From the moment I laid eyes on her, I knew Erin was special. From the way she effortlessly dusted off her humiliating near-death experience, to the way she's looking at me now.

"Hey, you," I say, trying my best not to sound wholly caught off guard.

"Hi," she says quietly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear like she always does when she's around me. It must be one of her nervous tells.

I continue staring at this beautiful woman until I feel a cold breath on the back of my neck. "Excuse me," a man's voice grunts.

"Oh, sorry," I say, pulling Erin toward me. It's not until after the man passes that I realize what I've done.

Erin's body gently presses against mine, one of her hands resting on my chest. I look at her for a moment before breaking into a grin. "You know, we need to stop meeting like this."

A small giggle escapes Erin's perfect lips, causing the hair on my arms to stand on end. It's faint, but I already know that I will be replaying the sweet sound over and over in my mind.

"I'm starting to think you're stalking me," she jokes.

"Hey," I say, putting my hands up, "I swear, I'm not."

"Okay," she retorts, squinting her eyes as she backs away from me. My body instantly groans for her touch as soon as it's gone.

"But hey, I'm glad I ran into you. I'm sorry for not getting back to you the other day. My last shift was insane, which I know isn't a good excuse." I feel bad for not getting back to Erin the other night. After getting distracted by Trev, we started getting call-after-call for all sorts of non-emergent things. She honestly got lost in the shuffle, and I feel awful about it.

"It's alright," Erin hums, "I know your job is important."

Not as important as you... I want to say but choose not to. "It is hectic. But still, it wasn't my intention."

"What was your intention?" she asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, I still have intentions," I say, realizing too late that I sounded cockier than intended. "I, uh – was going to ask you out. I mean, I am asking you out. I'd like to take you on a date."

Fuck, that sounded so stupid.

Erin's contagious laugh echoes through the small space again. "Of course," she chimes, before settling her expression to emote her sudden seriousness. "What are you doing now?"

The seriousness of her tone intrigues me. "I was just on a walk. Why?"

"Well, maybe we shouldn't waste time. I get the feeling that after meeting multiple times in the ways we have, it must mean something. Maybe we shouldn't prolong something that seems like fate."

I immediately understand what she means; I, too, have been thinking about our chance encounters, and I'm beginning to think that something along the lines of fate is pulling us toward one other. She's right here; all I have to do is reach out and grab her. "I think you're onto something, here," I joke, hoping to trigger a smile. "Would you like to have lunch with me, Erin?"

"I'd love to," she says, turning on her heel, making her way toward the door.

I'm generally not one for spontaneous acts, but I tend to lose a portion of my sanity whenever I'm around or speaking with Erin. Most of my rationality goes out of the window, too. But whatever the universe has planned for this woman and me is worth putting my better judgment aside.

I follow her out the door and watch as she walks into the street. Immediately, caution sirens begin blaring within my entire being.

"Where to?" Erin shouts at me from across the street, holding her car keys in her hand.

I quickly glance both ways before making my way to her. "I have a spot," I say, holding my hand out for the keys.

"You think you're driving?" she asks with wide eyes.

"I, uh,"

"I'm kidding, Matt," she says, dropping the keys in my palm.

***

Erin sits across the picnic table from me, cradling a monstrous burger in her hands. I haven't seen anyone look gorgeous with chili on the side of their mouth, that is, until now. The red sauce is taunting me as if it's telling me to come and get it. If I could get away with jumping her from across the table, I would, but I don't think Erin would appreciate that much.

"It's good, then?" I ask, before pressing a napkin to my lips.

Erin nods her head enthusiastically. "It's freaking amazing! How'd you hear about this place?"

"One of my co-workers told me about it. You should see it at night, especially on margarita Mondays."

A faint smile appears on her lips. "Are you asking me on a second date already?" she asks in a mischievous tone.

I let out a chuckle. Admittedly, I would love to go out with Erin again. Heck, if I could get find a way to stay with her longer than over her lunch hour, I would snap that opportunity up in a heartbeat. "I mean, I wouldn't put it in so many words," I grin.

Erin's laugh fills my entire being, making each of the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. "Well, aren't you forward," she coos before wiping away the dot of chili I had been staring at for the past ten minutes. "Although tequila does make me slutty," she notes after a moment.

Her words catch me. Slutty.

Immediately, Trev's lude comment about fucking Erin washes into my mind. I don't want to think of her like that like she's some mission. I'm not like that; I may have been once, but that's not who I am anymore. I am perfectly content, sitting across the table from her.

Erin's aura is contagious; I could let it consume me for hours. Being with her reminds me of what it feels like to be free, not to be bothered with the petty things, like making sure I don't have food on my face, or that my shirt collar is firmly pressed, which is something the academy drilled into me.

"So, what's next?" Erin asks, eyeing me.

This woman continues to amaze me; how is she not sick of me already? Rather, how have I not managed to fuck this up yet? I don't care what the answer is as long as I don't have to stop seeing her. "What do you want to do?"

Her expression fades as she thinks until her perfect little grin reappears on her flawless face. "I don't live that far from here."

Holy-fucking-shit. Okay.

The words that escaped her lips have me wanting to jump her right here, right now, but also to not want to stand up, in fear of being hard underneath the table. After a glance down, I'm relieved that thought number two isn't a reality.

"Oh, I wasn't expecting..." I stop speaking when I feel Erin's hand land on top of mine. I glance at it quickly before directing my attention back to her mouth.

"Matt," she whispers, "fate, remember?

Her words make my brain pause and rewind to the conversation we had while waiting for our food. She's never met someone she has felt this much of an instant connection with, and I have to admit, neither have I. Normally, I hate when women talk about their past relationships on a date, but with Erin, it's different.

Without overthinking it, I stand from the table and stretch my hand out to Erin. She doesn't hesitate to take it, grasping it firmly in hers as she proceeds to drag me in the direction of her car.

Her skin is soft against my calloused fingers, filling the spaces between them perfectly as I watch her brown hair bounce off her back. Thankfully, her car is close; if it were farther, I don't think I could have contained myself. I feel her grip loosen as we approach the vehicle, instantly causing my skin to long for her touch.

"Hey," I say softly as I tighten my grip and tug her backward slightly.

In an instant, Erin's body is flush with mine. The small gasp she made flutters in my eardrum as her green eyes stare into mine. Again, I don't think before I act. In an instant, my mouth collides with hers.