“Oh, you know what I mean. You always look good anyhow. Why are you making this so hard?”
I moved toward the oven and grabbed the oven mitts to begin helping her. Sliding one over my hand, I turned to inform her exactly why I was making this so difficult.
“Hmm, let’s see. I don’t want to do…”
Just as I was about to finish my sentence, Paul appeared in the kitchen doorway and cleared his throat. Loudly.
“Ladies, I’d like to introduce you to my friend, Miguel.”
Paul moved to the side to let Miguel enter the kitchen, and Joan stepped forward to shake hands with a “breathtakingly handsome” man. Completely caught off guard, I stopped what I was doing, and stared into his big, brown eyes, surrounded by the most attractive caramel skin.
Studying the object of my surprise, I admired how his dark brown hair was meticulously styled, with a slight spike to the side of it. He was taller than Paul, so he must have been about 6’4” and his tight black polo shirt showed that he definitely didn’t sit around watching reruns all day.
He looked from Joan to me and I watched his sensually plump lips go from a polite smile to a huge grin, creating a dramatic Greek god-like appearance. Just as I was about to lower my eyes to take further inventory, Joan interrupted my lustful thoughts.
“Nice to finally meet you. My husband’s told me so much about you over the past few weeks.” She shook his hand and smiled politely. “This is my sister, Mel.”
I saw Joan turn toward me. I saw Paul look at me. But what I really noticed was the man in front of me. Paul’s friend? He honestly was the one behind tonight?
Slowly realizing that everyone was waiting for me to move forward, I tried to refocus my attention, as I took a step toward him. I took a deep breath as I tried to clear my mind, then smiled and gradually reached my hand out for his.
“It’s nice to meet you, Miguel. Joan’s been talking about you all week.” Good, I formed two entire sentences!
Miguel’s smile became even larger, if that was possible. His eyes lit with a mischievous shimmer, like he was hiding a secret or about to tell a joke. I briefly wondered what was wrong, or if I mispronounced his name, because my hand was hanging out midair waiting for him to reach his out as well, but he hadn’t moved yet.
“It’s very nice to meet the infamous Mel, as well.” He lifted his hand for mine in what seemed like slow motion. No, not romantic slow motion. Literal slow motion.
I froze. My heart thumped wickedly in my chest as I glanced down toward our outreached hands. Lost in my haze of lustfulness, I had forgotten that I was preparing to get food out of the oven and hadn’t remove the oven mitt. Not just any oven mitt though. It was shaped like a rooster and the beak of the rooster was pointing directly at Miguel’s hand.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I was…” I fumbled through my apology, quickly ripping the mitt off my hand, and reaching out to shake his hand properly.
“It’s completely understandable,” Miguel replied as he grasped my hand. Turning it over, he bent down, delicately brushing a kiss on the back of it, as his eyes unceasingly locked on mine. My heart didn’t even have a chance to slow down as I tried to process such a sweet gesture. It took all I had not to lean into him and beg for more. Yes, it had been a long time since I’d had any male affection bestowed upon my body. And it had been, well, never that someone as good looking as he was treated me in such a romantic yet gentlemanly way.
Noticing that the entire situation was being observed by two other people who were fighting to contain their chuckles, I relinquished Miguel’s hold, and tried again to regain my composure.
“Well, a woman’s work is never done.” I smiled, holding up my hand, as I slid the infamous rooster mitt back on.
“So true, Mel. It was a pleasure to see you in action,” Miguel breathed playfully, revealing two very sexy dimples.
Thankfully, Paul jumped in and invited Miguel to see the rest of his house, leaving us to finish our work. I’m sure he had never seen his sister-in-law in such a blunder, and decided to have pity on me.
As soon as the men left the room, Joan turned toward me, fighting to keep a straight face.
“A women’s work is never done?” she asked, instantly dissolving into laughter.
“Yeah, well, I didn’t know what to say. What was that anyhow?” I was still fumbling over my words, my brain sluggishly trying to process the last few minutes. “I mean who was that, Joan?”
