by Lee, Lenise
The magnitude of his good looks left me wondering why he was even sitting here with me and not over there laughing it up with Rita. It seemed that a man this handsome would find Rita to be more of his type and match in a mate. Was this some type of silly joke that they were trying to pull? My mood darkened again and I felt my cheery expression fade away.
A warm sensation spread over my skin as he used one of his large palms to cover both of my hands at once.
“No long faces allowed when you’re with me, pretty lady,” he said and the earnestness in his features nearly brought me to tears over his sentiment.
The urge to have him holding me was surging again. I had only known this man for less than five minutes and already I felt like the safest and most cared for woman in the world.
“I’m s –,” I stopped short and caught myself before I let the word slip out.
Bright Eyes offered a smirk and nodded his head toward me in approval.
I quickly reworded what I was about to say.
“I wish I could be better company, but I have so much on my mind.”
“Honesty without apology,” he let loose his adorable dimples, “now that’s more like it.”
“You know what, I like how that feels,” I replied with my face lifting up, feeling as though a heavy weight had been taken off of my shoulders.
He squeezed my hands lightly and then pulled back. I immediately wished I could have the warm and soothing sensation of his touch again – anywhere and everywhere.
“Seems like you and I are off to a good and steady start, Miss – hey now…where in the world did my manners fly off to?”
A full set of straight teeth peered out, followed by another deep laugh causing a flutter of butterflies to fill my stomach.
He spoke his greeting while touching the index and middle fingers of his left hand to his temple and offering a slight nod of his perfectly smooth brow.
“Jackson Bryant at your beck and call, pretty lady.”
I released a giggle as I spoke. “Janay Parker.”
“Janay,” he repeated softly, as though speaking to himself. Jackson paused and offered another half grin before continuing. “Miss Janay, it is my complete pleasure to make your acquaintance.”
Another giggle slipped out. My cheeks must have turned beet red and the hue completely overtaken the light mocha brown of my natural skin color. I couldn’t believe that I was sitting here behaving like a schoolgirl who was overwhelmed by the bright awakenings that a new crush always brings with it.
Jackson’s face turned serious and his features steadied as though he were studying me. For a moment, his gaze was so heavy and intense, I thought maybe I had turned him off with my girlish behavior. Before I could drop my smile again, he must have seen the worry flash over me and he was quick to set my mind at ease.
“I didn’t mean to be so rude, my dear. I just can’t help but to stare. I like how you glow when you smile,” he said and leaned forward over the table again.
Like a magnet, I was drawn to his presence and, before I could halt my movements, I was leaning in closer too. It was the eyes. Cool, blue, alluring, and pulling me further under his sway.
Our faces stopped only a few centimeters apart. I could detect the last traces of a spicy aftershave still clinging to his dark peach colored skin. He licked his lips and I wished that I had been the one to complete that task for him. I wanted to taste him so badly that I felt a slight sheen starting to cover my neck and the top of my breasts. Right at the instant that I thought our mouths would finally touch, the music in the speakers cranked up and the front door burst open as a mob of evening patrons spilled through and filled up any vacant bar stools and tables available.
Jackson turned his attention away to quickly inspect the new crowd. When he turned back in my direction, his face was awash with mischief.
“Looks like the gang’s all here. Now we can really have some fun, pretty lady.”
He winked, leaned forward and kissed my lips gently. His flavor lingered on my mouth. The act was nowhere near long enough and didn’t satisfy my taste for him; it only left me thirsty for more instead.
“Sweet Janay,” he whispered against my lips, still moist from being covered by his own, “let’s go see what we can do about brightenin’ up your evenin’.”
With that said, and no time allowed for me to object, Jackson grabbed his hat, took my hand, and drew me deeper into an evening with him that I wasn’t soon to forget.
3
The square open space in the middle of the room doubled as the dance floor. Anyone who hadn’t been able to grab a seat when the evening crowd rushed in had opted to start off with a two-step to the rhythmic new country style music hammering out through the overhead speakers.
A quick turn of my head back to where we were just sitting, and a group of friends had snapped up the seats at the table as fast as Jackson and I had vacated them. Jackson’s strong hand held me tight as he guided me across the dance floor. With his long strides leading the way, we quickly weaved through the thick crowd and back over to the bar counter.
Once there, he pulled back a tall bar stool and helped me to lift my ample rear up and onto the seat. I have to give him the credit he was due. All while he held my hand, and placed his other palm around my waist to help ease me onto the stool, never once did I get the feeling that he was trying to be anything but a true gentlemen. His fingers never strayed away from where he needed to give me the most support for a quick boost off of the floor and sitting comfortably at the countertop.
