by J. S. Cooper
“Are you interested in Max Fernandes?”
“Max Fernandes?”
“The man you left sexy underwear for?” He gave me a pointed look. “Red, I believe.”
“Hmmm.” My face was hot. This could not have been more embarrassing. “I didn’t leave them for Max.”
“Oh, really?” A wicked smile spread across his face. “Who did you leave them for?”
I was about to answer him when Nolan strolled out into the hallway. “What are you guys doing?” he asked looking at us curiously. “Close the door and come into the living room so we can talk about this seriously.”
“Talk about what seriously?” I wanted to hit him. He had just ruined my moment with Jeff, and I wasn’t even sure if it had been a moment. Did Jeff suspect that I had a crush on him and that I’d left the panties for him? If he did, did that mean he liked me or was interested in seeing what would happen?
“This Bachelorette Auction.” Nolan gave me a pointed look. “Jules just told me that you’re planning on doing a kissing booth.”
“What?” Jeff’s voice was sharp and his eyes narrowed. “You never mentioned that.”
“I haven’t had time to mention anything,” I complained. “And nothing is set in stone.”
“You can bet your bottom dollar it’s not.” Jeff gave me a disapproving look. “I bet this was Jules’s idea, huh? She’s always got some hairbrained scheme to get herself or you a man.”
“Hey,” Nolan pointed his finger at Jeff, “that’s my girlfriend you’re talking about.”
“I know.” Jeff laughed, and they chuckled together. “But you know they’re always up to some craziness.”
“I’m right here, you know.” I glared at them both. “And we’re not always up to some craziness.”
“So then, why do you guys want a Bachelorette Auction?” Nolan gave me a look. “Obviously, this one isn’t on Jules.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because she has me.” He gave me a look. “Or are you trying to say she’s looking for someone new already?”
It hit me that Nolan was actually a little bit worried, and I wanted to laugh. Did he not realize just how much Jules loved him?
“Jules,” I said as we entered the living room. “How many ways do you love my brother?”
“How many what?” She looked at me, confused, and then her eyes widened when she saw Jeff behind me. I knew she was wondering what he was doing there. I just hoped that with all the wine we’d drunken so far tonight that no one let something slip.
“Hi there, Jeff,” Stella said, and Abby gave him a small wave.
“Hey there, girls.” He looked around the room and then back at me. “So, looks like it’s a proper girls’ night in here.”
“Yes, Officer,” Jules said, and Stella and Abby giggled. “I solemnly swear we are up to no good.”
“Come here, you.” Nolan pulled Jules up into his arms and kissed her on the cheek. “I love you, my naughty little Hermione.”
“We know what role-playing will be going on tonight,” Abby said, and she and Stella burst out laughing.
“Guys, really?” Jules kissed Nolan on the lips, and I held up my hands.
“Get a room, you guys.”
“We can always use your bedroom if you’re offering.” Nolan grinned at me, a wide smile on his face, and Jules ran a finger down his cheek. And for the next few seconds, I saw what it was like to be in love and to be loved. As much as it made my stomach turn to think of my brother and my best friend doing the dirty, I could see how in love they were. I’d never seen Julia happier in her life. Her cheeks were glowing, her eyes were bright, and she had an energy about her that was almost magical. And Nolan was like another person. His grumpy side had almost disappeared. My brother had always been the sort of guy who abhorred public displays of affection, but here he was, eagerly and easily kissing Jules. I was happy for them, and at the same time, I was jealous.
I looked over at Stella and Abby and I could tell from their expressions that they were also slightly envious of the connection that Jules and Nolan had. We all wanted to fall in love as well.
I glanced over at Jeff and I could see him looking at me with a weird expression. My heart raced for a few seconds and then he rolled his eyes.
“Nolan, why did you text me to come over?” Jeff’s voice was gruff. “I need to get home and shower, man.”
“I thought you could talk some sense into these ladies,” Nolan replied.
