Beautifully Done

by Riley Mackenzie

  “Hey, you.” Her voice wavered, she sounded nervous.

  “You used my line.” I smirked to help break the ice. It worked. She rolled her eyes and batted her long black eyelashes.

  One hand braced on her hip, she shifted her weight to the opposite heel as my eyes flicked down to a strappy gold stiletto.

  In the sincerest voice she asked, “What’s a girl have to do to get a hug from an old friend?”

  “Not wear that.”

  “Asher!” Her cheeks and chest blushed.

  “You asked. I answered.”

  I couldn’t tell what the expression on her face meant, but I loved it. She was a vision of sophistication and beauty. We stared at each other for another moment, before I leaned forward and kissed her forehead. I lightly ran my hands along her arms then turned my head so my lips hovered above her ear. “Teeps,” I whispered, inhaling the sweetest scent of jasmine. “You, my friend, are perfection.” She was.

  Millimeters stood between her delicious ear and my tongue. Her breath hitched and the raised bumps on her skin told me she felt the same way. She wrapped her arms around my waist and stepped a little closer. The warmth of her body was enough to drive me crazy. I was as hard as steel and all I wanted to do was devour every inch of her svelte body with my mouth, starting with those legs that went on for days. I could only imagine they led to the sweetest treasure on earth. The air was thick with sexual tension. We were both breathing heavy. I pressed my lips to her temple and backed up before there would be no stopping what we started, at least not this year. I extended my hand.

  “Shall we? As much as I’m going to hate another soul seeing you in that dress, I promised the girl who used to make me pinky swear, a New Year’s to remember. I’ve never disappointed her before, I’m not going to start now.” Besides, last I checked blue balls weren’t fatal.

  She rested both her hands in mine, hooked our pinkies, and locked our eyes. “Who said she’d be disappointed?”

  I bit my inner lip and willed my other head to take control. “We’re going to go pay tribute to our girl tonight, and celebrate like only old friends can. But then, Tal, so you know, I’m done with just being friends,” I said it for the first time in my life. And I meant it.

  The softest smile parted her lips. She closed our gap and kissed my cheek. “No argument here.”

  Thank you, God. She tossed her cashmere wrap around her shoulders before we walked out.

  “You know it’s December. In New England, right?”

  “I know, I’m good.”

  This woman was going to kill me.

  Her nervous excitement was palpable. She didn’t shut up, not for one second. She chattered our entire ten-minute car ride while I sat quietly listening, swallowing and nodding. I was grateful I didn’t have to participate, not that I could have. A list of distractions had taken over my mind and body. Topping that list was how a very short dress disappeared into nowhere land when sitting in a low riding car. To think I considered taking the Cayenne. Dumb. I white knuckled the steering wheel to keep from reaching over and running my hand up her silky inner thigh. The blasting heat blowing the scant material still visible also didn’t help. I adjusted myself in the seat yet again as I drove up to the front of KimCore’s entrance.

  “Hey, Pete.” I lifted my chin toward Chase’s driver, who approached as I got out of the car.

  “Happy New Year, Mr. Craig.” He beat me to the passenger door.

  Suddenly I wondered if they would remember each other. Pete had worked for the Coltons since Chase and Kimi were in diapers. He toted our spoiled immature asses all over New York. Luckily when the parents’ corrupt little empire crumbled, Chase claimed his exclusivity. Pete was a loyal friend.

  He leaned in to take her elbow. Talia shuffled back on her spikes and her eyes widened. “Pete?” That answered that question.

  “Still kicking.” Pete chuckled and Talia beamed. I wasn’t sure who was pinker. Pete never lacked in charm. “My girl, I’d never forget that beautiful face. Ms. Talia all grown up. Wonderful to see you.” He graciously kissed her cheek, winked in my direction, and gave me a thumbs up. I joined them on the other side, shaking my head. He was another that had jumped on the nag bandwagon, especially now that Chase was hitched.

  “Happy New Year, funny guy.” We shook hands, I patted his back, and we caught up for a few minutes.

