Beautifully Done

by Riley Mackenzie

  “I’m gonna run and freshen up.” She released her hold around my neck and backed up, dousing our flames. Damn. “All that dancing made me work up a sweat. Excuse me a moment.” More like all our sexual tension bubbling to a head. No pun intended.

  She clicked her heels across the dance floor in such a way she could have been on a catwalk, gaining the attention of multiple lingering pricks. I was ready to give them a reminder to keep their goddamn eyes to themselves. She was mine. But instead, I briskly matched her stride and brushed my hand across her very low lower back. She tilted her head to the side and curled her lips. She knew exactly what was running through my head. She stopped at the bar to pick up her tiny gold clutch.

  “I’ll hang here.” I lifted my chin back toward the dance floor. “Enjoyed the bump and grind out there, good practice.” For later. She bit her lip and glanced around. The confident doctor had a shy side. “Don’t worry, no one heard me,” I laughed. I pointed her in the direction of the ladies’ room and ordered another round of drinks. I lifted my cuff to check the time. Midnight couldn’t come soon enough.

  “Looked like a little more than your average bumping and grinding,” Lili blurted, coming out of nowhere. “What? I’ve seen you dance before?”

  “Ha.” I took another sip.

  “I’m happy for you, Asher. She’s so sweet, has an awesome career, seems to tolerate your immaturity—I mean, sense of humor. Sierra and I clicked with her immediately. We already planned a girls’ day for the next time she’s in Boston.”

  I ran a hand through my damp hair. Lil was spot on, Tal was all of those things. Everything she mentioned was awesome, except … three thousand miles. Three thousand miles sucked. Remove one part of the equation and it looked perfect on paper. Problem was—nothing’s that easy.

  “It’s too far. She has a thriving dermatology practice. How the hell do I ask her to drop everything she has worked so hard for to come here?” I drained my bottle and motioned for a new one.

  “First of all, you don’t. You wait. Start a relationship. Have you ever dated someone you actually care about before?” she rightfully questioned.

  Ouch, that stung.

  “Damn, Lil, you’re killing me.”

  “What? With the truth. Listen. You know as well as I do that this is the first woman that has your panties in a bunch.”

  Hell yeah. But somehow hearing it out loud from someone else made it real.

  I was done with that conversation. It was real. I wanted Talia. End of conversation. I just needed to figure out how to make it happen.

  “Have you talked to Chase? Think he’s going to make it for midnight?”

  “Changing the subject, huh?” She didn’t pry any further and I was appreciative. “He texted a couple minutes ago, said ‘Happy New Year’.” Lili’s blue eyes dulled and her shoulders fell with disappointment. I wrapped my arms around her and kissed her head.

  “You think I can get away with this a little longer without Tarzan around?” I teased. She chuckled into my shoulder. I could only imagine what Chase planned to make up for missing tonight.

  “Ash, she’s mine.” Now I laughed, if it wasn’t Chase it was Sierra. She broke our embrace and took Lil’s champagne glass from her hand. “Time to get our groove on, chica. Last dance before it’s a new year. Let’s shake our pretty little asses, get you ready for Zummmmmba,” Sierra sang as she tugged Lil to the middle of the dance floor. And some shaking they did. I snagged my phone and took a quick clip and forwarded it to Chase in an attempt to better his shitty night. Then I sent a group message to the fam, who were undoubtedly all together and pajama’d up at Molly’s for champagne and charades.

  My phone illuminated eleven fifty-five. I glanced toward the hall leading to the bathrooms. No sign of Talia. My beer lost appeal, so I waited a minute or so more then ventured off to find her. I hadn’t realized how loud the music was in the lobby until I stepped into the long desolate corridor. The sound was buffered by the lower ceilings and wall to wall carpet, so when I heard her voice as clear as day, I froze. I hadn’t meant to eavesdrop, or maybe I did, either way I heard every word.

  “Of course we’ll meet tomorrow. I’m not getting back on that plane without seeing you again.” She laughed and my stomach lurched. “Happy New Year to you too … okay … I love you, too. Wait, just so you know, today was so much fun … can’t wait to do it again. I’m really happy you decided to come here … okay ... bye.”

