by Dela
“Oh,” she moaned.
I leaned back into her ear. “Can we go back to your place?”
Her eyes fluttered as I slowly licked her ear.
“Yes,” her voice cracked.
I squeezed her boob harder as I slid my tongue down her neck. She squirmed up in her seat and arched her back with another moan.
“Kendal, oh gosh.”
“What?” I whispered again into her ear. “Are you going to tell me what it is I’m supposed to do?”
“I, I . . .”
My hands moved to the button on her pants and slowly started to unbutton them. I pulled at the part, feeling around the edges at first. She moaned again. It was the most pleasing sound, a soft pant, unlike some of the other nonsense grunts I’ve heard.
My body pulled forward as the car slowed. I glanced up. We were pulling into her parking stall.
She turned the ignition off and looked at me, biting her lip. Before I could tell her how badly it made me want her, she giggled and hopped out. I ran after her, and we met again on the front doorstep where the door lay open. She smacked her lips into mine and we collided inside, slamming the door behind us.
She panted every breath or so, pressing her chest against mine as she removed her shoes.
“Jessie.” I struggled to say as I kissed her.
“Hmm . . .”
“You taste so good.”
“Like bubblegum?”
I grinned. She bit my bottom lip and then backed away, tugging me by my waistline down the hall into her bedroom. I removed my shoes and then my shirt and sat on the edge of the bed staring at her. She started to remove her shirt too but I stopped her.
“No . . .” I kissed her belly button, my hands slowly peeling at her pant line again so my mouth could follow. I could smell her. Was this really happening?
I stood, picked up my shirt and slid it back on, running my hands through my hair. She gazed at me dumbfounded when I smiled. “Let’s play true or false . . . my rules.”
She giggled and rubbed the bottom of her hands back and forth looking around her room. “Where shall we play?”
“Right here is fine,” I said, patting my hand on her bed. She made herself comfortable on her knees, tucking back her heels so she could sit on them. It didn’t look very comfortable, but the more I looked at her, the more nervous she seemed. “Relax. This is supposed to be fun.”
She let out a long breath. “I suppose I’m already doing this wrong. Explain to me again how we play?”
“Well . . .” I leaned over and kissed her cheek, then slid on one side of my body, stretching my legs until my feet extended to the edge of the bed. “You ask me a question. Anything I can answer true or false. If it’s true then I have to remove an article of clothing.”
She narrowed her eyes and made her mouth small with a closed grin. “This sounds like something you would play.”
I waited for her to grow stiller. “Are you ready?”
“Yes.”
“Ask away darling.”
She stared in my eyes, suppressing a wide smile. “Are you glad Gizelle set us up today?”
“Okay that is so not fair,” I warned, happily removing my shirt. “If that’s how we’re going to play . . .” I stopped, thinking about all the things I’ve wanted to ask her, but then all the things I could ask her to guarantee her shirt came off resolved in my mind. No shirt equals breasts. Yep. That question. “Did I make you come today?”
In a blink the nearby pillow flew at my head. I dodged it, laughing as she yanked the end of her shirt upwards.
“Punk,” she said. The last of the shirt slipped from her fingers while her hair fell forward covering her chest. She was unmoving but only for a second before her hands nervously played with the ends of her long mane. It left slivers of nipples exposed. I inched closer.
She thrust her hand against my chest and pushed gently. “Not so fast,” she said. “Have you ever cheated on anyone?”
“False.”
“What?” her voice raised with shock. “But I thought . . .”
“I’m sorry, doe. Never have. Now off with the pants,” I ordered.
“But it’s not my turn! I don’t have to remove anything until I say true on my turn,” she argued.
“False again.” I couldn’t help but chuckle more as she folded her arms.
“You can’t make things up like this.”
“Babe, I’m not. That’s how I’ve always played. Swear on my life.”
I felt cruel for laughing as she grunted and stood tall on her bed to wiggle out of her tight jeans. She lowered them to her knees, then sat back down and reached for the ankle hemming.
“Need help?” I asked, staring at her yellow, lacey panties.
“Please,” she said, struggling to reach the hem over her heels.
I slipped them off rather quickly, tossed them on the floor, and grabbed her in an embrace.
“You’re perfect Jessie Evans.”
Her arms bent at the elbow so that she could wiggle her arms between us and place her hands over my chest. She gave a small push to nudge me away. “And your pants are still on.” She smirked. “My turn.”
She pulled away and sat back with her legs crossed, chewing at her cheek as she thought of her next question. “Did you really hire an investigator to find me?”
I stood, eyeing her hard as I stripped to my briefs. “True.”
Her hand flew to her mouth. “You did?”
I leaned a knee on the bed and pecked one of her breasts. “Yep.”
“And that,” she looked down at her chest and lifted my chin up, “is not part of the game either.”
I lowered my chin anyways, taking a big chunk of her breast into my mouth and sucking hard, then releasing it and watching her nipple pucker. “Now I can keep playing.”
