“Feel better now that we’re walking?” he asked.
“Actually, I’m kind of amazed at myself. I didn’t think I’d be able to move after I ate the entire piece of chocolate cake, but here I am, one foot in front of the other.”
“You’re definitely amazing.”
His eyes burned. Their cognac-color deepened to mahogany as he stopped her under the streetlight. He was going to kiss her. Her pulse quickened. Her mouth went dry. When he moved her against the lamppost and brought a hand to her cheek, her skin warmed at his touch. He stepped closer to her. She slipped her hands beneath his jacket, feeling his solidity. Leaning down, his gaze became drowsy with desire. Her knees weakened. His hand slid behind her neck, drawing her forward, while the other stroked her waist. She whimpered, rising on tiptoe. She wanted his mouth on hers now. His lips parted in a ghost of a smile, right before they met hers.
She burned. Her nerve endings tingled. The barriers of clothing and skin overwhelmed her. She couldn’t get close enough. His lips tasted like lemon. Suddenly, her life as a chocoholic seemed meaningless. What had she missed? She’d missed out on him. She slipped her arms out of his jacket, up and around his neck. He gripped her tighter. When she opened her mouth to sigh, he slid his tongue inside. Her tongue met his, and they danced, neither one giving up control, neither one stopping.
Moments or hours later, Jacob pulled back, his breath harsh and uneven, like hers. “Wow.” He ran a hand through his hair as he braced himself against the lamppost.
Aviva expelled a shaky breath. She straightened her jacket. “Yeah. Wow.” Had she been about to break up with him?
Pushing away from the lamppost, he checked out their surroundings. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that here.”
She grinned and took his hand. “I didn’t complain.”
With a nod, he walked with her toward the corner. He held out a hand to flag a cab. Aviva bit her lip. Did he regret their kiss?
With his other hand, he drew her close. “Just to be clear, it’s not you, it’s the place. You deserve better than some street corner.”
She expelled a breath, looked at him and smiled. “Thank you, but anywhere you are is good for me.”
His nostrils flared, but the taxi arrived. He swore under his breath. “Timing. Come on, get in. I’ll take you home.”
During the ride to her apartment, they were silent, legs touching, hands gripped tight. Should she invite him upstairs? Did he expect it? Would he kiss her again if she didn’t? She didn’t think she could live without another kiss from him.
The taxi pulled up in front of her apartment. He told it to wait and followed her out of the cab. Her feet dragged as they approached the front door of her building.
“Well, this is me.”
His lips curled with amusement. “You’re much softer than all this glass and concrete. I have it on personal experience.”
Her cheeks heated. She shook her head. “You’re terrible.”
“You didn’t seem to think so a few minutes ago.”
She opened her mouth to protest, but he drew her against his body. “Would you like a refresher?”
Desire pooled low in her belly. “Definitely.”
With a quick look around, he brought her into the shadow provided by the large planter framing the doorway. Cushioning her head with his hand, he backed her up to the wall of the apartment building and claimed her mouth with his. No longer tentative, his lips slanted on hers. He opened his mouth. His tongue pressed against her lips, asking for entry. She complied. Everything amazing about their last kiss came back for a second round.
Her breasts pressed against his chest. He pulled away enough so his other hand could fit between them. He rubbed his thumb back and forth across their tips. She gasped as sensations flooded through her. She tilted her hips. He froze for a second, before he removed his hand from her breast and grabbed her butt. Pressed to him, she felt his hardness. It made her want him more.
Voices to her left brought her out of the moment. She peeked over Jacob’s shoulder to see her roommate leave the building. She rested her forehead in the crook of Jacob’s neck. They remained together while their hearts slowed and their breathing returned to normal.
“Whoa,” she whispered.
“Yeah.” He stepped back, cradled her face in his hand. “Hell, I want to stay, but I want to do this right. I think we need to slow this down a little. Timing, you know?”
She stared into his eyes and saw desire, the same desire she felt. His face was strained, as if pulling away required more effort than he possessed.
“Yeah. I don’t want to tumble into bed with you by mistake. I want it to be because we’re both ready.”
“Me too.” He kissed her forehead. “I can’t wait to get there with you.”
Chapter Seven
Jacob turned on his computer in his bedroom the next day, his off-key whistling filling the silence. Last night’s date with Aviva was fantastic. He’d never experienced such a connection with someone this quickly. Her honesty? Even when it hurt, it was attractive, because she was honest about her fears and desires. He could deal with anything if he knew about it. Maybe he could even deal with his time constraints.
