Work on the day before the party was insane. Some kind of upper respiratory bug was going around and the waiting room was packed. It was another day of barely being able to stop to use the restroom, let alone take lunch. She and Harriet exchanged only a few words as they rushed from one bedside to the next. Harriet was pleased to learn she and Estelle had been successful with what Harriet called the “Lori-Jake plot” and Lori sheepishly admitted she was glad they’d hatched it.
She checked her phone while hurriedly using the restroom over what should have been her lunch and saw she had a text from Jake, asking her out to dinner that night. She finally said yes, but arranged to take her own vehicle and meet him at a Thai place in Springfield.
Her last chat with Molly had made her decide to accept Jake’s next invitation. Molly noted that she’d nearly lost out on a relationship with the man she’d married because she kept finding excuses not to meet him. In her case, it was ambivalence about bringing a man into her life while she still had children in the house. Molly warned her not to make the same mistake. “Go out with the man, for God’s sake! Take the same advice you gave me last year!” Lori had to admit that, as usual, Molly was right.
She was exhausted when her shift finally ended, and was almost tempted to reschedule dinner. But instead, she quickly showered and dried her hair. She was a whiz at doing her makeup and had her face just as she wanted it in no time. Now, for clothes. She would usually try to look as sexy as possible on a date, but she didn’t want to look like she was trying to look too sexy. She didn’t want to look like a nun, either. She settled on a form-fitting emerald green dress, matching her bra and panty set to it from habit, not because she expected to be showing it off to Jake this soon. The dress displayed her figure but wasn’t cut too low. She chose faux-emerald jewelry to set it off. Wearing green made her eyes look even more green, she knew. She surveyed herself in the mirror: Not too bad, she thought.
Checking the time, she saw she needed to get going. She gave herself a few spritzes of her favorite French perfume, John-Paul Gaultier’s Classique. She loved that the perfume came in a bottle sculpted to look like a woman’s shapely torso, and the scent always made her feel beautiful. It had been a gift from a former boyfriend, but never mind that.
She knew the Thai restaurant well; it was one of her favorites. Fairview didn’t have many places that offered anything but burgers and pizza, so most people made the short drive into Springfield if they wanted something a step up or two from that. Lori arrived right on time, but Jake was already there, waiting for her. He helped her off with her light coat, murmuring that she smelled good. I should, she thought to herself — this stuff costs more than a hundred bucks a bottle. But she just said “Thank you.”
The restaurant was nice but not terribly fancy. It wasn’t a place a man took a woman to impress her so much as just a quiet and pleasant place to get to know someone. As soon as they were seated, he perused the wine menu.
“I know you like wine. Do you want to choose a bottle? I wouldn’t even know what to get.”
“Oh, we can skip the wine. Have you had their Thai iced tea? It’s kind of sweet, but it’s good. And we both have to drive.”
“Thai iced tea it is, then,” he said.
“I always get the same thing here,” she said. “I always think I should try something else, but at the last minute I always order this one noodle dish.”
“Pad See Ew?”
“Yes!”
“My favorite, too. Well, one of us could order that and one of us could go crazy and get some kind of red curry, and then we could taste both.”
“Sounds good,” Lori said. She ordered her favorite, and he ordered a red curry-coconut dish that sounded good to both of them. Now they looked at each other across the table. Lori suddenly felt shy. She picked up her drink and took a sip, buying time.
“So, we’re on our first date,” Jake said. “But I kind of feel like we’re past that. First dates are so awkward. Let’s consider this our second date.”
“Agreed,” Lori said, relaxing a little bit. “Or our third.” Then she froze, wondering if he’d make a comment about sex being a common expectation on the third date. She might have made a joke about it herself, if not for the big misunderstanding they’d had to work through. But he didn’t seem to be thinking in that direction at all, and she relaxed a little bit.
“So, you’re looking forward to your big house-warming party?” he asked.
“Yes, I am. I don’t think I’ve ever really thrown an actual party before,” she said. “I hope I haven’t forgotten anything. And I hope people will actually come. I didn’t invite a ton of people. Mostly colleagues and a few of my best friends. But some colleagues can’t come. It’s not like you can just close the ER for a night, of course. But Harriet is coming, and bringing this cocktail wiener dish she’s famous for.”
“My mom makes something like that. It’s nothing but bottled barbecue sauce and brown sugar thrown into a slow cooker with miniature hot dogs, I think. But it’s good.”
“That’s the one.”
“Mom’s got an old-fashioned cooking style. Most of her favorite dishes call for a can of cream of mushroom soup. The idea of roasting vegetables or adding kale to the salad is not exactly on her radar.”
“What about you? Do you cook?”
“I do the basics. A step up from canned soups, but not by much. You?”
“I’m afraid my cooking is mostly a matter of salads and sandwiches. Now my best friend Molly, she can cook. If she weren’t about to pop, she probably would come over and make a whole feast for the party. But I don’t think she’ll be up for that for a while.”
“She’s the librarian, right?”
“Yes, but she’s going to hand everything over to her new assistant librarian for a while. I think she’s already started her maternity leave. I still can’t believe she’s remarried and having another baby. I’ve known her for years, and she was one of those women who hardly ever would go on a date. But this marriage was meant to be.”
