by Phoebe Lane
"Pick that fight with Google, not me."
"So you looked me up after we met, huh?" he teased while pulling her into his lap.
"No. I searched for your lips, not you."
"Oh come on, don't ruin my dream. Now, admit that I left such an impression on you that you couldn't help but look me up online the first time you met me. That'll be a great story we can tell our—" Jace abruptly stopped talking, realizing what he had almost said and feeling utterly mortified.
Aislynn froze midway through grabbing her drink from the table and looked at him. It was definitely the only time, apart from the half-naked first meeting in her kitchen, when things had felt awkward between them.
"Okay. So we can try to ignore this and make it even more awkward, or we can laugh about it and take it for what it is," Aislynn said casually after a few seconds. "You were going to say that this would be a great story we could tell our children. And that's fine. You never know, we might end up together. And if we do, then yeah, this would be a great story to tell our kids. And now we can add the part about how we freaked out when you said it, and they'll laugh at our expense."
Jace took a deep breath and held her face in his hands. "You are an amazing woman, Aislynn Currington."
"I don't know about that," she said, looking down and feeling a bit embarrassed by the compliment.
"Don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise." Jace moved closer to kiss her when her phone rang, and she sighed in frustration when she peaked at the name on the screen.
"Speak of the devil," she said, pressing the ignore button and looking up to see Jace's confused expression. "It's my mom. Don't worry about it. Let's eat."
They set up the movie and ate in comfortable silence, Aislynn on the sofa and Jace on the floor between her legs. He insisted on watching Star Wars after she casually mentioned she hadn't seen any of the movies before. He almost passed out in horror, and then made her commit to watching all six of them.
"And we're watching them in the order of theatrical release," he said with conviction.
"As opposed to what?" she asked, obviously clueless.
"The chronological order of the episodes."
"I don't get it."
"Get it you will. Worry you don't," he said in a weird voice.
"Are you possessed?" Aislynn asked, making Jace throw back his head in laughter. "Did you just develop a speech impediment? Oh my God! Are you having a stroke? Is that why you can't talk right?"
"Yoda is going to be so pissed. May the force protect you, because he sure won't."
"I like it when you speak geek. You make geek sound sexy."
"No, you're sexy, babydoc," he said, running his hands up and down her legs.
"Are you going to call me that forever? I haven't decided yet if I like it."
"I will, until we find something better."
Halfway through the movie, Jace started getting back-to-back texts and emails about a situation at work. He answered them all, but then started getting calls.
"Do you need me to go so you can take care of that?" Aislynn asked him.
"No, please stay. I'll be right back." Jace stepped out into the deck and watched as Aislynn lay down on the sofa.
She reached for the back of her head and released her hair from whatever was holding it together in a bun. He loved that she was making herself comfortable in his house. She looked radiant with her hair spread out over the white sofa cushion, and her body curled up in a royal blue throw she'd found under the coffee table.
She would look even better naked in my bed, with her hair spread out over my pillow.
Realizing he had been ignoring the person on the line while he ogled Aislynn, Jace forced himself to turn around so that he could concentrate on his call. As he walked back into the house fifteen minutes later, he found a sleeping Aislynn passed out on the couch. He kneeled next to her to caress her cheek while a small smile spread across her face.
Just beautiful.
Aislynn woke up to the smell of new linens, her head resting on the most comfortable pillow she had ever slept in. She kept her eyes closed and tried to focus on the memories that flashed in her mind: the beach, Christopher's face, heartache, kisses, throbbing need, pizza, and light sabers. She then had a flash of naked skin, white sheets, ripping of clothes, and an incredible orgasm. She buried her face into the pillow, searching for answers in her mind as to where that last set of memories fit in.
She slowly opened her eyes and realized she was in Jace's bed. The sun was rising on the horizon, but she was alone and dressed in the same clothes as the day before.
Damn, that was a great dream.
She found Jace sleeping on the sofa, no shirt, a blanket pulled down below his hips, and his low-riding pajama pants clearly visible. He was fit and toned in all the right places. The deep V trailing to his groin was in plain sight, just taunting her, and begging to be licked.
She was suddenly startled by his phone alarm going off somewhere out in the kitchen. After finding and silencing it, she came back to the living room, sat on the coffee table, and leaned in to kiss his cheek softly.
He immediately stirred and smiled mischievously, his eyes still shut. He took Aislynn by the wrist and pulled her on top of him, enveloping her in a hug.
"Morning, babydoc."
"Why didn't you wake me up last night? I could've gone home, and you could've slept in your own bed," she said, caressing the growing stubble in his face.
"You looked so peaceful, I couldn't wake you. Then you started talking in your sleep—"
"I did not!"
"Yes, you did. It was quite a show, actually. I made myself popcorn and everything." He opened his eyes and raised his head to look at her. "What? You were at it for a while, I got hungry."
"You're bluffing. I don't talk in my sleep."
"Guess you'll never know."
"Argh! Okay, fine." Aislynn snuggled on his chest, taking a big breath and wishing she had awakened smelling him instead. "Oh, the alarm on your phone was going off."