He clicked the email icon as his phone rang. “Hello?”
“Hello, dear, it’s your mother.”
He leaned in his desk chair, watching the new emails appear on the screen. “Hi, Ma, what’s up?”
“What’s up? Is that how you talk to me?”
He rolled his eyes. “Sorry. How are you?”
“That’s much better. I’m not some hooligan on the street, you know. I was calling to see how your chef is.”
Chef? What chef?
“Jacob, don’t give me the silent treatment. I’m interested in the girls you meet.”
Oh holy hell, she meant Aviva. Jacob tried to remember what he’d told her, other than the lie about her career as a chef. He came up blank. Shit. Time to stall.
“Sorry, Ma, I didn’t mean to give you the silent treatment. I was distracted.”
“What’s more important than talking to your mother?”
He glanced at the emails. One from the law firm where he interned last summer, and where he planned to work after he passed the Bar exam. Smith, Kane & Associates. He clicked on it.
“Uh, Smith Kane just sent me an email.” He skimmed the body of the message for relevant details. “They’ve invited me to hear one of their partners speak on Environmental Law at a seminar Friday evening.”
“Wonderful, dear. You’re going, right—even though it’s Shabbat? Of course, I wanted to invite you to dinner Friday night, but I can change it to Saturday in this case.”
There went his weekend and any attempt he might make to see Aviva. His heartbeat sped up. Breathe. “Yes, I’m going to the seminar. I’m not sure about Saturday. I need to study.”
“I know you do, but you have the rest of the weekend to study. You haven’t stopped by in a while. I want to see you. I’m sure you can afford to take a little time off to visit me.”
He knew better than to argue the point. At least she was off the Aviva topic. He rubbed his chest. “Of course, Ma. What time?”
“Come for dinner around five thirty. Bring your chef friend with you. I’d love to meet her.”
His feet slipped off the chair pedestal and crashed to the floor. No way. Not happening. “Uh, I don’t think it’ll work this time, Ma, but thanks for the invitation.”
“How do you know it won’t work if you haven’t even asked her yet?”
“Because I saw her last night and she’s got a huge gala she’s working on.” That wasn’t a lie. “Plus, it’s a little early for the meet-the-parents stage.”
“Humph. Sounds like her career will take a lot of her time. Make sure she makes some time for you. And I’m not sure I like being referred to as a stage. You’ll have to bring her by another day, sooner, rather than later. Now, I’ll let you reply to the law firm. You don’t want to keep t
hem waiting.”
Jacob rolled his eyes. “You’re right, Ma. Thanks. I love you. I’ll see you Saturday.” He rubbed the bridge of his nose. Timing sucked. Last night, he’d had an entire conversation with Aviva, promising her she was one of his priorities. One phone call, one email, and his priorities got screwed. He had a ton of schoolwork he needed to complete as well. He had a job offer from a major law firm. He had to continue to court them in order to keep it. He had a mother who loved him. He owed her the respect she deserved, which meant he couldn’t ignore her. All those things took time. Time was the one thing he was short of. How would he fit Aviva in when those other three things took up the time he’d planned to devote to her?
He examined his schedule. After going out last night, and having the seminar on Friday night, he needed to study the rest of this week. There was no way he could take her to dinner on Saturday. No matter how badly his mother wanted to meet her, they weren’t at the point in their relationship where they met each other’s parents, especially a strong personality like his mother. Not to mention the lies he told his mother. Lies he’d have to straighten out before she could meet Aviva. He’d have to fix things on Saturday, before the situation got out of hand.
So, when could he get together with her? His last serious girlfriend was back in college. They’d broken up when she’d gone to grad school and he to law school. Sure, he’d dated since then, but no one he’d considered seriously. Until Aviva. Should he even bother to try or should he just quit? No, wait. Hasty decisions were usually the wrong ones.
He typed the reply to the law firm as he contemplated what to do. If he cancelled their tentative weekend plans, would she think he was reneging on his promise to make her a priority? Or would she understand the demands on a busy law student? He didn’t know.
As if on cue, his cell phone beeped. It was a text from her. He closed his eyes, offering a silent prayer.
—I really enjoyed last night—
—me too—
—I may have to work this weekend—
He caught his breath.
—too bad. how come?—
—fundraiser. maybe a study date?—
Just like that, the muscles in his shoulders relaxed.
