by Alli Sims
Grabbing a soda out of the fridge, Cassie sat on her blue, faux suede couch, and turned on the TV. Since satellite was all she could get out here in the ‘sticks’, she’d suffered through a few lost signals during rainy weather, but all in all the satellite company was better that she had imagined. She did miss her cable hookup back at school, but such was life. As long as she had a decent internet signal and some good channels to surf, she’d be all set.
As she sat watching the ending of A Walk to Remember, she thought about the last few weeks and Jackson Pierce, owner of Lucky Jack’s, owner of that amazing blue bike, co-owner of her heart, though he didn’t know it yet. She realized how close she was coming to actually feeling something for him. If she were truthful, she was infatuated, yes that was the word, infatuated with him. He’d been so helpful with her moving, showing her the small town, all of the sites to see and things to do during different seasons, and giving her that lusted after ride on his Harley more than once, she couldn’t help feeling like a schoolgirl. All giddy with stars in her eyes with hopes and dreams of white picket fences, and tons of kids and hoping he liked her too, yada yada yada. But she was a grown woman, hell if she was about to let him see how much she melted at his touch. He was a gentlemen, to the core. Touching hadn’t really been on the menu yet, but she was hopeful.
She smiled as she reminisced about the last few times they’d been hanging out together, then realized she was getting drowsy, and decided she’d lay down on her comfy couch for a quick catnap.
“BANG, BANG!”
Jumping into sitting position, Cassie sat startled on the couch, looking around trying to figure out what had awakened her.
Another loud bang, and she was on her feet heading for the door, knowing that was the source of the noise. Jackson stood on her porch on the other side of the screen, smiling that Cheshire cat smile she was slowly getting used to.
“You scared the shit out of me!” She all but yelled at him while opening the screen door.
“I’m sorry, were you sleeping?” He asked in that annoying ‘I’m innocent’ way he has, knowing full well she was.
“You jerk, you looked through the window again didn’t you? I should have you arrested you peeping tom. Come on in, soda’s in the fridge.” They had engaged in this conversation more than once recently. Cassie wanted to feel annoyed with him, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it.
Jackson entered then walked to the fridge to retrieve a couple of sodas, handing her one as she plopped back down on the couch.
“All finished decorating? Looks good, has the homey feel now.
“Yep, I think I’ve got everything where I want it. I’m sure I’ll change something, I usually do. So what brings you by?” She asked, setting her drink on the ceramic wolf coaster, and handing Jackson one out of the little rack they were in.
“Have you eaten yet? It’s almost dinner time.” He responded, setting his can down too.
“Is it that late already?” Glancing at her watch she noticed it was quarter after 6.
“Yes, I thought you might have forgotten to eat, so I stopped by to see if you wanted to grab some dinner-my treat.”
Subtle, she thought, he was asking her out to dinner, or was he? Maybe he was just hungry, and didn’t want to eat alone. That must be it, because no way would he be asking her out on a date not this late in the day.
“Uh, no, I haven’t eaten. Yes, I forgot, and are you asking me out on a date Jackson Pierce?” She looked into crystal blue-green eyes waiting for an answer.
Chapter Five
Damn, didn’t see that one coming. Jackson thought silently, he had thought he was being subtler than that. But he was definitely asking her out, very much so. He was tired of the cat and mouse game they’d been playing for the last couple of weeks, and he wanted to seriously consider being in her life, on a permanent basis. Truth be told, he wanted her on a physical level so much he almost couldn’t bear it.
She stared at him expectantly, waiting, her green eyes could practically see right through his ruse, he had no doubt about that.
“Yes actually, I am asking you out. Would you like to go out to dinner with me?” There, he’d asked the question. Anticipation turned to relief when she answered.
“Of course! I’d love to, just let me go get ready. I’m absolutely famished.” Cassie answered getting up from the couch.
Softly grabbing her arm, he pulled her back onto the couch. “No, you look fine, I like that just-woke-up look you’ve got, it’s kind of sexy. Next time you can dress up, sound good?”