  What was that? Or more importantly, who was that? I wasn’t going to assume shit. I was going to find out. I needed to trust her. Trust her to tell me the truth.

  “10, 9, 8, 7…” bellowed through the lobby.

  She turned on her heel and flinched. I rested one shoulder against the wall, my foot crossed over the other and snaked my hands into my tux pant pockets ... waiting.

  “There you are … everything okay?”

  She squeezed her iPhone back into her clutch, avoiding eye contact.

  “3, 2, 1 … Happy New Year!” rang out in the distance.

  “TP.”

  She lifted her long lashes and our eyes collided, the flames from earlier still burned. I wasn’t sure if I was relieved or not. Talia had no family and sharing I love yous with old friends seemed questionable. My unfounded jealousy brimmed to a head and I decided if this was the last moment I needed to live in then I wasn’t going to ruin it. I buried the previous minutes’ conversation, pushed off the wall, and walked toward her. She didn’t waver. I slid one hand from my pocket and skimmed the pad of my thumb across her silky soft cheek. My fingertips lingered on her neck and slipped around her back. I gently coaxed her closer until I felt her breath mingling with my own.

  “Do you have any idea how bad I’ve wanted to do this?” I whispered just inches from her mouth. Her breath hitched and her focus dropped. The seam of her lips parted slightly as her tongue lightly moistened them. “Happy New Year, Teeps,” I muttered with now only millimeters separating us. She repeated my sentiment without uttering a sound. My mouth found the corner of hers and I kissed her lightly. Her lips were even softer than I imagined.

  With a deep inhale I pulled back. “Not here, not now, because once I start, there’s no way I am stopping.” A tremble spread through her body and she ceased to breathe. If I weren’t so close I would have missed the quiver in her bottom lip.

  “I can’t…” she mouthed through a labored breath. “I need to leave.” She withdrew, leaving my mind to race. Why? I couldn’t formulate a thought fast enough. “Thank you for tonight, Ace, I’m gonna call a cab.”

  “Tal, hold the hell up?” What did I just miss?

  “Asher, please.” Her voice was hard and detached. I knew enough about women that I recognized she was climbing into her head.

  “Who was on the phone?” I thought it and it came out. Harsh.

  “What?” She shook her head, utterly befuddled. “What does that have to do with anything?”

  “You tell me.”

  “Absolutely nothing.” She meant it, but I waited for an explanation anyway. “My old roommate moved out here last year, trying to get into med school. We met up today and are going to try and squeeze in another lunch before I head home. End of story. That quick phone call has nothing to do with us.” Talia never lied. Shit, I was a dick.

  “Tal, I’m sorry. I-”

  She cut me off. “Ash, it’s fine. I can see how it looked. One second we’re dancing like we are the only two people in the room, the next I’m … I don’t know what I’m doing.” She closed her eyes and exhaled. When she opened them all I saw was confusion. “Ash, please. It’s been a long night, I’d like to go back now.”

  “Lil’s in no rush, so I’ll get Pete to drive us back to the hotel. I wasn’t planning on driving anyway. And before you even say it, you’re not going alone.”

  “You don’t have to do that, really, but thank you.”

  We plastered on fake smiles and entered back through the lobby to wish everyone a Happy New Year
. The girls confirmed they would be in touch to plan a spa day, while I stood and stewed trying to figure where the hell I went wrong. Fortunately the drive back was short because she spoke not another word and neither did I. The tension was thick and did nothing to melt the chill in the back of the car. I wanted to bombard her with a million questions, ending on—why? We were done being friends, or so I thought.

  “Talk tomorrow?” she asked.

  Her eyes barely moved from the far more interesting hotel carpet. The elevator doors had yet to open. At this point she was so far retreated into her head I didn’t know what to say. I nodded. Yeah right, I wasn’t going anywhere. She stepped inside and slowly turned around.

  “Tonight was beautiful, thank you.”

  No, she was beautiful.

  I paced the lobby like a caged animal debating on my next move. I didn’t do this. I didn’t do complicated. When did this get complicated?

  “Bourbon,” I barked louder than I should have at the hotel bartender. I hated bourbon. The liquid burned the back of my throat, bringing me back to the dance floor. The way she felt in my arms, the heat between us, the look in her eye. I slapped a fifty on the bar and pushed that damn elevator button.

