by Jaycee Ford
I kissed him back, knowing he was right.
THE EARLY WEEKS of autumn amazed me. I never expected I would be head over heels in love with a woman, much less one as incredible as Jordan. Except for the time we had to spend working, we became inseparable. Women usually tended to annoy me with their constant harping about settling down; I was only twenty-four, so I believed it wasn’t necessary yet. The task of making a life for my future was important, but women and marriage hadn’t come into play.
Jordan changed me.
Every thought of the future had Jordan in it. I dreamed of our future. I knew for a fact the only reason so many other girls annoyed me was because I was waiting for Jordan all along.
I continued to wait for her on a stool at Dixie’s Tavern. Paul and Lance sat on either side of me, sporting our Carolina Panthers attire and waiting for one of the first big football games of the regular season. With a bottomless mug of beer in his hand, Lance began his normal prowl while Paul seemed slightly on edge.
“You okay?” I asked, looking at his reflection in the mirrored wall behind the bar. His eyes met mine within the glass, and as he shook his head, he shrugged his shoulders. I took the hint that there was possibly some sort of issue with Ellie, but I couldn’t be sure. His feelings for her must be finally taking their toll. I nodded at his shrug, letting him hold his pain inside as he usually did.
After ordering yet another beer, I looked at my watch, realizing that kickoff was in less than ten minutes, and Jordan still wasn’t here. Worry started to grow in my chest until a breeze hit my back from the opening of the door, and her laughter tickled my ear. Paul and I turned around at the same time, and our breath caught, along with probably every other man’s in this tavern. Ellie and Jordan strutted through the door, both wearing cowboy boots, short jean skirts, and oh-so-wonderfully-tight Panther jerseys.
“Holy shit…” came a whisper from Paul’s mouth. My only response was a disbelieving shake of the head. Jordan’s stare caught mine, and as it usually did, the room vanished. She came to me like a moth to the flame, and I relished every second of it.
“Hey,” she whispered in two strides, sealing my lips with hers. Her tongue playfully licked my bottom lip as I licked her top. I pulled her close and held her against the bulge developing in my jeans, proving to her that I would never tire of her. She released my lips and kissed her way around to my ear.
“Settle down, cowboy, or you’ll have me on my knees before kickoff.”
My eyes popped for a moment until I recognized a faint taste on my tongue.
“Had some whiskey, darlin’?” I winked at her sexiness.
“Just a smidge.” She beamed at me, changing from a sex goddess to the girl next door in a snap.
As I pulled her close again, I whispered, “I think I like you drunk on whiskey.”
“Oh, I bet you do.” The sex goddess came back with a secretive grope against my jeans.
Hiding under the cover of her hair, I nipped her ear and whispered, “You might get a spanking for that.”
“It’s about damn time, cowboy. I’ve been a very naughty girl.”
I pulled my head out of my protective cover and gave her a stern yet playful glare.
“Evil. You are pure evil!”
Her head tilted back in laughter, and she gave in to me with a hug. The crowd started to get rowdy as everyone surrounded the televisions. I pulled my girl up on my lap, making sure my hand was firmly on her thigh the whole time.
Ellie stood next to us, dragging her finger around the rim of a beer mug. I looked through the mirrored reflection at Paul, and his eyes were cocked to the side, watching Ellie’s finger. There had to be something going on. Jordan would more than likely fill me in later.
“Ho–ly shit.”
We all turned past Ellie as Lance roamed his eyes up and down his former girlfriend.
“Hey, Lance.”
He whistled his appreciation, but I could see in his eyes that he was already tipsy.
“Did–didn’t I used to date you?”
Ellie cocked her hip out, resting her hand on it, and she said, “Yes, Lance, for about four years.”
Without a blink, he pulled her against him, bending down to her height, and in an elevated whisper, he said, “Can’t seem to figure out why we broke up.”
I glanced back in the mirror and saw Paul seething, looking in the opposite direction.
“Lance, stop,” Ellie said.