"Yeah, I have meetings this morning. Thanks for waking me up."
"I'll head out so you can get ready," Aislynn said, trying to stand, but feeling Jace’s arms holding her tighter.
"Stay for breakfast? I'll cook."
"Okay," Aislynn said with a smile.
"Great. Let me go for a short run and take a shower. I'll be quick."
Aislynn tried to fix herself up as best she could, grateful to find a new toothbrush in the guest bathroom. She checked the messages on her phone, thinking Ellie may have been wondering where she was.
Your mom called. Call me before you talk to her.
The text was from the night before and, along with it, she found four missed calls and three texts from Pam. The woman was relentless. It was still too early in the morning to call Ellie, so she decided to just go ahead and call her mom back.
Rip the Band-Aid off.
Aislynn sat outside on the deck, thinking the scenery would provide some relaxation. Her teeth were already grinding and the tension was building in her shoulders, something that happened any time she interacted with her mom. She then remembered Christopher and the possibility of seeing him again out there on the beach, and the tension officially tripled.
"Screw him. I'm not hiding," she said to herself and lay down on the deck lounger. She dialed the number, but it only rang once before Pam picked up.
Not a good sign. Here we go.
"Hi, Aislynn. I call and you never pick up. I swear it's like you don't want to talk to me. And don't say you've been busy, unless you plan to tell me what is supposedly keeping you so tied up. You've been on an extended vacation for almost a year," Pam said all in one breath.
This must be a record. I haven't even said one word yet, and she's already beaten me down.
"Good morning to you, too, Mom."
"Well? Why haven't you called me back?" Pam asked with obvious exasperation.
"You do realize it's like six in the morning her
e, right?"
"I called you last night, and you didn't answer my call either."
"I didn't have my phone with me."
Pam didn’t answer, apparently expecting further explanation, but only getting silence in return. "How are you?" she finally continued.
"Fine."
"What have you been doing with yourself lately?"
"Not much."
"How's the new place?"
"It's nice." Aislynn could sense her mom's frustration escalating.
"Do you like San Diego?"
"Yeah."
Pam finally lost it. "Could we please have a normal conversation where you answer with more than one word sentences? I thought psychiatrists were supposed to know how to talk to people," she said, adding the last part under her breath.
"I can't believe you would say that to me," Aislynn said with obvious hurt and anger. The anger was also directed at herself for falling into the trap once again. It wasn't the first time Pam had taken a jab at her abilities as a psychiatrist, or everything else for that matter.
"Oh, please. There you go again, taking everything personally." Pam's dismissal of her feelings only served to infuriate Aislynn even more.
"You know what? Forget it. You called several times. It must be urgent, so what is it?" Aislynn barked, standing up from the chair and pacing around the deck.
"Ellie said you were out on a date," she said coldly.
Pam’s words absolutely stunned her, but Aislynn didn't believe for one second that Ellie would've disclosed that information. Not that she needed to hide things from her mom at her age, but she certainly didn't want to talk to her about Jace yet.
"I'd rather not talk about this now. Was there something else you needed?" Aislynn asked, in a rush to end the conversation.
"So, you're going to forget about Christopher now? For some guy you don't even know?"
"Okay, Mom. I'm gonna go now."
Aislynn was livid. She noticed Jace was already on his way back to the house, and she didn't want him to see her that upset…again. It would warrant an explanation she didn't feel prepared to give. She quickly went inside, locked herself in the guest bathroom to splash some water on her face, and attempted to regain control of herself.
Jace was busy making breakfast in the kitchen, but couldn't help feeling worried. There had been two different times in the past twenty-four hours where Aislynn appeared to be distraught—the first time had been at the beach before they'd left on their date, and the second time had been that morning while he was out jogging. She had clearly tried to hide it from him both times.
Aislynn returned to the living room ten minutes later, looking a bit more collected, but still distracted.
"Coffee?" she asked him, while absentmindedly standing in front of his very expensive and very complicated coffee machine.
"Sure, but…" Jace observed as Aislynn put the beans on the grinder, and then weighed twenty-one grams of coffee into the portafilter. She was still lost in thought and her actions were almost robotic. "Aislynn, that machine…" He paused again, watching as she tamped the coffee grinds perfectly, and then pulled the espresso shots in exactly twenty-seven seconds. "How did you—"
"Where's your steaming pitcher?" Jace pointed to the cabinet on top of the machine and stared at her in awe. "What?" she finally said after noticing he was gawking at her.
"So you're a doctor, a writer, and a barista?"
"No. I'm an ex-doctor, a wannabe writer, and a coffee geek. By the way, I can't believe you have a Speedster. This coffee machine costs like eight thousand dollars. Your taste in toys is quite extravagant, Mr. Quinn," Aislynn said as she steamed the milk to a frothy perfection.
Despite her teasing words, Jace could tell from her stiff posture and furrowed brow that she was still upset. He purposefully took the steaming pitcher from her hand and set it down next to the machine. Grabbing her by her arms, he pulled her to his chest, feeling the tension that emanated from her body. He held her until she started to relax, feeling satisfied when he felt her wrap her arms around his neck and hug him tightly.
