The Back-Up Plan (11 page)

Laura leaned over to her after an hour or so and asked how things were going with Matthew.

Jason was sitting across the circle, joking around with Nick and Bryan. She didn’t think he’d heard the question, but even so, she kept her voice quiet as she responded.

“They’re going great.”

“I’ve noticed he’s spending a lot of time at your townhouse lately. Have you met his daughters yet?”

Kristen nodded. “Yeah. Just last night actually. It’s his weekend with the kids, so we took them out for dinner. They’re really sweet girls. So well-behaved and polite.”

“Must be getting serious if he’s introduced you to his kids.”

Kristen wasn’t sure how to reply to that. She’d sort of had the same thought—fear, actually—herself, but she’d agreed to the dinner because it made sense. She’d set the parameters for her ideal man at New Year’s and Matthew fit the bill one hundred percent. They had a fantastic time together. He was charming and kind. They had similar personalities, the same work ethics and interests. It was no hardship spending time with him and she’d actually been grateful for his presence the past few weeks because he helped take her mind off Jason.

She glanced over at Jason, glad to see he wasn’t eavesdropping on her conversation. At some point, she needed to make him understand that whatever this was between them wasn’t sensible.

Unfortunately she couldn’t say those words until she believed them herself.

Laura leaned closer. “I have to admit I didn’t think you’d be able to find a serious husband candidate by your birthday, but it looks like, in typical super-successful Kristen fashion, you’ve done just that. Well done, you.”

Kristen forced herself to smile, though she wasn’t feeling very clever right now. Laura excused herself when Bryan asked if she wanted a sandwich from the cooler. Kristen watched her friend walk over to her new boyfriend, pleased that at least one of them appeared to be finding their second chance at happiness.

Jason stood and claimed Laura’s empty chair when Nick and Georgie decided to walk around the parking lot to check out the other wild tailgating set-ups.

“So you met the kids last night? Things must be getting pretty hot and heavy between you and Tom Selleck.”

Kristen gave him a dirty look. How the hell had he heard that while carrying on his own conversation?

He’d taken to calling Matthew Tom Selleck shortly after she and the doctor started going out more frequently. The nickname was apt and funny—and not at all insulting because Tom Selleck was way sexy in her mind—but she pretended to be annoyed about it anyway.

She didn’t want to talk to Jason about Matthew, so she tried to change the subject. “Oh yeah. Hot and heavy, that’s us. Hey. I thought Monica was coming to this concert with you.”

He shrugged. “Don’t think Monica and I are going to work out.”

“Oh,” Kristen feigned disappointment, though his admission had her stomach doing flip-flops of joy. She didn’t want to acknowledge what that meant. While Jason and her trainer hadn’t started seriously dating, they had gone out on occasion, either for dinner or hiking. Every time Monica told her about their dates, Kristen had to beat down the uncharacteristic jealousy that crept in. “That’s a shame. I thought the two of you were well-suited.”

“She doesn’t like Buffett. Said all his songs sound the same.”

Kristen laughed. “You didn’t break things off with her over Jimmy Buffett, did you?”

He shook his head. “No. Actually, she was the one who suggested we call it quits.”

Kristen was surprised. “Really? I thought she liked you.”

He lifted one shoulder casually. “Yeah. I think that was the problem. She said it didn’t make sense for her to fall for a guy who was pretty obviously into someone else.”

His words ran over Kristen like a two-ton truck. “Someone else?”

He gave her a crooked grin. “Guess I’m not as good at hiding my feelings as you are.”

She studied his expression. Though his words were spoken lightly, there was definite pain in his eyes. Crap. Had she done that? “I haven’t slept with Matthew.”

She had no idea where those words had come from, but she hated thinking she’d hurt Jason even for a second. She wasn’t the type of woman to use one man to make another jealous and she’d never meant to put Matthew and Jason in competition for her affections. Suddenly she was feeling cold and cruel.

