by Allie Kay
"He must be a bonehead." Not even a hint of laughter lightened his tone.
I slapped his arm. "You don't even know him. He had something come up."
"I have something come up every time I'm around you." He winked at me.
Shaking my head, I stared off in the distance. How could I have feelings for two men at once? I shouldn't want to smile at Zane's ridiculous jokes. I should be demanding that Z reveal himself this moment. And end this odd love triangle I'd found myself the apex of. "You're such a perv."
Zane covered one of my hands with his. "Only for you. Want a sandwich?" At my nod, he reached behind him and pulled a plastic wrapped sandwich from his cooler. He handed it to me along with a bottle of spring water.
"Why are you here?"
He faked being insulted, one hand coming up to his chest in a theatric wave. "Can't a guy come for a hike without suspicion?"
"You seem to show up everywhere I am..." I trailed off.
"Hey, I was here first. Are you following me? I do have to say, my stalker is way hotter than Talia's was."
My jaw dropped. "I would never... Zane, you can't believe that I—"
"Relax, I am just teasing you." He leaned close, whispering, "I wouldn't mind if you were following me though."
I put my hands against his chest, trying to push him away, but he didn't budge. The firm muscles beneath my hands made me want to pull him closer. When it was clear Zane was not moving, I snatched my hands away and tucked them beneath my thighs.
Brushing the hair back from my face, he asked, "So, since you are free now, wanna hang out?"
I looked up at him, my gaze searching his.
"I'm not doing anything today. And you know I always have time for you, sweet girl."
"I guess hanging out with you is better than going home alone." Not that I'd been home for more than a few minutes in days now.
"Infinitely." He threw an arm around my shoulder and whispered, "You can try to hide it, but I make you smile."
Zane was funny. So spending the afternoon with him should be entertaining. If only I could keep him from touching me. Whenever Zane touched me, the unstated boundary between us disappeared into the recesses of my mind.
He leaned even closer. "I'll make it worth your time."
I shuddered when his lips grazed my ear lobe with his last words. "Zane—"
"Shh... Just hang out with me. I'm not trying to steal your freedom and I’m hardly proposing marriage. All I want is time. You, me, and whatever activity interests you. We can go hike, we can sit and talk, go see a movie. The choice is yours."
His warm breath against my throat made me quiver. This was Zane for God's sake. Not my mystery man. Why was every inch of me itching to move closer to him?
"I'm seeing someone," I finally blurted out.
"I’m not trying to change your mind about him. Seriously, all I want is to spend the day with you." He leaned back a little, looking me straight in the eye. "That's it. Nothing more. I'm not trying to change your mind. Hell, we can stay in public, if you are more comfortable. The last thing I want to do is make you uncomfortable."
I raised an eyebrow in question.
"You could have told me to go to hell already. But you're still here. So, you don't hate me as much as you pretend. Come on... what will one afternoon hurt?"
"Okay." Against my better judgment, I agreed to spend the day with him. I'd have to confess how I spent the day in my next email to Z, but he had canceled last minute...
"So, public place? Or do you trust me to behave in private?" When he dropped his voice, a shudder coursed up my spine. "I mean, you trusted me this morning when you climbed into my bed wearing nothing but panties and my old t-shirt. What's changed?"
"I should find somewhere else to stay. It's not fair to you..."
"Hush. I don't give a shit about fair. I want you to stay. Especially tonight since we will both be home." He waggled his eyebrows. "I want you to steal my covers."
"Nothing's happening."
"You can say that all you want, but I know you are falling for me." He ripped a chunk off his sandwich and popped it in his mouth. "Can't blame you. I'm awesome."
"You and your ego..." I laughed.
"What are the three of us going to do today then?"
"Three?"
"You, me, and my ego."
"You're impossible."
"Give me a little time. That’s all I’m asking for… I just want to take your time. Then you'll see just why I'm sure that we are possible."
"Are you always this confident?"
"Nope. Only when I'm right."
A smile tickled at my lips, but I turned away to keep him from seeing. "Want to go back down to the waterfall?"
"Sure." He hopped up. "Let me lock this stuff in the cab."
38
Zane
I locked the truck and we walked back toward the trail. "I can't remember a November day being this warm before. It's almost like summer."
"I know. I want to spend as much time outside as possible to soak up some of this warmth."
"Heard it's supposed to be warm all week."
"You'll probably like that. Working outside and all."
"Fuck yeah. I hate winter." I took her hand and pulled her to a stop.
"What?"
"Check out this view." Wrapping my arms around her waist, I laid my head on hers. "I'm glad I could share this with you."
"Mmm..."
I took that murmured sound as an agreement. I held her close and savored each second I had her in my arms. We stood and watched the wind blow from the top of the valley. Leaves swirled from their branches like red and gold confetti.
"Let's go down to the waterfall again." Claire moved away and started down the path.
When we reached the bottom, I found a spot to sit while Claire walked around the waterfall. She picked up a few rocks and a small piece of weathered wood.
