by Harlow James
“I didn’t want you to leave without me giving you this.” With two steps forward, he’s at my mouth, locking his lips with mine and sweeping his tongue inside. This kiss is far more frantic than the other night—and as my purse falls from my hands and I latch onto him in reciprocation, I let myself fall into his command.
The grip of his hand on my hip contradicts the caress of his fingers on my chin, giving me a glimpse of the soft and demanding sides to Brooks that I can’t wait to discover more of. And as his tongue moves against mine and I find myself struggling to breathe, he breaks the kiss to come up for air just as things get too heated. Brooks releases me and steps back with a pleased look on his face as our chests rise and fall in sync.
Still slightly dazed and confused, I decide to keep the game going. Brushing my hair from my face, I fake pretension as if Brooks didn’t just make me forget my own name for a second. “Well, then. If that’s all you needed, Dr. Bennet, I’d better be going.”
“Have dinner with me,” he blurts, before standing tall and matching the confidence in his words.
“Dinner?”
“Yes. A proper date. I promised you that.”
“You did?”
“Uh… I think I did?” He contemplates as I giggle behind my hand. “Well, even if I didn’t, I want to take you out. Please.”
“Okay. When?”
“Well, I know we both have Thursday off. Are you free?”
“Are you stalking my schedule now?” My hands find my hips as I shoot him a flirtatious glare.
“No. I’d like to think of it as research.”
I bite my lip while I shake my head at him. “You’re good, Dr. Bennet.”
“Yeah? Then you’ll go?”
I tip my head back and forth, looking up at the ceiling as if I’m thinking about my answer when I knew what my response would be before he ever asked me. “Yeah, I guess. I mean… I have nothing else to do.”
His lips spread wide and reveal that lethal smile framed by day-old scruff. “Well, thanks for the pity then.”
“No problem.”
“I’ll text you tomorrow and let you know details and stuff, alright?” He closes the distance between us again and tips my chin up to look at him.
“Sounds good.” With a soft press of his lips, he releases me and then guides me to the door.
“I’ll go out first, just in case anyone’s out there.” I laugh, loving how seriously he’s taking this. I don’t feel like he’s hiding me in the slightest, as if he were ashamed. But I appreciate his desire for discretion as we navigate this blossoming relationship.
“Okay. Have a good rest of your shift,” I offer before he opens the door and slips out, leaving me smiling from ear to ear and hot and bothered, desperate to touch him more in just a few days.
Chapter 11
Brooks
“No… no… ugh, nope. Excuse me?” An employee wearing a red shirt and khaki’s strides by and I catch her just in time. “Do you have any other flower arrangements?”
Her shoulders slump as she displays a thin frown. “No, I’m sorry. The flower shipment comes in tomorrow, and usually by the afternoon, we’re pretty well picked clean.”
“Yes, I can see that. Okay, thank you.” I turn back to survey the handful of bouquets left and turn up my lips in disgust again. “Well, shit.”
This is what I get for not thinking about this sooner, but I guess between work and stopping by my mom’s house every chance I could get, the urgency to get flowers for Jess before our date this afternoon didn’t arrive until this morning. I had to make a stop at Target today anyway for laundry soap, shampoo, and a few other necessities, so I figured I’d kill two birds with one stone. Well, Target killed all of my birds by having nothing but five half-alive bouquets left to choose from. And of course, now I’m running out of time before I told her I would pick her up, so the panic is coming on strong.
I take off in another direction of the store, pushing my cart with finesse between aisles, mothers with kids hanging off of their carts, and those giant red baskets strategically places around the store—whose idea were those anyway?
“A card?” I ask myself out loud as I come to a stop by the greeting cards, dozens of overly priced colored notes taunting me as I assess the selection.
No, you fool. Since when has a guy given a girl a card before a date?
‘Hey, thanks for agreeing to go on this date with me. Here’s a card.’
Stupid.
I race past the greeting card aisle while checking my watch, realizing I don’t have much time left, and ultimately just decide to show up empty-handed. I won’t be the first guy to show up for a date without flowers—I just didn’t want to be that guy for Jess.
As I load up the belt of the register and the cashier starts to scan my items, I glance up and see the display of mints and gum straight ahead.
Bingo!
The cashier looks at me in shock as I nearly clear the shelves with a giant grin on my face, but she says nothing while I bask in my genius idea.
I rush home to shower, shave, and dress. It’s been a while since I’ve worried about how I look outside of the hospital, but Jess is worth the little extra effort, even though the attire for our date isn’t too fancy. I instructed Jess to dress comfortably and that she could bring a change of clothes if she wanted, but it wasn’t necessary.
Once I’m clad in black track pants, an olive green cotton shirt, and a dark grey hoodie, I grab my gift for Jess and then head for her apartment that’s only a few minutes away.
The past few days have crawled at a snail’s pace as I anticipated my date with her, even though I filled every extra minute being at my mom’s house helping her out. We learned that the week after her treatments tends to be the worst, so that is the time she needs the most assistance. Between my aunt, Ethan, and myself, we’ve managed to keep her laundry done, bills paid, and her plants watered, as well as make sure she’s not alone for too long at a time.
