Love Kinection (5 page)

Chapter Four

Even on my tiptoes, I couldn’t reach his mouth so I settled for the side of his neck.

“You call that a kiss?”

“Well, it’s not like you were helping at all, mister. You could lean down a bit, you know. I think your head is somewhere in the upper ionosphere.”

“All you had to do was ask.”

He leaned over until our eyes were level. I sucked in a quick breath to calm the butterflies in my stomach. The nice crisp smell that clung to him filled my lungs. Maybe he had magic deodorant. “Close your eyes.” Tom obliged and closed his eyes. I ran my thumb over his lower lip, forefinger over his eyebrows. “Promise to try to not hurt me.”

“I promise.” The words came out as a gruff whisper.

Rough stubble filled my palm when I laid my hand on his face and brought my mouth to his with the barest pressure. He gave me the same back, a touch of skin, and our exhalations mingled together under our noses. It made me bolder, less afraid.

I got closer and took his upper lip between my own, then went back to the lower. Sucked it into my mouth and ran my tongue over it. His hand came to the back of my neck and buried itself in my hair but he kept the other one at my waist and let me take the lead.

The warm solid weight of his chest under my hands felt nice, but I smoothed them over it until they met behind his neck and my fingers buried in the soft short hair on the back of his head. He wore it longer on top and sort of messy. When I deepened the kiss, he groaned, and I felt his erection jump between our bodies. The press of his rigid flesh made me satisfied in a purely feminine way. The knowledge of the effect I had on him brought a higher level of boldness.

I pulled his hair and became more aggressive until he met the sweep of my tongue with his own and his hand cupped my breast. He opened his eyes and broke away with a frustrated snort.

“I really hate these things.”

“What things?”

“Sports bras.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle at the irritation in his voice. The stubble on his jaw grazed my lips when I nibbled my way over to his ear.

“You’re a good kisser for a nerd.”

“Right back at ya, babe.” He gave me a peck on the nose and stepped back. “We better stop this.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re not ready. And I want to hang out with you, get to know you better. I’m not twenty-five anymore, Abby.” He blew out a breath and shook his head. “I can’t believe I’m doing this.”

“So you don’t want to have wild monkey sex with me?” I teased.

“I do. A lot. But it would be a mistake. Let’s dance.”

“All right.” A flicker of disappointment lit in my chest. The display on the wall clock read twelve-thirty. “Hey, look at that. Valentine’s Day is over.”

“Yep.” He started the game. “Thanks for being my date.”

“Thanks for being mine. Maybe next year we can do it again.”

“Maybe.”

He hit the start button, and we got busy. He proved to be a great dancer. By the time we finished, we were both sweaty and hungry again. Three a.m., and I wanted to root around for leftover Chinese.

“Okay, so that was way funner than I would have thought.”

“Told you—you can trust me.” He followed me into the kitchen. “What are you looking for?”

“I’m hungry. I want to heat up the leftovers. Want some?”

“Sure.” His shirt stuck to his back in some places. I tried not think about him taking it off and failed. I wanted to see the body under there. If he had chest hair or a happy trail, if he was as buff as he felt.

“I think I’m going to take a shower after this.” I held my hair up off my neck. “You can, too, if you want. After me, I mean.”

“Damn. I was hoping for an invite.”

“Maybe next time. Otherwise we might get into that whole wild monkey sex thing you didn’t want to do tonight.” I shoved a few food boxes at him and grinned.

He bent over the fridge door and caught me in a quick kiss he ended with the tease of his teeth scraping my lower lip. “That may have been a dumb decision to make. I’m starting to wonder if I’m stupid or just plain nuts.”

“Yeah, I’m dead sexy in my pajama bottoms, nerd shirt, and sports bra.” I scraped the leftovers out onto two plates and put one in the microwave. Hit the reheat button and licked the spoon. “What?”

He lounged against the counter with his arms folded, eyes hooded. “You ever seen
Nine ½ Weeks
? The whole thing in the kitchen with the food?”

I swallowed hard, remembering the incredibly sexy scene, the sensual food play between the two lovers.