"What are you going to do with those?" I called.
She slid the rocks in her jeans pocket. "Take them home with me."
"Memory of our first date?"
"This isn't a date."
"If you say so..."
"Zane, you said—"
"I said I wasn't going to try to change your mind. I never said I wasn't going to consider this a date though."
She came close. "Dates generally involve kissing."
"If a guy gets lucky, they do." I winked at her. "But I learned my lesson about kissing you. Next time we kiss, you will be the one to initiate it."
"Who says there will be a next time?"
"I do." Cupping her cheek, I leaned in. Her eyes darkened with desire and the tiny pink tip of her tongue came out to moisten her lips. "There will so be a next time."
I released her and stepped back, watching the confusion roll in.
"Then why did you pull back?"
"I don't want to get slapped again." I laughed. "My face stung for hours after the last time."
"I may have overreacted then," she whispered.
"Ya think?"
"Can we forget it happened?"
"Love, I can forgive, but believe me, I'll never forget. My jaw clenched for a week every time someone raised a hand."
"Zane—"
Wrapping my arms around her again, I tried to reassure her it was okay. "Shh... No permanent damage."
"But now you are shy of kissing me again."
"Do you want me to kiss you again?" I brushed a thumb along her lower lip.
"No..." Uncertainty quivered in her voice.
"Uh huh."
"I don't." She leaned into my touch.
"Okay. If you say so."
"Zane!"
"Saying my name won't make it any less true." With my forehead against hers, I whispered, "Even if you wish otherwise."
She moved and put her lips to almost to mine. Warm puffs of her breath teased across my mouth. "If I wanted to kiss you, could I get this close without giving in to the temptation?"
Runnin
g a finger along her jaw, I grinned when she shuddered. "Hmm... maybe you are right. Maybe you should just kiss me and prove that I'm not a temptation. That we don't have any chemistry between us?"
"Maybe I should."
"I dare you."
She grabbed the back of my head and tugged me down closer. "Don't dare me."
"I double dog dare you."
"What are we, eight?"
"Triple dog da—"
Her lips were on mine before I finished the word. Proving there was no chemistry was going to be damn impossible, because when our tongues met electricity jolted between us.
I held her closer and she melted into my arms. When she sighed, I deepened the kiss, my tongue twining slowly with hers. The wind picked up and whipped her hair around us.
She broke the kiss and buried her face against my throat. "Still not a date," she whispered.
"Of course not."
"It's not." She shoved against my chest. "Ugh. This wind. You wanna get out of here?"
"We could go home and watch a movie? I'll let you have another of my t-shirts to wear. The one you stole's about done in."
"You just want me to sit around without pants." She smacked my arm.
"We could play strip poker." I winked at her.
"Strip... God, here I was thinking you were sweet." Ignoring me for a moment, she walked up the trail toward the cars. I followed behind, watching the sway of her ass in those perfectly fitted jeans. "You know I worked in a strip club? And one of the stepfathers I actually liked was a professional gambler. I'd beat your pants off at any hand of poker we were dealt."
"Everyone wins at strip poker."
39
Claire
I followed Zane into his apartment. We'd had such a lovely afternoon together that I hated for the day to end.
"So, how 'bout that poker game?" He grinned at me.
Licking my lips, I looked him up and down. Poker was a talent, one I had in spades. This would not end how he imagined...
"What?"
"You really think you can beat me at cards?"
"Nope." Flopping back on the couch, he stretched. "But is there any way strip poker isn't fun for me? I lose, I get naked. I win, you get naked. Or if I'm really lucky, we both get naked. I fail to see a downside."
"You won't be embarrassed when you are sitting around with your uh... boys... hanging out, and I'm over here fully dressed?" Flicking my eyes downward, I lingered over his crotch before coming back to his eyes.
"Nope. I got nothing to hide."
"Mmmhmm. Really?"
"How about this?" He stood and pulled me in his arms. "If, at any point, either of us feels embarrassed or can't take it, we'll quit then."
"Get the cards."
I cleared the table while he dug out the playing cards and a battered stack of chips.
"Haven't used these in a while." He tossed them on the newly emptied table. "Want a beer?"
"Sure." I started to kick of my shoes, but decided against it. The shoes gave me two hands to lose to him intentionally while I looked for Zane's tells.
He slid a beer across the table and took a seat. Dumping the cards out of their box, he nudged the chips toward me. "Divvy those up, will you?"
Too late now for cold feet or excuses. We were committed to the game. I swallowed a big gulp of icy beer and tried to calm my shaky nerves.
Adrenaline surged through my blood as the cards slid into my fingertips. I hadn't played poker in a while. But tonight would be one for the memory books. I could already tell.
Zane settled back into his chair. His t-shirt pulled tight over his lightly muscled chest. I thought back to the day we'd met. I was fourteen, all legs and still in that gangly awkward stage. My tits had been non-existent. Zane had been seventeen and nearly a man. He'd worked that summer with his father and had the hewn muscles of a hard-working man. His shirtless physique had fueled hours of teenage fantasy.