“I think that we have to let them do what they want to do. It’s not all fun and games, you know, girls,” Jeff spoke to the room, but his eyes were on me. “But if you think this is a good idea and y’all are trying to meet men, or whatever, more power to ya.”
“And you don’t mind at all?” Jules asked him with a look.
“Why would I mind?” He shrugged. “You’re all adult women. I mean, I don’t have the final say. Who knows what the Canyon Beach auction committee will say.”
“Well, they aren’t going to say no. I will ensure that,” Stella said and then yawned. “I’m tired. I think I need to go home and sleep.”
“Me too,” Abby said and stretched her arms. “Wanna share an Uber? Neither one of us should drive.”
“Sure,” Stella said with a nod. “That’s a good idea.”
“You guys don’t need to get an Uber. Nolan and I will drive you home.” Jules squeezed Nolan’s hand when he looked like he was going to make a comment. “And then you can come back to my place.”
“You guys just need to move in together already,” Jeff said.
“Maybe you should find a woman and move in with someone already,” Nolan retorted. “Or maybe just get a relationship first.”
“Ouch.” Jeff grinned at him. “That burned.”
“Don’t you have a girlfriend, though, Jeff?” Stella’s voice was casual, yet determined.
“Who me?” He recoiled. “Never. I don’t have time for drama.”
“What about Veronica Ryans?” Stella asked, and he looked at her in surprise.
“What do you know about Veronica?”
“What are you going to tell us?”
“There’s nothing to tell.” His voice was gruff, and I knew that there was more to the story that he wasn’t telling us. I looked at Nolan, and I could tell that he knew something, but I knew he wouldn’t tell me. I wondered if he would tell Jules. I’d have to ask her.
“So, you’re all leaving me for the night?” I waved at all the dirty dishes and glasses. “I guess Cinderella here will tidy it all up.”
“Cinder who?” Jeff looked me up and down and smirked. “I seem to remember that you never spent much time tidying up.”
“Things have changed, Jeff. I’m not a kid anymore.”
“Yes, I do realize that.” He continued his perusal of my body and I could feel myself blushing under his intense gaze. His eyes seemed to linger on my breasts, but surely I was imagining it. I glanced over to see Nolan staring at us with narrowed eyes.
“Do you need a ride as well, Jeff?” He walked over to his friend and put his arm around his shoulder. “I suppose you’d love to do a ride-along with someone else.”
“Nah, I drove here, so I’ll drive home. I figured I’d help Betsy clean up before I left.”
“Oh, I’m sure she can handle it. Don’t you need to shower? You look a little sweaty.”
“What’s a little sweat between friends?” Jeff shrugged as he looked at me. “You don’t mind, do you?”
“No,” I said with a little shake of my head. No way did I mind. The only part of this that I would change would be the clothes I was wearing. I wish I had on my sexy underwear right now or at least a cute top and shorts or something; instead of my baggy T-shirt and sweatpants. I didn’t look sexy at all. Though as I thought about it, how would he even know I had my sexy underwear on? Somehow, my shorts would have had to have fallen off so he could see my underwear. I laughed at my thoughts. Totally ridiculous.
�
��What’s so funny, Bets?” Jeff used my childhood nickname, and I gave him a look. I did not like being called Bets.
“Nothing, I, uh, was just surprised that you were going to help me tidy up. I seem to remember that you hated tidying up as much as I did.”
“Well, you know.” He shrugged.
“He started tidying up when he realized that girls would be going back to his room.” Nolan laughed. “A dirty room equals no sex.”
“Nolan.” Jeff frowned at him.
“Hey, you know it’s true.” Nolan laughed, oblivious to the dirty looks Jeff was giving him. “Obviously Betsy doesn’t have that problem. This place is a pigsty.”
“Rude.” I glared at him. “And no, I don’t have the problem where I want women to stay over for sex.”
“You know what I mean.” He chuckled. “I’m guessing you don’t have many men over, or any.” He laughed. “That will make Mom and Dad happy.”
“Whatever.” I gave him my meanest look. “How Jules sleeps with you I don’t know.”
