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“Remind me not to drink like a sailor at a restaurant and then follow a man home and commence to drinking at his home,” I said a little slower than usual.
“Let me go get you a glass of water,” he offered.
“I appreciate it, but no thanks. I think I need to go on to the house…my house, that is.”
“Let me drive you. It’s not a good idea that you drive tonight,” he said.
“I’ll be fine.”
“Yes, you will because I’ll drive you.”
“No, Montie,” I said steadying myself so that I could make it home without an escort. “I don’t want to have to go through the trouble of having to come back to get my car. I’m fine, for real.”
“Well, I’m going to follow you to make sure you make it safely then,” he said following me to the counter where I picked up my purse. “At least let me do that, so I don’t feel like a complete puss.”
“I’m telling you none of that is necessary. I’ll be fine.” I reached into my purse and took out my car keys. “I can handle driving and everything will be just dandy.” I recognized my slur for the first time that night. Dang, he’s going to take my keys.
“Are you sure you’re fine, Lissa?” Montie asked with a sly grin.
I raised my hand over my heart as I walked to the door. “Girl Scout’s honor.”
“If you’re fine, then why are you trying to stick your key into my front doorknob?”
I looked down at my right hand that was hovering over his doorknob with my key. “Oh damn. I might need you to drive me,” I regretfully admitted.
“Yeah, so like I said, I’ll take you home.” Montie grabbed his key from the hook and we both broke out into laughter. Elation of that type was new to me, foreign even. It felt good to be in the presence of someone that didn’t take themselves too serious like Seth and Jameson. I appreciated a man even more who enjoyed my sense of humor without trying to take advantage of me by getting me into his bed at the end of the night.
The ride home seemed to happen in slow motion. I thought about how nice of a time I had working with Montie and getting to know the man behind the success story. He was fun and lively. He had hopes and dreams that had been deferred, just like I had. And, yes, he was all man. Damn, he’s definitely that, I thought, as I stole glimpses of his hard chest and imagined it pressed into my back when he guided me out of the restaurant, or how his strong hand grabbed mine when he wanted to take a detour from the normal walking path.
He pulled into my usual parking space in front of my townhouse. I reached for my purse and everything spilled out. I had forgotten to zip it back up when I got my keys out earlier.
“Aw man,” I said as I spent a few seconds fiddling around trying to put all my contents back inside.
“Did you get everything?” he asked as he reached over in attempt to help.
“I think so,” I said and giggled at the feel of his close contact.
He reached across my lap to look for himself. His hand rode up my thigh as he felt for loose objects.
“I’m really not that drunk, Montie. I just dropped some things, but I picked them up already,” I said of his intrusion into my space. I looked at him as he stared at me, our lips only inches apart. If he wanted to kiss me, pretending to look for my lost items was the hard way around it.
Montie slowly raised his hands up in the air and moved back into his seat. That wasn’t what I wanted him to do. What I wanted him to do was to press his lips into mine, push my head against the headrest of his car and drive me fucking insane. Obviously, he had the good sense not to ruin our working relationship in that way. I reluctantly followed his lead with the plan to get into my house, take a cool shower, and forget that I ever wanted to be Montie’s thot for a night. I reached for the door handle.
“I’ll get that,” he jumped out and came around to open my door.
When I stepped out of the car, I looked into his dark gaze that was glazed over with the reflection of the moon. “Um, thank you for giving me a ride home,” I muttered, the sweet smell of wine emanating from my breath and permeating the air amid us.
“I wouldn’t have had it any other way. Now, let me walk you to the door.”
I unenthusiastically put one foot in front of the other and sauntered to my porch. Montie shadowed close on my heels. I put my key in the door and spun around to say, “Good night.”
His wet and succulent lips inched close to mine. I couldn’t tell if gravity was shifting on me again, or if he was about to kiss me. Entrapped in the sensation of gratified anticipation, I stood frozen under Montie’s intense stare. So much for my year of Yes to No.
Were the liquor effects driving me insane or was overdue loving that would without a doubt end up in heartbreak in my cards? I pushed the ramifications of both out of my mind. My head tilted and my mouth opened to accept the passionate intimacy I imagined awaited me in Montie’s lips. Once Montie was close enough to breathe for me, he stopped.
“Thanks again for everything, Lissa,” he said with a sudden flash of innocence in his eyes. Like he didn’t know he just took my soul out of my body and held it in his eyes. “I really hate our time together has come to an end. I will call you soon. I’ll need to use your firm again. Oh, and I’ll have your car to you first thing in the morning,” he added.
I closed my mouth, righted my head and shook off the rejection that lingered in my gut. I had been foolish to think we were more than two colleagues getting to know one another. Montie was about his business. I needed to climb out of my feelings and be the same.
