Come Fly With Me

Sparkle smiled at Trent and took a step toward him. "You know, between the fires and the CPR, you're right. We didn't have that much time to talk..."

One side of his mouth hitched up into a shy smile as Trent put his hands in his pockets.

Xavier clapped his hands together and smiled at Sparkle. "Maybe I'll see you around some other time."

Sparkle gave him a regretful smile before watching him walk away. She would've let her eyes stay glued to back until he got to his car but that would've been rude to Trent. She turned to face him. "Do you mind if I change really quick before we go?"

"No problem. I'll wait down here for you."

"I'll be two seconds," she said before dashing inside. Sparkle nearly skidded to a halt when she realized her friends had had their noses pressed up against the window, watching the whole scene unfold. "Wow, really guys?"

Winnie ran her fingers through her brownish reddish hair and tried to look innocent and Ramon was picking imaginary lint from his trousers. Brandon and Kelly could hardly keep their composure, unsuccessfully hiding their laughter behind their hands.

She put her hand on her hip. "I'm going to have dinner with Trent so you'll be without me this evening."

"Oh," Brandon said, glancing around the lobby. "Is Trent here? I must've missed him..."

Sparkle let her stern expression ease into a hearty laugh. The group ventured toward the elevators and everyone wished Sparkle luck as she headed off to her room. Once inside, she ditched her green pants, the blouse, and the blazer before washing up in the sink. Once refreshed, she opted for a comfy but cute short-sleeved knit dress that covered her knees and a pair of white Keds. She pulled her denim jacket from the closet and draped it over her arm as she left her room. Trent was waiting patiently on the bench outside the hotel's main entrance.

He stood and smiled at her. "You look great."

She chuckled. "Thank you."

Trent guided her towards his car. "Do you have a taste for anything in particular?"

She slid into the passenger seat when he held the door open for her and thought about it as he walked to the driver's side. He opened the door and in a swift motion, the button down shirt he'd had on for their training was off and tossed into the backseat. He had a gray t-shirt underneath that went way better with the dark wash jeans he'd been wearing. "Whatever you want is fine. I just know I'd like a stiff drink."

He smiled as he started up the car. "A stiff drink huh? I know just the place."

"Sounds good."

Trent drove expertly through the streets of Long Island City and Sparkle tried not to stare at his profile. He was incredibly handsome and, somehow, the darkness of his hair and beard against his pale skin gave him a seductive and alluring look. Although Sparkle was half white and witnessed firsthand how well her dad treated her mom, she'd never actually dated a white man before. She didn't know what exactly to expect but his new chapter in her life called for new and exciting adventures and she was ready to find out.

It took about ten minutes for Trent to find a parking spot and it was five short blocks away from their destination. Sparkle racked her brain for something intelligent or witty to say but she could only think about how soft Trent's hair looked.

"Here we are," he said, stopping abruptly to open the door to a restaurant right beside a laundromat. Inside, the place was decked out in decorations from floor to ceiling and it was packed. The wooden tables were set up in a way that catered more to large groups than to couples but Trent seemed to know the host and they were seated at the booth in the far corner.

Sparkle opened her mouth to finally say something but a waitress appeared beside their table and placed two cups of water and utensils down. "Hello you gorgeous people. I'm Jamie and I'll be your server today. Can I start you off with something to drink?"

Trent looked at Sparkle. "You wanted something strong right?"

She nodded and the waitress smiled. "Then you'll want a pitcher of our house-made sangria. It's our most popular summer drink."

"You'll share it with me?" Sparkle asked Trent.

"Of course." He looked up at Jamie. "We'll do a pitcher of the sangria."

"Coming right up. I'll give you a minute to look over the menu and be right back."

Sparkle smiled at the bubbly waitress walked away and eyed the laminated menu. "So, what's good here?"

"Most everything, really," Trent said. "I usually go for the burger, though. The one with jalapenos and sriracha."

She nodded thoughtfully. "Well... being a Georgia peach and all, I think it's only right for me to get the chicken and waffles."

