Last Call

by Michele G Miller

  "Savannah?"

  Almost reluctantly I answered. "Hmmm?"

  He pressed his hand to my lower back and kissed the top of my head while he whispered, "There’s nothing I’d like more than to strip you down and kiss every inch of your body right now, but I don't think it would be wise."

  At his confession, I pressed up on his chest so we were face-to-face.

  "That sounds like a plan to me," I teased with a seductive smile.

  "I don't want to rush things," he chastised me, tucking my hair behind my ear. "Look, we could have sex right now and I damn well know it would be amazing, but…"

  "But what?"

  "But I've done that before. Savannah - what we’re starting to have, what I feel when I'm with you - it's too perfect to screw up."

  Propped up on his chest, I stared intently into his eyes as he spoke. Those words worked better than any aphrodisiac ever could. If his goal was to cool us down, he’d made a huge tactical error.

  I leaned up and kissed him thoroughly.

  "I guess you're not mad then?" he asked when we pulled apart again.

  "Gage, you are too perfect to be real. I don't know how I got so lucky to have you enter into my life, but I don't want to screw this up either."

  "Good," he agreed, hugging me tightly. "I would like to hear you whimper a little more, though." He covered my mouth and began to kiss me; our mouths and tongues moving suggestively together for hours.

  A shaft of mellow sunlight filtered into the room and warmed my face the following morning. In a sleep induced haze, I tried to pull a pillow over my face and met with resistance. Opening one eye slightly, I came face to face with a gorgeous Australian, and the previous night came flashing back to me.

  "Morning," he muttered sleepily, and tucked me against his warm side.

  I wrapped my hand over his stomach and sighed with contentment. "Morning."

  "This is exactly what I wanted. Seeing your sleepy face and hearing you breathing next to me all night is way better than a morning call."

  "What time is it?" I groaned. The light hitting my face forcefully declared it was morning, but my body protested getting up yet after such a late, and draining, night.

  "It's only eight-thirty, sweetheart. Go back to sleep for a few more hours."

  "Mmmm, okay." I snuggled into him. My shirt was hiked up around my waist and his hot skin touched my stomach as I got comfortable. Smiling at the intimate contact, I drifted back to sleep while Gage played with my hair.

  I woke again, after what seemed like minutes, feeling an intense warmth between my legs. My nerves twitched as Gage's fingers swirled over my inner thigh. It was like they were teasing thin ice; seeing how close he could go without falling in.

  Catching his hand, I hissed, "Really. Can't a person get some sleep around here?"

  "Not on my watch," he tossed back, and before I knew what hit me, I was thrown flat on my back with Gage straddling me.

  He imprisoned my hands above my head with one hand, while his other began to ease my t-shirt up. His smooth fingers lightly skimmed my ribs, making me buck my hips as he tickled me. The dirty boy eyebrow raise Gage threw me told me he was quite fond of my hip thrusts.

  "I'd like to make a habit of this."

  "What? Attacking me?"

  "You wish," he kidded, and swooped in for a quick kiss. "I like you in my bed. Stay again tonight?"

  "Gage…" I waffled, looking at his boyish grin as he asked me to stay.

  A flash of disappointment crossed his face and he released my arms and scooted off of me. "I'm sorry, Savannah, I know I said no expectations. I shouldn't press you."

  "Nooo," I exclaimed, not wanting him to get the wrong idea. "Gage, I…listen, I think you were right last night. We need to slow down some. It would be so easy to get caught up in this…this physical attraction, but I don't want to move so fast that we just crash and burn."

  I thought about Spencer and Daniel and how I still needed to get closure with both of them before I could really move on. As much as I wanted to be with Gage, if I didn't close those doors completely the wounds of the past might have a way of ripping open again, and I didn't want them to affect us.

  Deciding on a slower course of action, I sat up and held out my hand for his. "You know how you said we needed to not have sex because of what you feel when we’re together?"

  He shook his head and his lips were tight; a muscle in his jaw flexing as he clenched it shut. "Gage, I feel that too. I want to explore it and be careful with it, so that whatever this is between us can grow stronger. Can we take it slow? Take some time to date?"