“Why not?”

She struggled for an explanation, but once again, her gift for words fell short. “He’s a nice guy.”

“And that’s a non-answer. Why aren’t you sleeping with him, Kris?”

Jason was the only person in the world who’d ever called her Kris. The nickname had never seemed to occur to anyone before him. She supposed people didn’t view her that way. Kristen was professional, older, more mature. Kris always made her feel like a young girl, someone who’d toss pom poms in the air and dirty dance with her boyfriend at a field party.

“Because…” She bit her lip. There was an obvious reply, but she wasn’t sure she should say it. “Because I’m not attracted to him like that.”

Because I want you and only you.

“Then I guess it’s a good thing hot sex wasn’t part of your requirements for a suitable husband.”

She nodded slowly, feeling like the world’s biggest idiot. How could she admit she’d changed her mind about that? Cocky Jason would love to hear she’d been wrong about sex. And he’d know exactly who’d taught her that lesson. “Guess so,” she murmured.

He grinned, then placed his arm across the back of her chair, his fingers lightly touching the nape of her neck. One soft touch after three weeks of nothing and her body was ready to go off like a firecracker. “I’ve missed you the past few weeks. Didn’t get chastised for my bad behavior once. It was almost boring.”

She rolled her eyes. “At your age, you really should learn to use your own conscience. How was the law conference? Any late-night hotel room hook-ups?” He’d certainly found willing colleagues in previous years. And he’d always been sure to share the dirty details with her.

“Are you sure you want to know?”

She scowled, her temper rising. Motherfucker. If he had so much as even looked at another woman…

Jason raised his hands in quick surrender. “I was good as gold, Kris. Spent every night alone. Just me and my hand.”

This conversation kept going from bad to worse. She was throwing out so many mixed messages even she couldn’t keep up. She forced herself to take a deep breath and calm down. “I shouldn’t have asked. It’s none of my business.”

He snorted. “Yeah right.”

God. How sad was it that Jason was the sane one in this whole messed-up affair? He had no problem calling her out for her constant hedging or accepting that despite the insanity of it, things had definitely changed between them.

“I need another beer.”

He laughed as he stood and grabbed a couple of cold ones from the cooler. “You think drinking will help?”

She shrugged. “I have no idea, but at this point, I’m willing to try anything.”

“You know, if you change your mind and decide to add amazing sex to your future, I’m perfectly willing to enact the back-up plan now.”

“My, my, my. Someone certainly has a high opinion of their bedroom abilities.”

“If you’d stop playing hard to get, I’d put my money where my mouth is.”

She wished he hadn’t mentioned his mouth. It drew her attention to his lips. Lips he’d suggested placing on various parts of her anatomy. “Can we maybe call a truce today? Put the brakes on the sexual innuendoes and just enjoy the show?”

Jason stroked the back of her neck, his fingers still cool from the beer. At least that’s what she told herself when his touch caused her to shiver. “Or we could enjoy the show…and each other.”

“I’m not into sex in public.”

“Neither am I.”

She frowned, confused.

“You’re surprisingly innocent for a forty-year-old woman.”

“I’m not forty.”

He leaned closer, his breath hot on her cheek. “Stop thinking so hard, Kris. Do me a favor. For the rest of the day, just go with the flow.”

If she hadn’t been totally turned on by how close his face was to hers, she probably would have called him to task for trying to tell her what to do, for his impractical habit of strolling through life with no limits, no self-control. But his lips were right there, so close her mouth actually watered for a taste. So instead, she nodded.

He placed a quick and far-too-platonic kiss on her cheek and pulled away. “Good.”

Then Jason spent the rest of the day showing her exactly how much fun a person could have when they let go of all their inhibitions. Kristen drank a
little
too much, ate
way
too much and danced the night away under the stars as Jimmy Buffett performed. By the end of the evening, she was hoarse from singing and her face hurt from laughing.

