Lush (8 page)

Aw Fuck.
His
X-rated thoughts were probably written all over his face.

Reaching out without
breaking eye contact she snatched up her helmet and tried it on.
“Fits fine,” she said stiffly, and flipped down the visor.

“Jacket too,” he said
sweetly, handing it to her.

Without so much as a
thanks she put on the jacket and zipped it up then waited for him
to get on the bike. Not a simple matter when you didn’t want to
draw attention to a raging hard-on that was pleading to be
readjusted.

“Just a sec,” he
mumbled with a pained smile, turning away from her to put on his
own helmet and surreptitiously rearrange his junk. As soon as the
pressure was relieved he mounted his bike. “Right. Let’s go.”

She used his shoulder
as leverage and climbed on, her legs hugging him securely as she
settled. However she did not press up against him, as he now
realised he’d hoped she would. To add insult to injury she slipped
her hands behind her and held onto the back bar.

“You comfortable?” he
asked with pretended nonchalance. The feel of her inner thighs
hugging him was making him harder. Their jeans did nothing to
shield him from her heat. Heat he longed to feel without the
barriers of denim.

“Very. Let’s go.”

At first he simply went
with the traffic but it got a little congested so he decided to
take an alternate route. It was longer but he’d be able to pick up
some speed. When he started weaving through the cars Julia placed
her hands on his sides and eventually moved up against him. It felt
fucking incredible. Her front pressing into his back was heavenly
torture and he wished that neither of them had thought to wear
jackets. Her body heat would have felt amazing coupled the feel of
the wind on his skin.

Next time, he promised
himself.

*

Julia couldn’t stop
herself from bolting off the bike the moment Michael parked it at
the stadium. Being so close to him had played havoc with her
hormones. More than once she’d needed to remind her hands not to
sneak under his jacket and over the ridges of his abdominal
muscles. Not to wander under the fabric of his t-shirt for a better
and more complete feel. The man was built. Oh Lord was he built.
She’d been unable not to construct what she knew was an accurate
visual when his muscles bunched and stretched through the worn
leather of his jacket as he effortlessly manoeuvred the bike.
Feeling both Michael and the machine between her legs had turned
her on like nothing else.

“Come on,” he said,
taking her hand and setting off fireworks in her belly. “You want
some popcorn and a drink?”

“Yeah sure,” she
managed with a strained smile. “Small, tub with double butter and
chives & cheese seasoning, and a beer.”

He gave her a scorching
look. “Woman, you are dangerously close to making me fall in love
with you.”

In love with
her...
Yes please. Wait. NO!

She’d believed it was a
possibility once, but he’d proven her wrong. She would absolutely
not allow herself to hope for the impossible this time around. No
way. She was older and wiser now, and damned if she’d let herself
forget the harsh lessons Mike had taught her about getting carried
away by naïve fantasies.

Rather than show him
how his words affected her she gave him what she hoped looked like
an amused grin. She was going to play things cool. They were
friends now. Just friends.

“Because I like beer
when I’m watching a ball game? You’re too easy, Winthrop.” Yeah,
she was playing ignorant too, but she couldn’t dare encourage him.
He would eat her alive if she did.
Mmm,
eat her alive... now
there was a thought. Shit! She had to get it together before she
did something stupid. She yet again reminded herself that she and
Mike were just friends. With no benefits.

“Well that too. But I
was referring to the popcorn. That’s how I like mine. Remember how
we were only allowed plain-salted as kids because your dad was
worried about the potential adverse effects of artificial
flavourings?”

“Yeah I remember. Those
were tough times. You’d better get your own popcorn. I’m not
sharing.”

“Not even if I order an
extra large one?” he asked with big, innocent eyes.

She laughed softy,
fighting to keep her composure. “Nope. Not even then.”