  “Ace, I thought we said we’d talk tomorrow,” she said, opening the door and leaning on the jamb. She had changed out of her dress into grey lounge pants and a tiny pink tank. Her taut nipples pierced the thin fabric, making everything in my lower region swell. Her styled ponytail was gone, leaving her blonde locks loose around her shoulders. She wound a strand with her finger and shifted from foot to foot. Her face was free of makeup, but there was a hint of red in the whites of her eyes and circling the rim, almost like she had been crying. “You shouldn’t come in.” Her voice was hoarse.

  “But I want to.” I removed my hands from the top of the door jamb and held the door. She inched to the side, indicating her reluctant approval. I stepped inside and walked toward the fireplace to flip the switch. The flames roared to life and settled into a perfect glow. I felt her presence right behind me.

  “I’m scared,” she whispered.

  “Of me?”

  “No … yes. Of this.”

  I slipped my tux jacket off and slowly turned around. Her arms were wrapped tightly around her waist. Her stare was emotional and penetrating. A tingle ran up my spine.

  “Do you trust me?”

  “What?” She looked confused. It was plain and simple as far as I was concerned.

  I repeated, “Do. You. Trust. Me?”

  She didn’t hesitate. “Of course I do, you are so … you are-”

  I closed the mile between us. “You’re more, and I’m starting to realize you always have been. Friends is impossible, I want more. I want you. I want everything. I have no idea what it looks like or how it’s going to work. I’ve never done this before, hell, I’ve never wanted to. But I know I want to give us a chance, I want to try.”

  “I want that too, all of it…” I breathed again, encasing her in my arms. “But I’m not that same teenage girl. Not even close, there’s so much stuff, so many years, I don’t even know where to begin, if I even can.” She buried her face deeper into my chest and clung to me.

  “Look at me, Tal.” She lifted her head. “I have stuff, too. We’ve spent twenty years building separate lives, of course there’s gonna be stuff. No one said we have to spill out every last detail the first night we’re together. We have time.” We have a lifetime. I walked her back to the sofa and led her down onto my lap. Her warmth pushed down on top of my cock. “I’m gonna kiss you now. It’s gonna be slow and soft and then it’s gonna be hard and hungry.”

  She inhaled sharply and widened her eyes, that was my sign she wasn’t going to stop me. I moved her legs to straddle my lap. Cupping her cheeks I brought her mouth down to hover just above mine. I ran my tongue across her bottom lip and sucked. She slid her hands up my chest kicking my heart into high gear. I had waited long enough. I continued to explore her lips as promised, soft and slowly before inching my tongue inside. She opened without hesitation and I dove deep. I gripped her hips and crushed her body against mine, pinning my cock right where it wanted most. Every drop of blood in my body pulsed inside. She tasted of her bubbly mixed with fresh mint. I was starved for more. Desperately, and as promised, our union turned raw and full of passion. She matched me stroke for stroke as she rocked against my groin. My hands abandoned her riding hips to find bare skin under her tank. I massaged my way up her toned back and fisted a handful of blond silk. Pulling back I broke our kiss to expose my next target. Her eyes were still closed and she was breathing heavy. My tongue tasted her neck and she quietly moaned. It was the sexiest sound I ever heard. My cock throbbed but this wasn’t a race to the finish. No way, I waited too long.

  “Fuck, you taste delicious.” Conscious filtered thoughts were gone, and I was no longer responsible for what came out of my mouth. “I wanna taste all of you.”

  Her hands must have made their way to my hair because I felt the tug before she said, “Wait … we should wait.” Her forehead rested against mine while my heart jackhammered in my throat. We both marathon panted trying to regain some semblance of composure which involved me mentally talking to my dick. Baseball, baseball, I hate baseball. Whoever says this works—lies. Damn baseball. Shit I’m thinking—ah fuck. Monkeys regurgitate food to their young, dolls can shit themselves, slugs make slime trails.

  Shit, it wasn’t working. Stupid dick.