I took a moment to look at her—really look at her. Her skin was soft like satin—the color of vanilla—and all I wanted to do was wrap my body around her and never let go. I liked her lighter caramel hair. It made her ordinary brown eyes demand attention, like quartz glistening in a sea of sand.
All that was left was her underwear, and I intended to remove those as well.
“Are you happy with teaching?”
She snapped her fingers and pointed to my underwear. “Off.”
“Wait a minute. We need to talk about this. I thought you loved teaching?”
“Why would you say that?” Her muscles flinched.
“Because that’s what you do for a career . . .”
I opted to take my socks off when she spoke, “I never said I loved it.”
“How come you do it then?”
“It’s safe.”
A ghost surrounded her soft features and turned her face pale. I reached for her and brought her into my chest right as the first tear strolled down her cheek. Her breathing was long and deep. “Jessie, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to talk about what happened. I had no—”
“He nearly raped me,” she whimpered through short breaths. “Samuel. His name was Samuel. And he nearly split me in two.”
“I’m so sorry, baby. I’m so sorry I wasn’t there to protect you.”
I caressed her for as long as she stayed in my arms, her cheek pressed against my chest. Silence filled us as we waited for the tragic memory to pass. Her tears fell onto my stomach, each one making me cringe with pain. Sometime later her breathing steadied and she wiped her finger underneath her eyes.
“Do you remember when we went on that sleigh ride in Whistler?” she asked, sneaking a glance at me through wet eyes.
Sleigh ride? It took me a moment to remember that sunny, wintry day. “False,” I smiled.
“Okay, hold up. No, wait. That is a lie. A big, fat lie,” she said urgently. There was such despair in her voice I wondered if we were even still playing.
“Hon, come on. I don’t play like that.”
“You mean you really don’t remember?”
“No, not until you reminded me. T
hat was a good time, wasn’t it?” I watched as she shook her head confused. “Alright babe. Panties.”
Her fingers clung onto her head beneath her hair. “You seriously don’t remember the sleigh ride?”
“Well, I do now.”
“Get out,” she muttered.
“What?”
“I need you to leave. Right now.”
“Jessie? What’s wrong?”
“I’m sorry, Kendal. I’m not ready I guess.” She was panting now, shaking her head.
“Was it something I said? Was it because I didn’t remember? I’m sorry, Jessie. I want to remember. Why don’t we talk about it?”
“No. I can’t. Not now. I need you to leave.”
“Jessie, don’t do this. Please.” I tried to reach for her but she flinched away.
“Kendal, just go.”
“No, Jessie. I won’t go. You need to talk to me.”
“Talk to you? I’ll talk to you.” She poked her finger in my chest. “You changed my life, Kendal. You changed my damn life! And you can’t even remember what did it. Gosh I am such a fool!” She shouted in the air.
“No you are not. Apparently I’m the fool.” I grabbed her shoulders and shook her gently to get her to look at me. She did eventually, but damn those brown eyes were stubborn. “Jessie, listen to me. Help me. Help me be what you want.”
“Kendal, it doesn’t work like that.”
“I know it doesn’t, Jessie, but damn, I’m desperate. Please!”
She remained silent when her hand went back to her bracelet. She pinched it between her fingers and tugged unknowingly.
“That.” I pointed to her wrist. “Why do you do that?”
Her shoulders went slack in my hands as her head bowed down, glancing away towards the floor. “I don’t have all of you,” she mumbled.
“What?” I wasn’t sure I heard her right. “I don’t understand.”
“Please Kendal, just go.”
I felt defeated. I felt there was nothing I could say to this stubborn woman and now I felt my heart tearing out of my chest. Without argument I pulled my shirt over my head, slipped on my shoes, and walked to the door. I only looked back once as I quietly walked out the door.
My story? All right. It was a bit of a learning curve. Bummed? That’s a nice way to put it. Destroyed might be more accurate. But I wasn’t through with her yet.
Her story? Probably that I was the biggest jerk she’d ever laid eyes on.
Something set her off. I was sure of it. I reran our conversation in my mind all the way back to Gizelle’s. I couldn’t have known about why she chose to be a teacher. But that wasn’t it. She lost it when she asked me about the sleigh ride. So I assumed it was something about that, or about Whistler. I tried my hardest to remember those days seven years ago.
Her words—I don’t have all of you—replayed over and over in my head like a bad record. At first I thought she was referring to what I’d said before, that I needed her to be single. But it couldn’t be that. She did have all of me. But I must have missed the mark somewhere. Maybe she didn’t know that.
The next morning, as I crossed the tarmac ready to board the jet, my phone buzzed in the pocket of my slacks.
Kendal?
Jessie, I’m so sorry. I’ll figure this out. We’ll make it right.
When will you be back again?
I’m moving to Portland a week from Monday. That’s when I get the keys. It’s getting done early, remember?
I quickly sat in my seat and buckled my seatbelt before I could decide to stay and rush off to Jessie. I had to get last-minute work done if I was going to make it to Portland when I wanted to.