Paul’s eyes darted back, and I quickly looked away. Before I could help Ellie, Paul was off his stool and had a firm grip on Lance’s arm.
“Come on, buddy. Don’t do this now.”
Lance laughed in his playful manner and said, “Don’t I have some sort of claim over her?”
Paul responded with a push—I could see he was controlling himself—and said, “No, you lost that right a long time ago.”
Lance surrendered his hold of Ellie, and Paul offered his hand out to her. She looked up at him with eyes full of hope, accepting his hand and joining him on the other side of me.
“And who might you be?” Lance asked, resting his elbow against the bar. Jordan twisted on my lap, facing the best friend who seemed to have no sense of right and wrong.
“Lance, this is my girlfriend, Jordan.”
Jordan stuck her hand out, and Lance eased his hand inside her grasp. I knew Lance. He was a player, but he would never go after my girl. I knew that. He leaned off the bar and looked at me.
“You lucky bastard, you. Is this the tub chick?”
Jordan nudged me in the ribs.
“Did you tell everyone about that?” she asked, tossing her head and pretending to be offended.
“They wanted to know how we met. I’m not that good of a liar.” I shrugged in amusement and took a sip of beer, trying to hide a smirk that she definitely saw me attempting to cover.
“Well, it’s so good to fi—” Lance stopped mid-sentence as Angela, the leech, walked by, tossing her hair back, trying to get his attention.
Lance slapped my back and said, “Well, Tom. Looks like I’m gonna go have at your leftovers.”
“By all means, have at it,” I said as he walked off, chugging his beer and trying to find someone to fill his time, maybe to take home. One day, he would change, but not today.
I kissed Jordan’s cheek and whispered in her ear, “Do you know what’s going on with Paul and Ellie?”
She nodded, turning her head toward me, and said, “I just don’t think she can fight it anymore.”
“Bartender, two shots of Jack, please,” Paul hollered, then looked down at Ellie with a smile he hadn’t worn all day.
I turned away from their craziness and snuggled in close to Jordan as the Panthers took the field against the Atlanta Falcons. Jordan grabbed a tight hold on my arm. I looked up at her perched on my lap, but her eyes were glued to the television and she was grinning from ear to ear. The only thing I could do was hug her and thank the dear Lord for giving me a girl who loved football.
• • •
It was the bottom of the fourth quarter, and the Panthers led by three. The Falcons lined up on our five yard line on their final down.
“Oh, my God, I can’t look,” Jordan said, burying her head in my shoulder. She lifted up to look again, but just as quick, put her face back down against me. She was adorable enough to distract me from football. The whistle blew through the speaker, and Jordan lifted her head up again from my shoulder to watch the game. Her teeth gripped her bottom lip as her brow creased. She mumbled a chant over and over.
“Defense, defense, defense…” Her chant became louder, and I was entranced.
She jumped off my lap and started screaming and jumping up and down. I looked at the television, and realized something had happened that had never happened before. A woman had totally distracted me from a goal line stand, and I didn’t care one damn bit. I wrapped my arms around her while she cheered, screamed, and kept on jumping.
Through the eruption
of the fans in Dixie’s Tavern, Lance’s voice raised above all the others.
“Hey! What the hell?!”
Jordan and I looked in his direction as he stormed passed us. My eyes bugged in shock as I saw that Paul and Ellie were lip locked to no end. Lance gripped Paul’s arm, pulling him away from Ellie, and then screamed in his face.
“What the hell man?! That’s my ex!”
“Lance, stop,” Ellie said, but Paul’s voice rose over hers.
“You let her go.” He pulled his arm out of Lance’s grasp and continued in a slurred voice. “You gave her up years ago. Am I not supposed to go after the woman I’ve wanted all my life just because you got to her first over ten years ago?”
I scooted Jordan off my lap and stood in between my two best friends.
“Y’all, come on. Not here.”
“No, dammit, we’re gonna do this here,” Lance said, pushing me out of the way. He got in Paul’s face and continued, “Whatever happened about not going after each other’s girls?”