  "Of course. Savannah, I’ll do whatever makes you most comfortable, as long as I get to kiss you when I want."

  "Kiss me now?"

  Thursday - May 16, 2013

  Triple Date Night

  The following week was a blur.

  Before leaving Gage's house Sunday after brunch, we decided to take things slower and not get too physical too quickly.

  "What is it southern men do? ‘Courting’, right?"

  "Sure, if we lived in the eighteen hundreds."

  "Well sweetheart, you deserve to be courted."

  "You do know that means supervision at all times…"

  "To hell with courting then," he laughed; grabbing me and kissing me. "How about we have a quiet date night this week? Ladies choice."

  "Only one?"

  "I know how crazy the gallery showcase is going to be for you, and I don't want to monopolize your time or energy. Plus John’s on vacation for a few days, so I have to be at the bar to run it."

  "Oh? Are you thinking he’s going to be the new manager then?"

  "I think so. He’s still in need of an assistant, though. But don't change the subject …how about Thursday night?"

  "Sounds great. Why don’t you come to my house and let me cook for you? We'll have a chill movie night – just me, you and the girls."

  "Sounds kinky." He winked and waggled his brows suggestively.

  "Um, no," I deadpanned, looking for something to toss at him. "Tell you what, if you don't mind I'll have Sara and Candace invite dates. You know, to equalize the hormone level.”

  "So now it's an orgy? Damn! I knew I liked you for a reason."

  "Gage."

  Bowing his head like an abashed toddler he mumbled, "Sorry." Then he ruined the choir boy look by raising those sexy brown eyes and smiling his one dimpled smile at me.

  Butter.

  He'd turned me into freaking butter and I melted at the sight of that smile.

  Sara and Candace were all up for a triple date night, and when Thursday evening finally came around I was shocked to find Candace already in the kitchen preparing her special poppy seed chicken dish.

  "Oh my word, you are a savior, Cand," I offered, as I carried in two bags full of wine and beer. There was just one hour remaining to get ready and finish dinner.

  "No biggie, I knew you’d most likely be running late. Sara should be here soon too. She went to go grab some movies." Candace was the official chef of the house. Her cute little blond bob was currently being held back by a headband as she stirred the chopped up chicken and other ingredients to put into the casserole dish.

  I placed the grocery bags onto the counter and pulled out the salad mix. "You sent her to get movies? Good Lord...you know she’s gonna come home with something crazy."

  "That's half the fun."

  "Well look who the cat dragged in," Sara called as she walked in the front door fifteen minutes later.

  For a moment, dread hit me. I hadn't cleaned myself up yet and Gage was already there? A huge sigh of relief left me at the sight of Tony's smiling face.

  "Savannah, go change. We've got this," Candace ordered, nodding her head for me to leave the kitchen. "Tony, get your ass in here and give me a kiss and a cutting board. Sara, come help."

  "Hey, Savannah." Tony smiled, following Candace's directive and going straight to her side.

  "Tony." I nodded and t
hen stepped to the side.

  Sara stepped into the kitchen as well and pushed me towards the hall. "Let your ugly stepsisters handle this one for a change, Cinderella. Go get ready for Prince Charming."

  Gratitude wasn't a good enough word for what I felt when I looked at my two roommates. "Thanks for being the best friends a girl could ever ask for."

  Cand said a little "Awe" and Sara shrugged and pushed at me again to leave. "Go before this becomes a sappy Hallmark commercial."

  Twenty minutes later I was casually, yet cutely, dressed for a movie night with my Aussie superman, two best friends and their dates. Sara invited Chris, her on-again off-again fling from the past. I liked him, and thought he was a good guy.

  The doorbell rang at exactly six-thirty to signal Gage's arrival.

  "Well he’s punctual, that's for sure," Sara laughed, and I wiped my hands on the apron tied around my waist to keep my clothes clean. As I walked to the door I stole a quick glance in the mirror hanging on the wall, and couldn't help but notice the smile plastered on my face.