Beneath the layers of fear and guilt for my mom is a blossoming hope, and Jess is the biggest source of that. It’s weird how in a time of my life where I feel the most uncertain about how things might pan out, in comes this woman that has me intrigued more than I ever have been by a woman before.
Jess and I still have so much to learn about each other, but from what I’ve gathered and learned so far, I’m enthralled. And I find it funny that she even admitted that I make her nervous because after our first encounter at Skye’s, I didn’t peg her for the timid type at all. It makes me wonder if her dating past is really making her more inhibited to open up to me, particularly since we’ve both been open about how attractive we find one another. But I know there’s more to a relationship than physical attraction, and perhaps today during our date I’ll get another glimpse into the personality and life of the woman that has quickly taken over real estate in my mind.
My nerves are running hot as I close in on her place. I have a surprise for her on our date that I’m not sure how she’ll react to. But after our conversation at Tony’s, I knew this was something that could be a pivotal experience for the both of us. Given that I haven’t really dated much, or at least put that much thought into what we’d be doing, I knew this choice was a risk, but it’s one I’m hoping will pay off.
Pulling into an empty parking spot, I turn off my car and make my way towards her door, the same door where I kissed the shit out of her less than a week ago. Memories of what her lips felt like against mine flood my mind and wake up my dick. The last thing I need is for her to open her door to the vision of me hard and holding a present like some sick joke, so I pause for a minute, channel my inner highlight reel to make me less ‘excited’, and then finish the last few steps.
“Coming,” I hear on the other side of the door as I shuffle back and forth between the balls and heels of my feet. I focus my eyes on the ground until I hear the clink of metal and the door opens, forcing my head up to see Jess. She looks gorgeous—her hair down in loose
curls, her black leggings and maroon sweater covering that curvy little body that I know is hiding underneath, her stormy eyes in natural make-up, and her lips a soft pink that makes them look even more kissable.
“Wow. I say casual and somehow you manage to still look stunning.”
Her cheeks pink as she looks away from me bashfully. “Thank you. Do you wanna come in?” She faces me again, opening the door wider so I can step through.
“Thanks.” I take a moment to scan her apartment before focusing back on her. “I brought you something.”
“Oh, okay. Well, thank you.”
“Before I give it to you,” I warn while holding the bag behind my back still, “you have to promise not to take offense to it.”
She eyes me suspiciously. “Okay…”
“I didn’t hear you promise.”
She chuckles and then straightens her spine. “I promise.”
“Okay, here.” I hand her the royal purple gift bag stuffed with lavender tissue paper and follow her into her kitchen where she sets it on the counter and removes the tissue paper from inside.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” she says as her eyes pop up from the contents of the bag and she glowers in my direction.
“You promised you wouldn’t take offense,” I argue.
“I’m not offended, but I am confused,” she replies as she withdraws the plethora of breath fresheners from the bag. Gum and mints of every flavor Target had available scatter across the counter as she dumps the contents of the bag once she realized how many options there were. She veers up at me again and places a hand on her hip. “This is where you would explain.”
I lean forward on my elbows, organizing the mints and gum into piles as I bask in my creativity. “So, I was going to get you flowers…”
“Flowers are nice...”
“Yeah, but there weren’t any at Target I deemed good enough for you.”
“You went to Target for flowers?” She asks, clearly amused.
“I was there grabbing other items and I figured I’d kill two birds with one stone. Anyway, since the flower selection was abysmal, I decided they weren’t really necessary. But when I went to check out, I saw the display of mints and decided this was a far more practical purchase.”
She twists her lips to prevent her from smiling. “So, when you said I wasn’t allowed to take offense, were you implying that I would believe that you’re trying to tell me that my breath stinks?”
I stand up tall and point a finger in her direction. “Bingo.”
“So that’s not what you’re saying?”
“Nope. Instead, I saw this as an opportunity for the both of us.”
She arches an eyebrow. “Okay…”
“Well, you think that cinnamon gum is disgusting, and I feel the same about your orange flavored Tic Tacs.” I pause and she laughs through an unrestrained smirk. “So I figured, why don’t we try all of these different breath fresheners and see if we find one we like better than those?”
Her smile builds as she grants me a puzzled look. “You are a strange man.”
“Come on—I thought that was ingenious,” I scoff and then make my way around the counter, placing my hands on her hips, pulling her into me so I can smell her strawberry shampoo and that citrus body spray she tantalizes me with at the hospital every time she walks by. “Then we can compare notes and it will be like a fun surprise to see if we find something we both enjoy.”
“You would be willing to give up cinnamon gum for me?”
“Only if you’re willing to find something other than the candy you claim are mints.”
She reaches up and runs her fingers along my smooth jaw before dragging them down my neck, lighting my entire body up. “I think I could do that. Thank you. This is the weirdest but most unique gift anybody has ever bought for me.”
“And more practical than flowers, right?”
She shrugs and then steps back as I reluctantly release her from my grip. “Flowers are still nice. But yes. And this sounds like it might be fun.”
“Oh, the real fun hasn’t even started yet, Jess. You ready?”