“Well, that, my dear, is who I’ve been telling you about. Miguel. And from what I’ve heard, he’s a great guy.”
I sighed. “Yeah, great.”
I knew what I sounded like at that moment, but why fight it? That’s right, because I couldn’t. Just as quickly as that thought crossed my mind, I remembered something awful.
“I’m dirty, Joan!” I blurted out, covering my mouth and hoping that I wasn’t as loud as I thought I was.
“What? Dirty?” She was trying to contain her amusement with her usually calm and confident sister, who was completely falling apart.
I didn’t even care if she laughed as long as she helped me. Leaning toward her, I whispered in her ear, just in case anyone could hear us.
“I didn’t shower, Joan. I was in a hurry and didn’t care. But now…”
“Don’t worry, Mel,” she interrupted me, “Just get that food out. You look amazing and trust me, you don’t smell at all.”
She rolled her eyes, making contact with my hand that still had the rooster oven mitt on it and was in the air, pointing its beak at her now. Unable to fight it, we both began laughing hysterically.
After preparing the appetizers, I went to the living room to put them out for the guys. Turning the corner with two trays in my hands, I realized it wasn’t just the men, but Lorie and her husband, Charles, were there as well. I was a bit disappointed to see them there. They’ve both been our friends for years and almost always came for our Friday night dinners, but I found myself not wanting to share the time with them today. I wanted to be able to focus on Miguel.
What am I thinking? Realizing where my thoughts were going, I was appalled at myself. I hadn’t been interested in a man in nearly three years. And for good reason too. My last boyfriend was so loving, I caught him having sex with another woman in our car. Now I was practically drooling over one I just met? No, this wasn’t going to happen! Not to mention that it would only be fuel to the fire for any future ideas my sister might have. Nope. Not happening. Uh-uh. Nada.
Forcing my lust-filled thoughts from my mind, I continued to the table, placing the food down on the coffee table, and smiling at Lorie as she caught my eye.
“Hey Lorie, I’m glad you guys could come. How’re the twins?”
“Oh, the twins are…”
Hmm, even happily-married Lorie was having a hard time pulling her eyes off Miguel as well. Good. It wasn’t just me.
“The twins are good. They have a birthday party in two weeks, I hope you can come.” Well, at least she was able to recover better than I had.
“That’s right. Your invitation’s hanging on my fridge at home. I can’t believe they’re going to be three already!” I stepped backward, preparing to retreat to the kitchen, without even noticing that I’d moved beside Miguel who had seated himself on the couch beside the doorway. “Of course I’ll be there. Is there anything they want in particular?”
She chuckled. At first, I thought it was from the thought of her rambunctious boys, but then I glanced down to see that not only had I moved beside Miguel, my hip was actually leaning toward his shoulders. My naked thigh was brushing against his forearm that I had assumed was only the arm to the couch, but quickly realized differently. I froze as heat ignited and burned a path along the contacted skin. My heart beat seemed to stumble and stop, returning to the crazy rhythm that I’d only minutes before gotten under control. My mind was screaming to run the other way, but my body was begging me to wrap itself in the heat it had found so easily. Great, even my subconscious
was scheming against me now!
“Oh no, you know them. Typical boys. If it makes noise, can be used to fight, or they can take it apart, then they’ll love it!”
“Right. Boys.” I barely heard the distant sound of my voice, my thoughts completely centered on one boy in particular. A very big, sexy, dark-haired boy, whose arm was now like a inferno against my thigh.
“So, would anyone like something to drink?” I asked a bit frantically, snapping my attention back to the room full of people and took another step toward the kitchen. I swear, I could actually hear the cool air putting out the fire our skin to skin contact had created. A slow hissing echoing throughout my body.
“Sure, a beer?” Paul asked.
“Okay, anyone else?” I asked the others and noticed that everyone else already had drinks. How did they arrive and get drinks without Joan and I knowing? Or maybe it was only me, and she knew. I really needed to get my head together.