“Okay, well, at least let me throw on my boots, I assume you have the bike?” She asked.
“Yes, I have the bike. Go ahead, we’re not going too far, and hurry before the food gets cold.” He couldn’t believe that they were actually going on their first date. It didn’t matter it was at his place where he had dinner waiting, it still counted.
“And grab a jacket, it’s cooled down a bit, might get cold on the bike.” Jackson added as an afterthought. He heard her answer ‘okay’ from down the hall.
A few minutes later he heard her heels clicking on the floor down the hall. “Almost done.” She called out.
As she entered the living room again, Jackson noticed she had changed into a red sweater and black pair of jeans with her high heeled boots showing off slender calves, not to mention what they did for her butt. A black leather jacket wrapped her up nicely, she looked good enough to eat. That observation had started some things twitching with expectation. He groaned to himself, not again.
Oblivious to his mild torture Cassie said, “Ready! Where we going?”
“You’ll see, it’s a surprise.” Pacing himself as he rose from the couch, a mild leg adjustment and he was good to go, for now.
Twenty minutes later they were pulling in the driveway of a two-story cape cod style house with two flower baskets hanging on the porch, and a little ankle biting Chihuahua running out the doggy door barking at them. Chrissy stood at the front door, laughing at the pup's antics.
“Who’s this little guy?” Cassie asked when the squirming little dog jumped in her arms, his whole body shaking with excitement.
“That’s Spike, he’s a mix of Doberman, Rottweiler and pain in the butt!” Chrissy answered jokingly from the porch.
“Ohhh, big mean licking machine I see.” Cassie laughed as Spike cuddled in her arms giving doggie kisses.
Laughing, Jackson took the squirming beast from Cassie’s arms, set him down, and pointed to the house without saying a word; Spike scurried back to the porch and disappeared into the house.
“He’s adorable, and he listens well. Is he yours?” Cassie asked, straightening her sweater and brushing off a few stray white hairs.
“Yes, Spike’s been with me for a few years now, I adopted him from the shelter, brought him home three years ago, and he’s been here since. I had planned to give him to my ex, but she lost that privilege when she ran off with another guy. Since then, he and I have been together.” Jackson answered, smiling. “Ready to eat?”
“Of course, shall we?” Cassie started walking toward the house, giving him the perfect view of her back side. That familiar ache started up again, he shook his head and followed.
“Hi Sugar, how’ve you been? Get the house all done?” Chrissy piped up as they walked in the front door, giving Cassie a quick hug.
“Yes, finally! You’ll have to come by and check it out one day, it’s adorable if I do say so myself.” Cassie responded.
“Good for you girl, we’ll have a house warming party sometime soon. Spike and I are going to head out for a play date with my little girl, Dimples. She’s actually his sister. We adopted them at the same time. Come on Spike, let’s go bye-bye.”
Little toenails ran across the tile floor, as Spike walked into the little kennel by the front door and waited patiently for Chrissy to say her goodbyes. Then they were off and she and Jackson were alone.
Jackson watched as Chrissy and her little bun
dle headed out for a play date, shut the door and turned to face Cassie. With a regal wave of his hand in the direction of the dining room he said, “Dinner is served madam.”
Chapter Six
Cassie walked into the dining room, looked around at the dinner laid out for them. Two plates sat on opposite sides of the dining room table, a bottle of wine sat in its ice bucket, and in the middle of the table she eyed the most delicious, mouth-watering steaks she’d ever seen. A large bowl of mashed potatoes with gravy sat steaming in their bowl, buttery, French-cut green beans, and bowl of fresh green salad lay in wait. Her taste buds went into cardiac arrest.
“Wow, I was expecting bacon cheeseburgers and French fries at Lucky Jack’s. Boy, was I wrong.” She said in awe as she looked at him curiously.