  I opened the door to find Gage with at least two dozen roses in his hand.

  "Wow, you've come ready to make a good impression." I leaned in and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before inviting him into the house.

  "These are to replace your secret admirer’s flowers."

  Introductions were made and the guys popped open some beers and began to talk boy talk while Sara and Candace put the finishing touches on dinner and I found a vase.

  The meal was delicious and filled with boisterous conversation. I learned that Gage played in a band growing up, as did Chris, so they shared stories of assorted gigs they’d played through their college days.

  I realized that I never asked Gage about college, and deep down I felt like the snob I was sometimes accused of being. Since he was a bartender I just assumed that he’d never gone to school, and I felt horrible for not showing more interest in his life. Admittedly he had been pretty closed off about his personal life when we did have deeper conversations, but it was my fault that I hadn't tried to dig deeper.

  Sara must have seen my discomfort because she valiantly stepped in and started asking questions.

  "So Gage, I haven't grilled Savannah on all your dirt yet. You said you played in a band during college, so where did you go to school?"

  "Um, I went to the University of Melbourne for Business."

  "A business major, huh?" Sara said thoughtfully as Tony shot out, "How’s the surfing in Australia? Is it as amazing as people say?"

  "What brought you to the U.S., then? Wait - how old are you?"

  "I'm twenty-five and I came here because I wanted to check out some business opportunities."

  "Oh yes, America: the land of opportunities," Sara joked, and I almost spit out the sip of beer I'd taken.

  "Sara, this is too much like twenty questions," I warned.

  "It's fine. It's like I'm meeting your family for the first time."

  "Ha - right," Sara shouted, laughing. Candace hit her arm not so subtly. "Trust me when I say meeting us is like ninety-eight-point-eight-percent easier and safer than meeting Mrs. Guthry."

  "Ignore her, Gage," Candace jumped in, giving Sara an evil look. "We don't let her around civilized company very often. She's not passed her manners classes."

  Everyone at the table laughed and Sara grumbled a few choice words. As dinner wound down, discussions floated around to various topics and eventually the boys ganged up on us; asking for embarrassing stories about each other.

  Making our way to the living room Gage and I sat on the couch together, Candace sat on the floor between Tony's legs as he sat behind her in a chair, and Chris chose the smaller love seat. Sara grabbed the bag with the movies she’d rented for the occasion.

  "Ok, ladies and gentlemen…chick flick or something manly?"

  The fifty/fifty split could have been easily predicted by a two year old.

  "I'm not watching some dumb movie where I have to hold your hand and watch you cry all night, Candace," Tony teased. Chris chimed in his agreement. Gage looked at me and remained silent, but slung his arm over my shoulder and pulled me up close to his side.

  "Tell us what they are, and maybe we can pick from there?" I suggested.

  A pillow flew across the room, hitting Sara in the gut as she stood there teasing us with movies.

  Candace shrugged and looked around innocently while we all started chanting, "Tell us. Tell us."

  "Wow, this is a restless crowd tonight," complained Sara. "Next it'll be tomatoes."

  One of the boys mocked, "Don't tempt us." Gage snickered as he leaned into my ear. "Is she always like this?"

  I smothered a laugh at his question. "You mean an attention whore? Yes…yes she is."

  "Hey, I heard that."

  "Okay, okay people. I'll give you some hints…our chick flick tonight consists of a group of misfit girls, a will-they-or-won't-they-be-a-couple couple, and a competition."

  Candace and I looked at each other immediately - ‘Pitch Perfect’. The guys looked clueless and a little revolted.

  "Our boys choice consists of a bunch of men with big muscles doing manly things."

  "For the love of God, put in the manly film," Chris laughed, rubbing his hands together.

  "Are you sure?" she asked, glancing between Tony and Gage.

  She was up to something. Candace and I knew Sara well enough to know that there wasn't a real manly movie in that bag. She was way too jacked up on making us choose for this not to be some sort of trick.

  "I'm just here for the company," Gage answered, lightly squeezing my upper arm.

  "I'm good with it. Let’s go," Tony agreed.