“Well, you slept with damn near half the town, so the pickings are slim, Lance.”
Lance unleashed on Paul, throwing a punch square in his face. Paul stumbled back a few steps, but didn’t hit the ground. I moved out of the way and stood in front of Jordan.
“Is this a normal occurrence?” Jordan asked.
I shook my head. “No. I just think Paul couldn’t take it anymore.”
Ellie helped Paul steady himself, and after making sure he was okay, she turned toward a seething drunk Lance. She stepped up to him, getting as close to his face as she could, and said, “You gave me up to whore around, and now you’re mad because years later, someone shows me attention? You’ve got to be kidding. There are a lot of legs to spread; go find someone else’s.”
She turned back, grabbing Paul’s hand, and they marched out of Dixie’s. Lance fumed as he turned around to us. After the floor show was over, the folks at Dixie’s resumed the celebration of the win.
“Did y’all know about this?”
“Lance, everyone knew about this. Paul has been in love with Ellie since we were kids.”
He exhaled. “Really?”
I nodded at his stupid question.
“Shit,” he said under his breath, running a hand through his hair. He realized the scene he had made. Throwing his hands up in the air, he drudged across the floor and out the door.
Jordan wrapped her arms around me, and I rested my hands on her hips.
“That was explosive.”
I nodded my head in agreement.
“So, back to the whole spanking thing…”
She laughed at my comment and said, “Whenever you’re ready, cowboy.”
I grabbed her jaw gently, pressing my lips to hers. Our tongues danced together. I pulled away and said, “Let’s go.”
She walked in front of me, and I opened the door for her, being a gentleman and letting her exit first. As she passed me, I playfully slapped her ass and she squealed with a little hop.
“You said you needed one.” I gave her a little wink and she laughed all the way back to The Inn.
There would never be any further question. I was wholeheartedly in love with this woman.
“BABY, GO WAIT at Dixie’s. We’re going to be so late,” she purred as my hand glided up underneath her work skirt. Skin of silk possessed me to glide higher, caressing her curves and never wanting to stop. The evening sun lit up her suite at The Inn as I buried my face in the crook of her neck. I couldn’t get enough of her. I knew I loved her. I loved her more than anything in this world, but what I felt was something words couldn’t describe. I craved her. I needed to be constantly touching her. If we could spend the rest of our days just like this, I would be the luckiest damn bastard alive.
When my lips traveled to her ear, her body gave up its fight. Her fingers threaded through my hair, pulling me into a mind-blowing kiss. I lifted her knee up and wrapped her leg around my hip. Her head tilted, deepening our kiss, and my fingers nestled between the lace of her panties and her shaven skin. Her slick heat spread across my fingers, and when I pushed inside, she moaned through our kiss. My thumb flicked in time with my finger as I pressed my lips to her neck, inhaling her scent full of sex.
The crave I harbored turned into an undying hunger. I unzipped her skirt and let it crumble to the floor. My hands slid over her silk blouse, cupping her breasts and flicking her hardened nipples.
“You don’t like this shirt, right?
“Well, I actu—”
I tore the shirt in two, buttons popping to the floor.
“I’ll buy you a new one.” I swept her into my arms and laid her down on the bed. I held myself over her, peppering kisses down her collarbone and onto her chest, whispering, “You’re so beautiful.”
Her fingers threaded through my hair as I pulled down the cup of her bra, her nipple budding in the cool of the fall. I swiped my tongue gently across the tip. Her faint breath begged me to let my greed have its way. I lapped at her peak, sucking just enough to make her whisper my name. I pulled down the lace covering her other breast as my fingers slid across the smoothness of her skin. Her back arched into me as I sucked harder, and my fingers trailed down her flat stomach, reaching into her panties again and resuming their previous task. I lightly pulsed inside of her, keeping my mouth on her breast. When her hands gripped my hair, I wasted no time ripping away the lace, exposing all of her to me.
