Autumn and Summer (15 page)

             
“So are you ready to eat?” I asked softly, walking down the few steps off the stage.  I looked over my shoulder and I caught him checking out my ass.  I smiled to myself and just kept walking to the bar. He trailed behind me the entire way and I could feel his eyes on me.

Cli
mbing onto a barstool, I swiveled around to face him. “Are you ready to eat?” I asked, cocking my head to the side as he stopped right in front of me.

             
“What do you have in mind?” Ethan’s voice dropped an octave. The huskiness vibrated through me.

             
“You tell me.” I slowly blinked at him as I held his gaze.

             
Reaching his hands out, Ethan’s fingertips grazed the skin on my arms. The roughness of his fingertips and the gentleness of his touch made everything from the waist down clench tightly.

             
Leaning forward, Ethan’s lips hovered over mine. “How would you feel if I told you I want you for lunch?”

             
“Try it and we’ll see.”

He wrapped his hands into my hair and pulled my face so that our lips were almost touching.
His breath tickled my face as we inhaled and exhaled in time with one another.

Our eyes were locked and I waited to see what he would do.
He tugged my hair back causing our lips to meet momentarily. A little noise escaped me and he took that as permission to suck my bottom lip into his mouth. I was surprised at how good it felt. We both hesitated, sizing each other up while in close proximity before our lips crashed into one another.

Lifting me off of the barstool, he secured my legs around his waist and maneuvered to one of the couches in the back of the bar.
Turning, he dropped down and I landed hard on top of him. Adjusting my legs to straddle him, I slowly rocked back and forth across his lap. Rotating my hips seductively, I started to feel like I would spontaneously combust. I needed a release. My body craved it.

Feeling his hardness underneath me, I was spurred on.
He leaned up and bit at my hard nipples. Running his teeth over the cotton of my shirt, I felt the heat from his mouth so precisely; it was as if his mouth was directly on my nipple. Each nibble had a direct line to every nerve ending in my body. My panties were soaked.

Ethan grabbed my hips and forced me down harder against him. He looked up at me as he rocked my hips on him. The lust turned his brown eyes an even darker shade of brown. His ragged breathing let me know he was desperate to feel my wetness.

I leaned down to kiss him and pulled away at the last second, teasing him. He groaned.

I hovered over his mouth and licked my lips. My tongue just barely
touched his lip before I backed away again.

“Kiss me,” he grunted
, thrusting his hips upward—hard.

“Make me,” I countered softly. My voice was barely audible, but he heard me clearly.

Grabbing my hair, Ethan forced my lips to his. Tangling my fingers in his hair, I moaned into his mouth as his hands explored my body. His fingertips stroked me like an instrument he was dying to play. Under my shirt, his fingers inched their way up my spine slowly and my mind was completely focused on where his fingers were going next. That is, until suddenly everything faded away and all I could see were clear blue eyes looking back at me.

I opened my eyes mid kiss to try to shake the mental image.

Closing my eyes again, I saw those same blue eyes but this time I could see more of him. I saw his perfect face with stubble lining his chiseled jaw.  I saw his full lips and perfect white teeth. His tall, muscular frame with broad shoulders made my heart start pounding in my chest. He was sex personified.

My eyes flew open and I focused on Ethan’s
eyelids and long lashes. 

My eyes fluttered shut and I saw
his full lips kissing all over my body. I saw his large hands cupping my ass and my breasts. I moaned as I imagined pressing myself on top of him, riding him.

Xavier,
I thought abruptly. My eyes flew open and I realized that while I was making out with Ethan, I was fantasizing about Xavier.

Alarmed
, I pulled away from the kiss.

“Where are you going?” Ethan asked, leaning up to reach my mouth with his again.

“Home,” I answered, pushing off of his lap. Fixing my top, I walked over to the bar and grabbed my bag.

Ethan was still sitting on the couch, his eyes wide as he adjusted himself.  “You’re going home? Now?”