“I’m glad for her. You’ve never been married, right?”
“No.”
“Too involved in your career to think about settling down? Or is that too personal?”
“I always thought I’d get married and have kids. It just never happened.”
“The idea of having kids scares me to death. Seeing what my parents went through with Josh …. All the difficulties that can happen with a complicated delivery. There was nothing wrong with Josh, other than a lack of oxygen during the birth. If the birth had been managed properly, he’d be fine today.”
Lori wondered what the circumstances were, but didn’t want to veer into such personal and sad territory.
“Well, this is Molly’s fourth, and she had uncomplicated births with the first three. So her doctor and midwife team seem to think she will do well in spite of her age. Her other three kids are grown. Well, the son is a senior in high school. She would have had an empty nest next fall, but instead she’ll have a new baby.”
“Brave woman.”
“She is, actually,” Lori said, but then their food arrived. Everything looked and smelled delicious.
“Take the first taste of the curry,” Jake said. Lori reached across the table with her fork and gathered a bit of rice, vegetables and chicken covered in rich red curry. She took a taste.
“It’s really delicious,” she said. “But it’s no Pad See Yew. But I’m happy to split half and half so you can get your favorite, too,” she said.
“No, I appreciate the offer, but I’ll eat this and let you have your favorite.”
“Such a gentleman,” she said, only half joking.
“I have my moments,” he said. “I will, however, take one little bite.” He reached his fork across the table and did his best to load up his fork with an impossibly huge portion of the noodles. “Technically, this is just one bite,” he joked, as he carefully guided the heaping fork to his mouth. “Mmmm, this is great,” he s
aid. “I hope I’m getting maximum brownie points by letting you have the noodles.”
“Oh, now you’re making me feel guilty!”
“I was trying to. But I’m just kidding. Really, the curry is very good, too,” he said.
“Good enough that you’ll order it next time instead of the rice noodles?”
“That’s crazy talk,” he said, and they both laughed.
They passed a pleasant evening, Jake filling her in on the local real estate market and Lori talking about her interest in going back to school. Before long the bill came — Jake paid it surreptitiously before Lori even had a chance to offer to pay her half –— and she began to wish she hadn’t driven separately. Now they’d have their goodbye in the parking lot. No temptation, but also no chance for more than a quick kiss.
“Where are you parked?” he asked. Lori pointed to a spot in the very back. “The parking lot was pretty full when I got here,” she said. It was much less so now.
“I can’t possibly let you walk all that way by yourself,” he joked. They were standing right next to his vehicle. “Hop in and I’ll drive you.”
Lori laughed but complied. She was onto his game but didn’t mind. Within a few seconds he’d crossed the parking lot and guided his car into the empty space next to hers. “Much safer this way, you see. It’s awfully dark back here. Far too dark for you to go to your car alone.”
“Thank you for looking out for my welfare. I’d never have made it those 30 steps without being captured by a serial ax murderer,” Lori said.
Jake turned toward her. “Big confession. I just wanted to be able to kiss you goodnight.”
Lori laughed. “Big surprise: I was onto you from the beginning.”
“You insisted on taking your own car, so I had to think of some way to get you at least semi-alone for a few minutes. It took me most of dinner to figure it out. I am hoping I qualify for some kind of award for being such a clever boy.”
“I’ll give you one little kiss on the cheek,” she said, and leaned over and dropped a very chaste little kiss there.
“You kissed me and now I get to kiss you, right?” he asked. Lori gave him a sly smile back. She was enjoying this game.
Jake leaned toward Lori and placed his left hand on her right shoulder and drew her close. He did not offer a chaste little kiss. His kiss started slow but deepened. Lori forgot that she had intended to hold him to one little goodnight kiss. His fingers slowly stroked her neck and she found herself responding by placing one of her hands on his thigh. She kept it closer to his knee than his hip, but she squeezed his leg as she stroked. He moaned into her open mouth as they kissed and she felt her resistance and control slipping away. If he suggested spending the night together, she’d have a difficult time resisting. And part of her longed to hear him suggest it. He didn’t say anything at all, though. He just kept kissing her, several little teasing kisses followed by hot, aggressive ones. He caught her lower lip between his teeth and pulled it as their faces moved apart, and then he moved forward and delicately kissed her again.
Lori’s nipples were on red alert. Luckily, the emerald green bra had a touch of padding; if she’d been wearing a simple bralette, there would be no mistaking it. In the dim light of a nearby parking lot light, she could see Jake’s erection. There was no hiding that, she was pleased to see. She moved her hand just a little closer to it, enough to make him moan into her mouth again. She nudged her hand just a little closer. She wasn’t touching anything but his thigh, but she knew he was definitely noticing just how close her hand was. If she were to move it just one inch closer … but she didn’t. Maybe it was her imagination, but she thought she could feel the heat coming from it. She kept her hand right where it was but gave his thigh a suggestive squeeze. His breathing was becoming ragged, she noticed. Then she realized hers was, too. His left hand was still sensuously stroking the soft hair at the nape of her neck. His right hand didn’t know what to do. It had found its way to her left knee, and she could feel the tension in his hand. He clearly wanted to slide his hand up, and he was resisting that urge. She knew all she’d have to do was suggestively shift her position a bit, opening her thighs a little, and he’d probably slide his hand further up. Her body wanted him to. She could feel a growing wet spot in her panties. Right here and now, in this public parking lot, she knew if he pushed his hand up and felt how turned on she was, he’d be unable to resist touching her, and she felt like the merest touch would send her over the edge. It had been a long time since she’d felt such a strong desire for a man.