By the time they took
their seats, the stadium was alive with pregame energy, but all
Julia could focus on was the nervous energy turning her insides
into one big knot. Michael was clearly trying to be sociable and
engaging, but all she could think about was how good he smelt —
soap and leather — and how well he wore his well-worn Levis.

So much for just
friends. She was a hormone fuelled lunatic and her brain was
turning into mush.

Thankfully when Michael
turned the conversation to the upcoming game she finally found
herself begin to relax. Even hormones had to take a backseat to
baseball.

They both still
supported the Yankee’s even though he now had a soft spot for the
LA Dodgers whereas she had always dedicated her second spot to the
Mets. They argued about which All-Star team would win and placed a
wager. She was behind the American League and he was backing the
National League. She felt pretty confident about her choice.
Although both sides were equally matched in many aspects, her team
had Davis starting the game and Rivera on board as the likeliest
closer. Rivera was looking good despite the knee injury he’d
suffered early in the previous season. He was cool under pressure
and a great strategist. Plus the fact that this was his final
season would no doubt motivate him to give his all and then
some.

“So what are the
stakes?” Michael queried just as Davis took position after the
opening ball. “I’m up for anything within reason.”

She didn’t even have to
think about what she wanted. “I get to ride your bike back home and
you get to hold on like a girl. She purrs like a kitten and I’m
eager to feel how she performs under my control.”

“Jules, I don’t know.
She’s very light on the clutch and she responds with a surge of
power.”

“Then I guess you’d
better hold on tight. What do you want in the unlikely event that
you win?”

He laughed, as if his
victory was a sure thing. “I’ll tell you after I win.”

“No, now.” There was no
way she’d let him blindside her now that they were safely ensconced
in the friend zone.

“Fine. If I win we have
a completely honest talk. You answer any questions I ask and I’ll
do the same.”

“Seriously? Of all the
things you could ask for you want to talk?”

Rubbing the back of his
neck as though he was relieving tension he broke eye contact and
looked over the field. “What I really want is you in my bed, but I
somehow don’t think you’d agree to that.”

For just a second those
pesky hormones reared their evil heads and started a full-body
happy dance, but she locked them down. Higher thinking was back in
control and it was back to stay. She’d put both her base instincts
and Mike in their place.

With that in mind she
leaned into him she whispered, “Maybe I would.”

His eyes were back on
her in a heartbeat. “Really?”

“Hell no!” This time
she laughed openly.

“You are a cruel
woman,” he grumbled.

“Actually I’m a smart
woman. Back to our wager: When and where will this talk take place,
should you win, that is?”

He turned back to the
game. “Tonight, after we’re done here. You can pick the place,
provided it’s quiet and lends itself to talking.”

“What if I want to go
out and celebrate after my victory?”

“Then you better hope
you win, babe.”

***

The game was
nail-biting in places but Michael realised as the fifth inning
completed that Julia was going to win their bet. The score was
sitting at two - nil and chances were pretty much non-existent that
the National League would come through. The American league was
determined to shut them out.

As the KissCam theme
blared over the speakers Julia shouted, “I’m
soo
going to
love taking you on a ride, pretty girl. Can’t wait to show you what
your bike can really do.”

“Down Tiger, game’s not
over yet. And for God sake, show a little graceful
sportsmanship.”

“Ooh someone’s a sore
loser.”

He couldn’t help but
grin as she elbowed him in the ribs. “And you’re a bad winner.”

Suddenly the Kiss Cam
was on them and the crowed was starting to chant. Julia looked up
at the screen then directly at the camera and shouted, “Hell
no!”

He turned directly to
the camera and mouthed, “Game on.” Then pulling Julia to her feet
he dipped her and planted a big, long smacker on her lips. It
wasn’t supposed to be anything more than a joke, but his insides
caught fire and his whole body screamed for more. She tasted like
beer, butter and chives, but so did he. The kicker was that she
tasted like something else too. It was the flavour of nostalgia. A
ten-year-old dream that as only sweeter because of its
endurance.