“Yes. Thank you for the music lesson.”

“You’re seriously leaving?” He stood up and followed me to the door.

“Yes,” I said, opening the front door of the bar. I turned and waited for him to catch up with me. Placing a hand on his shoulder, I smiled. “Today was nice.”

“I agree.” Ethan ran his hand down the back of my head and gave me a sexy smile. “
Are you sure you have to run off?”

“Yes.”

“But things were just getting started.” He licked his lips suggestively as he pulled me close.

Looking into his eyes, I simply replied, “No.”

The light dimmed in his eyes a bit and I could see the disappointment in his face. “Well, I hope we can get together again sometime.”

I
kissed him chastely on his cheek. “I’m sure we’ll cross paths again soon.”

“I’m not used to this.” He shook his head in disbelief. “Usually I’m the one that leaves them wanting more.”

I winked and then walked across the parking lot. I could feel Ethan watching me and this time I felt dirty. Once I got in my car, I let out a deep breath.

Before walking back into the bar, he waved and
I waved back.  The door closed behind him and I punched my fist against the steering wheel.

“Dammit
,” I muttered under my breath as I drove home. “Perfect. This is just perfect.”

**********

             
This is perfect,
I thought as I pulled a provocative summer dress out of my closet. The green and gold pattern was pretty but the deep V-neck was extremely sexy.
This dress will definitely leave the right impression.

             
I hung the dress on the door frame and then searched for my gold sandals. My phone started ringing and I barely heard it over the slow jams I was playing to get me in the mood.

             
I’m finally going to meet Boris,
I squealed in my head as I danced toward the phone. Seeing ‘Boris’ flash across the screen fanned the flames of a happy warmth inside me.

“Hi!
” I answered the phone as I took a seat on the edge of my bed. “I was just thinking about you.”

“Is it too soon for me to tell you that I think about you all the time?”
Boris responded smoothly.

I put my
hand over my belly as a flurry of butterflies erupted from within. “You are such a sweet talker,” I bubbled happily. “I can’t wait to finally see you work your charm in person. And thank you for the flowers. They are beautiful.”

He let out a short breath and in t
hat hesitation, everything stilled.

“Autumn,” he started
, making me feel uneasy. “I have some bad news about tonight.”

“What’s that?” I asked slowl
y, tucking my leg underneath me. I didn’t want to jump to conclusion but I could feel the heavy cloud of disappointment hovering over me already.

“
Someone in management dropped the ball and I have to be here to fix their mistake. So I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to reschedule our date tonight,” Boris apologized.

The complete and utter letdown I felt was instantaneous, preventing me from speaking
.

“Autumn?”
Boris called gently. “Are you still there?”

Clearing my throat, I
responded, “Yeah, I’m still here.”

We were both quiet for a second before he spoke again. “
From the bottom of my heart, I apologize. Getting to know you this week has been great and I don’t want to mess anything up between us.”

             
I could hear the sincerity in every word and it almost made the situation worse. Forcing my voice to sound normal, but failing, I said, “I’m disappointed, but I get it. I know how important your work is to you.” 

             
“Listen, I’ve been looking forward to seeing you since I heard your voice and asked you out on a date. I will make this up to you.”

Lying
back on the bed, I propped my head up on my pillow. “Okay,” I said despondently. “I guess I should go then.”

It’s less than three hours before
our date and all of a sudden, he calls it off. He said he’s been meticulously planning our date all week, and I’ve been thinking about this date nonstop since our very first conversation. And now it’s off. Maybe he got cold feet about meeting me,
I thought warily.
Maybe it was going too well. Maybe I shouldn’t have gotten my hopes up so high about this one.

“Autumn Rochelle Jones.”

“Yes?”  A small smile played at my lips.
He remembered my middle name,
I noted silently as I recalled that I had only told him my middle name once and it was on the second night we spoke on the phone.  We were talking about a bunch of random things until two o’clock in the morning, and we were both falling asleep on the phone when I mentioned it.

