He put his arm around my shoulder and pulled me close. I pressed myself up against him. Normally I didn’t like to be touched so much. Mostly I didn’t appreciate where guys would put their hands when they touched me.
Reece was different. In every way. He felt like a homecoming. Like I’d been lost for years and didn’t know it, like sleeping in a bed after months on the floor. He felt warm and comfortable, like a best friend, only better. With a best friend you don’t feel giddy from the attraction.
I’d been trying to control the fluttering in my belly all day. I reminded myself constantly to keep in the moment and not think about the taste or feel of his lips, of how hard his chest felt beneath my fingers but how soft and contoured it felt when I leaned against it. I successfully kept all that at bay, until now.
I shivered. Thinking I felt cold, Reece pulled me in front of him and leaned his chest against my back with his arms wrapped around my shoulders.
“Maybe ice cream’s not the best choice for dessert,” his breath tickled my ear. “Do you want to go somewhere else?”
“I’m fine,” I answered. And then I remembered what happened earlier in the car. If equal footing was what he wanted, I could arrange that. “Besides, if you insist on being so close, I need something to cool me off.”
I felt his chest quiver with laughter. A soft sound escaped from the back of his throat as he squeezed me tighter and kissed the top of my head. His lips moved down to my earlobe. He brushed my hair back away from my neck and then regained his gentle hold on me. His mouth caressed my neck sending delightful sensations through my body, a yearning, rumbling inside me.
“If being close heats you up what does this do for you?” He whispered softly.
Returning to my senses, I spun out of his embrace with my heart racing, feeling flush and embarrassed. A desire unlike anything I’d ever known burned inside me. I looked around to see if anyone else had the slightest inkling of what he just said or did. No one seemed to notice, no one but Reece. He looked amused.
“You caught me off guard before.” He said, “Now I’m looking forward to your enticing comments. They really help build the ego.” He winked.
“If your ego gets any bigger you’re going to need a truck to drive it in.”
“Oh,” he held his hand up to his chest, “that really hurts.”
“You are some piece of work!”
“So I’ve been told.”
An unexpected pang of jealousy shot through me. I wondered just how many other girls told him that. And then I noticed the three girls in front of the line. They were stealing glances in our direction, laughing. One girl would move, position herself for a peek, turn back and then they’d tighten up into a huddle again.
His eyes followed mine, and Reece reached for my hand and pulled me back to his side. He focused on me, and me alone, like no one else in the world existed.
“You have a fan club.” I kept my voice low so only he could hear.
“They’re jealous of you.” He leaned over and whispered.
“And why is that?” I asked, knowing full well I would be jealous of every girl crossing his path from this moment on.
He smirked, “Because we’re going steady.”
I laughed in response. “Do you always get your way?”
He shrugged, “Honestly, no one ever mattered enough. You’re the first girl I had to make mine.”
I had to think fast, we were next in line. There were two ways I could take the conversation, but I wasn’t sure which way I wanted to go. Did I want to delve into his past, which would inexorably invite him into mine, or did I want to explore our future?
“What are your intentions? I mean with us?” My voice squeaked, which irked me. Why couldn’t I sound poised and self-assured?
Reece looked at me, his face a blank. My stomach churned. The attendant took our orders and handed us our vanilla milkshakes before Reece spoke another word to me.
We went back to his car and sat there with the windows open sipping our shakes without saying a word for what seemed like an eternity. I began to think he might not have heard me.
Reece placed his cup in the cup holder and shifted his body so he could look at me comfortably. I leaned my head against the seat. Now he knew or would know very soon, when it came to guys, I wasn’t just playing hard to get, I was a total dork.
“I’m sorry,” he started.
I turned to look out the window and decided to let him off the hook. I didn’t want to hear what I already knew. “It’s fine.”
“Jenna. Look at me.”
I wouldn’t. It took every ounce of self-control to keep the tears swelling in my eyes from running down my cheeks. He took my hand in his.
“I had to get the words right in my head before I answered. It’s all been go with the flow, live in the moment, so I didn’t have it articulated.”
My heart thudded loudly. I felt certain he could hear it.
“Jenna, please look at me,” he pleaded and I lost my will. I wanted to get an up-close look into his honey eyes while I still could. I turned to him. The corners of his lips curled up into a big bright smile. The apprehension I felt a moment before, gone.
“That’s better.” He smiled. “My intentions are to get to know you a lot better. I want to know everything about you.” He took his time getting the words out, giving each word its proper weight.
“I want to go places and do things with you. Have more days like today, not just stay in, hangout and make out. Not that there’s anything wrong with that,” he gave my hand a squeeze. “Believe me I want to do that too. But that’s not all I want to do.”
His words, his expression were too perfect. As if he knew. Once again warning bells rang. Mike could have set this all up, prepped his friend thoroughly so I’d let my guard down.
“Reece,” I still felt fear clutching at my chest. “I’m not comfortable with . . .” I felt my face get hot. I knew my cheeks were red and I felt the heat and color traveling all the way to my ears. “I’m not good with all that boyfriend girlfriend stuff. You know, the hangout and make out stuff. I’m not very . . . experienced, and the thing is, I’m not sure I want that to change.”
