"I'm so going to get some intel out of him tonight!"

"That's our girl! You've become a pro at fieldwork. We're proud of you." Jason looked up at his daughter from his laptop as she stepped off the staircase. His smile widened as Lexi twirled.

"How do I look, Dad?"

"You are a vision!" He took his glasses off and set them down before calling over his shoulder to the kitchen. "Scarlett! Come in here and see your daughter!" Jason turned back to face Lexi. "Oh, before I forget Lex, I've been continuing your code to get into the blocker. Can you take a look when you get the chance tomorrow? It needs your magic touch."

"Of course, Dad. Just send it to me and I can take a look in the morning."

Scarlett appeared in the living room, wiping her hands with a dish towel. "Oh, Lex Bex! Look at you! Can I take a picture?"

"No. It's not like I'm going to prom. It's just a date." Lexi fidgeted with her silver sparkle clutch. After church that morning, she and Mindy spent the afternoon shopping and settled on a cowl neck, navy blue satin short dress that was backless. Silver gems dotted the thin straps and matched back to the clutch and silver heels.

Mindy flew down the stairs with a bottle of perfume in hand. "Wait! We forgot the final touch!" She began spraying the air and beckoning Lexi to walk through the mist. "And I can take the photo with all of you together."

"Cole! Come down for a family photo with Lexi!" Scarlett screamed up the stairs.

"Oh, my God. This doesn't need to be a big thing." Before Lexi knew it, her family was crowding around her and smiling at the back of her mother's phone.

When the doorbell rang, Mindy shrieked and nearly flung Scarlett's phone out of her hand. "He's here!"

"Okay, everyone go upstairs!" Lexi smoothed out her dress and took in a deep breath. The nerves in her stomach hadn't stopped all day leading up to the date and now that Tom was at the door, they threatened regurgitation.

"We want to say hi, though," Scarlett said and crossed her arms.

Lexi began physically pushing everyone toward the staircase. "There will be other times for that. Please, let's not make this weird." Finally, her family acquiesced and began making their way up the stairs. She took another deep breath and steadied herself before making her way to the front door.

As soon as she opened it, she couldn't contain the smile that emerged. Tom's eyes grew wide and he seemed stunned for a moment. His gaze scanned her figure and he placed a hand to his chest. "You look. Wow."

"Is that a good wow?" Lexi's smile grew even wider when Tom continued to try to find his words.

"Yes! Hell yes. You're stunning, Lexi." He nearly tripped forward when he took a step but caught himself. "Th-these are for you." He held up a bouquet of lilac, blue, and white flowers.

Never in Lexi's life would she have thought this would be her - getting prettied up for a man, and accepting flowers from said man before they went on their date. It felt like a dream but the butterflies in her stomach were a reminder that this was very much real. She took Tom in as he handed her the flowers. He cleaned up well. His hair was combed back and his white button-down was unbuttoned at the top making Lexi wish she could take a peek at more of his defined chest. "Thanks so much. That's really sweet of you to bring these. I'll just pop them in water real quick and then we can go."

Lexi set the flowers down in the kitchen and briefly heard her family whispering excitedly that Tom had gotten her flowers before making her way back out, closing the door behind her. Tom clasped her hand and led her to his car. He seemed just as nervous as she was and it somehow steadied her slightly. They were in this thing together.

As soon as they both settled into their seats and Tom started the car up, Lexi swept her straightened hair to the side. "So, I have a little something to confess."

"Uh oh. Another secret? Should I be worried?" Tom raised a brow in her direction as he pulled onto the street.

Lexi giggled and held onto his hand. "Worried? I think so." Tom glanced over with an amused look on his face and waited for Lexi to continue. "So, my family and I were discussing, and we have a little wager going on to see if I can get some intel out of you on the case."

"Is that right?" A gorgeous smile formed across his face.

"Mhmm."

"And how do you think you're going to pull that off?"

Lexi smirked. "Well, they wanted me to say this and that. Something about reasoning and logic. But, I thought of something else that I can't say out loud." And it worked once before, so I might as well try again! She slowly leaned forward over the center console, revealing the top of her cleavage behind the cowl neckline. As if on cue, her sparkly strap fell off her shoulder.

Tom glanced over and his eyes nearly popped out. A war seemed to wage between focusing on the road and focusing on her cleavage. "Fuck. Th-that's not fair play!" His hand grabbed the back of his neck as he continued to shift his gaze between Lexi's chest and the road.

"I think it's totally fair." Lexi giggled and adjusted herself back into her seat. "At least I'm letting you know ahead of time. That seems more than fair."

"Okay, you play dirty, but two can play that game. Maybe I'll be the one that gets the info out of you tonight."A playful smirk graced Tom's features. "Also, you owe me one after I had to explain to my neighbors why there was profanity on my lawn last night."

Lexi smacked her hands over her mouth but that still didn't stop the laughs that unleashed. "Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry!"

Tom laughed and shook his head. "Balls was misspelled so we sort of steered clear of the profanity territory, right?"

"Mindy ran out of toilet paper."

"What a shame."

After a few minutes, Tom pulled up to the valet outside the restaurant and it caused Lexi's smile to falter. "This feels pretty close to school, Tom. What if someone we know is in there?" Enoteca was one of those fancy places Lexi had always driven by but never imagined she'd get to eat at. It was nestled in one of the main streets in the nicer part of town.

A valet attendant opened the door for her and she stepped out onto the quiet sidewalk. Only a couple of passerbyers could be seen. "We'll be fine. Trust me." Tom placed a hand on the small of her back and led her into the dimly lit space with his head down. Lexi's eyes tried to adjust but it was still so hard to see. The space was so dimly lit that all she could take in were dotted candles illuminating silhouetted bodies and various plants and framed decor.

"Ahh, I see. No one will recognize us because you can't see anyone."

"Exactly. And I made sure to get us a secluded table in the corner."

Lexi smiled and clasped Tom's hand as he followed behind the host. They settled into their seats right next to each other behind the small round table with an onyx-colored cloth draped over it. "Alright, Mr. Miller. I'm thoroughly impressed. This is a really nice place."

He leaned in and whispered, "Impressed enough to give me intel on the case?"

Lexi giggled and gently pushed him off of her. "You'll never get me to talk."

"I like a challenge."

After they had a chance to scan the menu, their server swung by and took their orders. They settled on some wine and plates to share. Once they were alone again, Lexi's stomach flipped for the hundredth time since leaving home. They seemed to indeed have a private nook in the restaurant, blocked off by tall plants from the rest of the dining area. When Lexi met Tom's gaze, heat surged through her. She knew she needed to up her game if she was going to get any information from him. But truth be told, it wasn't so much about that; she missed him and wanted to watch him come undone. To feel as good as he made her feel the night she was in his room. "So, how's work going?" she asked as her fingers began to graze his thigh.

He smirked before his tongue grazed his bottom lip. "It's going well, thank you for asking."

Lexi inched her hand up his thigh, heart pounding in the process. Commit, Lex. You can do this! "Oh? Tell me more. You know, we need to learn more about each other's careers now that the truth is out. Any fun cases you're working on?"

Tom shifted in his seat but didn't make any move to stop her. "Um, uh-" He seemed at a loss for words for a moment, and it gave Lexi a boost of confidence to trail her hand even higher, getting closer to the part that she could already sense was hardening. "Yeah," was all Tom managed to let out. His breathing hitched as Lexi's hand grazed over him.

***

Get ready for some more spice in the next chapter! Thanks for reading, voting, and commenting! ♥️