“I’ll buy you a new pair of those, too.” I gazed up at her as I inched down her body. She nodded her reply, and with one swipe of my tongue, her head fell back as she writhed underneath me. The easy thrust of her hips told me to go faster. I knew this woman’s body. I had memorized every sound and every shiver from every place my hands touched. When she fed into me, I gave her more. I slipped one finger inside. My tongue flicked at a faster pace, and I eased another finger inside. She screamed out once as her body was no longer in her control. I repositioned quickly and held her legs down. The buildup within her was growing rapidly; I knew that when she came, she was going to come hard.
I twisted my fingers as I pressed into her, sucking harder. The walls of her core clenched to a quicker beat, her legs quaking under my grasp. Her hips thrust faster as a moaning whisper escaped her lips.
“Tom… please don’t stop…”
I shook my head, not that she could see. I wanted this more than she did. She cried out louder, “Don’t stop.” She heaved a breath, “Please.”
Her begging drew out a deeper hunger. I adjusted slightly to lift her hips higher. She cried out once, and when I hit that one spot, she screamed out my name as she came harder than she ever had before. Her sensitivity made her push away slightly, but I held on tight, drinking everything she gave. I kissed her inner thigh and slowly up her body until her fists clutched my shirt, pulling me to her lips. Her tongue swirled with mine as she sucked my bottom lip between hers. When our kiss slowed, her gaze melted into mine. She glided her fingers down to my belt, unbuckling it with pure intent in her eyes. I shook my head and she froze underneath me.
“This was just for you.”
She grasped the button anyway and unfastened it.
“No, this is for you,” she whispered, but I stopped her hands and shook my head again. “I don’t understand.”
“Darlin’, you gave me everything I needed.”
“Are you sure? Aren’t I supposed to return the favor?” She pulled back like I had scorned her.
“Yes, Jordan.” I pressed my body against hers, lifting her hands and holding them above her head. “Loving you is the only favor I ever want. This could not be more perfect.”
The touch of her lips found mine again, but I seriously needed to calm down. I pulled out of our kiss and pushed off her, but with the sight of her lying in the bed with shredded lace panties and a bra exposing her curves, I didn’t think I would be able to contain myself again. I still craved her.
“God, you’re so beautiful.” She leaned up on her el
bows with her legs still spread apart. Maybe I would let her return the favor later. “We’re going to be late. You better find some clothes to wear.”
She peeked over the bed, eyeing her shirt and panties, and she shook her head as she giggled. “Good thing I wasn’t planning on wearing those tonight.”
“I’ll buy you some new ones.” I leaned over her and pressed my lips to hers briefly, then grabbed my hat and headed to the door. “Meet you at Dixie’s.”
When the door closed behind me, I slid my hand down my face, still smelling her on my fingers. I didn’t understand this carnal need for her. I had a feeling I would never understand it, but it would never go away either. I pushed away from her door and headed down the stairs. My uncle’s voice echoed a tune from the kitchen while Aunt Ethel was nowhere in sight. I headed out into the evening, the chill beginning to creep in the air. I pulled the brim of my hat down on my head, shading my eyes from the setting sun. Paul and Ellie were to meet us at Dixie’s, and we were all heading down the highway to the Silver Bullet for our first official double date.
The walk down the block to Dixie’s Tavern felt lonely. I turned my head back as I looked at The Inn and hoped my girl would hurry up. I glanced inside of Ellie’s Boutique as I passed by, and saw that she was standing behind the counter talking to a guy. Probably some dude buying clothes for his girl. A smile slipped across my face, reminding me that I had to buy Jordan new clothes, too. I checked the time on my watch and noticed that she should have closed about ten minutes ago. I guess we weren’t that late after all.
When I reached the corner door of Dixie’s, I yanked it open and heard soft country filtered in the air. Being just past 6:00 on a Thursday, the bar was relatively quiet. Just some of the locals having an evening beer before heading home for dinner. As I sidled up to the bar, Mrs. Betty handed me a draft right away.
“I love how you know my order.” I smiled as if I was the happiest guy in the world, because I believed I was.