by Irene Hannon
“Sure.” His eyes were closed now, his head dropped back against the rough planks of the wall. He looked very comfortable, and Maggie hated to bother him with this, but he was her only hope.
“Um...well, I’ve been wondering...I mean, I know this is kind of a weird question, but...well...how do people learn how to kiss?”
That got his attention. His eyelids flew open and he stared at her, startled.
“What?”
Her face grew pink and she dropped her gaze. “I need to find out how people learn to kiss,” she repeated, acutely embarrassed.
He grinned. “Ah, the squirt must be growing up.”
She blushed furiously and scooted back against the far wall, suddenly wishing some poisonous creature would bite her and put her quickly—and mercifully—out of her misery. “Just forget I asked, okay?” she muttered, her shoulders hunched miserably.
Jake looked over at her bowed head, instantly contrite. He and Maggie had been friends since his parents moved onto her block when he was six, and he’d enjoyed their easy give-and-take ever since. She was a good sport and lots of fun to be with. More fun than anyone he’d ever met, in fact. But she was also easily hurt. Obviously she’d had to muster all of her courage to ask him about such a personal subject, and instead of realizing how embarrassed she was, he’d given her a hard time. Jake scooted over and sat in front of her, reaching out to touch her stiff shoulder.
“Maggie, I’m sorry.” His voice was gentle, all traces of teasing gone.
She refused to look at him. “It was a dumb question anyway.”
Her voice was muffled, and she seemed on the verge of tears. Which only made him feel worse.
“It’s not a dumb question.”
“Yes, it is.”
“No, it’s not. And I’m sorry I made a joke of it. I guess I just never thought about you growing up and thinking about those kinds of things.”
She sniffed and risked a glance at him, her eyes frustrated. “Well, I am, Jake. And I do. Most of my friends date now. They talk about...stuff...and I feel so ignorant. I don’t even know how to kiss, and they...they’re way past that stage. I even turned down a date with Joe Carroll last week because I’m afraid he’ll think I’m...well, that I don’t know what I’m doing. And I don’t!” she wailed.
Jake frowned darkly. “Joe Carroll asked you out?”
She nodded. “Why are you so surprised? Don’t you think I’m the kind of girl guys would want to ask out?”
Actually, he’d never thought about it one way or the other. But the idea of Maggie going out with Joe Carroll, who acted like he was the next Casanova, made his blood run cold. Maggie was too sweet and innocent to go out with a guy like that.
“I’m not pretty enough. Is that what you think?” Maggie’s miserable voice interrupted his thoughts when he didn’t respond.
Jake stared at her. He’d never thought about that, either, to be honest. Maggie was...well, Maggie. She was cute. She had pretty hair. He liked her turned-up nose. He’d just never thought about her in those kinds of terms. But clearly she needed some reassurance, and the least he could do was build up her confidence—and give her some warnings.
“Of course you’re pretty,” he declared gallantly. “Too pretty, maybe. You need to be careful around guys like Joe. He expects a whole lot more out of a date than a kiss, from what I hear.”
“Really?” She stared at him wide-eyed.
“Uh-huh.”
She sighed. “Oh, well, it doesn’t matter anyway. I don’t even know how to do that, let alone anything else.”
“You just need to practice,” Jake told her. “That’s how I learned.”
“Yeah?”
“Mmm-hmm.”
“But...who would I practice with?”
He looked at her for a moment as an idea suddenly took shape in his mind. “Well, I suppose you could practice with me,” he offered slowly. “I could teach you.”
She stared at him again. “You?”
“Yeah. What’s wrong with me?” he asked, offended.
“Well...I don’t know. It just seems kind of...weird, you know? I mean, it’s not exactly...romantic...or anything.”
“So? That’s probably good. This way there’s no pressure.”
She considered the idea for a moment, her head tipped to one side. “Yeah, you’re right,” she conceded. In fact, the idea made a lot of sense, the more she thought about it. She scooted closer and looked up at him expectantly. “Okay. What do I do?”
Jake shifted uncomfortably. He was in this too far now to back out, but it was weird, as she said. Besides, she might think he was an expert at this. But at the moment his limited experience seemed hardly adequate to qualify him as an instructor. However, his seventeen-year-old ego wasn’t about to let him admit that. He’d just have to try and pull this off.
“You don’t really have to do anything. The guy usually takes the lead.” Like Joe Carroll, Jake thought grimly. He took more than the lead if he had half a chance, to hear him boast. Maggie needed to be prepared for guys like that, had to learn not to be swept away by their nice words and what, to her, would be sophisticated technique. The more she knew before she got into a situation like that, the better.
“So when he does take the lead, is that when the kissing starts?”
“Yeah. Usually.”
“Okay.” She looked up at him, but when he remained unmoving she frowned. “So...are you going to show me?”
Jake took a deep breath. Maggie now seemed at ease. He was the one who suddenly felt uncomfortable. He had made a promise, though. “Yeah, I am.” He took a deep breath and leaned forward, and she followed his lead. But instead of their lips connecting, their noses collided. Maggie threw back her head and erupted into a fit of giggles.
“This isn’t how it happens in the movies,” she declared, her shoulders shaking with laughter.