Okay.
It sounded like she meant to say something more, so I didn’t respond. But a minute later and she still hadn’t said anything except okay?
You going to be fine until I get back?
My hand reached for the seatbelt, ready to release it, when my phone lit up.
Yeah, I guess. I’ve got Austin and Gizelle. And days’ worth of Lifetime movies recorded.
I chuckled, imagining the torture I was missing out on.
Oh great, false advertising. Don’t watch too much at once.
Why?
Gizelle usually cries for days after she watches a Lifetime movie.
The stewardess motioned at my side that we were leaving for takeoff, then proceeded to hand me a stack of Vargas papers to look at.
Jessie, can I call you when I land?
Please.
Give Daniela my love.
I set my phone down and concentrated on the pen in my hand and the papers before me. I needed to wrap up these loose ends. The plan for now was to keep headquarters in L.A. and work out of my Portland house, only returning to L.A. on an as-needed basis. However, with how unstable Jessie and I were, I wondered if that was a good idea.
Chapter Twenty-One
Jessie
“So then what happened?” Gizelle asked Monday after school. I offered to take Daniela home and stayed a bit to fill in Gizelle on what her conniving scheme caused. I should have been more upset with her, but I figured she must have really liked me with Kendal if she went all that way to set us up.
She was leaning on her elbows over the kitchen counter, holding her head in her palms with a dazed look.
“He bought me way too many bras. I’ll probably never use half of them . . . but I like them.” I left out the dressing room’s dirty details. I didn’t like her that much.
“And then what happened?”
“We got in the car . . .”
She leaned in a little bit closer. “And then what happened?”
“We didn’t have sex, Gizelle. But close.” I left out the part where I kicked him out too. I might have been harsh. I’d have to learn to be more patient with him; the poor guy simply didn’t understand how much he changed my life, then and now.
“My brother is a smooth one . . . that little slut.” She stood and helped herself to a glass of water.
“How do I know I’m not just like those other girls?”
Gizelle’s chin dropped. “Come on. You’re kidding, right? Kendal really cares about you. And don’t repeat, but I think he’s in love with you.”
“Love? No way.” Impossible.
“What?” she lowered her voice. “What am I missing? Why do you say it like that?”
I shook my head. It was childish.
“What?” she pressed.
“You promise not to think this is so stupid?”
“I swear.” She set the water down and leaned back in.
“Okay. Back . . . waaay back . . . in Whistler, Kendal and I made a promise to each other and I can’t seem to forget it.”
“What promise?”
“I promised him that I would do what I love. That I would do something that helps people and really makes a difference in our world. And I did, initially, but that’s what got me in trouble when I met Colby. After that, I realized what a silly misconception I’d had. I shut everything down and turned to a safe teaching position.”
“You promised Kendal that? Why would he ask you to do that?”
“Because he made me realize that I didn’t want to just teach. I wanted—I want—to do something that makes a huge impact. You know, not teach at a school but really help people. Kendal changed my life, really. I wanted to be just like him . . . all aloof and crazy.”
Gizelle grinned. “I remember that Kendal.”
“Why did he change?”
Her face grew blank. “Our dad passed away.”
The ghostly memory of Kendal before his father’s accident seemed too distant, and I missed him dearly.
“So what did Kendal promise you?” Gizelle finally asked.
I raised my wrist. “See this stupid, gross piece of wool?”
“Yeah. Why do you wear it? It’s disgusting.”
“Kendal gave it to me in Whistler when he promised me that he would stop his stupid whims when he found the one w
ho makes him happy.”
She froze and her mouth dropped. “Oh my gosh . . . that’s you.”
“I think so, too.”
“You’re in love with him . . . you want him to commit . . . the big knot maybe?”
I blushed. “Am I being too presumptuous? I know we haven’t exactly had the ideal dating situation. And I definitely don’t know if I love him.”
“Jessie!” Gizelle ran to my side and threw her arms around me. “Yes, I say yes! I so want you to be Daniela’s aunt!”
“Gizelle, hold on. Kendal hasn’t got the slightest clue. And he seems to have major commitment issues.”
“Well we have to get him to remember! And if he doesn’t, he’s an idiot and he doesn’t deserve you.”
I swiped away hair that had fallen into my eyes and looked down. “He won’t remember. He’s asked me about the bracelet without the slightest clue. I lost it on him.”
“So that’s why he’s already called me three times to check up on you. Geez. So what do we do?”
“I don’t know. Wait? Date like normal people?” I shrugged. “I think I’m going to look into one of those teaching positions abroad where I get to teach English to kids. You know? I’ve always wanted to do something like that. And it sounds safe. What a dream it would be. Something foreign, helping kids learn a new language.”
She held up her hand. “First off, you’re not leaving. Second, don’t be hard on yourself. He loves you. I know he does. Be patient with him. Now, come watch this Lifetime show and cry with me. I’m tired of being the psycho emotional one around here. I need a crazy mate who might actually cry with me.”