He still loved Julia,
maybe even more than before.

It was only because he
could now see it clearly, and where it would lead if he played his
cards right, that he released her with a satisfied laugh.

The crowd cheered and
she stared up at him, looking totally unbalanced. But there was
also awareness in her eyes. The awareness that there was a
chemistry and history between them that wasn’t going to be denied
this time. This time they would follow it and see where it took
them.

As the camera moved on
she pulled him back down and hissed, “You are such an ass.”

Yeah, he was, but he
was her ass if she would have him.

Feeling lighter and
more hopeful than he’d ever felt in his life he gave her a playful
elbow bump and whispered, “Don’t pretend you did not enjoy that
taste of butter as much as I did.”

In response she grabbed
his popcorn and started munching away. He didn’t mind in the least.
He’d stopped snacking on it when he realised that she’d finished
her own container.

When Mariano Rivera
came onto the field at the bottom of the eighth, an inning earlier
than expected, Michael couldn’t help but cheer. So what if he
wasn’t backing the American League tonight. Rivera was a legend and
he deserved tribute. Every single All-Star stayed back so that he
could have his moment, it was something special. This was one of
the crowning highlights of the game even if it wasn’t active
play.

Julia, who was cheering
and clapping as wildly as he was, swiped a tear form her eye when
they took their seats and whispered, “This is the true magic of
baseball, witnessing a moment like this with someone who get’s why
it’s monumental. Thank you so much for bringing me.” She took his
hand and gave it a squeeze.

Michael was so thrown
by her sweet words that he battled to focus as Rivera further
decimated the National league with a series of spectacular
cutters.

Not even when Prince
Fielder roused the stadium with his leadoff triple did he manage to
get his head fully back in the game.

He was dying to tell
Julia how he felt, and it took all he had not to blurt out his
feelings after the game ended and fireworks erupted in the night
sky. It was even more of a battle when she laced her fingers though
his and said, “Time for me to savour my victory. Let’s go.”

God almighty
,
Michael thought as Julia straddled his bike and winked at him. She
looked damned fine on there and he was going to get to sit behind
her and wrap his arms around her. He wasn’t even nervous about her
handling the machine. She’d always been a natural and he knew she
would adjust to his bike just fine. Besides, any woman who could
control a superbike would manage a midrange sport bike just fine.
So yeah, even though he had lost the bet he was winning the grand
prize. There was nothing he wanted more than to have an excuse to
hold the girl he’d loved fearfully as a boy, the woman now loved
completely as a man.

“Hop on, sweetheart,”
she said just before she brought her helmet over her head.

He climbed on behind
her and held back, placing his hands on the rear bar as she had.
Though it took more willpower than he would ever admit, he even
kept some distance between their bodies so that she could focus on
the road. Pity it didn’t shield him from the feel of her ass
between his legs. The contact was making him want to feel the rest
of her. Take his place inside her body. Ask for a place inside her
heart.

Just a few minutes into
the ride he gave up the physical part of his fight and eased into
Julia’s back. He even reached under her jacket and ran his fingers
over the smooth skin on her abdomen. Now and then he brushed over
the belly ring and felt her muscles tense in response. Yes, it was
stupid and dangerous considering that she needed to focus on riding
the bike, but he couldn’t help himself.

He was so lost in the
sensations and sweet torture of slowly exploring those few inches
of her skin that he didn’t realise where she was taking him until
she pulled into the underground parking at her apartment
building.

She came to stop in
what was obviously her own designated parking area and knocked her
helmeted head against his own even as she flipped up her visor so
that he could hear her say, “I think we need to have that talk you
wanted. Now get your fucking hands off me and get off so that I can
dismount before I drop your damned bike.” Her voice was stony at
best. She was pissed off.

He wasn’t worried. She
just needed some time to get on the same page he was on and realise
that they were finally at the perfect place in their lives to be
together.