Jake gave her a stern look. “This isn’t going to work if you keep giggling,” he admonished her.
Maggie stifled the giggles—with difficulty. “Sorry. Can we try that again?”
This time their lips briefly connected, but when Jake backed off and checked out her reaction, disappointed was the only word that came to mind. He frowned at her in irritation.
“Now what’s wrong?”
“Is that it?” she asked, crestfallen.
Jake’s seventeen-year-old pride took a nosedive. This lesson was getting a lot more complicated than he’d anticipated.
“Maggie, are you really sure you want me to teach you all this?”
Her face fell. “I don’t have anyone else to ask, Jake,” she replied quietly. Then she dropped her gaze and played with the edge of her shorts. “But if you don’t want to, that’s okay. I understand.”
The plaintive note in her voice tugged at his heart, and he reached down and tilted her chin up with a gentle finger. “I said I’d teach you, and I will,” he told her softly. Then, calling on every bit of his limited experience, he set out to do just that.
He reached over and touched her hair, surprised at its softness as it drifted through his fingers. Then he cupped her face with this hands and combed back through her flame-colored tresses, loosening her barrettes in the process until her hair tumbled freely around her shoulders. He stroked her face, the skin soft and silky beneath his fingers. But she was too far away, he decided. He reached down to her waist and pulled her toward him, until her knees touched his as they sat cross-legged facing each other, their faces only inches apart.
At this range, Jake noticed the flecks of gold in her deep green eyes. Funny, he’d never even paid any attention to their color before. But they were beautiful eyes, he realized, expressive and—at the moment—a bit dazed. So maybe his technique wasn’t so bad after all, he thought, pleased. His confidence bolstere
d, he reached over and traced the outline of her lips with his fingertip, a whisper-soft touch that made her gasp. Her lips parted ever so slightly—and oh-so-invitingly. She’d be putty in Joe Carroll’s hands, he thought, suddenly glad they’d pursued this today. At least now she’d have some idea what to expect, be a little more prepared if some guy tried to take advantage of her innocence and inexperience.
Jake let his hands drop to her shoulders, then framed her face with his hands, marvelling at the incredible softness of her skin. As she gazed up at him, so trustingly, his heart suddenly did something very strange. It stopped, just for a second, then raced on.
Jake didn’t pause to analyze his reaction. Instead, he leaned forward to claim her lips, softly tasting them, before he captured her mouth in a kiss that was perhaps a bit short on technique but very long on passion.
Maggie had no idea what was happening to her. This had all started out so innocently, two old friends out for a bike ride. Her request of Jake had seemed simple enough: Tell me how people learn to kiss. But the results were far from simple. From the moment he’d begun running his fingers through her hair, her heartbeat had gone haywire. Her stomach felt funny, and she couldn’t seem to breathe right. And now...now, as his lips possessed hers, she thought she was going to drown in the flood of sensations washing over her.
How could he never have noticed before that she had grown up? Jake wondered in amazement. It was obvious in her delicate curves, in her softness, in the small sounds she made as he continued to kiss her. He’d always thought of Maggie as a kid, a pal, someone to ride bikes and shoot baskets with. But he didn’t think of her as a kid right now. The frantic beat of the rain on the tin roof couldn’t compete with the beating of their hearts as their embrace escalated.
It was Jake who finally realized that things were moving too fast and he broke away abruptly. Somewhere along the way this “lesson” had gotten out of hand, their roles changing from instructor and student to man and woman. And as Jake gazed down into Maggie’s dazed eyes, he realized something else had changed, as well. Namely his life. Somehow he knew it would never be the same again.
Maggie stared up at him, then reached out to wonderingly trace the contours of his face. She heard his sharply indrawn breath, then he captured her hand in his, stilling its sensual movement. She could see the tension in his face, feel the thudding of his heart and realized with awe that she had drawn this passionate response from him. But she felt no less moved. She drew a deep, shaky breath, and when she spoke her voice was unsteady.
“Wow!” she breathed.
He tried to smile but couldn’t quite pull it off. “Yeah. Wow!”
“Jake, I...I never expected to feel like...well, anything like this. I feel so...I don’t know...fluttery inside. And shaky. And scared. But good, too. All at once. Is it...is it because I’ve never done this before?”
Slowly he shook his head. “I don’t think so, Maggie. I feel the same way, and I’ve kissed a fair number of girls.”
She struggled to sit up, and he saw with a frown that her hands were shaking badly. He should have been gentler, moved more slowly, he chided himself. She’d never even been kissed before. Of course, better him than Joe Carroll, he consoled himself. At least he’d had the decency to back off. He doubted Joe would have been as noble.
Jake put his arm around Maggie and pulled her against him until her head rested on his shoulder, smiling as he rubbed his cheek against her hair.
“You know, I never thought of you—of us—romantically before,” she said in a small, uncertain voice.
“Me, neither. But I do now.” He stroked her arm. “And you know what? I like it.”
“So do I,” she replied softly.
“You know something else? I have a feeling this may be the start of something pretty wonderful.”
She snuggled closer. “I have the same feeling.”