  She moved first, shifting herself off my lap and collapsing next to me on the couch. I took a deep breath, hoping the extra oxygen might turn my other head back on. I needed to say something, needed to make sure she was okay, but I couldn’t formulate a single coherent thought, other than my current state of arousal. I had a J.D. summa cum laude, for god’s sake.

  “I um, wow, I’m sorry … wow.” She was flushed with fuck me hair, stumbling over her words. So it wasn’t just me. She was adorable. I probably looked like a fool.

  “I’m a lot of things right this second, but sorry isn’t one of them.” My head finally kicked back on. She laughed at my candor. I pressed my palm to her warm cheek and she kissed it.

  “I didn’t mean to say that, I’m definitely not sorry either.” Phew. “I um, just thought we should maybe consider taking things a little bit slower.”

  “I can do slower.” I can do anything you need.

  “Besides, I wouldn’t want you to think I put out on the first date.” She wryly chuckled and played with the hem of her tank. “I told you I’m not that promiscuous high school girl with daddy issues anymore.”

  I never saw her that way. “Psst, look at you all self-reflective. Was psych your back-up plan if the whole acne healer thing didn’t work out?” She hit me in the face with a throw pillow. We both laughed.

  “You sarcastic ass, ha.” She rolled her eyes, but they radiated genuine affection. “More like a few dozen hours and few thousand dollars in therapy to point out the obvious. I was pissed at my dad for cheating on my mom, so I slutted it up for a summer.” Her facetious tone didn’t mask the disappointment in her eyes, a look that needed to be erased.

  Hell, as far as I knew, I thought she only slept with two guys the summer before she left New York. Far from slut territory.

  “Some friend you are. You were putting out back in the day and didn’t hook me up?” I caught the pillow mid-air this time and tickled her back on my lap. Her laugh sounded almost as sweet as her singing.

  When I was sure I tickled the nonsense out of her, I showed some mercy and released.

  “What am I going to do with you?” she challenged, winded from giggling. Her body laid draped over mine, and her head rested against the arm of the sofa. Her eyes sparkled something fierce.

  “You’re going to date me.”

  “Date? How old are we?”

  “Old enough to know I was the moron not to ask you out when we were kids, so yeah, we’re going to date.” I brushed a stray hair off her face and she b
it her lip. I wanted that job.

  “I like bossy Ace.” She laced our fingers. I kissed them.

  “As opposed to?”

  “My perfect gentleman.” All I heard was my.

  “Trust me when I say that I will always treat you with respect, Tal. Always. No promises I’m going to be a gentleman in the bedroom though.” I might have winked, but I was serious. Her eyes widened, she knew it. And undoubtedly she liked it. I leaned over and gently touched our lips together.

  “So we’re officially dating then,” she whispered with genuine happiness behind her grin. Beautiful.

  “Yup.”

  Her fingers ran the pleats in my shirt. “You do realize we live three thousand miles apart?”

  “I’ll get a bigger plane.” Her smile reached those damn eyes and she licked her lips. That combo was going to be the fucking death of me. Then she raised her head and kissed me. And I let her. But not for long, once her tongue sought entrance, I took over. We made out like horny teenagers for entirely too long. No doubt our mouths were going to be chapped tomorrow. Somehow I managed to keep my hands on her waist, but any and all conversation with my arousal was futile.

  “You know this counts as the first date,” I murmured between kisses. “Just want to make sure we’re on the same page.”

  She shifted back an inch, panting, and opened her eyes. I already had them pinned. “Oh, we’re on the same page.” Something about the way she said it stirred an unfamiliar tight sensation deep in my chest. This was seriously unchartered territory.

  I sat us upright and kissed her forehead, not wanting to push my luck, especially after she got spooked earlier. I couldn’t blame her. We were risking a lifetime friendship. “Happy New Year, Tal, I have a gut feeling it’s going to be a good one.” Then I stood to get ready to leave. It was almost three AM.

  Talia tucked her lean legs underneath her. Her voice was laced with promise when she said, “Do you know what I’d really like?” I put my jacket back down on the desk and turned to give her my full attention. Of course I wanted to know. “I’d really like to know what it feels like to wake up in your arms.” She tucked her hair behind her ear and almost looked embarrassed. “Well, without vomit in my hair this time.” She remembered.