Now, eight years later, I'd definitely changed more than he had. But he had a confidence about him that he'd been lacking then. An air of masculinity that only came with age.
I tapped a couple chips together and smiled a bit when Zane focused his eyes on my hand. I just needed to keep my shit together for a few hands, learn his weaknesses, and not show too much excitement in the process. Because I was excited.
Excited to see the changes six years had wrought on Zane's body. Excited to take our relationship to an all new level.
"Two pair." He flipped his cards in front of him. "Jacks and eights."
"Straight." I showed my hand. "I win."
Zane made a show of taking off his right boot and tossing it toward the living room. Three hands in and Zane was down both boots and his belt.
"Next hand is mine." He got up and grabbed two more beers. "I got you now."
I raised my bottle in salute. "Sure you do." When the cards came out, I threw away a pair of queens.
I watched his face carefully. His eyes crinkled up a bit after he took his new cards. Yes, that's what I'd been waiting for.
"Call."
I tossed in a couple chips to match him. "I got a pair of tens."
"Ha. Two pair, aces and sevens. Take it off, sweet girl." He gulped down his beer and I watched the tiny movements in his throat with interest.
Standing, I waited for him to put his beer down to move. "What should I take off? My shirt?" He nodded slowly. "But you only removed a single shoe?"
"Shit," he hissed.
"Two for one bonus," I teased. "I'll take off both shoes even though you only won a single hand."
"Take the shirt off."
"Nope." I sat back down. "But maybe next time."
"Your deal." He shoved the deck of cards over to me.
I quickly dealt the next hand. I watched Zane and saw no sign of his excited little tell. Damn it, he had nothing worth keeping.
He tossed three cards. I dealt him two more. Looking at my own cards, I wasn't bad off. Two low pair. I probably had him on that.
I tossed in a few chips. "Call."
He tossed in his own. "Two pairs, kings and nines."
"Damn it." I flipped over fives and sevens. "You got me."
"Shirt off."
I slowly unbuttoned my shirt. Zane wasn't the first man I'd stripped in front of, so why the hell were my hands shaking so much?
Hell, I hadn't been this nervous the first day I'd walked out on a stage and wrapped a leg around a pole. There'd been a lot of catcalls, and even some groping, but I'd never let that get to me.
Somehow this one man's intense stare got to me where the ogles of hundreds of strangers hadn't. I met his gaze, surprised to see his eyes on my face instead of my chest.
"You can stop if you want." He stood up and cupped my cheek. "I won't push."
My nerves were buzzing as I slipped the shirt from my shoulders and upped the ante. A tiny rustle broke the silence as the soft blouse hit the floor.
A pained groan escaped Zane. "My God, you are beautiful." He stepped closer. "Can I kiss you?"
"No more poker?"
"Not unless you say no to that kiss," he murmured against my lips. "I can't concentrate."
"Kiss me."
Zane didn't have to be told twice. His lips covered mine. He tasted of beer and something more. There was an unmistakable electricity between us.
This was not how this evening was supposed to go. Somehow, somewhere along the way, my plans had got derailed. I'd never expected to be half-naked and in Zane's arms.
He moved from my lips to feast on my sensitive throat. Every breath I took filled my nostrils with the cologne and his own masculine scent. I clung to his shoulders and let my senses take over.
The palms of his hands scraped over my bare skin until I tingled in anticipation of where he might move next. His mouth was hot against my pulse, his beard scraping against my shoulder.
And then I was standing alone, suddenly cold without his body heat against me.
"Why...?" I asked.
"Zane—"
"Don't push."
40
Zane
I got out of the shower to a notification of an email. I opened it to see that Claire had emailed Z.
Fuck.
Ten minutes out of sight and she'd went back to a guy who she didn't even know his name.
To: Z
Subject: Today
Hey Z,
So... I don't know exactly what came up for you today. Or what you meant in your last email. But let me tell you how today went.
First of all... Do you know where I was when I got your message? I was standing at the base of Garden Falls—which I have to say is like the most romantic place around here. So, I'm feeling all sappy and happy because I finally get to meet the guy I've been talking to for weeks now.
And then you say you aren't coming. What the hell? Talk about killing someone's happiness.
So, I wandered back to the parking lot, lost and a bit hurt. And Zane's there. Okay, to be fair to him, he was there before I was, so it wasn't like he was following me.
And he asked me to hang out... I thought about saying no. But then I thought, why the hell not?
It's not like I have a boyfriend. Or any reason that would make spending the day with an attractive guy a bad idea.
So... thanks to you not showing up, I went out with Zane.
Claire
At least she wasn't being all lovey-dovey with Z. I wasn't sure my ego could have taken that.
To: Claire
Subject: Re: Today
I hope you had a good time with Zane. Am I still good to email you or...?
To: Z
Subject: Re: Re: Today
Are you not jealous? Thought for sure you would be after the emails you'd sent at the club.
To: Claire