Chapter 174

William took me to my favorite diner to eat before the movie.

When he offered me his arm as we walked down the street, I remembered part of Victor’s instructions and pulled his arm against my body.

But I immediately realized his arm was pressed against my breast and pulled away. He noticed, and we both felt awkward. We didn’t speak until we were seated in a booth at the diner.

Attracting a male wolf was more complicated than I had thought. Maybe I wasn’t bold enough to do it.

William passed me a menu. “Is your report going well?”

“Very well,” I replied. “The numbers prove the potential for high profits. I don’t see how the board can turn down the project after they read it.”

I tried Victor’s advice about looking a male in the eyes. Looking over the top of my menu, I stared into William’s beautiful blue eyes. They reminded me of a summer sky.

“Are you okay?” William asked. “Is there something on my face?”

I was so bad at this. Maybe I should skip to touching him. My stomach fluttered when I reached across the table and touched his hand.

Running a finger slowly across the back of his hand, I watched a smile form on William’s handsome face. The smile made a dimple appear on each cheek.

He flipped his hand over and caught mine. He held my hand, and we looked into each other's eyes until the waitress arrived to take our order.

William let me order first.

“I’ll take a loaded cheeseburger and fries with a chocolate shake,” I said.

“I’ll have the same,” William said. He rubbed his thumb over my fingers. “I’m glad you could go out with me tonight. I haven’t seen much of you lately.”

“I missed you too,” I said. “We should get together more often.”

“I agree,” he said, and his smile grew broader, his dimples deeper. “What movie do you want to see?”

I shrugged. “It’s up to you. I will enjoy anything you choose.”

“There’s a new action flick playing, but there’s also a romantic comedy that is supposed to be pretty good,” William said.

“Whatever you want to see will be fine with me,” I repeated. I didn’t keep up with new movies, so William had a more informed opinion than I did.

“Then I think we should see the romantic comedy,” he decided. “The trailer made it look fun.”

I was feeling less nervous and was able to reach over with my other hand and stroke William’s arm.

He responded with a smile that made his eyes seem brighter.

He took my other hand, too, and squeezed both. “Victor was okay about us going on a date. Has something changed between you?”

“Our agreement is almost over,” I replied. “Alex wants to take time for himself and is handing Victor the leadership of The Alpha Association. It will soon be time for us to move on with our lives.”

“Does that mean we can date like a normal couple?” William asked.

“I don’t see why not,” I replied. “Victor and I will announce that our engagement is broken soon after he is sworn into the job.”

“Are you alright about the broken engagement?” William asked. “You’re not going to feel sad?”

I shrugged. “Maybe a little. Victor is a good friend. I’ll miss seeing him every day.”

“I get that.” William ran his thumb over my wrists. “He’s been a big part of your life since your father found you and brought you home again.”

“Excuse me,” the waitress said.

We hadn’t realized she was standing by our table with our order. William and I released each other’s hands and placed them on our laps.

The waitress placed our food and milkshakes in front of us. “Enjoy,” she said and walked away.

I put a straw in my shake and took a sip before putting my hand on the table and touching William’s wrist. I wanted to feel my whole body tingle like it did with Victor. But so far, it hasn't happened.

Maybe I needed to touch his chest. William has a nice broad chest, too. It was something to try in the theater. For now, it felt nice to hold hands while we ate our burgers and fries.

After we ate, we returned, hand in hand, to his Mustang. The drive to the movies was short, and there was only a single parking space anywhere near the theater.

After William purchased our tickets, we found a seat near the back of the theater, but almost every seat in the house was taken. The movie, Nights in Niagara, must be good to be this popular.

I wanted to touch William’s chest. I craved the tingle like when I was touching Victor. But the theater was too crowded to try. I would be embarrassed knowing anybody could watch us.

William sensed my reluctance to become any more intimate in the crowded space, and we settled for him putting an arm around me so I could rest my head on his shoulder.

It felt nice to be close to William like this. Yet, thoughts of Victor and his demonstration of how to attract a male wolf continued to invade my mind.

Was touching different with everyone?

Touching William was different from touching Victor. I enjoyed it with both of them, but it wasn’t close to the same experience.

It was too frustrating to think about. I cuddled against William and tried to concentrate on the movie.

After the movie, William took me home. Always the gentleman, he opened the car door for me and walked me to the mansion’s front door.

But I got super nervous, knowing what was probably coming. What was I supposed to do when William kissed me?

Victor didn’t explain kissing, and I was growing too nervous to try it.

If it weren’t for my lack of experience, I would have been eager to kiss William. He is a handsome young male. But thoughts swirled through my mind that made me grow frightened.

My fear mostly came from the fact that I didn’t know how to kiss. I didn’t know what to do when it happened.

Should I hold still and let him do it, or was I expected to move my lips somehow against his?

In the movies, kissing looked either slow and natural or fierce and passionate. How should I do it?

And I read about kissing where tongues were involved.

Yikes! Could I do that? It sounded strange and scary, yet exciting.

I was hopeless at romance. What if I'm so bad at kissing that William never wants to try again? What if he laughs at me?

I had too many questions swirling through my mind for this experience to be enjoyable. My heart rate accelerated, not from passion or the anticipation of my first kiss but from fear and nervousness.

When William brought his face closer to mine, I knew I couldn’t reject him again. He would be hurt, especially after all the touching and holding hands we did all evening.

Instead, I turned my head at the last second, and his lips grazed my cheek. It was sweet and safe.

But when I pulled away from him, his eyes showed confusion. “Daisy, what’s wrong?” he said while searching my face for an answer.

“Nothing. Goodnight,” I said and ran inside the house.

I knew I had disappointed William again. Even as inexperienced as I was, I knew he had wanted to kiss me badly. Yet, I couldn’t bring myself to do it.

I hurried inside, wanting to be alone in my room, but Victor stood in my way. He wore a phonetic smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

Was something wrong with Alex?

Before I could speak, he asked, “What made you run into the house like a grizzly bear was chasing you?”

“I’m just tired and need to go to bed,” I insisted. “It’s been a long day.”

Victor’s one eyebrow raised. “How was your date with William? Did it end well?”

I shrugged. I didn’t want to talk about it, but Victor must have seen our chaste goodnight kiss on the cheek. He continued to look at me with that raised eyebrow until I confessed.

“I was too nervous to kiss him goodnight,” I admitted. “I don’t know how to kiss, and I didn’t want to make a fool of myself and do it wrong.”

Victor’s eyebrow dropped, and his expression softened. “Do you want a kissing lesson? I’m sorry that I didn’t think of it this afternoon.”

“A kissing lesson,” I repeated. “How can you teach me how to kiss?”

Before I knew what was happening, Victor took me in his arms. He looked deep into my eyes as he lowered his head and pressed his lips against mine!