Never Close Enough Read online

  “Oh, wow.” She was looking out over the water. The sun was beginning to set over the water. The sky had brushstrokes of red, yellow and orange, with splashes of pink mixed in. There were a few gauzy clouds along the horizon. Ella rested her chin in her palm, looking as though she was content to watch the sunset all night. He watched her, and took the opportunity to appreciate the way the orangey-red hues of the sunset were making her hair turn a golden color, which made her crystal blue eyes even more alluring and reflective. She was so beautiful and she seemed to have no idea.

  All through dinner Porter felt at ease with Ella. They spent the time talking and never found themselves in awkward silences or lacking topics of conversation. He asked her about college and found out that she had majored in business at the University of Oregon, which gave her the foundation she needed to open her own shop in a trendy area of Portland that was known for its small shops and boutiques. She asked him about his college experience and he gave her the truthful answer.

  “When I graduated from high school, I never really felt like college was the right choice for me. My mom and I had a little money from my dad’s life insurance, but I didn’t feel like spending it all on college when I wasn’t even sure I needed to go. I got an apprenticeship with a local carpenter, and everything just sort of fell into place. I had spent a good portion of my high school years fixing anything that broke in the bar, or fixing problems at our house. I was good at it, and it seemed silly to go to college. Kids usually go to college to figure out what they want to do in life, find out what they’re good at. I already knew.”

  “That seems like a smart choice. It seems like you’ve got a good head on your shoulders. Your mom probably has something to do with that,” Ella said.

  “My mom did anything and everything she could for me. Things could have gotten really bad when my dad died, but she was strong and I never felt like I was at a disadvantage for only having one parent. I couldn’t imagine anyone doing a better job than my mom,” Porter said proudly.

  “Yeah, your mom seems amazing, but I can’t imagine what it was like to lose your dad, that must have been hard.”

  “It was at first, and there are still times when I wish my dad was around, but we managed.” Porter felt like the conversation had taken a depressing turn and he wanted to maintain an upbeat mood. “So tell me where you see yourself in five years.”

  “Well,” Ella thought out loud, “I guess I would like to have a second store, somewhere local so that I could be involved, but feel like the business was growing and thriving. I hope I am married by then, with a baby coming soon.” Ella smiled and dropped her head into her hands. “Oh my gosh, I cannot believe in five years I will be thirty-five! I am just starting to get used to being thirty.” She raised her head and looked at Porter, laughing.

  “Thirty’s not bad. You’ve still got time.”

  “Yeah, I know. It all just kind of hit me when you asked.” She took a drink of her wine. “So, where do you see yourself in five years? Wife? Kids?”

  “Honestly, I don’t know. Dating’s never been a priority for me before. I just assumed I would be an eternal bachelor. I’m not opposed to a family, in fact,” he smiled up at Ella, “the idea becomes more appealing to me every day. I guess I will just have to wait and see what happens.”

  “Your mom would be very disappointed if you never gave her any grandchildren. You can’t disappoint her,” Ella joked.

  “You’re right. I should probably just marry the next woman that catches my eye.”

  “I’m just saying, time is passing by you, and so are women. If you aren’t paying attention, your future wife and mother of your children could slip away and you would never be the wiser.”

  Porter looked into Ella’s eyes and said, “Trust me, once I find her, I’m not going to let her go.”

  Ella

  Ella could have stayed at the restaurant with Porter forever. She couldn’t deny the warmth that had spread through her body when she saw the table he had reserved for them. The candlelight, the sunset, it was picture perfect. If one of her friends had described it to her, she would have rolled her eyes and thought the guy was obviously trying too hard. But with Porter it seemed sweet and totally sexy knowing that he had thought this date through and planned ahead of time. She was enjoying talking with him and learning about his life, and more than that, she was enjoying looking at him. He looked amazing in his black suit jacket and dark jeans. She was now convinced that there was no shirt or jacket in the world that could hide his masculine form, and she was willing now to give in and just ogle him.