“I
want to meet you. I want to tell you my real name. I want to see the smile I hear in your voice. I want to see your face light up when we talk about our favorite books. I want to see your face when we disagree over movies. I want to see your face,” Boris professed.

A shallow breath escaped me as the butterflies
once again took flight in my chest cavity and he continued, “Every time I hear from you, my day is that much better. When I leave a meeting and see a text message from you or a missed call from you, I forget all the other B.S. that has happened in my crazy day. It’s been a very long time since I met someone who I enjoy hearing from as much as I enjoy hearing from you. We have the same sense of humor. We enjoy the same things. You’re smart and you’re fun and you’re interesting and you’re well-read. And I’m kicking myself for cancelling on you tonight…especially last minute like this. But understand that it’s not because I don’t want to see you. So I
will
make it up to you. You can count on that.”

“Okay,” I
breathed shakily, with hope in my voice. I was unable to control the irregular beating of my heart whenever he turned on the charm.

“
Please say that we’re good.”

“
We’re good,” I replied automatically, placing my hand over my chest to feel the rapid beating of my heart.

“Thank you
,” he sighed, relief evident in his voice.

“
I have to go back to work to deal with this mess. But I’ll talk to you later.”

“Okay, talk to you later.”

              We exchanged goodbyes and I dropped the phone next to my pillow.

             
I understand,
I told myself.
I truly understand. He has worked really hard to create this business and from what I hear, the restaurant business is tough. I get that. And we’ve had conversations about how it’s hard for him to delegate tasks to others. I’m the same way when I come up with a marketing plan. It’s hard for me to work so hard on something and then rely on someone else to present my work. He gets it. And I get it. But I know how to leave my work stuff at work. I wonder if he can.

             
Rolling onto my side, I clutched my pillow and closed my eyes tightly.
I need to get it together. It was only supposed to be one date. One and done. I’ve known this guy for less than a week. I should not be in bed pouting about not seeing him. I need to get up and figure out what I’m going to do with my night,
I thought with a sigh as I continued lying across the bed, pouting.

Would it be against the rules to see if Jordan wanted to hang out tonight? Am I only considering breaking the rules to see Jordan because
Boris broke our date? No, that’s not it. I had fun with Jordan. Admittedly, things definitely got awkward after he dropped that separated-from-his-wife bombshell. But mainly because it generates so many questions in my mind that are probably inappropriate to ask someone you’re just meeting for the first time. But at the same time, he brought it up so my questions would’ve been fair game. But he changed the subject so quickly, it would’ve been weird for me to bring it back up,
I considered and then I shook my head as I let out a noise that was part groan and part cry for help.
The sad song playing in the background fit my mood.

             
I heard the front door slam and I opened my eyes.
I must have fallen asleep,
I thought groggily.

             
“Autumn!” Summer called as she ran up the steps.

             
Before I had the opportunity to open my mouth to respond, she shouted louder. “Autumn!”

             
Bursting into my room, she stopped short. “What are you doing? Don’t you have a date?” she asked with her hands on her hips.

             
“He rescheduled,” I said simply.

             
Her eyebrows drew together quickly. “He rescheduled?”

             
“Yep.” I sat up and folded my legs under me. I was still holding the pillow. “Something came up at work.”

             
She nodded. “We did the photo shoot at his office because his second-in-command wasn’t on time and he didn’t trust him to carry out the event that was going on.” She shrugged before saying, “He’s definitely a hard worker. Like you. And from what I read about him, he’s into some really cool stuff. So once you tear him away from work, I know you two will hit it off.”

“I don’t mind that he works hard. I think it’s sexy that he’s a hard worker. I just hate that our date was cancelled.” I felt my eyes
beginning to burn in frustration.

“Oh Auty,” Summer
soothed, sitting down next to me on the bed.

