by Piper Kay
“Good idea. What movie do you want to order? Oh wait, first things first, when is your next final and which one?”
“Ugh, mood kill much?” I laugh at him then elbow him in the rib, as he sticks out his pouty bottom lip. God, I want to suck it off his face right here and now. I lean toward him, fully intending to do that, when he puts his hands up, halting me.
“Reese, you know how I feel about this kind of stuff, in public. Even though you like being watched and couldn’t care less who sees anything, it does still bother me. So, chillax it on the pheromone flood overload. For now.”
“Didn’t seem to matter earlier,” I smart off, trying to let him know that I know it was him and I liked it, but he’s wanting to play it on out.
“You keep talking about earlier and I’m sure I have no idea what you’re rattling on about.”
“Okay, fine, it’s fine.” I give him a grin. I’m not going to mess up the ending of a perfectly good day so will drop it…for now. “Monday, I have my Chemistry exam.”
“Ouch, that one is going to hurt. A lot.” He squinches his eye and shifts his body to the side. “It’s hurt me just saying it.” Jace grins and then downs two sips on the margarita and slides it over to me.
“I love Chem, but no doubt it’s hard as hell. I’ll be doing some last-minute cramming for it, I’m sure. I have to nail it as well. Basically, I need to slam out at least a 3.8 GPA in all classes to get into more advanced classes next semester. While still doing my on the job duties. I’m so excited.”
“I believe in you, you’ve got this man, seriously.” He’s sincere, his eyes speak it in every language on the planet.
After finishing the margarita, the waiter returns with our order and I toss a tip down for the bartender and we leave.
“Tanto para comer, tan poco tiempo. Gracias, señor. Te veo pronto.” I smile and wave.
“You just totally lost me, what did you say? All I got was thank you.”
“Just told him you were going home so I could thank you properly for such a fine meal.” Hahaha!
“Oh my God, no you did not.” Jace’s face just turned fifty shades of blood red and he ducks out the door all quick like.
“Didn’t I?” I can’t stop cracking up laughing, two can play at secrets. “What I really said was, ‘Thanks, so much to eat, so little time and we’d see him soon.”
We leave the restaurant and head back to my condo.
Chapter 3
I hand him all the food as we approach the stairs, and fumble for my keys in my front pocket. I can’t help but smile as we pass the spot from earlier, but don’t say a word. I’m going to ease up on him and see where this goes. Hopefully many more encores of the stairway incident. Lots and lots more.
We enter, and I turn back to bolt and lock up from the inside and then follow him into the living room, hanging my keys on the hook in the entryway, next to his he hung there earlier.
My condo’s nothing fancy, but it’s mine. Small, but my only possession that’s paid off in full. I snagged it a couple years ago from an out of town investor for cheap. It’s a one bedroom, bath, but it does have a decent kitchen, normal size dining room, one big enough for a table that seats four chairs around it and a pretty big living room.
He places the food on the coffee table in front of the love seat. I chose a love seat because I have a desk, which is a must for me. That’s my ‘very serious, let’s get down to business and make something out of my life’ zone.
I plop down on the love seat, ready to munch out, when he reminds me of the margaritas I was going to make.
“Sorry, lovie, I forgot. I’m on it.” I’m up and scale over the back of the couch heading for the kitchen. The first time I ever called him ‘lovie’ I thought he’d fall over laughing, he said I sounded like a country boy with a redneck rodeo slang trying to sound British. So now, I use it all the time, he wouldn’t know what to do if I didn’t, it’s our own little private word from me to him, even though it’s known everywhere. It’s our twist on it.
Jace starts laughing and digs into his platter, then flicks on Netflix. “You never said what you wanted to watch. Anything special?”
“Nope, but nothing that is going to make me jump out of the seat though, you know how I hate those kinds of movies. Oh, and…” I walk over to him, snatching a taco off my plate he placed in front of my spot on the right side of the couch, “…no need to wait for me to dig in.” I kick him in the foot with mine and take a bite out of my taco and go back into the kitchen.