Everyone else said they were good, so I turned, forcing my feet to move one foot ahead of the other, and hurried toward the kitchen. I barely made it to the sink and grabbed hold with both hands to calm myself.
“So, what’d he say?” Joan came prancing in, not even realizing how distraught her sister was.
I was breathing heavy, trying to figure out what had just happened in the other room. I wasn’t sure how to describe it. I didn’t get worked up over looking at men. And I absolutely never had this type of response from a simple touch.
“He didn’t say anything.” I paused, seriously trying to get my brain to function normally. “I could hardly say anything either, Joan. What’s wrong with me?”
Doing a little happy dance like she’d just won a Monopoly game, she laughed and wrapped her arms around my back to hug me.
“Nothing’s wrong with you, silly. You just haven’t allowed yourself to even see a man in nearly three years, let alone want one.”
“Well trust me.” I turned around and looked her in the eye. “I see this one!”
Once again, we reverted to giggling like teenagers.
“Just help me not make a complete fool out of myself tonight.”
“Oh come on.” She grabbed the beer and pulled my hand, leading me back to the others. “You’ll do fine. It’s like riding a bike.”
I sighed and pictured teaching her to ride a bike when she was little. If it was anything like that, I feared the night wouldn’t be good at all.
Dinner actually went well. I didn’t embarrass myself any further, and was able to act like an adult. Something I’d never had trouble with before, but suddenly seemed to be a struggle for me.
Everyone conversed, and we all learned more about Miguel, as we sat around their dining room table. Wine glasses in hand, the women asked question after question while the men humorously allowed us our moment of lust. Thankfully, Joan and Lorie did most of the talking. My mind and body were still fighting for control and I found myself unable to speak more than a few words at a time. Miguel seemed a bit shy at first, but quickly began to open up after a few drinks. It might’ve helped that the other two men warned him it would be quicker and less painful to answer our questions now rather than continue throughout the night. With a little laugh, he agreed and willingly gave us the intriguing details we were salivating to learn from him. He told us he was a doctor and was currently teaching at the University of Chicago. I was awed when he described a new charity he had started to help both patients and future doctoral students who were underprivileged and unable to afford the costs. Explaining how he had grown up in South America and came to the US for college when he was seventeen, he wanted to do more with his life than ‘just be a doctor’. (As if that wasn’t enough by itself.) He wanted to give back and provide ways for future doctors to be born. I was a bit surprised that he was from South America, since I hadn’t noticed an accent before, but once he spoke more than a few words, he did have a slight, very sexy, edge to his voice. Multiple times, I thought I’d be caught drooling over my plate. Not only was he gorgeous, he was intelligent, giving, and very captivating to listen to as well. A dangerous combination.
After finishing our desert and third glass of wine, it was time to return to the living room to play cards. Taking our seats on the floor around their square mahogany coffee table, Paul began shuffling the cards, as Joan explained that we needed pairs to play her version of partner poker. It was a game she had created growing up so our parents could play against us in teams. As we grew older, we used the game to our advantage to secretly be closer to the guy we were interested in. Now I wasn’t so sure I should’ve encouraged her years ago. I was certain Joan was pulling this game out now to ensure Miguel and I got even closer. The smile on her face was endless and she was practically bouncing in her seat as she talked. Me on the other hand, I had to focus to simply breathe normally. That whole staccato-racing-thumping thing my heart began earlier was back. It was clear who my partner would be. The fear of embarrassing myself again combined with the unbelievable physical, and now intellectual attraction I felt toward him, made me feel completely unhinged. I didn’t know what had happened to my normally cool, controlled personality. My usually indifferent personality toward even good looking men had jumped overboard, forgetting to leave behind a life jacket or even a paddle to navigate these new waters.