  Between taking bites of the delicious dinner, sipping drinks and engaging in conversation, the two of them were fully engulfed in what Ella could only describe as Dinner Table Sex. She was finding ways to brush her hand against his, and she felt him gently caress her calf under the table with his foot. The buzzing that was coursing through her body as they sought out each other’s touch was bringing her to new levels of arousal and a slow, achy knot was forming in her core.

  She stared at his gorgeous body, not bothering to hide the fact that she liked what she saw, and she knew that he was enjoying his view as well. When did dating become this much fun? When she and Kyle started dating everything was calculated and expected. She knew what the next step was before she took it, and knew what her role was from the get-go. But here, with Porter, she had no idea what she was in for, and it was thrilling. She knew that he was sweet and thoughtful, protective with a hint of aggression when challenged, sexy, and strong. She also knew that he felt as out of his element as she did, but he was enjoying it just as much as her, if not more.

  When their waitress came to clear their dinner plates she asked if they were interested in dessert. Ella looked to Porter with raised eyebrows and he said, “I have some pretty decent cheesecake back at my place, if you want to go back there.”

  Ella’s insides seemed to implode with excitement. “I could go for some cheesecake,” she answered in a calm voiced that betrayed every heartbeat that raced through her veins.

  As they were walking back to Porter’s truck, Ella felt him take her hand and link their fingers together. It was such a small gesture, but it had caused her heart to falter slightly and a smile spread across her face. Who got this much excitement from holding hands? Had she been missing something with every other man she’d been with? She was starting to realize that every experience with Porter was going to be more exciting and exponentially more arousing than any other she’d had with other men. And that was terrifying. As they approached the truck Porter unlocked her side and opened her door for her. He dropped her hand so she could climb in the truck and she ached for the warmth he took with him. She turned to face him and before she could think too much about it, she rose up and lightly touched her lips to his. She kissed him softly and she felt him respond to her mouth with his. It lasted only a few seconds before she pulled away. She opened her eyes to look up at him, “Thank you for dinner, Porter. It was so beautiful.”

  He answered her by leaning down to take another kiss. His lips met with hers and his hand came to cradle the side of her face. This kiss was sweet and effectively made her forget everything except the feeling of his lips on hers. She felt him ask to deepen the kiss and it was all she could do to remember to breathe. He now had both hands on her, pulling her into the kiss, caging her in, and she loved it. Their tongues were flirting with each other and when she instinctively nibbled on his lower lip she heard a masculine groan escape from him. He pushed her back up against his truck as he took the kiss even deeper.

  She reached her hands around his waist and up his back. She could feel all the hard muscle she’d known was there. He continued to kiss her senseless and she realized that even though she had started this, she was no longer in control. They were all hands and staggered breaths.

  He broke away from her mouth and spread kisses from just behind her ear, down the side of her neck and she melted. If he hadn’t been holding on to her, she
would have crumpled to the ground. “Porter,” she breathed quietly, “this is crazy.”

  “You’re bare neck has been torturing me all night,” he said between kisses.

  The idea that he had been thinking about kissing her there all through dinner sent a new wave of courage through her. She found his mouth again and this time she wanted to explore. She kissed him with force, running her fingers through his hair. It felt smooth and soft between her fingers, but gave her satisfaction when she pulled on it to bring him closer. She felt his hands move past her shoulders, down her spine and settle on the small of her back. She gave a little moan to indicate her need for more and he moved his hands over her ass. She could feel him pull her towards him, even though there was nowhere left for her to go. They were as close as two people could be fully clothed in a parking lot, but she needed to be closer.

  She pulled away, breathing heavily and leaned her forehead against his, “Porter?”

  “Ella?” he breathed.

  “Can we still go back to your place?”

  Porter exhaled loudly. “Definitely. Let’s go.”

