The restaurant Jason has brought me to is fancy as hell, like, formal cutlery place-setting fancy. I eye him from across the table as I bring my wine glass to my lips, softly batting my eyelashes while the tart wine enters my mouth.

"This place is really nice, Jason," I say, placing my glass back on the table.

"It is, isn't it?"

Is that a rhetorical question?

"Christ, Jason! Everything is so expensive!" I bark, taking notice of the prices outlined in the menu.

"Kate," Jason says, taking hold of my hand from across the table. "Don't worry about it; order whatever you like."

"Jase."

"Seriously, Kate. Don't worry about it," he reassures me, flashing a smile.

The look on Jason's face makes me melt, the way he's smiling at me with sparkling eyes. What the hell have I done to earn a second chance with this amazing man? Despite my best efforts, I cannot figure out a reasonable explanation of why.

"How was work today?" I ask him casually.

"It was okay, I guess. But I do have to admit; my day was a little dull without Briana there keeping me on my toes."

"Yeah, she tends to do that," I chuckle. "But there weren't any emergency surgeries or anything?"

"No. It was a quiet day, actually."

"That's fortunate."

"I'm glad you agreed to come out with me tonight," Jason admits after a moment.

"Anything to get away from my sister," I joke.

Jason barks out a laugh before pressing his wine glass to his lips. He is the first man I've been around in a long time who likes to drink wine. Kyle was a beer-fanatic and refused to drink anything else. He couldn't stand the fact that I hate the smell and taste of it.

"I'm glad you're not on-call tonight," I say, placing my hand on top of his.

"I am, too," he grins, intertwining his fingers with my own.

I smile softly when I feel heat rush to my cheeks. Did I just indicate to Jason that I want this night to be more than dinner? Although, I wouldn't object if we end up in one of our beds.

"How about you? How is work? We didn't get to dive into the work conversation last time," he says with a cheeky grin.

"Work is fine," I say, matching his smile. "The last couple of days have been pretty light. My co-workers have been cutting me some slack lately because of how stressed I've been. I owe them big-time, actually, because they've been picking up the slack and doing a large portion of the work that we are supposed to split evenly."

"That's good."

"I should mention that the co-workers I'm referring to are the other paralegals within the firm. I don't want to paint it as if the big-shot lawyers are doing any of the grunt-work."

"Yeah, they're above grunt-work, aren't they?" Jason jokes.

"You know it," I giggle.

I'm not lying; work hasn't been too bad lately. Most of the people at the office are very understanding of my situation. I took off as much time as I could in the beginning, but now that Briana's at home, I need to make up for the lost time. My desk is overflowing with files and transcriptions of depositions that require organizing. To top things off, the lawyer I mainly work with, Carter, has been breathing down my neck and on my ass about completing them.

"So, other than that, work hasn't been too bad?"

"No, nothing out of the ordinary."

"Well, what is your ordinary? I want to know everything," Jason says, placing his elbows on the table, resting his head in his hands, and patiently waits for my elaboration.

"Well, the main lawyer I work with, Carter, has been on my ass, like he always is. I'm not quite sure he understands that I don't work for him exclusively. He expects a lot from me."

"Why don't you tell him where to shove it?"

I widen my eyes at him, hoping to God that he's joking.

"Would you tell your supervisor to shove shit up his ass?"

"No. I was joking, Kate," he laughs.

"Anyways, I know he's on me because he likes my work the best out of all the other paralegals at the firm. It actually makes me feel good, knowing that he prefers my work more than the others."

"Oh, so you're that employee?" he jokes.

"Guilty," I say, holding my hands up.

"So, this Carter guy, he isn't rude to you all the time, is he?"

"No. He's usually friendly toward me."

"How friendly are we talking?" Jason asks, eyeing me as he takes a sip of wine.

"Oh, stop it," I say playfully. "No, we're just co-workers. There's nothing romantic between us, at least not on my end."

Jason relaxes and breaks out into a wide grin.

"What?" I ask.

"I'm just happy I don't have some friendly competition for your affection."

I lean across the table and wait for him to meet me halfway.

"You're the only one in the running," I whisper.

To my surprise, Jason's grin stretches wider as he takes my hand in his again.

By the time we leave the restaurant, it's after ten, but I am nowhere near ready for this night to end. Jason smiles as he places his hand on the small of my back, directing me toward his SUV. We stop alongside the passenger door. I'm under the impression that Jason is going to open it for me, but to my surprise, he doesn't. Instead, he spins me around in his grip and pulls my body flush with his. Jason carefully traces my jawline with his index finger before gently pushing a bundle of curls behind my ear. I look into his eyes as he leans in to kiss me, and I part my lips to grant him access.

Jason softly devours me as we stand in the parking lot. If I'm honest, I've completely forgotten about our surroundings. I gather his attention when I place my hand gently against his chest, pushing back slightly.

"What's wrong?" Jason whispers, looking concerned.

"If I keep kissing you, I'm afraid we'll get arrested for indecent exposure."

"It'd be worth it, though," he remarks, smiling against my mouth.

"Maybe we should take this party home," I suggest.

Jason doesn't say a word. Instead, he brushes his lips across mine once more before opening the passenger-side door and ushering me inside.

"Alright, where to?" He asks while pulling into traffic.

"My place?" I say uncertainly.

"What about your sister?"

"Yeah, I know. Although, she can't get up the stairs," I say, smiling suggestively.

"Fair point," Jason shrugs, accelerating through a yellow light.

Within no time, Jason is pulling up to my townhouse. I look at the building, noticing that most of the lights are out. Briana is most likely sprawled across the couch in the dark with the hockey game blaring. In all honesty, she's probably passed out snoring.

I look to Jason, noting the amusement plastered across his face. I smile at him as I unbuckle the seatbelt and lean into him across the console, kissing him gently before opening the door.

Jason snakes his arms around my body and begins kissing my neck while I dig my keys out of my purse. A few quiet giggles escape my lips as he tickles my hipbones before turning me around to plant another kiss on my lips.

"You're not wasting any time, are you?" I joke.

"Never," he says, lips still hovering over mine.

I suck in his air one more time before turning and plunging the key into the lock. I open the door gently in the hopes that my assumption about Briana is correct. I can hear the hockey announcers and a faint snore coming from the living room.

"Okay, be quiet," I whisper to Jason, who nods at me while pressing his index finger to his lips.

I remove my heels before entering the house to make as little noise as possible. Thankfully, Jason still holds his ability to sneak into rooms undetected, which worked wonders when we were teenagers. There were many nights where I snuck Jason into my bedroom after coming home from a date or party. I'm definite that during our senior year, I spent more nights with Jason than without; we were inseparable.

The stairs creak stiffly beneath our weight as we hurry to the second floor. Jason's hands find my body again as we walk down the hallway toward my bedroom. He stops, lingering in the doorway for a moment, watching me while I turn on the light. I turn around to face him and give him a confused look.

"Are you waiting for an invitation?" I whisper.

Jason nods.

A smile takes over my mouth as I drop my heels to the floor and pull him into the room by his tie. He kicks the door shut with his heel, sending a booming clash thought the house.

"Shit," I whisper into his neck as I still our movements, listening attentively to hear if Briana had woken up.

"Sorry," Jason whispers into my ear, taking the lobe between his teeth.

"We have to be quiet."

"I don't know if you'll be able to do that, Kate."

"Don't make promises you can't keep," I tease.

"We'll see about that," he remarks, unzipping my dress.