Page 21 of Cherish

“Untrue, and I don’t see your point.” His eyes finally leave my lips and make their way back to my face.

“I know what passion looks like.” I want to form a response, but my mind has gone blank. He doesn’t give me any more time to form a semi-intelligent response. He presses his body into mine and lowers his mouth, capturing my lips immediately.

I’m stunned, but it doesn’t last for long. I hear a moan, and I don’t know if it was from me or him, but I get on the tips of my toes, wrap my arms around his neck and kiss Jason Dupree back. Where we are doesn’t matter. The guests just a few feet away are moot. All that matters is the taste of him and the feel of his body against mine.

I open my mouth and welcome him inside. He tastes of beer, but he feels like home. He sticks one hand in my curly hair, and I feel one large palm roughly take hold of my breast. I hear a growl, and this time I know that sound was from him. He deepens the kiss. His hand leaves my hair and slides down my back until he reaches my ass. He cups and squeezes it, pushing me closer to him, letting me feel the hardness inside his shorts.

I do the only thing I can do and grind into him. This time, we both moan. The kiss deepens even more. I forget myself and jump into his arms with no warning. Without so much as a flinch, he holds me, and I wrap my legs around him. I leave his mouth and kiss his chin before going back to his mouth.

He starts to walk out of the kitchen. Uncaring of where he’s taking me, we continue to kiss, neither one of us hearing the sliding door open.

“JD!” someone yells. “We need to make a beer and ice run. You’re almost—” The room goes silent. “Holy shit. Okay,” the person says. I leave Jason’s mouth and look over his shoulder, only to find his friend, Jake, standing there. Instead of leaving, he continues to stand there, awkwardly staring at the ceiling.

Realization dawns on me, and I jump out of his arms and stumble my way to the backyard.

Two hours later and my body still hasn’t calmed down. My nipples refuse to return to their normal state, and I’m irrationally cursing myself for not bringing a spare pair of panties.

I’ve done my best to stay away from him, but I can’t keep my eyes from wandering in whatever direction he’s in. I learned quickly that Jason Dupree is loud. For someone who couldn’t bother to string a sentence together the first day we met, his booming voice carries everywhere. His laughter is infectious.

He’s charming. He’s garnered the attention of every woman here, including Sandy and Jake’s mom. His neighbor, who can’t be a day less than ninety, stopped by and he charmed her too. When she announced she used to be a professional dancer, he challenged her to a dance off. They danced until he threw the white flag, declaring her the winner, then he offered her his arm and escorted her to a seat, ordering her to relax while he got her food and drink.

During all of that, he kept his eyes on me, and I’ve never felt so exposed. No one has ever watched me like that, not just with lust in his eyes but with interest. It’s as if he’s trying to peel away my layers and get to the real Alexandra Francine Malone. He wants access to the parts I’ve never been willing to share.

I can feel him looking at me now. I can hear him talking, but I know if I turn my head just a fraction, I’ll find him looking at me. Unable to resist, I turn, and when our eyes lock from across the backyard, I quickly look away, but not quick enough to keep my heart from practically catapulting out of my chest.

I do everything I can to not think about our kiss. The most unexpected thing that’s happened to me this year, and I can still taste him on my tongue. I can still feel his hands on my body. The way he pinned me against the fridge and owned my body with nothing but his mouth and hands. If his friend hadn’t walked through the door, I don’t know what would have happened, but I have a feeling we would have ended up in his bedroom.

When he came back from the ice run, he offered a tour of his apartment and the empty apartments upstairs. Like a groupie, I followed him and the group of people in his apartment. I’d seen every room but his on my sneaky solo tour. It’s a huge space with large windows looking out to the backyard. The furniture is dark cherry. There’s not a hint of femininity in his bedroom. I envision twenty different ways I could make the room softer. Make it mine.

“Hey, Alex,” I hear a voice say. I look up to find Sandy waving at me. When I reach her, she introduces me to her mother, sister, and future mother-in-law. Her mother and sister are much shorter than she is, and they resemble each other.

“Deedee,” Sandy’s mother, Mrs. Etienne, says, “what do you think about what I told you?” She has a thick accent that I can’t place.

“No, Mama,” is all Sandy says.

“But why?”

“Because, Mama, I’ve had three bridal showers already. One at work, the one you three threw for me, and the one you insisted on for your church friends even though they were invited to the main shower. I don’t need a luncheon two days after my wedding. That’s supposed to be my honeymoon.”

Mrs. Etienne purses her lips and stands to her full height, which isn’t much. She looks at Jake’s mother for help, who gives her a single, focused nod.

“But these are for the relatives that couldn’t make the shower. They come all the way from Canada, and you can’t give them a few hours?” Guilt, so nice to meet you. I try my best not to laugh.

“That’s what the wedding is for.”

“And you and Trouble don’t leave for your honeymoon until evening. You have to come back this way to get to airport, and you need to eat.” She doesn’t wait for Sandy to answer. She looks behind her and waves at Jake to come to her. When he approaches, she hooks her arm through his and pulls him close. “Deedee, get your mama something cold to drink. Maybe champagne. And you get the dessert. I think you need something to sweeten you up.”

Sandy’s sister laughs at their mother’s rebuke and says, “I had to do it too. You get no help here.”

Sandy gives Jake a kiss on the cheek but then whispers something in his ear. He nods in agreement and kisses her forehead. She hooks her arm through mine, and as if we are old friends, we walk back to the house.

She looks out the sliding glass door to find her mother talking animatedly to Jake, who is nodding at everything she says. I almost laugh at the scene because Jake’s own mother is sitting on the other side of him, talking to him just as passionately as Sandy’s mother.

“She always does this. I say no, and she goes to him. He’s incapable of saying no to her, and she knows it.” She huffs and searches the fridge for a bottle of champagne. While she pops the cork, I look through the cabinets for champagne glasses. As if I live here, I find them in the first place I look.

She pours several glasses while I look for a tray.

“You know, Deedee,” I joke. She shakes her head and warns me never to call her that in front of her mother.

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