  Chapter Nine

  Ella

  On the drive to his house, Porter kept her hand securely in his. It felt as if once he’d gotten ahold of it, he wasn’t going to let it go and that was definitely ok with her. She wasn’t sure when she’d decided to lose herself in Porter, but somewhere between the dress, and the door, and the dinner, she’d decided to let herself have one night. She felt entitled to a rebound. That’s what most twenty or thirty-somethings did after a break-up; they made rash decisions and spent one night with someone to ease the heartache. But this felt different. It didn’t feel like heartache and it didn’t feel like one night was going to be enough of Porter.

  The way his hands had captured her face, and how his arms seemed to mold around her body, and the way all her nerves seemed frazzled after one small kiss. Not to mention how the one small kiss morphed into many deep interlaced kisses. Ella caught herself blushing at the memory of the kisses they shared only a few moments ago. She exhaled loudly, trying to shake the butterflies from her stomach. She stole a glance at Porter and saw that he was wearing a small grin as well. She felt him gently rub his thumb along her hand and the butterflies simply multiplied.

  Porter pulled onto a gravel drive that took them off the main road, and the road seemed to wind along, dodging trees and curving around coastal brush. After a short drive a small house appeared and seemed to be the only house down the road.

  “Is this you?” Ella asked, pointing ahead at the house as they neared.

  “Yup, this is my house.”

  Ella didn’t know exactly what she was expecting, but she was definitely taken by surprise when she saw his house. It looked to be at least three stories high, the top half had shingled siding in a medium colored wood, while the bottom half was a warm forest green. The trim around the house was white, as well as the shutters. There were two elegant wooden columns that held up the roof of the front porch. The third floor boasted a very large picture window, and Ella thought that being so high up, there was probably a pretty awesome view of the ocean, which was just about a half mile from his road. The house looked to be the perfect mixture of masculinity and femininity. The colors were warm, but the angles were sharp. The lines were clean, but it looked incredibly inviting. “Porter, this house is amazing,” she said with unmasked sincerity and awe.

  “Thanks, I worked really hard on it. There are still a few projects I want to complete, but it took quite a bit of work.”

  “Did you fix it up a lot?”

  “You could say that. I built it from the ground up.” Ella shot him a surprised look.

  “You built that house?” She asked shocked.

  “Yeah. I used the money I got from my father’s life insurance when I turned eighteen and I bought the land. Then I just spent the next couple years building it as I went. I lived with my mom during the build, so most of my income went directly into the house, as well as all my free time.”

  “I’m not going to lie Porter, that is incredibly sexy.”

  Porter laughed, “What is? My house?”

  “No. The fact that you built it.”

  Porter shrugged his shoulders. “It wasn’t that difficult. This is what I do for a living.”

  “Porter, not everyone can build a house,” she said as she smiled at him.

  “Well, I don’t want to bring you here under false pretenses,” he had a huge smile on his face. “I didn’t do any of the plumbing or electrical.”

  Ella laughed, “Ok, I guess in that case you’ve been bumped down to ‘mildly attractive’”.

  “Well, maybe I can improve my rating with the cheesecake I have inside.”

  “That is highly likely,” she said with a smile.

  They got out of the truck and Ella was still gripped by the beautiful house he had built. There was definitely something ridiculously sexy about a man who had built his house with his own hands. She was sure it was programmed into a woman’s DNA to be attracted to a man who can provide shelter, but this was more than any fort or lean-to. This was a piece of art, crafted by a man who obviously had the patience and commitment to see the project through. There was something to be said for a man who was simply capable. If he could build a freaking house, what couldn’t he do? Probably very little.

  She followed him up to the front steps and watched him unlock his door. She used the opportunity to admire him from the back. Of course, there were the broad muscular shoulders that she had recently had the pleasure of rubbing her hands along while he kissed her senseless, but now she could also see the great ass in his jeans. She had never really been one to longingly stare at a man or his backside, but Porter’s ass was worth staring at. He walked into the house and flipped on the lights.

