He leaned over her, molding his chest to her back and kissed the nape of her neck. Then he opened his mouth and sucked and nibbled at the exposed skin.
Kate’s body spasmed and she moaned. “Mm. I like that. A lot.”
He smiled, adding another thing to the list of Kate turn-ons. His body protested as he pulled out of her, and his legs shook as he made the trip to the bathroom. After he cleaned himself up, he found Kate peering at the table he just bent her over.
“Shit, I’m sorry.” Her smooth forehead was furrowed by a frown.
“What?”
“My belt scratched the table.” Her finger traced a tiny mark on the surface.
James waved his hand. “Pft. That’s nothing.”
“It’s right in the middle of the table.”
He nodded. “And now, when I eat, I’ll think about bending you over and fucking you. I can live with that.” He tilted his head and trailed kisses up the side of her neck.
“Mmm.” She leaned her head to the side, giving him greater access. “I like that too.” She giggled. “I like everything you do.”
James beamed at her. “That’s very gratifying.”
Her stomach growled and she held it. “We need to make dinner.”
“Right. Now I’m ready for instructions.”
As they ate dinner, Kate kept staring at the scratch in the surface. “Please don’t worry about it.” He pointed out another dozen scratches. “This one,” he said as he ran his finger along a gouge near the middle of the table, “is from when Jeff dropped it on a railing outside my apartment in Santa Barbara.” He frowned as he touched the dent from when he threw his keys the night he came home and found Tina in their bed with another man. He didn’t want to share that story with her, so he moved to the next one. “And then I dropped it when I moved here.” He fingered a dent on the edge of the table. “As you can see, this table has been through a lot. Getting a scratch from you is the best thing that's ever happened to it.” He smiled at her.
“What are you doing this weekend?” Kate asked just before she left.
James grinned. “You?”
She smacked his arm playfully and raised an eyebrow.
He shrugged. “I’ve got a little grading to do. What do you have planned?”
“I’ve, um, got a meeting tomorrow. It might last a while.” She opened her mouth like she was going to say something else, but nothing came out. She smiled and said, “Call me when you need a break from grading.”
He kissed her again before he could let her go.
* * * *
James called her twice on Saturday, but it went right to voicemail both times. In an attempt to distract himself, he wrote the first half of the next intro chemistry test, which was enough to put him to sleep that night. Grading took up most of Sunday morning and by mid-afternoon his head was pounding.
This time, when James dialed Kate, she answered. “Hello.” Her voice was as smooth and sweet as honey.
He smiled as he answered her. “I missed you yesterday.”
“Me too.”
“How was your meeting?” James wanted to know where she had been, but didn’t want to press her if she didn’t want to tell him.
She didn’t offer any information. “It was great. I’ll tell you all about it. Someday. How’s grading?”
James rubbed his temples. “Frustrating. I need a break.”
“Go out on your balcony.” She paused. “Look in the chair.”
James picked up a pair of binoculars. “Where did these come from?” He adjusted the width between the eyepieces and focused across the street. There she was; third story up, fourth window from the right.
She waved at him. She was wearing his T-shirt. “Consider it a late Halloween present.”
He waved back. “Can you see me?”
She squinted and shook her head. “Not really.”
“I want you to come over.”
“Can’t. You’re too busy grading.”
“But I can’t focus anymore,” James whined.
“Sure you can. You just need to blow off a little steam.” She flashed her white teeth before she went on. “If I were there, I’d help with that.”
“You’re good at blowing.”
She laughed. “Hang on.” The phone clattered and a muffled sound came through his receiver.
His mouth hung open as he watched her peel his shirt off, leaving her completely naked in front of the window.
“Strip. And because I can’t see you, I’m going to have to take your word for it.”
James hesitated for a few seconds. “I can’t hold the phone, binoculars and strip. Wait a second, I’m connecting my headset.” Jeff gave him a wireless headset last year, and this was the first time he’d needed to use it. When he came back out onto the balcony, he dropped his pants and boxers and draped his shirt over the railing, shielding his naked body. “Okay.”
“You’re naked?”
“Yes.”
“What do you want me to do?” Kate sat on the edge of a chair.
James took a deep breath. “Can you put the phone down, you’re going to need both hands.”
Kate grinned and propped the phone on her desk. “You’re on speaker.”
“Good. Touch your nipples until they’re nice and hard.”
“Like this?” Her hands moved in concentric circles.
James’ focus was split between her face and her breasts. Her mouth was parted and her nipples were hard. His throat was suddenly very dry. “Yes. Like that.”
“Am I making you hard?”
“Very.”
“Touch yourself and tell me what you want.”
“I want you to suck your finger into your mouth.” His cock jumped in his hand.
She pushed her middle finger into her mouth and moaned as she sucked on it. Her eyes were closed, and she was still rubbing her nipples with her other hand.
James was holding his breath.
She leaned back in the chair.
“Open your legs.” His head began to swim.
Kate complied and smiled, keeping her eyes closed.