I shook my head firmly. “I’m just frustrated because
I was literally about to get dressed and he cancelled,” I said, pointing to my dress.

“I
know you’ve been looking forward to meeting him. And he’s been looking forward to meeting you too. I hear you two on the phone. It’s sickeningly cute. Between the calls and the texts, it’s obvious he likes you. He cancelled because he had to, not because he wanted to. I’m sure of it.”

“
I know. We talked about it and I believe him. And he said the sweetest things. I seriously swooned. Whatever you think of when someone swoons, that’s what I did.”

She laughed, “So why the misty eyes?”

“I just—I’ve known him for less than a week. And I shouldn’t be this broken up by a cancelled—”

“Rescheduled,” Su
mmer interjected.

“Rescheduled date.” I looked at her and made a face.
“But I like him,” I whispered conspiratorially.

“
So what’s the problem?”

“I
had a good time with Jordan. Even though I’m freaked out about the separation thing, he’s sweet and we have good physical chemistry. I feel special with him. I feel sparks with him. But Jordan’s still married, so I don’t allow myself to even go there in my mind. But when I got home, I talked to Boris before bed and we have a real connection.  I feel sparks with Boris—over the phone.  If it’s that intense over the phone, I can only imagine what it’s going to be like in person. So here’s the problem, now that Boris has cancelled on me, I was thinking about hanging out with Jordan. And that right there is why dating two guys at the same time is a problem!”

“
Listen, I told you that Boris and Jordan were the cream of the crop. You’ve met and liked Jordan, but he’s separated. You’ve talked to and liked Boris, but he’s a workaholic. You have three dates this week and you may hit it off with one of them too. This is what dating is all about! Just roll with it. It’s okay to be interested in more than one guy.”

Is it
?
I wondered.

             
“I’m sorry,” I apologized, running my hand over my face. “I haven’t had much time to process this so I’m just rambling out loud. You know how I can get.”

“
I know. Just think of it like this…you had fun last night with Jordan.  And you and Boris have been getting to know each other so when you two finally do meet, it’ll be a great date!” Summer smiled and winked. “And when you see him…mmm mmm mmm…let me tell you, he is worth the wait!”

             
I tried to smile, but I didn’t have it in me. Groaning, I shook my head back and forth. “Between you practically drooling over what he looks like and him saying things like ‘I want to see the smile I hear in your voice,’ I’m going to have a heart attack.”

             
“He said that? Yeah, like I said, sickeningly cute.” She rolled her eyes. “So what are you going to do tonight now that you’re free?”

             
“I don’t really feel like doing anything anymore. I guess I’ll just stay in and read.”

             
“No ma’am. Not happening,” Summer pronounced loudly, pulling me off the bed. “You are not going to sit in the house and dissect every conversation you’ve had with Boris and the date with Jordan. I walk in here and you’re sulking about a cancelled date with a man who clearly likes you, so I can only imagine what you’ll be like if I leave you here tonight.”

             
I sighed dramatically.
She’s right. If I stay in, I’m just going to think about Boris and our cancelled date. And Jordan and our great date…and his not quite ex-wife. Summer knows me too well,
I considered before sighing again.

             
“What do you have in mind?” I conceded.

             
“I was talking to Tatiana on the way home and we’re on the list to get into Dirty Dozen tonight! And they have a surprise celebrity guest!” Summer exclaimed.

             
“Who?” I asked curiously, mentally figuring out what to wear to one of the most popular nightclubs in Washington DC.

             
“I don’t know, but I’m bringing my camera.”

             
“Don’t do that. You’ll be just like the paparazzi if you do that,” I warned her, crossing my arms over my chest.

             
“I wouldn’t sell it. I would make it into art and send it to them. Once I get one high-profile client, the next will roll in. Next thing you know, my freelance photographer days will be booked with red-eye flights to tropical locations because some socialite and an esteemed actor decided they can’t live without each other and they want me to take the pictures of their wedding.”