“Sometimes I don’t know, either.” Jules smiled as she grabbed Nolan’s arm. “Come on, hon, let’s get out of here. Stella, Abby, you guys ready?”
“Yeah.” They both nodded.
“Thanks for having us, Betsy.” Stella gave me a quick hug. “Let’s talk more tomorrow, okay?”
“Sounds good.” I gave Abby and Jules quick hugs as well. “This is going to be a lot of fun.”
“You’re going to be the kissing queen.” Abby giggled.
“I bet Nick will donate half his fortune to get his lips on yours,” Jules said with a small wink, and I just rolled my eyes at her comment.
“Let’s just take it one step at a time and see how it goes.” I grinned and licked my lips. “Maybe I’ll give him a kiss for free.”
“Nick who?” Nolan blinked in confusion. “Are you dating someone?”
“I’ll explain it to you. Let’s go,” Jules said, and we all walked toward my front door in goodbyes. I could feel Jeff behind me. Body heat seemed to be radiating off of him and bouncing into my back. “Bye, love,” Jules said with a small smile and wink.
“Bye,” I said and watched as they all poured out and closed the front door. I turned around slowly and looked at Jeff who was just standing there staring at me, with a twisted smile.
“So, you’re going to be the kissing queen, are you?”
“Well, you know.” I shrugged.
“No, I don’t,” he said as he took a step toward me. “Maybe we should make this interesting, hmm?” And then he grabbed my hands and pulled me into him.
“Oh,” I said softly and then the world seemed to go black as his mouth moved toward mine.
Chapter 4
Betsy
“Are you going to kiss me?” I said, taking a deep breath and wondering if my lips and mouth were too spicy for him.
“Do you want me to kiss you?” he asked. His breath was warm against my lips, making them tingle in anticipation.
“Why would I want you to kiss me?”
“So that you can learn some moves for the kissing booth?” he said, his lips now lightly brushing mine as he talked. I felt like I was about to faint. This was absolute craziness. I wondered if I was hallucinating or if this was really happening.
“I don’t need to learn any moves.”
“So, you want Nick Campbell to kiss you, then?” His arms slid around my waist.
“What are you doing?” My eyes widened as he pulled me into his chest so that my body was pressed against his.
“This.”
And he kissed me. He planted his lips firmly against mine and kissed me lightly as his fingers stroked my back. I kissed him back, reaching up to his head and putting my hands into his hair. He pulled me closer to him, and I could feel a bulge in his pants next to my belly. Oh my! He definitely felt like he was well-endowed. A part me of me wanted to reach my hands down his pants and see just how well, but I didn’t need him jumping in shock and possibly telling Nolan.
He started sucking on my lower lip and I closed my eyes and melted into him so that I could enjoy the feel of him on me. He tasted sweet, and I wondered if he’d been sucking on a peppermint before he’d gotten out of his car. Just as I was really starting to get into the kiss, he pulled away from me and tilted his head to the side and gave me a cocky grin.
“Not bad.” He smiled at me. “I give you a five out of ten.”
“Sorry, what?” My jaw dropped at his self-assured grin.
“I said I give you a five out of ten for the kiss.” He licked his lips. “You tasted a bit too much like curry. That’s not a taste I love, so I docked a point for that. Also, you started off a bit too timidly, and you didn’t give me any tongue, so obviously I took points off for that as well.”
“You’re rating my kiss?” I stared at him in disbelief. “And you’re only giving me a five.”
“I mean, you want to run the kissing booth, right?” He stared at me for a few seconds. “I’m just letting you know that as of right now, your kisses are average. If you’re trying to get a Max Fernandes or a Nick Campbell, you’re going to have to do a lot better than that.”
“You’re an arrogant pig, you know that, right?” I glared at him. How had he cheapened our first kiss like that? I thought it had meant something, but obviously not. He was just a big jerk.
“Is that what you think of us cops?” He raised an eyebrow at me and my heart skipped a beat as he stared into my eyes. “That we’re all pigs.”