“Now I want you to fuck yourself.” He struggled to form words.
Her finger descended slowly, pausing before she made contact. “Take a breath.”
James gasped, and Kate smiled again.
She pushed between the pink folds of her pussy. Each languid stroke of her slit made him shudder and was matched by his hand pumping his cock.
“You want me to fuck myself?” Her soft words licked at his ear. He growled. She thrust her finger inside and moaned. “Mmm.” Her mouth went slack and her breathing quickened. “I’m gonna come. Come with me.”
James grunted and squeezed his cock as he painted the balcony.
Her satisfied sigh filled his ear. “See? All better.”
“Well, I don’t know. Better. But not all better.”
“I’ll make it up to you in person.”
“Promise?”
Kate nodded. “Grade. I’m going to work on homework.”
Her words snapped him back to reality. Homework. She had homework because she was a student. His student. He shouldn’t be having phone sex with his student. He cleared his throat. “Okay. See you tomorrow?”
“One o’clock, just like every Monday.”
Another reminder stabbed through him.
* * * *
James finished grading just in time to make the drive to Jeff and Heather’s house.
Heather made a habit of putting Miles to bed right after dinner, which always gave Jeff and James time to talk.
“She gave me a gift.”
Jeff leaned a little closer.
“Binoculars.”
Jeff rolled his eyes. “So you can go birding? Nerd.”
“She lives in the dorms across the street from me.”
“Mmm, slightly better than watching birds.” Jeff smiled. “The last time we talked, you were waiting for her to answer your call.”
“
She did.”
“And?”
“She came over for dinner on Tuesday.” James shook his head. “Wow, I can’t believe how much has happened is less than a week.”
“What happened?” Jeff scoffed and stared at him.
“We came to an agreement. She’s not going to tell anyone, and I won’t either.”
“Anyone besides me, you mean.”
“Obviously.”
“So you had sex again?”
James grinned and nodded. “We scratched the kitchen table.”
“Now you’re just rubbing it in.” Jeff folded his arms over his chest.
“No.” James waved his hands back and forth. “I’m not trying to rub it in. I’m trying to point out how good my life just got. She’s amazing.”
“She must be if she got you to have phone sex with her too.”
“I never said that.” James blushed.
“Not in so many words.” Jeff punched him lightly on the arm. “So your agreement…what does it change?”
James sighed. Nothing had changed between them except permission to give in to their carnal impulses.
“Are you seeing other people, or is this an exclusive secret relationship?”
James shrugged. “I don’t know. We didn’t discuss that.”
“I suggest you do before someone gets hurt.” Jeff gave him a pointed look. “And by someone, I mean you.”
Chapter 13
Kate had been nervous to meet with the loan officer of her credit union Saturday. She brought her business plan with cost estimates for everything she thought she might need. She had been scanning property listings online and had printed a stack of suitable properties for lease.
Her hands shook as she handed Ms. Watts her stack of papers and her notebook.
After introductions, Kate got down to business. “I want to open a bakery, and I’ll need a loan for supplies and possibly equipment.”
Ms. Watts smiled at her and looked through her notebook. “You certainly came prepared.” Her eyes scanned the monitor of her computer. “You’ve been saving for some time now, I see.”
Kate nodded and took a deep breath and fidgeted in her seat while Ms. Watts looked over her work. Words gushed out of her mouth. “This is my future. I have worked for restaurants on and off for the past four years. I know how they work, and I know exactly what I want. I have researched every detail of my plan, and every moment I spend on it, I can feel, in my heart, that this is the right thing for me.”
Ms. Watts chuckled. “I certainly appreciate your enthusiasm. Tell me about the properties.”
“They’re right there.” Kate nodded to the pile.
“Yes, I can see a stack of properties, but which one do you like the most?”
Kate shrugged and then her shoulders sagged into the chair.
“Here’s what I suggest you do. Before we go any further, go see a couple of properties. Talk to the landlords and get a feel for the neighborhoods. Then we’ll talk. If you end up leasing a property that needs new equipment, the loan is going to be substantially higher, so until you decide which one you want, there’s not much we can do.”
“But I have a good chance of qualifying for a loan, right?” Her breath caught as she waited for her answer.
“I think everything will work out just fine.” Ms. Watts stood up and offered her hand to Kate. “One step at a time, Kate.”
“Right. Thank you.” Kate shook her hand, grinning from ear to ear.
The soonest she could see properties, was Tuesday and Thursday of the next week.
When she talked to James on Sunday, she was anxious to tell him, but directed him to his new binoculars instead. She didn’t want to share her plan until she had something solid. It wasn’t real yet.
Kate was hoping to see James Monday evening, but when she texted him, he was working with his thesis student and didn’t know when he’d be free. Kate made dinner for Meg instead, and got the full scoop on Meg’s family. She hadn’t been home with Meg since the fourth of July, and when Meg brought up Thanksgiving, Kate froze.
“I have plans.” Kate played with her fork, unable to look at her friend.
“I thought you weren’t going home this time.”