“Sorry. My bad. Guess I was hungrier than I thought. I wasn’t thinking.”
It only takes me a few minutes to whip us up a batch of frozen drinks. After cleaning up the bit I managed to spill on the counter, I carry the top part of the blender to the table, get us two glasses and pour myself one. I purposely forget to fill his, just to make a point about manners.
“What movie did you pick?” I carefully take all the little cups with pico de gallo, guacamole, cilantro, salsa and queso sauce lining them out in front of my plate, then take a bite, chasing it down with a sip of my drink.
“I don’t know, The Den, or something like that. Some tech movie, I think.” A devilish smile peeks in the corner of his lips. I give him a look he knows well today. “Whaaat? I’ve never seen it before so figured why not. Don’t look at me that way.”
“Oh my God, you are such a liar. You ordered a scary movie, didn’t you?”
“Who, me? Nah, I mean come on, it’s called The Den, how scary can that be? What’s a den going to do, swoop in and cover you like ‘The Blob’ movie did with its tarry crap? Oh, and I wasn’t thirsty or anything either.” He mocks my move from before and kicks my foot with his just as I take a bite and can’t say anything.
I hold one finger up in the air and chew as fast as I can. “Oh, I’m sorry.” Games leveling out now. Two can def play. “My bad. Guess I was hungrier than I thought, I wasn’t thinking clear.” I burst out laughing at him.
“Totally deserved that one, didn’t I?” He pours his own drink.
I shovel in another bite and can’t speak, but shrug my shoulders and cock my head to the side before I practically nod myself into coma agreeing with him. Still chewing, he looks at me. “You’re insane, you know that, right?”
The thought of nodding again almost crosses my mind, thank goodness the thought of permanent brain damage halts me, so I finish chewing and answer with words.
“You love me insane though.” I cross my eyes and stick out my tongue.
“That I do. I’ve always wondered something, care if I ask an off the wall question?”
“Go for it.”
Oh lawdy, what is he about to ask me?
“Why do you do that?” He points at my little spice cups, that I’m now placing on my food.
“Put so many extra things on everything?”
“Yes.”
“Hmmm…let me think about it. The only one who’s ever come close to summing it up is my English Three Professor, Eliza. Anytime we have a paper, she leaves me little side notes stating that although she loves my little decorations, they’re not always needed. She’s talking about unnecessary commas, ellipses— you know, the dot, dot, dot things, and why I insist on using more than one question mark or exclamation point at the end of a sentence. Apparently, I like to decorate my food in much the same way. Maybe I should be going to school for interior design and decorating and not for a DVM—Doctor of Veterinarian Medicine.”
“Yep, I knew it. You’re crazy. Damn, all these drinks, I need to go take a leak again. You got a pair of sweats I can borrow and get comfortable in? I didn’t realize it was going to be cold outside and in here or I would have come prepared.”
“Help yourself, what’s mine is yours.” I smile and finish up most of my food except for two enchiladas and a tostado.
Jace removes his wallet, cell phone, and keys letting them rest on the other end table from mine and walks out of the room. As soon as I hear the door close, I take
his phone and scroll through his texts. The message I got at Tequila Patio is nowhere to be found on there. Guess he erased it, it’s what I would have done. I quickly put his phone back and carry our food back to the kitchen, wrapping up the left overs and shove them in the fridge.
A few minutes later, he walks in, and reaches below the kitchen sink for the cleaning spray and a rag. He goes back to the coffee table and wipes up some spilled rice and crumbs from the nachos, refills both our glasses and returns to the kitchen with the near empty blender pitcher.
“I’m stuffed now.”
“Me too, but we’ll sit up and drink another margarita or two. Care if I crash here tonight?”
I put my hand on my hip and toss my head back whisking away imaginary flowing long hair. “Um, exsqueeze me? Exactly what kind of man do you think I am, do I look like a tramp to you?”
“Flaunt it, honey.” He starts laughing.