“Not for a first date, I had to pull out all the stops, make it special.” Jackson answered, smiling at her. He proceeded to pull out her chair for her and pour some wine in her glass before being seated himself.
“Jackson, this looks amazing, and smells wonderful. I can’t wait to dig in.” Cassie said reaching for the potatoes and gravy.
“Nothing’s too good for you, it’s what you deserve.” Realizing he was getting worked up again, he proceeded with, “Enjoy!”
As Cassie sat enjoying her meal, giggling when appropriate, and making small talk she wondered where this might lead. A dinner date at Jackson’s house, just the two of them with no interruptions, and a bottle of wine she was pretty sure where she wanted this to go. She’d wanted it to go there for the last few weeks, the possibilities were present, but the right time never was. Until tonight. Cassie knew she must be crazy thinking that way, but she couldn’t help herself. No red- blooded American woman could, but there was that little problem of her virginity. What if he didn’t want to ruin her good name? What if he didn’t want to for fear of hurting her? What if…? Maybe, if anything were to happen, she’d tell him so he wasn’t surprised when he found out. Yes, that’s what she’d do, she’d tell him first so he didn’t freak out about it. She’d had boyfriends before, she just didn’t think they were good enough for that, most of them were jerks that wanted her to put out just so they could say she did. Pigs. But Jackson wasn’t like that, she didn’t know how she knew, but she did. And she was falling for him, hard. She must have looked troubled to Jackson as he interrupted her thoughts.
“Cassie? Cassie? Are you okay? Jackson asked, obviously noticing something had changed in her.
She shook her head, banishing her doubts immediately.
“No, I’m sorry, I zoned for a minute, and I’m sorry what were you saying?”
“Did you want more wine? Or some dessert?” Jackson asked.
“Lord no, I couldn’t eat another bite. I’ll pass on the wine, don’t want to get too silly on you. That was wonderful, and so delicious. Thank you.” She answered, truthfully.
“You’re welcome, I’m glad you enjoyed it. Let me get these dishes in the kitchen and we’ll retire to the living room to relax. Sound good?” Jackson didn’t wait for an answer before starting to clear off the table.
“Grab a couple of soda’s out of the fridge for us would you Cassie? I’ll be done in minute, and join you on the couch.” He said while removing the rest of the dishes from the table.
She walked over to the fridge, grabbed two cans of mountain dew and headed into the living room to get comfortable on the black leather couch. Sitting down she looked around the room, it had a definite masculine feel to it, and it smelled like leather and wood. A stone fire place sat on one side of the room, and a big screen TV sat in the middle. There was a beautiful black and white area rug covering one part of the hardwood floor with two modern, cast iron end tables at each end of the couch. An owl lamp sat in the middle of each.
Jackson entered the living room a few minutes later, looking so tasty she couldn’t think, the hormones were certainly making their presence known. His black long sleeve shirt fit him like a glove, tucked into his dark blue jeans that also fit like a glove. If she could, she’d jump him right there and not look back. This was going to be a long night she sighed inwardly.
Chapter Seven
Jackson finished up in the kitchen, then headed to the living room to sit and relax, maybe even cuddle with Cassie. As soon as he turned the corner to enter, her beautiful mouth opened and he almost tripped over his feet.
“I’m a virgin.” She said, easily, and clearly.
Stunned, he stopped dead in his tracks. He couldn’t have heard her right, not possible. No, he was hearing things, too much wine, but if that were the case why did his body suddenly come alive with aching need? And the need to run?
“Wait…what?..I…umm, sorry. What?” Coherent thought was lost on him, and his twitching manhood wasn’t helping.
“I said that I am a virgin. I know I just blurted it out, but I really like you and by like I mean like, like. Actually, I’m falling in love with you and didn’t know of a better way to say it then just come out with it. I’m sorry, I should have waited for a better time to tell you but I was afraid if I waited too long and something happened, not that I expect something to happen, but just in case…..” Cassie rambled, before getting cut off.