Then, instead of taking up residence in the open stools directly on either side of me, Jackson opted to remain standing as close to me as was physically possible. The large hands that he had just used to guide me into my seat remained firmly planted on the junctions where my waist gently arced down to my hips. His touch was confident and comforting and he held me with just the right amount of pressure from his wide fingertips. The feel of his hands on my body bordered the thin line between a sense of security and the unmistakable allure from the beginnings of a slow seduction.
He stationed himself at an angle next to me and then moved his right arm to encircle me while he leaned the strong appendage against the edge of the bar. Jackson’s tall and wide frame had formed a barricade that seemed to protect me from the rest of the crowd. It was as though the rest of the patrons had disappeared and now only he and I remained. I felt safe and wanted in the tiny piece of the world that he had created for us by using the manly size of his sturdy stature. I could feel the rough wool blend of his shirt rubbing against the bare skin of my shoulder. The smell of his scent, now much stronger due to his close proximity, wafted up my nose and my eyelids drifted close as I tried to inhale as much of this sexually charged man as I could take in at once. The slight chaffing of the material of his shirt mixed in with my sudden arousal from the heat of his warm breath strumming down my neckline sending rhythmic pulses of anticipation down the center of my back. I must have shivered a little because in the next moment I felt him draw his arms tighter around the circumference of my body, pulling my back closer against his covered chest.
He placed his stubbled chin on my shoulder and his warm lips at the lobe of my left ear. I was too afraid to meet that cool blue gaze yet my body was reacting to him in a way that no other man had ever been able to draw out of me. The brow of my forehead was covered in a light perspiration and my already taut nipples pebbled another degree harder. I was sure they had become sharp enough to cut straight through the front of the dress.
I wanted to reach out and cover myself and hide my shame and to apologize for my out of character behavior. He must have thought me to be a joke to be so unprepared to respond to him with some kind of sensual look of interest or snappy but sexy comeback like Rita would have been able to do with natural ease in a situation such as this. As I would come to find out more and more over time, Jackson was always willing and able to put my nerves at ease and my fears to rest with his smooth and silky word
s. It was almost as if he could already read me so well; every uneasy shift in my breathing, every nervous movement and he was right there to calm my spirit. That light Midwestern drawl would be the end of all my wits and common sense. The man was slowly undoing all of my safety nets and I was helpless to stop him.
“It’s alright, pretty lady,” he whispered in my ear, “Tonight you’re all mine and I’m gonna’ take good care of you. I’ll make sure you stay warm all night.”
“I guess I do look a little out of place, don’t I?”
I couldn’t turn my head when I spoke because his lips were still caressing that sensitive part of my earlobe. I licked my lips in response and he responded in turn by placing the very tip of his wet tongue against the spot he had been stroking with his warm mouth. The slick feel of his tongue on my skin caused me to snatch in a quick breath of air as I fidgeted in my chair. I had to cross my legs to keep my pulsing kitten under control. One more move like that and I might lose control and my secret juices would leak out all over this seat.
“No, sweet Janay, I think you look mighty fine sittin’ there,” his hot words slid down the slope of my neck. “In fact, you look so good to me right now, I think I’m gonna’ have to let go of you before I lose my gentlemanly ways.”
Jackson laughed lowed and pulled his face, and the rest of his broad body, away from its close contact with mine. I could almost sense the reluctance and hesitance in his motions. He wanted to be right up on top of me and yet he was pulling away so that he didn’t overstep his boundaries. I couldn’t believe that I had actually been hoping he would make that bold move. Up until now, he had been so successful at easing me away from my safety zone and I wanted him to be the one to completely strip away all of these uncertainties that kept me chained up in isolation. I wanted him to be the one to show me how it felt to be truly free to enjoy these new stirrings in the center of my stomach and this sensuous moment for as long as it lasted.
Jackson grabbed a stool to his left and dragged it down close to where mine was stationed. Though we were no longer in physical contact, he made sure to lean in close enough to me so that I was able to trace every line and angle of his perfectly craft face with my eyes. If there were anyone else present in the room with us, no one else seemed to matter to him because, as he spoke, his eyes never strayed away from watching me. I could see those ice blue diamonds quietly surveying me, dancing over my face and then quickly dropping down to my neckline and even further to the top of my cleavage and back up again. Every once in awhile, the hint of a naughty smirk would appear and then he would rein it fast as if he were trying his best to keep his thoughts on the straight and narrow.
“So what do think of our little home away from home here,” he said and motioned his head so that I knew he was referring to this local nightspot.
“This place is actually a lot better than I thought it would be, but could use a little remodeling inside and out,” I spoke while desperately trying to drag myself away from his heated stare.
“Yeah, I wholly agree. The owner should be ashamed for not keepin’ up this place as well as his daddy did. God rest his soul.”
His head turned away and, in a flash, there was a small stab of agony in his usually bright eyes. The light there dimmed a bit and then pulsed to life, full of frenzy again, when Jackson returned his gaze over to me. The fire in his eyes was radiating again and I was too afraid to imagine how far I would be willing to go if Jackson dared me to take another step further into the fiery unknown with him. I think it would be impossible for me to refuse any offer, any dare, any forceful act of passion that he presented me with.