I walk away from him, taking extra high steps like I have on hooker heels and bring my hand around about six inches from my mouth pretending to toke on one of those long fancy cigarettes rich ladies use with the filter, swishing my hips from side to side. “Sir, do you always stay here on the weekends?”
“Why yes, yes I do.” He can’t stop laughing.
“Then why all the formalities, this is just a given for us. Especially since you turned on a spooky movie. Which, I swear, if it’s really scary, I’m going to gnaw your nipples off with my bare teeth. Grrr!”
“Mmmm…or maybe not. Mmmm… I’m not exactly sure how to take that.”
“Okay, better yet. I’ll take you out on the lanai and fuck you for the entire kingdom to watch. To show them all how much you like to please me.”
“Damn, get cruel much, Reese?”
“That’s not cruel, it’s dark outside. No one would see it. If I was mean, I’d do it first thing in the morning, during daylight, when everyone is sitting out enjoying their coffee.”
“Get away from me, you sicko.”
“Ha. I’m just kidding, but you already know that.”
“Well, let’s get this show on the road.” He loves playing with words.
“Hell yes, he finally submits… Come one, come all, live show on the patio deck.”
“I meant the movie, silly,” he quickly retorts.
“Damn, you got my hopes up.” I pull out a fake hanky to smudge away my fake tears.
Chapter 4
Jace shakes his head and wraps his arm around my neck pulling me close to him and I curl up against him. I love being in his arms and him being in mine. We’re like two puzzle pieces, we just fit together, snug and tight. It’s comfortable with him. Who knew?
“I’m going to kill the lights and grab the margaritas.” Jace is up and running again.
“Hurry up. I’m serious. Just the music alone is creeping me out.”
I pull my legs up close to me and tuck my knees in under my neck. The lights go off. “Ooooh.” I act scared. Technically, I am, but that’s beside the point. I don’t do psych thriller flicks either, so either way, I’m going to be a wreck through this.
He comes back beside me, fills my cup and I practically down it in one huge gulp trying to loosen up. He thinks this is funny, but it’s not.
I keep getting chills up the back of my nape and I keep turning to look over my shoulders, like someone is watching me or something for the first forty-five minutes. I couldn’t tell you one thing happening in the movie, because most of my time has been looking behind me.
“What are you doing? Scared someone is going to get you?” He laughs.
“Yes, and it’s not fucking funny. I’m going to check the doors, make sure I locked them.”
I peel away from him and slowly walk down the entry way to the front door. Shadows appear everywhere. I locked it, I knew I did, but I had to check anyway. Now for the patio. I tiptoe with my arms out like Lurch off The Munster’s and creep into the living room, trying to be funny, but Jace isn’t sitting on the couch.
“Jace? Not cool, think you’re cute, but you’re not. Where are you?”
No answer comes, so he’s probably in the bathroom for the umpteenth time tonight. Just to be sure though, I walk through the kitchen area to make sure he’s not hiding to jump out and scare me. I’ve already passed the bedroom and he didn’t do it then, so he’s got to be in the bathroom. It’s the only logical explanation.
Okay cool, I get it, when nature calls it calls hard sometimes. He pisses like a Russian Racehorse all the time as it is. I click pause on the TV, I’m certainly not going to sit here by myself and watch some weirded-out shit alone. Just as my ass hits the cushion, I remember to check the patio door. Not that anyone will scale up to the second floor just to get me, but hey, stranger things have happened.
I remember a story once on the news, which turned out to be a friend of a friend, but this man was high and stalked his ex-wife. He did it…to get at her, two stories, unfortunately it scared the people inside so bad, that he ended up getting shot and died.
Ugh, why do I always think of the worst possible scenarios when I’m scared? Anyway, I quickly approach the sliding glass door, and flip the curtains out of the way to stick my head out and check the patio and lock the door.
“Ahhh!” a yell rumbles straight to my core.
Instincts, nothing more, I react faster than I knew I could and swing landing someone in the face, dropping them to their knees.
“What the hell, Reese? God damnit! That hurt. I was just goofing around with you, but you hit me, you hit me.”