“I never said anything about cops. I was talking about you.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“Yeah, and if I was rating you, I’d give you a three out of ten. Your lips tasted like you just came out of a tasting at the Colgate factory and your hands on my waist felt like a little boy trying to hold on to his mommy. Oh, and your hard-on felt like a pencil that wished it could, but somehow never became a marker.”
“My hard-on, eh?” His eyes twinkled as he gazed at me. “You think my cock felt like a pencil?” His eyes narrowed, and he gazed down at my lips with a small smirk. “Really?”
“Really.” I raised my face at him. “No wonder you can’t keep a girlfriend.”
“You think the reason I don’t have a girlfriend has to do with the fact that I have a skinny penis?” He threw his head back and laughed. “Oh, how little you know, Betsy.” He grabbed my waist and pulled me into him again, so that I could feel his huge bulge against my belly, feeling way bigger than a pencil and marker combined. “You could only wish to be with a man as skinny as me.”
I swallowed hard as I felt him against me. My mouth felt dry and my mood was bitter as I surveyed Jeff's face. I’d always known that Jules hadn’t been a fan of his, but I’d never really understood why. Now I was starting to.
“You’re so rude,” I said finally, more adequate words to insult him failing to come to mind.
“I’m just teasing you, Bets. I think you deserve a six for sure. You’re definitely better than average. Maybe you should put off doing the kissing booth this year though, until you learn a better technique.”
“If anyone is going to give it up and walk away, it should be you.” I pointed at him and then because I couldn’t stop myself, I poked him in his hard, muscular chest. He caught my hand and grinned.
“Nah, I don’t think I need to walk away.”
“I don’t think I need to walk away, either.”
“You really want to kiss Nick so badly, huh?” His eyes narrowed as he stared at my face. and I wasn’t really sure what he was thinking. His teasing manner had changed to one of scrutiny. “I guess now that Jules caught her man, you’re setting your trap as well.”
“My trap?”
“Yeah, like a Venus flytrap, you’re trying to use your feminine wiles to get your man. He hasn’t even moved back to town, and already you’re after him. I guess poor Max is going to be left in the dust.”
“I was never interested in Max Fernandes,” I said and pushed myself awa
y from him. “So get your facts straight.”
“Uh-huh.” He blinked at me and then drew in a deep breath. I watched as he ran his hands through his hair again and then he just shook his head. “If you weren’t Nolan’s sister, I’d have to teach you a few lessons myself.”
“What lessons?”
“Aww, wouldn’t you like to know?” He winked at me. “Let’s just say a little spanking never hurt anyone.” He bit down on his lower lip and stared into my eyes. “You don’t want to be a naughty girl, Betsy.”
I stared at him, my eyes wide and reached my hand up to play with my hair. He watched my hand and then started laughing. “You’re so easy to tease, Betsy.” He gave me a small kiss on the cheek. “Let’s tidy up these dishes, and then I should head out. I have some things to do tonight.”
“Okay,” I said because I had no idea how to respond to everything that had just happened. Jeff had never kissed me before, had never touched me intimately, had certainly never insinuated anything sexual to me, and well, I had quite liked it. I just didn’t know what that meant. “But maybe I’m not the one that needs to be spanked. If you weren’t Nolan’s best friend, I think maybe I’d show you what was what.”
“Oh, yeah.” His eyes brightened and he grinned. “Would you wanna borrow my handcuffs as well?”
“Hmm, not sure if I want to take you to jail.”
“Oh, I’m not talking about jail. I’m talking about tying my wrists to the headboard while you had your wicked way with me.”
“Oh …” My face was tinged with a deep pink hue. I knew because my cheeks felt like they were burning.
“I do quite like cowgirls.”
“Cowgirls?”
“Ride ’em—” he started, and I held my hand up as I interrupted him.
“I get it. I get it.”
“Regular cowgirl or reverse cowgirl is good with me.”
“Whatever, Jeff. Life isn’t all about sex. I’m not doing the kissing booth or the Bachelor Auction—”
“Bachelorette Auction.”