She nods and then makes her way towards the front door, grabbing her purse and coat before we leave and she follows me down to my car.
“I have to say, you being cryptic about the entire day makes me nervous.”
“I thought we agreed you didn’t need to be nervous around me anymore,” I say as I pull out of her apartment complex.
“I’m working on it. It would help though if you told me where we’re going. I have to say, I didn’t envision being in stretchy leggings on our first date.”
I reach over and grab her hand, pulling it up to my lips and kissing her lightly. “I know it’s not fancy and over the top, but that’s not really my style. I value experiences over flashy meals. That’s something my mom used to always stress to me. Expensive cars and clothes, meals, etcetera. only hold their value momentarily. But memories last a lifetime.”
She sits back in her seat and examines me with a soft smile on her lips. “I love that. And I’m sorry if that came out wrong. I didn’t mean this wasn’t good enough—”
“That’s not how it sounded at all, Jess. I guess I’m just asking you to trust me.” I glance over at her for a moment as she determines her answer.
“Okay. I can do that.” Somehow I feel like her agreeing to trust me was a troublesome thing for her to do, and maybe that’s because her heart has been hurt a time or two by putting trust in someone before she was ready. Right then and there, I vow to not make her regret the decision to grant it to me.
I kiss the back of her hand once more, and then concentrate on the drive to the mountains just behind Emerson Falls, taking the winding road up to Hyatt Lake. As we drive, we talk about our childhoods some more since we only scratched the surface at Tony’s. I explain that I’m an only child and my dad wasn’t really around, emphasizing how important my mom is to me without discussing her cancer battle at the moment. She accuses me of being a momma’s boy, and I own it one-hundred percent.
Jess tells me about her younger sister who’s in college at George Fox University up north, getting her master’s degree in school psychology. She tells me stories of how they did nothing but fight growing up, even though she loves her immensely and they talk at least once a week on the phone. She also emphasizes how watching her parents’ marriage and the example they gave her of what true devotion to another person looks like makes her yearn to find that same kind of love.
Not having my own example to look at, I can’t relate on that level. But I think any self-respecting man can accept that when the right woman comes along, she’ll make you change your opinions and ideas about love in a flash.
“Are they still that happy?” I ask as my eyes veer over to catch a glimpse of her. She seemed to retreat a bit as soon as we started to discuss our families.
“Um, they were until my mom died.”
Shit. The last thing I wanted was to shift the energy of our date downhill. “I’m so sorry, Jess. That sucks.” My heart throbs for her, especially since the threat of losing my mom is very real.
She bites her cheek as she stares out the window, avoiding my eyes. “Thank you. It’s been a while now. But I miss her every day.”
“I can only imagine.” I stroke her arm with my hand, providing as much comfort as I can while I drive. “So tell me more about your sister? What’s the worst thing you two did to each other? I didn’t have siblings, you know, so I love hearing about how other people drove theirs nuts.”
She chuckles softly and then stares up at the ceiling in thought. “Well, I did body slam her into the fridge once.”
I let out a quick bark of laughter. “Oh, this story I have to hear.”
Jess describes how her sister broke her porcelain doll, leading to her chasing her around the house and ultimately throwing her into the fridge for the remainder of the drive, alleviating the tension from earlier and putting us back on track for our date.
>
“Okay, we’re here.” I pull into the small parking lot about fifteen minutes later in front of a log cabin building and tall pine trees stretching behind it for days.
“You can’t be serious,” Jess ridicules and turns to me.
“Oh, I’m serious, babe.”
“Zip lining? Are you out of your mind?” She sits back in her seat, putting considerable distance between us as I watch her eyes light up with fear.
“Jess.” I scoot closer to her over the center console and grab both of her hands. “Look at me.” Her eyes veer over with a mixture of irritation and fear in them. “This is one of the safest adrenaline-seeking activities you can do. The other night at Tony’s when you told me you’ve never done something like this before, do you remember what I told you?”
She’s staring out the front window now, her chest rising and falling in time with her shallow breaths. I know she’s nervous, but I can’t wait to see her face when she flies through the air—because I think she needs this. Jessalyn Harris needs to be pushed so she can live a little, and I want to be there when her world brightens before her eyes.
Suddenly her vision sharpens back on me, looking so deep into my mind that I’m momentarily paralyzed, waiting for what she’s going to say. “That any fear in life is easier to face with someone by your side that you know won’t let you fall.” That’s my girl.
My smile and heart explode with pride. “That’s right. And I asked you to trust me. I won’t let you fall—you believe that, right?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. So let’s go chase the adrenaline.” I hop out of the car and run to her side, helping her up from her seat. “Better bring your coat. When you start flying fast, the air can get pretty brisk.” It’s early April and the weather has been relatively nice, but that chill is still present in the wind from time to time.
Jess grabs her grey jacket, throws her hair in a low ponytail, and then lets me lead her up to the building that houses Hyatt Lake Zip Lining Adventures.
“This is crazy. I mean, I’m excited, but I seriously think I might throw up.” I open the door to the office and lead her inside to the counter for us to check in.