Trent's dark eyebrows rose slightly. "A Georgia peach? That explains it..."

Sparkle set her menu aside. "Explains what?"

"Why you seem so sweet," he mumbled as he brought the cup of water to his lips.

She smiled and was about to tease him by pretending she didn't and asking him to repeat himself but Jamie came back with their pitcher and two empty mason jars to use as cups. Trent poured them each a glass. Sparkle took a sip and was pleasantly surprised at the sweet and crisp taste of the wine.

From then on, conversation went smoothly. Sparkle learned that Trent was born and raised in New York City but to German parents, which may have been why his Yankee accent wasn't too thick. According to him, though, Sparkle had a crazy thick southern accent that he found adorable. It turned out that Trent was the only child his parents had before their divorce but he now had a sibling nearly ten years younger from both of their new unions. He assured her that having siblings isn't really all it's cracked up to be when she mentioned that she'd always wanted a younger brother or sister.

The bottom of their pitcher came faster than Sparkle realized and even though she was really enjoying Trent's company and learning more about him, she knew she needed to get some rest for training the next day.

"I wish I was off tomorrow so we could grab another round of drinks," she said with a pout.

Trent laughed. "It's alright. I have my shift at the firehouse tomorrow anyway so I should get going too."

Jamie saw Trent's quick wave and sauntered over. "Can I get you guys anything else?"

"Just the check, please," he said.

"Sure thing. Will it be together or separate?"

"Separate," Sparkle said at the exact same moment Trent had said "Together."

He looked at her with amusement in his toffee colored eyes. "You know this is a date, right?"

Sparkle put her hands in her lap. "I mean... I didn't want to assume."

"Together, please," Trent told Jamie and she nodded.

Much sooner than anticipated, Trent had pulled back into the hotel's front parking lot. Sparkle noticed he put the car in park but left the engine running. She ran her fingers through her hair and looked over at her dark haired date to find his gaze was already on her. She nearly blushed from the intensity of the silence between them.

"Has anyone ever told you that you're a very intense person?" she asked.

"All the time."

Sparkle smiled again for what seemed like the millionth time since they left the hotel a few hours ago. Something about Trent made her lose her words but made her want the night to go on at the same time. Knowing that it couldn't, she settled for a curt nod. "I hope we can do this again soon."

"Me, too."

Sparkle opened the car door and shut it behind her. The cool air of the hotel's lobby tousled her curls when the automatic doors opened for her. She was hardly three steps inside before she heard Trent call out her name behind her. She turned around, a wry and surprised look on her youthful face.

"I..." his hand opened and closed as he searched for the right words to say. "I, um... The thing is that I wanted to kiss you a minute ago and I didn't and I'm not sure if you'll actually call me after this so I couldn't let you walk away without at least asking..."

Sparkle blinked. Even after their conversation over dinner, she wouldn't have guessed that Trent was the rambling type. It was touching, though, to finally see that he was as nervous as she was. She took a step toward him and put a hand on his arm. "Kiss me."

With one hand around her waist, and the other threaded into her hair, Trent pulled Sparkle close and leaned his head to the side. She closed the five or six-inch height difference between them by rising up on her tippy toes before pressing her full lips against his thinner ones. A wave of desired seemed to pass from Trent to Sparkle once their tongues got involved and it was all Sparkle could do to keep the warm and moist feeling between her legs from growing. She pulled away first and Trent looked at her with a hungry expression on his face before realizing that the few people in the hotel lobby were staring.

He ran his hand over his beard self-consciously. "We should do that again," he said quietly. "But maybe with less people around."

"I agree."

They took half steps away from each other but kept their gazes locked.

"I'll call you," Sparkle said with a goofy grin on her freshly kissed lips.

"I'll be waiting," Trent replied.

Sparkle gave him one more smiled before turning and heading toward the elevators. She got up to her room and locked the dead bolt behind her. Fully clothed, she flopped onto her bed and stared up at the ceiling.

Whoa.