He leans down, bracing an arm on the bookshelf, right by my face. “I’ve never understood why so many women have to cake their faces to feel beautiful,” he says, his eyes searching, flitting over my nose, my cheeks, my lips. “ You wanna talk about classic beauty?” he asks. His other hand tilts my chin up. “I bet the most beautiful thing in the world would be your face, completely naked, waking up in the morning.”
I’m caught up entirely in his reference to me being naked – even if it is just about my face, because, let us all be completely honest here, he’snotjust talking about my face. I’m socaught up in what he said, that I don’t realize he’s waiting for me to respond, his face inches from mine.
“Well…” I finally choke out, feeling a whole lot flustered. “Well… yup.”
Yup? Get it together!
“I mean… yes, that does sound…” I clear my throat, but I just can’t seem to say anything.
He chuckles, then leans down and presses a soft kiss against my neck, which is rapidly becoming my new favorite thing. I close my eyes, breath in, and try to calm my racing heart.
“Having trouble coming up with a response, are we?” he asks, and when I open my eyes, I see the twinkle in his.
I let out a breath, then lift up slightly, our noses touching, our breaths mingling.
“Sorry about that,” I say, bringing my hands up to press them against his chest. I slowly run them up and down his torso, and delight in the feeling I get when his eyes flare at my boldness. “I got a little caught up in the visual of what would happenbeforewaking up in your bed.”
He stares at my lips. “I never said my bed.”
I shrug a shoulder, watching my hand stroke his shirt. “Oops. I forgot. I meant to say a towel on the beach. Thatiswhat you meant earlier when you said public indecency, right?”
He smiles, a slightly devilish little thing, then lets out a little laugh, shaking his head. “What am I gonna do with you?”
I move my mouth to his ear and whisper, “I thought that’s what we were just talking about.”
Then I side-step and duck under his arm, which is still planted on the bookshelf, and begin walking over to the register.
* * * * *
JEREMY
September 2012
I watch her walk away from me, her hips swaying, and I realize I have gotten myself into quite the predicament.
This girl is hot – like, flaming hot Cheetos dusted with ghost peppers hot – no question. Being my sister’s roommate added a bit of the forbidden factor. Not gonna lie, that shit can be quite the turn on. And if I’m reading her correctly, she’s pretty down for whatever happens tonight.
Normally, these pieces would be enough for me to start moving things along. My typical M.O. with women is pretty consistent. Flirt and be charming in whatever way that works for them. I’m not trying to be manipulative, and the girls I go out with know the score. They know it’s just a fling, nothing serious. So they get it when I lay on the charm, because they know what they’re in for when I take them out, which is typically the same thing they’re looking for. I’m not sayingeverydate ends in the bedroom (or car, or limo, or club bathroom stall), but I do have a pretty high success rate, and trust me when I say the ladies never leave wanting.
So I flirt and charm. We grab a meal or a drink or go dancing. And then things move back to my place or hers, a hotel or a private spot. She gets off, I get off, and then we’re done. I mean, that’s pretty standard procedure for most guys I know. So I’ve never seen anything wrong with it before.
And here’s where my predicament comes in.
I’m not entirely sure where this date is going.
Shit, don’t get me wrong – I’m having a blast. On top of the stuff I mentioned before, Charlotte Davenport is also a really nice person, and she makes me laugh. I’ve never been a particularly laughy guy, and I’ve laughed like, at least ten times since I picked her up a few hours ago. Not only that, but there’s this feeling I’ve been having where I feel like I could tell her… anything.
So, a part of me wants to wrap this up and take her back to my place – because we both know her room at Glendale College isn’t an option. Why put it off when she keeps hinting that she’s down?
I have no fucking clue.
Maybe I know this isn’t gonna go anywhere, but I love her company, so I’m delaying moving things along?
Maybe I wonder if someone as sweet as her, regardless of her expert flirting, is someone Ishouldtake home at all?
Or… maybe I’m considering just taking her home and scheduling another date?
And that’s when I get those film zoom scenes. You know, when the camera zooms in on the character and the background zooms out, super fast, in a moment of shock or realization.
