"So." Nancy scooped up the last bite of the chocolate-chip cheesecake and held it poised before her, then glanced over it at Ned. She was unsurprised to find his gaze on it, and chuckled quietly. "What do you think, after this?"
"After that?"
Nancy laughed then, and extended her arm, offering him the bite of dessert. He raised an eyebrow, seemed on the point of refusing, then parted his full lips and let her feed him. Nancy grinned when he licked his lips.
"Damn, that's good."
She nodded.
The restaurant around them wasn't quite full, thanks to the incredibly nasty weather. A violent storm complete with a torrential downpour and a frankly staggering number of lightning strikes had ended half an hour earlier; another cold front was expected, but Nancy thought that one would likely hold off until around midnight, if they were lucky.
Ned considered. They had decided on a movie and a late dinner after, for their date; the rest was entirely open-ended. "I don't know," he replied. "I feel like we'd be pushing our luck if we went anywhere else."
Nancy chuckled and shook her head. "No dancing until the club shuts down?"
Ned snorted. "We'd be lucky if... well, knowing you, the power would go out, someone would be attacked, and that would be it for the night."
Nancy propped her chin on her hand. "We've had wilder dates."
"Much wilder," he agreed. "I have it on good authority that we'll have the house to ourselves tonight, though..."
The warmth in his gaze sent a tingle down Nancy's spine. "Oh," she said with a smile, and even felt her cheeks flush a little.
Ned's smile became a grin. "Oh," he agreed.
This phase of their relationship... she was getting to know who he was, this incredible, devoted man, and what they were together. They were having such fun together, they were drawing so close, and she was almost giddy during the trip home.
They were halfway up the front walk when she heard the distant boom of the next storm, ahead of schedule. "You called it," she told Ned, glancing over at him.
He slid his arm around her shoulders. "If the power goes out, I guess we'll just have to light a fire," he murmured, and Nancy shivered in anticipation again.
The porch light was on, but they stopped there. Nancy's brow furrowed, and she turned toward the window looking into the den.
The light in that room was on, and the television had to be on; the picture was casting shifting colors over the shrubbery nearby.
Nancy turned back to Ned. "Good authority, huh."
Ned scrubbed his palm over his jaw. "Hmm. Maybe we could go neck in the car?"
Nancy had just playfully swiped at him when the sky opened up, and enormous raindrops struck the front walk with almost hostile force.
"That'll set the mood," he continued, and he had to speak louder so she could hear him over the deluge.
"Definitely," she said, rolling her eyes.
The house was warm, aglow, and Nancy relaxed as soon as she was inside. She put her purse down, stepped out of her shoes, and padded toward the den as Ned hung up their coats.
"Good date?"
Nancy nodded, half-smiling. "Everything okay?"
Cole shrugged and scratched his earlobe. In most ways he was Ned's spitting image: same strong jawline, same dark wavy hair, same generous grin. Even his outfit was an Emerson t-shirt and exercise pants. His long-lashed eyes were dark blue, though—and his personality was almost all Nancy's. "Lightning strike at the condo next door," he said. "The firefighters were evacuating everyone."
Nancy's eyes widened. "Was there a fire?"
"At the condo next door," he repeated, then realized. "No, not my building. The next condo building. It seemed prudent to grab my laptop and haul—butt out of there."
Ned's fingertips drifted across the small of Nancy's back as he walked past her, crossing to the couch to give Buster a scratch behind the ears. The boxer's eyes narrowed to happy slits at the affection. "And, while it's always a delight to see my grandson..."
Kate smiled. "Sam's on a business trip," she said. Her long reddish-gold hair was pulled back into a loose French braid, and she wore flannel pants and an oversized t-shirt. With her face scrubbed clean of makeup, she looked so much as she had when she had lived here full-time before college that Nancy's heart hurt, and their daughter shared Ned's temperament, patient and devoted and incredibly kind. "The storm knocked the power out, and poor Buster..."
Nancy nodded, and she and Ned glanced over at each other. "Let me go get changed," she said.
"You look great, Mom," Kate said, and gave her a smile. "I'm glad you two were out on a date and not, y'know, halfway to South America in the cargo hold of some freighter."
Ned laughed. "That's some admirable optimism," he joked, taking Nancy's hand. "Be right back. Cole, is there any ice cream in the freezer?"
"Not anymore," he replied, launching himself off the couch with a delighted chuckle.
Nancy sighed as they closed their bedroom door behind them, but she was smiling. "I hate to admit how quiet it's been without them," she murmured, reaching for the back zipper of her dress. Ned took over, and the caress of his fingertips down her spine made her shiver.
"And I'm sure we'll miss them tomorrow," he said. "I had some... other plans for tonight..."
Nancy raised her eyebrows as she met his gaze in the reflection over the dresser. "Why, I had no idea," she said, all mock innocence as she pulled out a pair of lounge pants.
Ned slid his arms around her and pressed a kiss against the side of her neck. She almost moaned at the feel of his bare skin against her exposed stomach. "I think by now we are experts at anticipation," he murmured, his lips pressed just behind her earlobe.
She rested her arms, her hands, over his, and closed her eyes. "Soup and grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch tomorrow, and I can send some home with them," she said. "Then... raincheck."
"Perfect," Ned declared, then tilted his head to give her a long, sweet kiss. She turned to face him fully, sliding her arms up over his shoulders, and once they broke the kiss he rested his forehead against the top of hers, their eyes closed as they lingered there.
"Mom! Dad! Movie night?"
Ned pulled back slightly to call back, "As long as the power holds out."
Nancy smiled as her husband embraced her again. "Maybe we can 'fall asleep watching a movie'..."
Ned laughed. "You know they sense when we're making out."
Her smile became a grin. "Yeah, well, old times' sake," she replied, giving him another hug before she turned to the dresser again. "Make them remember why they were so eager to get their own places."
He gave her hand a squeeze after she tugged her shirt down and smoothed her hair. "And so eager to hang out with their parents," he pointed out softly. "We're lucky."
"You don't have to remind me," she said, and stood up on her tiptoes to give him one last kiss. "The biggest reminders are downstairs waiting for us."