“I don’t care. That’s not what this is about.”
“Are you really okay with that?” I asked skeptically.
“Were you not listening to me?” He smiled and ran his fingers through my hair. “No one ever got under my skin like you. No one else ever made me feel incomplete. So no, I never felt I had to ‘Get my way,’ with anyone before,” he smirked. “And you could take that any way you want.”
“Do you expect me to believe you didn’t chase after Rebecca?” Now I knew he was lying.
He answered without hesitation. “I didn’t have to, she came after me. I’d come back from class and find her waiting for me. I’d go to dinner, and she’d invite herself to sit at our table. We had a few classes together, and she’d always find a way to sit near me.”
I know the intention behind his words was to make me feel better, but instead I felt worse. My imagination took over and I pictured his world away at school, completely separate from me. I felt intimidated by the thought of girls pursuing him, girls who wouldn’t know or care that we were “going steady.” Insecurity took over.
He searched my eyes, “We’ll take things slow. You’ll set the pace.”
The moment was broke by my cell phone. I rummaged through my pocketbook for the phone. Grace. I decided to ignore the call and shoved the phone back into my purse.
“Everything alright?” Reece asked.
“Wonderful,” I answered sarcastically.
“Grace?”
I nodded.
He laughed as he started the engine and headed toward home. “Give her a break. For me.”
I rolled my eyes. “Fine, but first I get to make her feel bad. Really, really bad.”
“Agreed.”
Chapter 12
Reece parked his car in front of Mike’s house. After get
ting out and retrieving Patches from the backseat, he opened my door and reached for my hand. We walked up the front steps of my house, and I turned to face him.
“Would you like to come in?” I asked.
“Sure, for a couple of minutes.”
As soon as I opened the front door my mother called down to me. “Jenna? Is that you?”
“Yes Mom,” I yelled up to her. I turned to Reece and whispered, “I won’t get mad if you want to leave.”
He smiled. “No worries I’m not about to run off. Besides, parents usually like me.”
“There you are.”
I looked up and spotted my mother at the top of the steps, beginning her way down.
“So is this the boy you spent the entire day with?” She asked.
“Hi, Reece Walton,” he extended his hand and flashed an award winning smile.
“Hello Reece, nice to meet you.” She had her poker face on, trying to size him up. “And what is this?” She asked her eyes falling on Patches.
“Reece won him for me.” I hugged Patches.
“Impressive. Where did you go?”
“First we went to Six Flags, then dinner, after that we went for ice cream,” I answered.
“Sounds like fun.” She kept glancing between us, a strange look on her face.
“We even went on a roller coaster,” I said.
Her eyes opened wide. “How on earth did you get her on a roller coaster?”
Reece looked sheepish as he answered, “Actually we got each other on.”
“I see.” She looked as if she arrived at some sort of judgment. “Would you like to come up and have a snack?” She offered.
“No thanks.” Reece smiled. “I need to get going. It was nice meeting you.”
Mom went upstairs and gave us a chance to say goodbye with a bit of privacy. Reece took a step closer to me. He scooped me into his arms and looked down with a smile.
“Thank you for a wonderful time.”
“Thank you,” I insisted.
He took one hand from my waist and used it to brush my hair away from my face. His eyes held mine for a long while. My heartbeat picked up speed as he stroked the side of my face gently and stared at my lips. He dipped his head down, and I held my breath in anticipation, unable to contain the thrill running through me, until he kissed my cheek.
“I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Before I could protest he was out the door. I didn’t move for a minute, wondering after the buildup he gave earlier, why would he just kiss me on the cheek and run out? As the answer came to me I laughed out loud. He wanted to show me he intended to keep his word and let me set the pace.
I locked the door and ran upstairs, certain my parents would put me through the third degree. Just as I thought they were seated at the kitchen table drinking coffee, talking.
Since my parents rarely sat and spoke at the kitchen table when it wasn’t centered on a meal or company, I knew I’d been right and they were waiting to grill me. I didn’t mind talking about Reece, in fact I looked forward to the opportunity, but this felt more like they were ready for an inquisition than a discussion. I decided to throw them a curve ball.
“Mom, Dad, I need a minute. Grace has been calling all day and I haven’t had a chance to answer my phone.”
“You can call her after we talk,” Mom smiled.
“We did a lot Mom. Lots of details. Let me tell her I’ll call her back, I’ll just be a minute.”
I opened my pocketbook and reached my hand in poised to pull my phone from it. I didn’t feel it. I rummaged around frustrated. I couldn’t find it.
“Why don’t you use the house phone,” my father suggested. “Don’t know why we bother to keep the landline if no one ever uses it.”
Ignoring him I turned my pocketbook upside down and emptied its contents. No phone.
“Jenna.” My mother called growing impatient.
“Mom, give me a minute okay?” I thought back to the last time I had it. “It must’ve fallen out in Reece’s car. Let me go get it. I’ll be right back.”