In a desperate act to break the spell he was casting on me, I dragged my eyes away to take a look around the area in front of me. Hanging in up high over the liquor wall was a glowing bright red, white, and blue sign with the cursive lettering Crystal Springs Lounge. The wall below the sign held several rows of shelves with various liquors and wines stationed there. By the looks of the names on the labels, I doubted that these were topshelf brands; nonetheless, if titles like Furious Gem Gin and Rodeo Sterling Vodka were any indication, these drinks were guaranteed to light a match under anyone’s seat and get them movin’ and groovin’ in record time. I laughed to myself as I considered the effect they would have on a person like me, who could barely hold onto her senses after a few small sips on a watered down Long Island ice tea.
“Janay, I think I figured out what the problem is,” Jackson’s straightforward statement cut right through my thought and immediately brought my complete attention over to him once again.
Had I said or did something wrong? I wasn’t very good at general chitchat so maybe I wasn’t talking enough.
He laughed loud again and punched his knee while the amusement rolled over him.
“Damn, sweet lady, I have got to get you to relax a bit.”
I dropped my eyes.
“I know. Do I look that bad? I’m just not great at letting loose.”
A long finger stroked the skin beneath my chin and Jackson used his gentle coaxing to lift up my face toward him. There was emotion there, on his face. I couldn’t quite put a name to it. His features shifted from compassion to passion and back again.
“Hey, now, there is no way that you could ever…and I mean ever…look bad at anything that you do. I knew that fact from the moment you stepped through that door. And I sincerely apologize if I was the one to say anything to offend you.”
He dipped his head forward and Jackson’s strong and flavored kiss sent my lips into a frenzied tingle of lust and wanting.
“Mm,” he smiled and leaned into a resting position with his elbow propped up on the bar, “too many of those and I might be a man in a serious world of trouble because of you…hooked for life,” he mused.
I laughed shyly and he offered me a wide grin that made my heart flutter again.
“It’s true indeed …smiles do make you glow like no gal I have ever laid eyes on before. Beautiful.” The last word rolled out low and deep, like the mantra of a meditative word.
He shifted his focus up to the shelf I had been reading.
“Anything in particular you might like to try?” He cocked a shifty eye over to me.
“Oh, I don’t think so,” I fidgeted with my hands, as I answered, “I’m not really much of a drinker.”
“Mhm, is that so, pretty lady?”
That easy grin made an encore appearance.
“Then, I was correct when I said I knew what the problem was.”
Still confused, I questioned him with a eye brows arched high.
“What’s the problem?”
“Let me rephrase,” he said and put the tip of his thumb flat against the side of his temple. “You don’t get out to places like this much, do you?”
I chanced a peak around his broad shoulder and spied out Rita at the opposite end of the counter. No less than five guys, all of whom sat enthralled while her big smile, red lips, and green eyes kept them all captivated as she told some type of lewd joke, surrounded her. Though we both were raised near a large metropolitan city, I had never taken the time to learn not even one bathroom stall joke, but my friend had them all memorized from A-Z. There was a huge riotous laughter once she had ended her tale and the men swarmed just a little closer to the queen bee.
“No, not really,” I spoke while settling back into my seat and nervously nibbling on my bottom lip. “I usually only hang out late when I’m with my friend, Rita.”
“‘Your friend Rita’,” he repeated with a slight distaste in his tone.
“Yeah, that’s her over there with those guys.”
“Uh-huh, I know which gal you’re referring to,” he answered without turning his attention away from me.
Jackson crossed his arms and leaned in close to me again. He tilted his face and angled it so that we were at an even eye level. I could tell that he wanted me to feel the sincerity of his next words.
“Let me ask you a question, Janay. No disrespect i
ntended, but what kind of friend leaves you sitting alone in a strange place while she goes and makes herself comfortable with the locals?”
The truth of statement hit me hard. Jackson was right on point with his observation. This wasn’t the first time that my so-called best girlfriend had left me to count the cracks in the ceiling once the opportunity to entertain a new guy presented itself. I didn’t like the answer that was swimming around in my head so I chose to remain silent.
Jackson placed his larges palms around my restless hands and immediately halted my movements. His touch offered a safety net to my rising apprehension.
“I will say this about Ms. Rita,” he lowered his voice as if telling me a secret only meant for my ears, “I sure am glad that she left you alone this time…‘cause now I get to have you all to myself with no interruptions.”
My loud laugh showed up again and I snatched my hands away to cover my mouth.
“Oh no, none of that,” Jackson soothed and pulled my right hand back into his warm embrace. “I love how you laugh and I want to hear more and more of it tonight. Okay?”
I nodded and the heat spread out over my cheeks.