I reach down and grab him by the arm, yanking him up. My heart…well I think it committed suicide and took a swan dive off the deck and all I had was instincts. Mine told me ‘danger and whoop its ass’, so I started swinging.
“You fucker.” I spin him around to me and pull him inside in one swoop. I grab him by the neck with one hand, and the other, I reach behind me and lock the door. Holding him by the neck, I walk him backwards, him pretending to fight to get loose. “Don’t you ever scare the shit out of me like that again, got it? I’m so sorry I hit you, but I thought you were gonna get me. You skerred me, baby. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t talk to me.” He grins.
We reach the edge of the couch. The back of his knees hit right at the crease and he crumbles backward. I fall on top of him and wedge my way up to straddling his waist.
“Baby, your lip.” I suck his lip into my mouth. “I think it’s going to swell even more than your natural pouty, but it’s not bleeding. I am sorry…” I give him a tender peck. “…baby. Can you…” I gloss my tongue across his lips, parting them. “…forgive me?” I plant kisses all over his face. “It was a ass-ident.”
“I’m not sure. If you mean it, really mean it, then prove it. Ass-indent me right fucking now, Reese.”
“I said ass-ident, not ass-indent, but either works for me.” And that’s all it takes for me to hear. I pounce off him.
Chapter 5
Standing in front of him, I do a little seductive striptease for him. It starts slow, me lifting my shirt up and down, but boring. This needs music. I grab the remote and pause the movie, then crank out some jams on my surround sound, which is bad-ass by the way, and crank it up a bit. It’s safe. I’ve checked from outside of my condo, and these are some hard core insulated walls, believe me.
Music cranked up, I sway my ass side to side, then do a silly jump around to face him, as he reaches down inside his jogging pants.
“Yeah, baby.” He rocks one fist in the air, winding it in a circle. “Bring it on, baby.”
I wedge one side of my shirt up to my nipple, then drop it back down quickly, repeating on the other side, and drop it.
“Nooo, don’t stop, take it off, sexy, take it off,” Jace hollers.
I reach for both sides of my shirt, lifting one side an inch and repeating with the other side until my shirt is up at arm’s length. I take the sleeve of my shirt and pluck it off my shoulder like a lady does with fancy long white
gloves.
“Now we’re talking.” Jace brings one of his fingers, tracing up his tattoo to his nipple and circles his own, before ripping his shirt off and over his head, flinging it to the floor behind the love seat.
With my T-shirt hanging at my neck, I do a hula hoop move trying to swing it around, but it bunches up and damn near chokes me to half to death. Jace slaps his leg and doubles over laughing, when he raises back up, his face is blood red and he’s got tears in his eyes. I guess it was rather funny to watch. That move’s gonna cause me some serious T-shirt, road rage burn crap on my neck now. I play it off and fan myself with my hands, totally overdramatic move. I give him a growl and rip it over my head, luckily not hanging myself in the process with my luck tonight.
As the track changes, Jace is up and ripping his pants off. Fuck he’s sexy as sin. Not only do I love his tattoos as much as he loves mine, I love his entire physique. Can we say Hottness? I damn sure can. He stands there buck naked in front of me, swaying his hips in a circular motion. God, just do me already, dude! But he’s mostly a power bottom, which I also love.
Starting with one hand in my waistband, I pop the elastic against my skin then mouth, “Ouch,” to him. I’m totally lying, but love making him laugh, which he does.
I slip my other hand into the band and he moves up close to me, rocking against me. We do a few circles together, then I lead him back over to the couch and shove him back down. The cutest cocky grin spreads over his face and his eyes light up, one almost turning a hazel shade. He arches up both brows, and no words are needed. I know he wants me.
He mouths, “Tease,” to me.
Note to self, buy a pair of black and red silk stripper pants with snaps down the outside of both legs, so with one yank, they drop.
There’s not really a sexy way to pull your pants down, while trying to wiggle and squirm, yet hold yourself up after being an amateur drinker half the night. I refocus on him earlier in the stairs and say fuck it, and just try to get them off at this point.