  “You two better get inside. It’s freezing out,” Pete commented as I watched his gaze drift below Talia’s hem. I couldn’t blame him, I was pretty sure I was gonna have a stiff neck by the end of the night.

  I relaxed my hand on the small of her back and egged her inside. She could have chit chatted with Pete all night. But last I checked shriveled balls were definitely fatal.

  “Oh my god, Ace, this looks amazing.” The lobby’s inhabitable chandelier transformation looked pretty damn good. A few guests had trickled in, but for the most part the venue was still barren. Her eyes slowly scanned the entire decorated expanse, landing on what I knew she was looking for. The massive black and white portrait of Kimi. “It’s perfect.”

  I trailed behind as she walked directly for it, stopping only a couple feet away. Rubbing her hands up and down her slim arms she clung to herself, almost like she was chilled.

  “She’s just how I envision her every day. Her eyes...”

  I closed our gap and pressed her back into my front, wrapping her shawl around her arms a little tighter. “I know. It’s crazy how much they all look alike.” It wasn’t just a twin thing. All of the Coltons shared a strong physical resemblance.

  “This picture is gorgeous. She was gorgeous.” She snuggled in and rested her head against my shoulder. She needed a minute. I had a lifetime. “I’m not upset, I’m relieved. I feel like she’s here with us,” she whispered, taking in a deep breath and sighing sweetly.

  “Me too, Teeps, me too.” I kissed her cheek and let her go. She took her minute and turned back to capture my gaze. After a deep, satisfied breath, she blinked her pooled tears away and interlaced our fingers.

  “You ready to show your girl a good time?” she said through the smallest sexiest smile. I stopped breathing when my heart landed in my throat. I sure as hell wasn’t expecting that. “Pretty sure you pinky swore this would be a New Year’s I’d never forget, so where’s that Prosecco you promised me?”

  It was like the weight she held was lifted. I squeezed her hand then unlaced our fingers and tucked her against my side, securing my arm around her waist. Brushing my lips against her warm temple, needing her closer, I attempted to process your girl in my male pea-sized brain. This was foreign territory.

  “Asher, Talia!” Lili shouted from across the lobby and over the music, snapping me out of my state of speechlessness. She weaved through the plethora of newly mingling guests carrying a glass of champagne. We met her halfway.

  “Happy New Year’s, guys.” She raised on her toes and pecked my cheek then focused her attention on Talia. “I’m Lili, so great to finally meet you. I was so excited when Asher told me you two had reconnected and you could come tonight.”

  “Wonderful to meet you as well. Asher has told me so much about you.”

  Lili laughed. “You get Asher and Chase in a room together you never know what secrets or embarrassing stories are gonna slip. Hopefully it’s all good.” If I hadn’t had my arm around her, I would have missed Talia’s shoulders slightly tensing. “Come, let’s get you two a drink.”

  “That’s right where we were headed,” I chimed in. “Where’s your other half?” He was always two steps behind her.

  “He didn’t call you? Ugh. There was a terrible accident, multiple head traumas, said he’ll probably be in the OR all night.” It was hard not to miss Lil’s disappointment.

  “Sucks he’s on call, Chief should have had some priority.” I leaned against the bar and caught Talia’s eyes. “Another nice thing about dermatology, huh, Tal, not too many emergencies,” I teased.

  She bumped my shoulder and
mouthed ‘hey.’

  “Good sign, he’s already teasing you,” Lili said through a smile. If she only knew we had picked right up where we left off, like we never missed a beat. “Actually he’s not on call tonight. You know he’d never miss this, but the ER called in a panic. One of those Peter Pan New York to Boston express buses flipped over.”

  “Shit, that’s horrible. He’s gonna be up all night in brains. I hope everyone’s all right.”

  “Oh, Ace, seriously.” Tal rolled her eyes and Lil laughed.

  “I can see how you fit in perfectly with the two of them, Talia.” Lili’s voice was laced with a genuine contentment.

  They smiled at each other and Talia ran a hand down my back. Peering into her eyes I could tell she was a million miles away. I was too. I wondered if we were thinking about the same memory.