Through it all, Jason had driven her insane, pushing her arousal higher as the hours passed, with nothing more than light touches and suggestive comments whispered in her ear. She’d spent hour after hour in a constant haze of horniness that left her pussy wet and aching. As they walked to the parking lot from the concert, he placed his hand on her lower back, allowing it to slip under her shirt to find bare skin.

Bryan’s daughter, Trina, was waiting for them, so she and Jason climbed in the backseat along with Laura, while Bryan rode shotgun. Nick and Georgie rode home in another car. Laura fell asleep the second the car hit the highway, succumbing to too much beer and fun.

Midnight had come and gone. A moonless night covered the car in a blanket of darkness. Jason took advantage of the lack of light, resting his hand on Kristen’s knee, his thumb sliding along the edge of her shorts. She didn’t push it away, nor did she refuse when he leaned close to whisper in her ear.

“I’m coming home with you tonight.”

She closed her eyes, wishing she had the strength to say no, but knowing she didn’t. She twisted to look at him. Jason must have taken her quick turn as a sign she would reject him because he pulled her face to his quickly, wiping away any response she might have made with a deep, quiet kiss.

When they pulled apart, she whispered, “Okay.”

The rest of the ride home was a test of wills as Jason upped the ante, pushing the bar higher. His fingers slipped beneath her shorts and burrowed under her panties, playing with her clit, driving her to madness. Kristen fought to remain silent as Bryan and Trina quietly chatted in the front seat about the concert.

She’d never engaged in anything so scandalous, limiting her sex play to the bedroom. Now she was in the backseat of a car, trying to be quiet as Jason pushed her closer and closer to an orgasm. She bit her lip so hard to hold back her moans she actually tasted blood.

Of course, she was a firm believer in tit for tat, so she casually rested her hand on his crotch. As he ratcheted up the heat, she applied a bit of her own, adding pressure, squeezing his erection roughly, making sure he was as primed and ready as she was.

Tonight was inevitable. Jason had said as much. So she’d pay the piper tomorrow and make damn sure it was worth the price.

Finally, Trina pulled into the parking lot of her complex.

Bryan got out of the car and came around the vehicle to help Laura. “Looks like this one needs some tucking in. You okay to get home on your own, Trina?”

Bryan’s daughter was a sophomore at the local university. She grinned. “Yeah. I’m actually meeting up with a few girlfriends to watch a couple movies. Chick-flick marathon night—
Bridesmaids
and
Pitch Perfect
.”

Bryan laughed. “Oh to be young again. Thanks for the ride, kiddo. I owe you one.” He pressed a quick kiss on his daughter’s cheek and lifted Laura out of the car. “Jason, you need Trina to drop you by your place?”

Jason shook his head. “No. I’m just going to crash on Kristen’s couch.”

Kristen hoped Bryan couldn’t see the flush covering her cheeks in the dark night. She and Jason added their own thanks to Bryan’s and waved as Trina drove away. Then they walked to her front door, waiting until Bryan had Laura safely inside her own house. Kristen froze, unable to open the door as a wave of arousal pounded against her.

It occurred to her the panic she experienced wasn’t built on fear of ruining the relationship. It was based on sheer, overwhelming nerves. What if she couldn’t please Jason? Couldn’t keep up? He’d referred to her as innocent and she was suddenly feeling that way.

“Stalling won’t save you.”

She turned to give him a dirty look, but Jason was there to wipe it away. He pressed her against the door and kissed her senseless.

“Maybe I don’t want to be saved,” she taunted, digging deep to bring her confidence to the forefront. She wanted to do this. It was time to stop making excuses and playing the coward.

He reached for her purse and retrieved her keys. “Of course you do. You’re smart and practical and if you think I don’t understand all your reasons for trying to stay away from me, you’re wrong. I get it. All of it. But I really don’t give a shit right now. My cock is about to burst and you are the hottest fucking woman I’ve ever known. Open the door, Kris. Let me in.”