He backed off just far enough to look down into her emerald eyes, and the warmth of his smile filled her with joy. “Happy birthday, Maggie.” And then he leaned down and claimed her lips in a tender kiss filled with sweet promise.
* * *
Maggie drew a deep, shaky breath as she stared at the silvered bay through the rough opening in the wall. She wrapped her arms around her body, holding the memories close for just a moment longer, memories of the day their friendship had ripened into romance. The images had seemed too vivid, so real—so lovely. She hated to let them go.
Had taking shelter in the old fishing shack prompted similar memories in Jake? she suddenly wondered, turning toward him. He was gazing at her silently.
“Seems like old times, doesn’t it, squirt?” he said quietly, and she had her answer.
Maggie swallowed with difficulty, and turned back to the window. “Yes,” she whispered.
She felt him move behind her, and her breath caught in her throat as he placed his hands on her shoulders and stroked them lightly.
“It’s still there, isn’t it, Maggie?” he murmured, his voice rough with emotion.
“What?” she choked out, knowing only too well what he meant.
With firm but gentle hands he turned her to face him so that she had to look directly into his eyes.
“This,” he replied, and slowly reached over to trace the soft curve of her mouth with a whisper touch.
She closed her eyes and shuddered, willing herself to walk away, knowing she couldn’t.
“Jake, I...things have changed. We’re not the same people anymore.”
“Not everything has changed.”
She swallowed, and a pulse began to beat erratically in the delicate hollow of her throat. His gaze dropped to it for a moment, swept over the expanse of skin that had turned to alabaster in the moonlight, then came back to her eyes.
“We should go back,” she suggested, a touch of desperation in her voice.
“I wish we could,” he replied, and she knew he wasn’t talking about the inn. “But the best we can do is start over. Tonight. Right now.”
And then slowly, very slowly, he leaned toward her until his lips, familiar and warm and tender, closed over hers.
With a soft sigh, Maggie gave up the fight and melted into his arms. She’d intuitively known this moment would come since the day she stepped into the dining room seven weeks ago and found him there. It had been a losing struggle from the beginning, she acknowledged. Right or wrong, she wanted this moment in the arms of the man she’d always loved.
She was aware that the muscular contours of his chest were more developed, harder, than she remembered. And his arms were stronger, more sure, than she recalled, holding her with a practiced skill that had been absent twelve years ago. His mouth moved over hers with a new adeptness. The passion, though—that was the same. Just more intense.
Mostly she simply gave herself up to the moment, reveling in the exquisite joy of Jake’s embrace. She returned his kiss tentatively at first, but his lips coaxed hers into a fuller response. She sighed softly as he cradled her head in one palm, his fingers tangled in her hair. Jake deepened the kiss, and she could feel the hard, uneven thudding of his heart as he pressed her closer. She offered no resistance. Couldn’t have even if she’d wanted to.
Jake wasn’t usually a man who lost control. He’d learned a great deal about discipline over the last dozen years, but it was a virtue that deserted him at the moment. Even as he told himself not to push, it was almost as if he was trying to make up for twelve long, parched years in one kiss. He had been so afraid she would reject his overture, that her fear would make her back off. But the fact that she had allowed him to claim her lips gave him hope for the future.
With a shuddering sigh, Jake at last raised his head and pressed hers close against his chest, holding her tightly. He had to stop now, before this got out of hand. He wasn’t seventeen anymore, even if he felt like he was.<
br />
For several minutes neither spoke. Jake could feel Maggie trembling in his arms, and he didn’t feel any too steady himself. Not only had their attraction endured through the years, it had intensified, he realized. The question now was, what were they going to do about it?
When her quivering finally eased, and when he finally felt able to carry on a coherent conversation, he gently pulled away from her, though he kept his arms looped around her waist. Their gazes met—his smoldering, hers dazed. With great effort, Jake summoned up the semblance of a smile.
“Wow.”
“I...I think that’s my line,” she replied in a choked voice.
“I’m stealing it.”
“Jake, I—I don’t know if this is wise. I don’t think I’m ready to...to...”
“Trust me again?” he finished softly, when her voice trailed off.
She stared at him, and warm color suffused her face at his blunt—and accurate—assessment of her feelings.
“It’s okay, Maggie,” he assured her softly. “I’m not asking you to—not yet, not after all these years. We need to give this some time. But the magic is still there. We both know that. I’d like to see where it leads.”
Maggie swallowed. He was being direct about his intentions, and she respected that. She owed him no less. “Jake, I have a good life now. I’ve been...content. I thought that love had...that it wasn’t the Lord’s will for me. But I think I could...that we might...” She paused and turned away in frustration, reaching up to swipe at an errant tear. “See what you do to me? I’m a wreck. And it will be worse if I let myself...if I let myself care and then...” She paused, and Jake stepped in to finish the sentence again, much as he hated to.
“And then I disappear.”
She turned to look at him and nodded slowly.
“I’m not going to leave again, Maggie,” he promised her, his intense gaze locked on hers. “I’m here to stay this time.”
She searched his eyes, wanting desperately to believe him. But he’d turned her world upside down once, and she had vowed never to let anyone do that again. How could she be sure this time?