“Unfortunately I don’t have the white shirt to wear.” Strong fingers gripped the counter hard enough for his knuckles to turn white, and he shifted his hips. “I might have a Princess Leia costume somewhere though.”

It may have been the wrong joke to make. Or the right one. He came off the counter and backed me into the opposite one before he picked me up and set me on it, captured my lips in a bruising kiss that stole my breath. I responded back hard, demanding; grabbing his butt and wrapping my legs around his waist. He ran his hand up the outside of my thigh with a rough squeeze.

When he got around to caressing my breasts and encountered my sports bra, he groaned in frustration.

“Well, you did promise to behave.” He still smelled good even covered in sweat. Maybe he’s really an alien. Who smells good after dancing for hours?

“I think I was under the influence of temporary insanity. I really wish you’d take this thing off.”

“I don’t think I should. It seems to be all that is protecting my maidenly virtue. Plus I’m really sweaty.”

“I don’t care.” He nipped at the front and side of my neck with his teeth, tongue tracing the bites until he’d made his way to the other side and my ear lobe.

“I might hurt you, you know. You could end up being my rebound man.” He yanked my hips tighter against his, and I gasped at the pressure from the front of his jeans.

“I doubt it. I’m the real thing, baby.”

“I’ve heard that line before. You’re a gorgeous man. Not to be trusted.”

He leaned back and gave me an aggravated look before unhooking my legs.

“I’m not him. I’m not Charlie. You deserve better than him.” He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. “Look, I’m going home. I shouldn’t have stayed so late anyway.”

I stared at my lap for a minute and then hopped down. I felt like such an ass. Why’d I throw that at him? He disconnected the game console and loaded it all into the box he’d brought over. His change of mood had happened so fast, I wasn’t even sure how to roll with it.

“I didn’t mean to offend you. This is the most fun I’ve had in a really long time.”

“I know. I just wish you’d decide to move on with your life. Why give that asshole even one more second of your time?” Old pain filled his eyes when he looked at me, and I wrapped my arms around my waist and hugged my elbows. He closed the flaps on the box and put his shoes on before he came over and gave me a kiss on the cheek. “Call me when you’re ready for another date. I don’t know why you even let Courtney have your phone number.”

“I didn’t. My mother gave it to her. She wants us to work things out.”

He shook his head and stepped out the door. My little porch light put most of his face in shadow. I wanted to go over to him and pull him back inside, but fear kept me in the light.

“I was engaged, too, once. She left me before the wedding. It took me awhile to realize how messed up my life would have been if I’d married her. I’m grateful she left me. Charlie didn’t do things the right way, but you should be happy you didn’t end up married to him. He doesn’t deserve you.”

A tear slid down my cheek, and I wondered how the evening had ended up this way. The pain that had been in place for the last year was still there, but pale next to the new hurt and confusion I felt right now. I’d let my fear push him away. This might cost me more than some hot and sweaty sex with the first guy I’d been interested in.

“Please stay. Stay with me.” The words sounded pathetic and pleading but I let them out anyway.

“I can’t, Abby. Not tonight. I want more with you than a one-nighter. I’ll see you later.”

The door closed behind him, and he left.

I wandered down the hall and stripped out of my clothes, left them in a pile on the floor. Putting them in the hamper didn’t seem very important. By the time I got into bed, it was four a.m. I thought for sure I would be awake for hours, but I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. 

Chapter Five

When I woke up, both hands on my alarm clock pointed straight up. Noon. Hello Kitty’s cheerful smile and red bow seemed garish and annoyed me so I turned her around to face the wall. The empty side of my bed made me sad so I got up quickly and tried not to look at the smooth expanse of the comforter. I didn’t need another reminder I’m alone. Normally on a Saturday, exercise and grocery shopping would already be done but I’d overslept and thrown off my routine.

The leftover wine went down the drain, and I decided not to replace it. The more I wallowed in ice cream and wine, the wider my ass would grow. Although it hadn’t seemed to bother Tom. It only took me a few minutes to get rid of the food I’d left out, and all evidence of the night disappeared. Its absence left a hollow in the pit of my stomach, and after I loaded the dishwasher, I stood in the kitchen, lost. I wasn’t ready to examine the reasons I felt so bereft, so I put my hair up and decided to go to the store.