  "Just remember you asked for it. Drum roll, please." We played a little drum roll on our laps, I coughed out "Drama queen," and she pulled out the movies slowly.

  "Gentlemen, you opted to not watch the marvelously funny ‘Pitch Perfect’, and instead get…‘Magic Mike’." She laughed maniacally; jumping up and down in a little dance.

  The room was immediately filled with male ire as all three of the guys complained.

  "That's bogus!"

  "How is that manly?"

  I broke into fits of laughter as Chris jumped up to wrestle the offending movie from Sara's kung fu grip.

  "No way am I watching a bunch of shaved men shaking their junk in my face!"

  Sara tossed the movie my way when Chris attacked her. I caught it and jumped off the couch before Gage could get it from my hands. He just sat there and laughed at the mayhem. Candace and Tony were playfully arguing, and Sara had fallen to the floor with Chris tickling her.

  "Hold up!" I shrieked. "This is a democracy here, people, and you can't change your vote once placed. We’ll watch ‘Magic Mike’, and perhaps you boys can learn a few moves."

  I popped the disk into the player and everyone settled down to watch the fine work, or should I say works, of art.

  Trying to watch the film suddenly became the most hilarious viewing party ever. While the girls and I hooted and hollered over the sexy men, the guys groaned, laughed and then began their "Oh whatever, I'm way hotter than that" commentary.

  Chris and Sara barely made it halfway through the movie before they slinked out of the room. Candace and Tony laughed when they walked by, but followed them thirty minutes later. I overheard the phrase "Let me show you my moves, baby" as they left the room; Candace waving goodbye over her head.

  "It's you and me and the eye candy, huh?" Gage asked, stretching his legs out a little more.

  "Told you this was a boy movie. You guys just didn't take into account how sexy we would find it. I imagine Chris and Tony are getting pretty lucky tonight."

  "I already got lucky," he admitted.

  "You did? How so?"

  "I'm sitting here with you, aren't I?"

  I bit my lip and smiled at him shyly. He was full of compliments that made me tingle from the top of my head to the tips of my toes. He pulled me up onto his lap s
o that I was facing him. My legs stretched out to the side.

  "This was a great night," he smiled, kissing my neck softly.

  "I agree. I'm so glad you could hang out with Sara and Candace."

  "Yeah, Sara scares me a bit, but I like them both. I can see why you love them."

  I chuckled and kissed him full on the mouth. "Want to check out my room?"

  "And see how the vision lives up to reality? Hell yes."

  I flicked off the TV and pulled him down the hall to my room. The candlestick lamp on my bedside table was on and the room was glowing with a warm, soft light. I let him enter first and then shut the door behind us with a sigh as I leaned against the door.

  "What?" he asked. He turned to face me and I saw how his sexy grin made his eyes crinkle.

  "I have to admit that seeing you in here is fulfilling a fantasy of mine."

  "Which one?"

  "So you assume there’s more than one?" I smirked. "Conceited much?"

  He stepped up to my body and pinned me to the door. His hands slid down my arms and clasped my wrists; swinging them up over my head.

  "Savy, if you tell me you don't have more than one fantasy with me in it, I’ll be heartbroken." He pressed his forehead to mine. "You've been the feature star of my dreams for weeks, and I'm going mad."

  My knees went weak at his confession and at his use of the nickname Savy. The slight pressure of his hands forcing mine against the door caused tingles to run through my arms. My tongue darted out and I trailed it across the crease in his lips.

  "I can't wait for the phone call to become a reality," he muttered; letting me go and running his fingers back down my sides, skimming my ribs and landing on my hips.

  "There are other things we can do, you know."

  "Hmmm, what kinds of things?" His voice definitely had a mischievous lilt to it as his arm snaked around my waist and he pinched my ass.

  I giggled as I popped the button from his jeans. "Well – there’s second base, and third, before you head home."

  "I have a feeling this is gonna kill me," he grumbled with a throaty laugh.

  "You know what they say…what doesn't kill you makes you stronger," I laughed. He pulled me towards the bed and began to kiss me deeply.