  Ella followed him into the house and was lead into a great room that included a living room, dining room and kitchen. She came into the living room with big, comfy, plush couches facing a large flat screen TV. Past the living room was a state of the art kitchen with white cabinets, crown molding, and a large island in the middle with a light colored granite top. To the left of the kitchen area was a smaller dining room with just a little table to seat four. The bottom floor had light colored hard wood floors throughout, no curtains, and no pictures hanging on the wall. It looked like a bachelor pad, but it was beautiful.

  “Wow,” Ella said as she walked around the big room. “This is amazing Porter. How long did it take you to build it?”

  “Well, I guess from the beginning to when it would have been sellable, it was about three years, but that was with just me doing most of the work. I had help putting up the frame and pouring the foundation and all that, but it was mostly just me. I would work all week, and then come out here at night and work until I couldn’t see straight. I would come out on weekends, too. Once it was essentially done, I would tweak things, or redo things all together, until I felt like it was just right. Once I felt like there wasn’t really anything else for me to do, I started the boat.”

  “That’s right, the boat,” Ella remembered. “Again, Porter, I am totally impressed.”

  “Wine?” He asked from the kitchen.

  “Sure, that sounds great.”

  “Red or white?”

  “White, please.” She wandered around the big living room, looking at his handy work, thinking how beautiful everything was, but that a woman’s touch could really soften the place up. She took a seat on one of his big-cushioned couches. She smoothed her dress down her legs as he brought her the wine, placed a plate on the table with a slice of cheesecake on it, and sat down on the other side of the couch. She took a sip and eyed him. She gently rubbed the cushion next to her, signaling him to move closer to her. He took a sip of wine, looking at her, gave her a smirk, and crooked his finger at her, asking her to make the move. Ella laughed, rolled her eyes, and scooted over so that she was right next to him, smoothing out her dress again.

  She took a sip
of her wine and felt him tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear. Just that simple touch made everything simmer inside and she instinctively closed her eyes, relishing in his touch. Trying to maintain a little composure, she opened her eyes and looked at him. “So, do you cook in that magnificent kitchen?”

  Porter laughed, “No, not really. I have limited cooking skills. I can grill and I can handle a box of mac’n’cheese every now and then. Anything more complicated than that, and I just either go out, or I head to the bar.”

  “So, you didn’t make this cheesecake?” Ella said with mock surprise motioning towards the cake on the table.

  “Nope, my mother made that. Want a bite?”

  “Definitely. I was lured here under the pretenses that there would be cheesecake,” she said laughing.

  “Then cheesecake you will get,” Porter lifted the plate, scooped up a piece, and held the fork up to her mouth. She took the bite and immediately closed her eyes as she groaned.

  “Oh my god, Porter. That’s amazing,” she said as she chewed. She heard him laugh and when she looked back up at him he was wearing a half grin, but his eyes looked darker. She licked a piece of stray cake off her lip and she heard him inhale sharply. The way he was looking at her was turning the simmering into a rapid boil. “Here, let me,” Ella said. She put her glass down, took the fork and plate from him, and fed him a bite. He took it, but kept his eyes on hers as he chewed. “Don’t you like it?” she asked, frowning at his unenthused reaction to what she deemed to be the best cheesecake she’d ever tasted.

  “It’s very good, but I’ve had it before. And besides, you’re the most delicious thing on this couch.” She watched as he put his wine down and then leaned over towards her. She knew what was coming. He hesitated just before his lips met hers to give her the opportunity to stop him, but she simply closed the gap between them. He was scooting closer to her and she could taste the cheesecake on his mouth. He took the plate from her hand and placed it on the table all without breaking their contact. Once both of their hands were free from obstacles, they immediately moved to exploring each other. His hands, once again, were wrapped around her face, cradling her cheeks and urging her mouth closer to his, while hers were roaming up his chest and over his shoulders.