It took a while to make it through the terrifying maze of Saturday shoppers at Legacy Village to get to the Giant Eagle grocery store in the back side of the complex. I could have driven fifteen minutes out of the way to get to the one on Mayfield Road. However, this store is closer to home and nicer, too.

My Spidey-sense tingled when I hit the deli counter. A quick glance to the left revealed my mother headed my way with a mixture of concern and happiness on her face. I wondered how she felt about my sister’s nuptials yesterday. The day that one year ago I’d been abandoned in the back of a church while Courtney and Charlie had headed off for a week in Mexico together. Instead of the usual flamethrower of pain I expected to pop up, I got a dull ache. Tom had been right about so many things. He’d probably never let me live it down.

“Hi, honey.”

“Hey, Mom.”

She shuffled her feet and gestured to the glass enclosure. “They have baby Swiss on sale.”

“It’s okay, Mom. Courtney was nice enough to send me another text.” My sister is six years younger than me and spoiled. And maybe also a sociopath.

“Oh. Honey, I’m sorry.” She reached over and took my hand. “I wish she hadn’t done that. Your sister doesn’t think sometimes.”

“Sometimes? Like, when has she ever thought about anyone but herself, Mom? She went on my honeymoon with my fiancé.” I said the words low and under my breath so all the people around me wouldn’t hear. Her lame apology infuriated me. “How can you make excuses for her behavior?”

“I’m not. Abby, I don’t like that she married him at all. He’s not good enough for her. For either of you. But you’ve got to stop fighting over Charlie.”

“I’m not fighting over him, Mother. He was my fiancé, and she took off with him. On my wedding day. And then you made me sit through Thanksgiving with them. I don’t know, Mom, what do you think your reaction would be? If you were in my shoes?”

The girl behind the counter glanced back and forth between us, her eyes huge and round. She looked as if she wanted to call security. I might have been louder than I realized.

“I want you two to make up. I want my family to be together. You really shouldn’t have dumped green bean casserole on him. He could have been horribly burned.”

As if that mattered
.

“Then maybe you should have raised Courtney to be a better human being.” I turned to the deli employee. “Can I please have a pound of the baby Swiss and a pound of Cajun turkey?” She nodded and ran away toward the slicer.

“I know. She’s spoiled and indulgent and a completely rotten little witch sometimes. I didn’t know how to react. To the whole...wedding. I really didn’t think she and Charlie would do something like that.” Her hand moved around in the air beside her head when she said “like that,” as if brides were left at the altar every day because grooms ran off with their future sisters-in-law. “Running away on the day of your wedding.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” I took the packages from the deli counter and tossed them into the cart. “I’m changing my phone number today so I won’t be getting any more informative texts. And I won’t be giving you the number either. I don’t need any more of your ‘help’ with my relationship with her. I don’t even care all that much about her and Charlie. But I won’t have her try to rub my face in it. I don’t know what she thinks she’s up to, but it needs to stop.”

My mother followed me toward the meat counters in the back. “Bobby Jones. That’s what she’s up to.”

“Bobby Jones? My high school boyfriend?”

“Well, don’t you remember what a crush she had on him? She always felt like you stole him from her.”

“Mom. She was twelve. He was eighteen. She didn’t have a snowball’s chance.”

“Well, she thought she did. She never forgave you for going out with him. Courtney had a prom dress all picked out and everything.” Her cart came to a stop next to mine. She put one hand on my elbow, and I turned to face her. She is my mom, after all. “Maybe she and Charlie are really in love.”

Doubt filled her eyes and I snorted. All aboard the self-delusion train.

“Look, I don’t care what she thought she needed to get even for. You can’t expect me to be okay with whatever game she thinks she’s playing. I loved him. I wanted babies with him.” I grabbed a package of chicken leg quarters and stacked them in the bottom of the cart away from my deli stuff.

“Well, I know but isn’t it better you found out before you actually got married?”

The statement brought me to a halt, and I stared at my mother. She had known before the wedding.