of them. She wondered if he was going to pull out rope and make her bondage fantasies a reality.

Lorelei was unable to speak, so she nodded her head. Jesse's smile grew wider and he put his hand on her back as they began to walk to his apartment.