  It was sophomore year. Chase’s parents were in the Hamptons at a black tie affair, leaving the Colton Manhattan penthouse the place to congregate for the weekend. Kimi’s idea, of course, the girl loved New Year’s Eve. Chase and I raided his father’s beer fridge and threw our first high school party. We had introduced the girls to Beirut and succeeded in getting them all wasted, but the highlight of the night was Kimi suggesting the hot tub. Enough said. Giggling, the girls ran upstairs and came down in, well, practically nothing, as far as my sixteen-year-old eyes could see. Let’s just say a hot tub hard-on was the least of my problems when Tal jumped out of the steamy pool and flew to the bathroom. Soaking wet, I held her hair as she puked her guts up and moaned in distress. She eventually passed out cradled on my lap on the cold marble floor, wedged between the clawfoot bathtub and the toilet. We not only missed butchering Auld Lang Syne, but five hours later I was convinced my back was broken. Not that I cared, it was the first night I ever slept with a girl. Who the hell was I kidding? That was the highlight.

  “Asspuck, this place looks freaking awesome. It came out perfect. You didn’t need me. It’s probably better I didn’t come. I would’ve tangled the crap out of those gorgeous strands of beads, me and Christmas lights ... total effing nightmare.” At this point Dodd and I ordered drinks since Sierra hadn’t come up for a breath yet. “Besides Layla was a whiney drooling disaster, but Dodd owes me now, so I’m feeling a Lili-Sierra day, and soon.”

  Talia stood off to the side witnessing the spunk, sass, and nonsense spewing from Sierra’s mouth. I warned her.

  I handed my blonde beauty her Prosecco and interrupted the stream. “Uh-hmm, this is Talia Pryce, our old friend.”

  Dodd introduced himself and politely shook her hand and Sierra did what Sierra does. “Talia, oh my god, how rude am I blabbing away. It’s so nice to meet you. And wow, my god, that dress is to die for.”

  “You must be Sierra, it’s lovely to meet you. And you look beautiful tonight.”

  Sierra shoved past me and took her elbow. Talia followed her pull and glanced in my direction. I shrugged and smirked. Good luck with that. Instantly the women turned their backs on us, forming a perfect triangle. I chuckled to myself. Lili hit the nail right on the head, my TP fit in seamlessly. The muffled chatter jumped from dress designer who, nail polish color what, join us for spa day when. Dodd and I discussed a few deals he was working on in the area, several that had longterm potential.

  “Give you six months, my friend.”

  Ha, if that. I pointed my bottle at Sierra.

  “Let me know when you need a realtor.” He shook his head and gave me a yup, no sac eye roll.

  Men were good like that, certain things never needed to be verbalized. A simple chin salute said enough. While we drank as a sign of XY camaraderie, I couldn’t help but zero in on the gossip.

  “No, you’re lucky. My girls would be spilling all out of that dress. I would look like I was working the party, if you know what I mean.” Only Sierra could carry on what sounded like a polished civilized conversation about her tits. Or Talia’s tits for that matter. “Double sided tape?” And just like that tit placement became an art project. My ears perked up waiting for that answer. That dress hadn’t budged.

  “No, actually, it’s a tighter fit than it looks.” No tape, no bra. Was it time to leave yet?

  “Hun, Stella McCartney could have hand sewed that dress on me, it wouldn’t matter. You only get away with that when you look like you ... one kid later my boobs are around my waist, wait—that’s right, I don’t have a waist. Crap, I need to get back to Zumba. Speaking of, you-” Sierra pointed to Lil, who raised her eyebrows as if to say what did I do. “You better pace yourself. You promised you would give it a try and come with me tomorrow. It’s a new year, no freaking excuses. Besides I could poke my eyes out running. Come on, Talia, you agree with me, right?”

  Tal raised her hands up to plead the fifth. Ha, she looked like me. “You ask me they both sound pretty painful.”

  Sierra contorted her face in a really unattractive way. “Don’t even tell me you’re one of those genetic freaks, I can’t...”

  Lili almost spit out her champagne.

  No offense, but women were stupid when it came to body image. Sierra was bent over her supposed baby weight. I couldn’t tell the difference. She was a beautiful woman. And from the way Dodd spent half the night eye fucking his wife, my guess was he wasn’t complaining about any new curves. Probably the opposite.