She regretted having insisted on taking her own car. If he were driving her home, she knew, there was no question how this night would end. Her body urged her to just do it. Reach for his hard-on. Open her legs. If necessary, push his hand right where she wanted it. She’d lean the seat back, keep kissing him, and probably orgasm the second he slid his fingers inside her panties. And then she’d tell him they could pick her car up tomorrow, and would urge him to get them both to her house as soon as possible.
She pulled her face away from his, ready to make the suggestion. But he pulled away from her completely.
“I’m sorry. I really got carried away,” he said. “I told myself I was not going to do anything but kiss you tonight.” She realized he had misinterpreted her move away from him as an attempt to stop things, not as preparation to proposition him. She took a deep breath, and then released it. She willed herself to calm down. Just shifting her position in her seat was enough to set off delightful little shock waves between her legs. She clenched her thighs together and wondered if she could orgasm just by doing that a few more times; she never had before, but she wasn’t sure she’d ever been quite this turned on without actually having sex before. She kept her thighs clenched but managed to speak fairly normally.
“No, don’t apologize. This has been amazing. But you’re right, we probably should say goodnight.”
Jake leaned forward and gave her a final, gentle kiss, keeping his hands in his own lap. “Don’t think I’m not extremely tempted to be less than a gentleman,” he said. He kissed her one more time. “God,” he said. “You better get in your own car before I lose control. He found her hand, squeezed it briefly, and sighed. “Have a great night, Lori. I loved our evening.”
“I had fun, too,” she said. And then she just managed to make herself get out of his SUV and into her car.
Chapter 18
Catarina had been as good as her word. She said it would be done by two o’clock. Lori and Tommy arrived about five minutes before, and there was Catarina, putting the cushions into the zippered covers. Lori glanced at her phone: Yep, the last one was in place at precisely 2 p.m. Catarina seemed not to notice she was being timed, though. She turned around and smiled.
“OK, all done! Looks great, don’t you think? And just in time for your party tomorrow! Tommy, good to see you, glad you brought your muscles with you today.”
Tommy and Catarina loaded up the back of Tommy’s step dad's truck. Lori helped carry in one section, but she was more hindrance than help. She finally just settled for carrying all the cushions. Neither Catarina nor Tommy seemed to be breaking a sweat.
“One more pillow,” Catarina said.
Lori looked around, but didn’t see any missed cushions.
“It’s upstairs. Be right back.” Catarina bounded up the stairs as quickly as a cat. In fact, the cat followed her up there. She was just as quickly back, with a rolled neck pillow. It was made with the same gold velvet as the rest of the sofa, but that was only the base. It was highly decorated with braided tassels, various other kinds of trim, bits of other velvet, and even a few sparkly semi-precious stones set into an exotic pattern. It was beautiful.
“This is amazing,” Lori said.
“It’s to bring you good luck,” Catarina said. “I put all the right herbs into it that my grandmother would have.”
“Like a charm?” Tommy asked.
“Something like that. Love, money, happiness, goo
d health. Believe it or don’t. My grandmother made things like this for a living. She taught me when I was a little girl. Maybe it’s just a pretty pillow stuffed with herbs. Or maybe it’s more. Up to you!”
“I’m going to choose to believe it,” Lori said. She held the gorgeous pillow up to her nose and caught just a faint whiff of something complicated, spicy and green-smelling.
“Thank you. I will treasure this,” Lori said. And she meant it. “I will see you at the party tomorrow! Be sure to bring a couple of your business cards!” Tommy was starting the truck so Lori hopped in.
“That’s pretty awesome,” Tommy said. “So she’s a gypsy, right?”
“Roma. I don’t think they like to be called gypsies anymore. But yeah.”
“She’s pretty cool.”
“She is. I’m looking forward to getting to know her better. I like unusual people.”
“She reminds me a little bit of Theresa.”
“The Sorrentino girl?”
“Yeah. She doesn’t want to stay with the pizza gig. She wants to study astronomy. Like, in a serious way. But she plays with astrology, too. She says she knows it isn’t real but it’s still fun to know. She’s going to cast my horoscope. I just have to remember to ask my mom the exact time and place of my birth. You can do it really easy on the computer now, I guess.”
“That kind of takes the romance out of it, doesn’t it?”
“Well, even the pseudoscientists have got to get with the program, Auntie Lori! They can’t be fiddling around with pencil and paper all day, can they?”
Lori laughed. “I guess not.”
Kiss & Tell (Small-Town Secrets-Fairview Series Book 2) Page 12