“I’m not.” Their eyes met for a split second.
“What plans?”
Kate blushed. “Well, um, I got an invitation to join someone for dinner, so I’m going to do that.”
Meg’s mouth hung open. “Someone?” She stared at Kate until Kate looked away. “Is it James? Are you seeing James?”
Kate nodded slowly. “We just got back together and I wanted to tell you, but…”
“Kate, you don’t need to worry about me. I won’t tell anyone. I swear. I thought you were spending an awful lot of time at the library.”
Kate’s shoulders relaxed. “Thanks Meg. So you’re not mad at me?”
“I know where you’re coming from. You can’t stay away from him. Remember me with Neil last year?”
Kate and Meg both laughed.
Kate sighed. “There’s more.”
Meg narrowed her eyes. “Well?”
Kate leaned across the table and looked her friend in the eye. “You promise not to laugh at me?”
“Promise.” Meg’s face was dead serious.
“I’m going to open a bakery.” The words spilled out, one after another.
Meg’s mouth fell open again. “Are you shitting me?”
Kate shook her head.
“Why would I laugh? I think it’s a brilliant idea. One I seemed to have heard before. I don’t know how many times Tim and I have suggested you open a restaurant. Kate!” Meg stood and pulled her friend into a hug. “How far have you gotten? I want details.”
Kate beamed. “I love you, you know that, right? Can I show you my business plan?”
Meg’s enthusiasm for her bakery took the edge off Kate’s nerves for her first day of seeing properties. Meg offered to go with her, but because Kate didn’t know what to expect, she didn’t want to drag Meg into it.
“I’ll tell you what. If I find something worth seeing, I’ll take you with me the next time.”
“Deal.”
“You can’t tell anyone about that either. Promise me.”
“If I were you, I’d be shouting from the rooftops.” Meg was still looking through her notebook of sketches and price lists.
“I’m excited, but if something goes wrong, or it doesn’t happen, I don’t want to have to explain what happened. You know?”
* * * *
The next day, when Kate was working in the back office, James poked his head in. No one was around.
“I missed you.” James was close enough she could feel his body heat.
She smiled and stared at his lips, his soft, perfect lips. When she noticed him closing the gap between them, she shook her head, reminding them both not to be careless. “Not here. It’s not safe.”
His shoulders sank. “Right. Can I see you later?”
“I’ve got stuff.” She had no idea how long it would take her to look at three properties, but she didn’t want to make plans and have to break them.
“Sounds mysterious.” He was smiling, but his shoulders were still drooping.
“Kate? You still back there?” Carrie’s voice called out as she neared the door.
Kate picked up the stapler in front of her and shoved it in James’ hand. “Feel free to borrow it, but you have to bring it back.”
James pulled his lips back over a tight smile. “Thanks, Miss Rhodes.” He backed out of the office.
Kate motioned to the door where he had just disappeared. “Dr. Baker’s stapler jammed. I hope it’s okay.”
Carrie nodded. “Of course.”
She sighed when Carrie seemed to believe it.
* * * *
When Kate showed up at the first property, she waited for nearly an hour for the realtor to show up. He moved in a flurry around the space, scanning the listing sheet to answer her questions. The re
staurant was in a prime location and the appliances were all new. The price tag on the lease reflected both of those things and the more she walked around the empty space, the more she realized she would have to get a much bigger loan to make this one work. The realtor didn’t seem to care one way or another if she was interested in the property. After she thanked him, he locked the door and drove away without a backward glance.
Kate checked the clock in her car. Although she had planned the meetings an hour and a half apart, she didn’t have enough time to get to the second property. She had fifteen minutes to get across town. She called the other realtor and pushed their meeting back by twenty minutes.
The two properties were like night and day. This time, the realtor didn’t have to answer any questions because the rooms were empty. No tables, chairs, counters, stoves, ovens, or sinks. Gas and water lines were capped off at the wall, and as Kate looked around the kitchen, she started adding up the cost of appliances. It was even more than the other place.
As she sat in her car, she rested her head against the steering wheel. She had just wasted three hours and had nothing to show for it. She sighed as she drove to the next appointment.
If she was disappointed with the first two, the third was worse. The restaurant was part of a building that housed several other businesses, all of which were rundown to the point it looked like the whole building had been condemned. She walked through anyway, and she only had one question. “How long has it been vacant?”
Five years. This building had been sitting here longer than she’d been in California. The grimy windows had five years of dust and cobwebs. The thought of getting this place ready for customers was enough to sap the rest of her energy.
Kate drove home but couldn’t get out of her car. She didn’t want to go to her empty dorm, and she didn’t want to go crying to Meg again about how sucky her life was. She looked in her rearview mirror and glanced up at James’ apartment. The light was still on.
“Can I come over?” she texted.
“:)” he replied.
She drove to his apartment, too tired to walk. The three flights of stairs nearly wiped her out.
James greeted her with a smile, and then he was hugging her and rubbing her back. “Want a shower?”
Sweet Chemistry Page 10