  Talia laughed at Sierra’s candor. “Umm, well, I guess there’s that, but I try and get to the yoga studio as often as possible.”

  Spandex yoga pants, ass-shaking Zumba, bare tits taped or not taped to dresses … male torture. Before I lost my gentleman status and my pants tented, I cut in on the estrogen pow-wow. “Ladies, if you don’t mind, I’m going to steal Talia. We have a date with the dance floor.”

  Talia cocked her head to the side, discreetly bit her lip, and smiled. I surprised her. This was only the beginning; I was just getting started.

  “Huh. I wouldn’t have taken you for a Maroon 5 fan, Ace?” No shit, I had balls, not a vagina. I wouldn’t have taken her for one either. She loved classic rock as much as I did back when, but I distinctly remember this song blaring the night I called her. Guess some things changed.

  “What’s not to like? Have you seen Adam behind the drums? Enough said.” The half-pint spitfire chimed in and then looked to her husband for affirmation. Really? Dodd petted Sierra’s chunky highlights, shook his head and kissed her. Smart guy.

  Talia slipped her fingers between mine. “No argument, he’s attractive. But I’ve seen better behind the drums.”

  No one would have noticed, but her eyes spoke volumes. The room suddenly got ten degrees warmer, tightening my shirt collar and pants. This woman had the ability to make me feel sixteen again. Un-fucking-real.

  On that note, I glided my other hand down her back to its new favorite spot on earth and led us away. I couldn’t care less if we danced to the Jeopardy theme song, I was done sharing and wanted her body pressed against mine. And now.

  Lili clocked our joined hands, goofy smiled, and air mouthed, “Go get ‘em, ACE.”

  Son of a bitch, I really had four sisters.

  By the time we made it underneath the illuminated glass beads, the club version of “This Love” was almost over. That was a good thing. A really good thing. Tal and I fell into step immediately. Chest pressed to chest, her sweet breath bathed my cheek as my mouth hovered over her ear. I positioned my right leg high between hers while her right arm roped around my neck, mine guiding our rhythm from her lower back. This girl knew how to dance. Always did. Her movements were soft and fluid, not overly provocative. They didn’t need to be. Her long lines accentuated every sway of her hips and every curve of her back. Our bodies radiated enough steam to heat a sauna and not from our energy exertion. As close as we were, her pelvis never grazed mine, but there was a fire in her eyes, making the tease that much hotter. My dick was hard as a rock and all I could think about was how exactly I was going to tease this woman as soon as I got her alone. Slow then fast, then slow again, sinking
my fingertips into every inch of her until her naked body danced like she was right this second. If the song hadn’t ended it would have taken all of two beats pressed against her and I would have been sixteen again. And I sure as shit didn’t need lyrics to tell me what I already knew. I had no choice, I was never saying goodbye to this girl again.

  I massaged my fingers up her damp bare back. If her hair weren’t tied back in that sexy ponytail I would’ve fisted it to turn her head to look at me. I didn’t have to. Keeping her arm around my neck she arched her back and found my eyes. Her breathing mirrored my own, quickened but deep, fighting for control. Any doubts I might have had about us being on the same page were gone. This was a new, unfamiliar page, actually a page that never existed, but damn, I was ready to write it.

  Her cheeks were flushed. She was glowing when she parted those dark pink lips into a cheeky smile. “I think I just became a Maroon 5 fan. You?”

  “Not fair, Teeps, you’re playing with my manhood.” It would be downloaded by tomorrow.

  She glided her right leg up my thigh, grazing my stiff package. “Yeah, don’t think you have much to worry about in that department.” The words barely escaped and her pink face blushed crimson, her eyes breaking our lock. She was sexy, she was confident, but I could tell she was stepping out of her own comfort zone. With me.

  My free hand palmed her warm cheek. “Hey.” My eyes willed hers back. “Not with me, Tal, never with me.” Her pulse in her neck bounded against my fingertips and the air between us continued to sizzle. It was possible she wanted me as much as I wanted her.