I didn’t wait or hesitate knowing my parents would stop me if I gave them the opportunity. I ran out the door as quickly as I could, with them calling out behind me, and sprinted over to Mike’s. I stopped in front of his house and took my time walking to the front door so I could catch my breath. His windows were open and noise and laughter came spilling out from inside.
The closer I got to his house the clearer the noise became. The sounds I heard became distinguishable as voices. At first I listened innocently as I headed for the door, not meaning to eavesdrop but when I heard the things being said I had to stop and listen.
“Seriously Dude, how far did you get?” I heard an unfamiliar male voice.
“I told you I don’t kiss and tell,” Reece answered completely unflustered.
“You didn’t have to with Becca,” the strange voice said, “she put on a pretty good show for us all to see.” Laughing ensued.
I clenched my jaw imagining, what they were hooting about in there.
“He got nowhere, just like I said,” that voice I knew well. Mike. “C’mon Brandon, pay up.”
I felt like someone kicked me in the teeth.
My hands balled into fists, anger rose from my toes to the top of my head. I should have known better. Mike had been doing this for the last two years, convincing guys to ask me out just so he could take bets. Meanwhile they’d take me to some isolated place and paw at me, trying to get me out of my clothes. Any friend of Mike’s was a natural enemy to me.
“What the hell did you do?” Reece’s voice boomed.
I thought someone spotted me and gave Reece a heads up. I didn’t care. Unlike him, I had nothing to hide. I did nothing wrong. My eyes burned with rage. I swallowed hard ready to go in there and lash out at all of them.
I was most angry with myself. I shouldn’t have gone anywhere with Reece under any circumstances. Foolishly, I allowed him to convince me he was different. I opened up to him and left myself vulnerable.
“Calm down man,” Mike answered in an appeasing tone.
“You placed bets on my date?” The fury in Reece’s voice caught me by surprise. He didn’t know. I inhaled, trying to stop my hands from shaking and restore a sense of calm.
“It’s no big deal. I just told them you wouldn’t make it to first base with her.” Mike explained. “Nothing personal, I just know her. Brandon thought you’d at least get to second.”
I felt my cheeks get pink. I never even met Brandon and to have him thinking of Reece and me, imagining us kissing and touching and performing all kinds of acts I felt embarrassed even thinking about, made me feel cheap and dirty.
“No wonder she hates you,” Reece said to Mike, his voice tinged with disgust.
“She doesn’t hate me.” Mike barked.
“I swear Mike if you ever do anything like this again I’ll make you wish you never knew her name.” Reece’s voice sounded deep, harsh.
“It was nothing. Stop making it such a big deal.”
I took that as my cue. I knew of only one way to end this once and for all and shut them all up. I had enough of Mike, and I allowed him to have too large an impact on my life. It ended now. The time had come to take back the power.
I rang the doorbell. Someone must have looked out the window as I heard snickering, mumbling and kissing noises. Not bothering to come to the door, or ask who it was, Mike called for me to come in.
I entered to find Reece standing in the middle of the living room, looking like a little boy caught cutting the dog’s hair. Mike, the blue eyed guy from the party, and someone I presumed to be Brandon were all spread out on the couch, love seat and recliner. Mike clutched a Nerf football as if he intended to throw it, but all eyes were on me. They all looked amused to see me, hiding behind their smirks and sneers. All but Reece who looked horrified.
I scanned the room for a moment, desperate not to meet anyone’s eyes for fear I’d feel humiliated and lose my
nerve. I became vaguely aware of a baseball game on TV. The tables in the room were covered with soda cans, and bowls of chips and pretzels. The scent of beer and sweat hung heavy in the air.
“Jenna,” Reece brought my attention back to task. I focused on his eyes, nervous about what I planned to do. “Is everything okay?” He asked.
I nodded never breaking his gaze. I knew if I kept him as my focal point it would come easy, instinctively. A sense of empowerment filled me as I approached him slowly, doing my best to walk seductively like I’d seen girls do on television or in the movies when they’re trying to get a guy to notice them. Not a problem for me, I had the attention of a whole room full of guys.
“I forgot something.” I said looking up at him through my lashes.
“What’s that?” He looked stiff and uncomfortable.
I thought of his earlier depiction of a kiss as a main feature, and batted my eyelashes ready to put his theory to the test. I reached up and clasped my hands behind his neck and pulled him down toward me. Luckily he didn’t resist. He wrapped his arms around my waist and looked apologetically into my eyes.
I tightened my hold on him as I stood on my tip toes and touched my lips to his, in no way prepared for what happened next. A shocking jolt of electricity ran through me. In that moment I felt his body stiffen like a board and wondered if he felt the same strange sensation I just experienced.
As our lips touched, a burning fire ran through my body, and singed my heart like a branding iron. In that instant Reece’s thought patterns and feelings were made clear to me. I could literally feel what he felt: surprise and shock mingled with excitement at my actions. He wondered what I would do next.
And the pleasure! It became hard to distinguish where his thoughts ended and mine began. I didn’t know where or how this sudden understanding came. I never experienced anything like it before.
We were enshrouded in a pure white force field that drowned out everything around us. It was exhilarating! Like someone injected adrenaline directly into my heart. We were one, entwined at every level.
Heart Waves Page 7