Rather than sitting across from each other, each couple sat beside one another. Putting my brave face on, I adjusted my skirt, and curled my legs beside me, as I sat next to Miguel. Not only could we use the position to look at our cards together, but it also provided the perfect opportunity to enjoy the sweet, yet woodsy scent radiating from his body. Taking a deep breath, I filled my lungs with his scent, allowing it to wash over me. As the game began, the room started feeling a hundred times smaller. I tried to hide my flourishing desire and booming heartbeat, but each time our arms brushed against each other’s or our bodies leaned into one another’s, a spark ignited, creating a rapidly burning fire of desire deep inside my body. It took an extreme amount of discipline to focus on the numbers and symbols on the cards in our hands. I could only hope that I was able to maintain my poker face and hide the effect he was having on me.
An hour later, everyone was laughing and having a good time. Even I was surprised at how much I was enjoying the night. Other than the butterflies that had migrated to my stomach, I had finally relaxed and was having fun. Before I knew it, we’d already played a few games and Miguel and I were winning.
“Well, what do you think?” Miguel leaned into my side and whispered, the heat instantly blazing along the entire length of my body he was touching.
All conscious thought dissipated. I couldn’t think. Breathing became difficult. It was like a light switch had been flipped and my body was instantly turned on. Turning my head, our eyes locked immediately, and we remained motionless for what seemed like forever. Anyone and everything in the room disappeared. It was just the two of us, lost in each other.
Slowly, his gaze dipped down to my lips and I felt a lightning bolt of desire shoot from my mouth all the way to my core. Without thinking, I licked my lips, slightly parting them, as I was overcome with desire. I heard his quick intake of breath, watching his eyes dilate, and took comfort knowing that he was effected by me as well.
Breaking our connection, he grinned and leaned toward my ear. Not the idea I had in mind, yet it did nothing to stop the onslaught of desire racing through me. Instead only creating new, more profound ideas as the light stubble along his cheek gently brushed against mine.
“The cards, what should we go for?”
Oh, the cards! Yeah, those things in my hands! Forcing my thoughts away from the lingering sensation of his warm breath tickling the sensitive skin below my ear and the piercing heat of his body next to mine, I fought not to tilt my neck inviting him to do more. Slowly closing my eyes and taking a deep breath, I breathed his scent in again and tried to refocus, but was failing miserably. I had no idea how to figure out what we had to play.
“Um, what do you think?” I heard the breathiness is my voice. I knew what I must sound and look like, but it was like a train wreck. I had no way to stop it or control it. I had no experience with this type of desire. My body was completely dictating my actions and words.
Forcing myself to regain some semblance of composure, I glanced at my cards, then turned my head back toward his, only to find him watching me closely. I’m sure my face was a lovely shade of red, since I could feel the heat radiating from my cheeks, down my neck, all the way to my toes. But again, I couldn’t stop it.
“I think we should go all the way.” He whispered, his lips twisted with a hint of a smirk, his eyes still burning into mine. “They won’t even see it coming.”
All I could do was nod my head and lick my lips.
I heard Paul clear his throat, and quickly remembered we were not alone. Turning to face the group, Joan’s eyes were huge, the smile on her face endless. Lorie and Charles shared a little chuckle before returning their attention to their cards.
Miguel must have noticed my embarrassment, because he reached his arm around my back, and pulled me gently against his side, placing a soft kiss on top of my head.
Speaking so everyone could hear him, he said, “Ready to kick some ass?”
I refused to think about the affectionate gesture or the hand positioned on my lower back, regardless of how good it felt or how easily I could get lost in it, and focused on the game before us.
“Oh yeah, let’s do this!”
I have no clue how I made it through another three rounds of cards without making some crazy blunder. The more we got into the game, the more Miguel and I worked as a team. Between the intense glances and how his hand never left my back for more than a few seconds, I found it hard to breathe, but we made it to the end. Everyone complained about Miguel and I winning, claiming it was only beginner’s luck since he’d never played with us before. We simply shared another look and laughed with them.
Twisted Truths & Leveled Lies Page 2