As she tried to continue, his feet moved him forward, he crossed the room, grabbed her up off the couch, and kissed her passionately cutting off whatever else she was going to say. Her response was immediate as she wrapped her arms around him. Jackson deepened the kiss tasting the sweetness of her warm mouth, and the passion he had dreamed of radiating deep into his bones. With a desperate groan he pulled away looking into emerald eyes filled with desire, he hadn’t felt in so long.
Weak kneed and breathing heavy, Jackson pulled her into his lap sitting down on the couch.
Staring down at him Cassie smiled, “Well, that’s one way to shut me up.”
“Seemed like the right way to do it. Are you serious? You’ve never been with a man?” Jackson asked, truly surprised because she was one of the most beautiful, sexy women he’d ever had the pleasure of meeting.
“Yes, I am. Sure, I’ve had boyfriends, but because I wouldn’t have sex with them, they ended up being ex-boyfriends. The last break-up was one of the reasons I ended up here, I wanted to get away from where I was and what the life wasn’t giving me.” She shrugged when answering.
“Come on, let’s go find that last ex and let me shake his hand for landing you right here in my lap, literally.” Jackson teased, lightly kissing her hands.
Cassie smiled then bent down to land a feathery kiss on moist lips. Smiling, she looked down and asked, “Is that for me, or did you really stuff a banana in your pants?”
“That has been for you now for the last several weeks. I’ve lost track of the last time I walked around without that. Thank you so much for that.” Jackson stressed, pulling her head down, kissing her once more, before softly laying her down on the couch, his full hardness against her softness.
“I want to stop myself, and woo you for a little longer, but can’t seem to make my body listen to rational thought. I don’t want to scare you away, but I don’t want to take what you’re really not ready to give. And I don’t want to hurt you.” Jackson whispered before kissing her again.
“Jackson Pierce, if I didn’t want to give, I wouldn’t be in this position in the first place. I love you, hopelessly, and against all odds. I’ve wanted to make love to you for weeks now, but wasn’t sure how far you wanted to go. You are the one I want to share this with, no one else.” Cassie responded caringly.
With her response, Jackson took her by the hand, pulled her up from the couch, and led her to the bedroom ready to treat her the way someone so special needed to be treated.
Chapter Eight
Smiling. Cassie knew she was smiling. She never woke up smiling this much, every time she’d try to stop, she’d smile again. My face is going to get stuck this way, Mom was right! She thought quietly as she rolled over to come face to face with dark hair, closed black eyelashes, full
lips, and a five o'clock shadow. A naked Jackson lay next to her, softly snoring with a sheet covering from the waist down. And she smiled again.
Brushing some of his hair back off his chiseled face, she spoke quietly but knew he’d hear her. “Wake up sleepyhead, sun is shining, it’s a beautiful day.”
With a slight grunt, eyelashes fluttered and sleepy blue eyes stared back at her.
“Hmm, Good Morning gorgeous.” He pulled her head down for a morning kiss.
Eying the tent forming under the sheet, she asked simply, “Another banana for me?”
“Aren’t you sore? We did play a few times last night, are you sure you’re ready so soon?” Jackson asked, concern visible in his eyes.
“Uh uh, not sore really, just stiff from laying on your hard bed all night. You could make it all better.” Cassie purred, running a hand over the now fully formed tent.
“Why you little minx, I do believe I’ve created a monster. A tempting, sexy, gorgeous monster.” Jackson chuckled.
Nothing else needed to be said as she crawled under the covers.
An annoying trilling noise awakened Jackson a little while later, after they’d made love again, and nodded back off for a nap. Through the sluggish fog lingering in his brain, he realized the trilling was the phone ringing non-stop, waking Cassie up as well.
“Hello?” His tired voice asked into the phone, eyeing Cassie.
“Jackson? I’m sorry to wake you, but there’s some asshole frat looking guy here at the bar asking for ‘Cassandra’. Can I shoot him?” Chrissy’s voice came across the line, clearly frustrated, and ready to shoot first ask questions later.