"Whoever that was on the phone out there, whatever has you upset, please know I'm here," Jace said after picking Aislynn up and sitting her on the kitchen island.
She burrowed her face in his neck and took deep steady breaths. "I'm sorry. She just gets to me. She knows how to push my buttons, and it kills me that, after all this time, I still react to her crap."
"Your mom?" he asked softly, and Aislynn nodded. "She's that bad, huh?"
"Let’s just say she killed the high I had going from the awesome time we had last night. I will never forgive her for that," she joked, but then turned gloomy again. "Thank you for this. I know people say it a lot, but you really have no idea how much this means to me. Thank you for giving me your support, even without knowing what it's for."
"I don't care what it is. I just want to see you happy," he said, and gave her a soft kiss on the lips. "I know something else that will make you happy."
"What is that?"
There are actually two things. One of them involves our naked bodies on top of this kitchen island.
Jace nervously cleared his throat before answering. "Breakfast. Let me feed you."
"All right," Aislynn said after taking a deep sigh. "I guess that would help, too."
"Too?" he asked, intrigued and hopeful.
"Hi there, girlie. I haven't seen you do the walk of shame in like…well, ever," Ellie said as Aislynn walked into the apartment.
"Funny, ha ha."
"Sleeping with the guy after the fifth date? You tramp," Ellie said playfully.
"The first three were non-dates, so they don't count. And not that it's any of your business, but I haven't slept with him yet. Which reminds me—you know whose business it isn't either? My mom's. How the hell does she know about Jace?" she said, the tone of her voice now higher by several octaves.
"You called her? I told you to call me first!"
"What happened, Ellie?"
"Okay, but promise not to kill Evan. I still haven't slept with him either, and I really want to."
Ellie went on to explain how she and Evan have the exact same phone with the same ringer. While Ellie was in the bathroom, Evan picked up a call from Pam thinking it was his phone. She introduced herself, and somehow manipulated him into revealing that Aislynn was out on a date. "How bad was it when you talked to her?"
"She even brought up Christopher. It was very special," Aislynn said with full-on sarcasm.
"What's her deal? She's really starting to piss me off."
"I have no clue. The woman has zero insight into how the things she says hurt me. I've tried everything over the years to get her to understand that fact, but it always backfires."
"How's it possible she doesn't see it? Do you really think she's that dense?"
"I guess in a way I'd rather think that than consider she's doing it on purpose." They sat in silence for a few moments, before she continued. "So, where's Evan today?"
"Why?" Ellie asked suspiciously.
"Because I need to go kick his cute Rangers’ loving ass."
"It is a cute ass. Please keep your hands off it."
"You haven't slept with him yet? Really?" Aislynn asked, obviously surprised.
"Okay, now you're just making me sound a little slutty."
The following week was pretty hectic for everyone. Ellie had a new design project going on and was busy planning Jace's housewarming party. Jace didn't travel, but he was attending meetings all over town. Evan was working long hours at the bar and spending as much time as he could with Ellie.
Aislynn went on a writing frenzy to make the deadline for an upcoming meeting with Lana. The argument with her mom had allowed her to get into the frame of mind she needed to work on some of the darker subject matter in her novel.
Thanks for that, Mom.
That morning, Aislynn was rushing out of her apartment to go to the gym. When she opened the front door, she found a
gorgeous-looking Jace with his fist up in the air, about to knock on her door.
"Good morning, babydoc," Jace said with a sexy smirk. "Did you turn off your phone again? Are you still avoiding your mom?"
"Of course," she said and turned her attention to the bag he was carrying. "What's that in your hand?"
"Coffee and bagels from that place we went to two weeks ago."
"Oh my God! I could kiss you right now."
"By all means, please do," he said. Aislynn grabbed him by his tie and pulled him to her, kissing him playfully and walking them both into the apartment at the same time.
"Wow, I've never been with a girl that gets turned on by coffee."
"I don't get turned on by coffee. I get turned on by good coffee and handsome coffee-delivery guys," she said, fluttering her eyelashes at him.
"You tease," Jace joked while holding her in his arms. "Where are you off to?"
"The gym. Want to come with me?" she asked, and led him to the kitchen to set up the food at the breakfast bar.
"I'm on my way to the office. I just wanted to bring you breakfast. Do you have any plans for tonight?"
"I was actually thinking about cooking you dinner. Can we have a quiet night in?"
"That'd be great," he said with a bright smile. "Okay, I have to run. I literally just wanted to feed you and steal a kiss. See you tonight?"
"It's a plan."
Later that day, as she perused the produce at the farmer’s market, Aislynn thought about how much more comfortable she felt with her blossoming relationship with Jace now that she had survived her initial freak out. It was definitely getting easier to let her guard down. She did have moments of panic at the thought of giving in completely and letting him know everything about her past, but she was getting better at talking herself through them. Ellie was ecstatic that she at least was giving the relationship a chance and that there had been no more talk about leaving San Diego.
With the fish in the oven, the potatoes peeled, and the vegetables ready to be steamed, Aislynn poured herself a glass of wine and put on some music. A few minutes later, she received a call from Jace.