—great. sunday?—
—perfect—
He tossed his phone on the desk, looked at the ceiling in relief. He wouldn’t need to make any excuses. Sitting straight, he entered everything into his calendar. Four days. He wouldn’t see her for four more days. He frowned. Waiting this long wasn’t what he wanted either. This was exactly why he’d said he didn’t want to have a relationship.
But that was before he’d met Aviva.
****
Aviva couldn’t concentrate. She was supposed to be researching information on ancient Greece, Hippocrates and medicine for her client’s medical research fundraising gala at the Liberty Science Center.
But all she could think about was Jacob. She wanted to see him, except with all the work she had to do, there was no time. Kind of ironic after they’d had a long discussion about him making time for her. Luckily, he’d just agreed to a study date on Sunday. Even so, she picked up her phone after almost every page of material just to see if he’d texted again.
He hadn’t.
She scrolled through the information on her computer, pausing at a section on symbolism. This might be interesting. Her boss wanted their suggestions to have meaning and to tie things together. Perhaps if she incorporated a connection between symbolism in ancient Greece and her client’s foundation, it would work. Once again, in the middle of her search, she picked up her phone.
At that moment, her boss walked in. Tall and thin with blonde hair in a simple, yet sophisticated ponytail, and a navy pencil skirt and jacket, Meryl perched on Aviva’s desk. “Problem?”
Aviva dropped her phone. “Yeah, uh, no…not with the research.” She brushed hair behind an ear, smoothed sweaty hands on her black skirt. Turning to the computer, she clicked the article on ancient Greek symbolism. “I just started this section. Apparently there were symbols associated with healing the sick and medicine, as well as the god Apollo. I’d like to do a little more research. It might provide a theme for the gala.” She placed the cursor at the top of the article.
Meryl leaned over, adjusted her glasses, and placed a hand on Aviva’s chair. “Mm, interesting. Finish your research, write up your analysis for me, and have it on my desk tomorrow.” She turned to leave, but paused at the door. “Oh, and Aviva, try to not spend so much time on your phone, please. We have a lot to do to prepare for this gala. When you’re in the office, I need your attention focused on work.”
The next afternoon, Aviva came up for air. Meryl was reviewing her color and symbol choices for the gala, so Aviva moved to the guest list. They needed the right mix of society, investors, industry bigwigs and press. She’d crosschecked her list of invitees with online issues of Forbes, Business Week and PC Magazine nonstop, arrived at work early and stayed late. She hadn’t seen her roommates or Jacob. She was exhausted. She needed a break. From the sound of their last phone call, Jacob needed one too.
They’d spoken last night before bed. Aviva needed to hear his voice and called, rather than texted. She’d thought she’d go straight to voice mail, but he’d picked up. He sounded stressed but didn’t go into details. He’d asked her about the fundraiser and she’d told him about her research. By the time they hung up, he sounded a little better. He texted her this morning saying how nice it was to talk to her. Warmth spread through her body as she reread his text.
—ur call made my day—
She checked the time. About five thirty. She picked up the phone and dialed Meryl.
“Hi, do you mind if I run out to get dinner? I’ll be back to put in a few more hours before I go home.”
“Sure. I can manage for an hour or two.”
A grin crossed her face as she hung up. She didn’t know what drug her boss was on today, but she hoped she stayed on it. Meryl hadn’t been this reasonable in weeks. She texted Jacob.
—where r u, and what’s ur fav milkshake?—
A moment later, he responded.
—library. strawberry—
—law school?—
—yeah y?—
—can I bring u dinner?—
—absolutely!!!!—
She grabbed her purse and flew out the door. A restaurant, whose claim to fame was the best milkshakes, was right around the corner, but the line was out the door. Thirty minutes later, she rushed to the Journal Square PATH train station. The trains were late. By the time she exited the station it was raining. She rushed, wet and bedraggled, to the law library, more than an hour after she first texted Jacob.
He stood in the doorway with an umbrella. At the sight of him, she burst into tears.
Jacob hugged her. “What’s wrong?”
“I wanted to do something nice for you because you sounded stressed yesterday, but the line was long. The PATH train was late. Now it’s raining, and I used almost all of my dinner time getting here,” she sobbed. “I really wanted to see you.”
He took the bag from her hands, brushed away her tears and led her to a bench near the library. “We can sit here. It was sweet of you to do this. I’m sorry you went through all of that for me. Come eat. Sounds like I’m not the only one who’s stressed. Now, what happened?”
She told him about her work on the fundraiser. “My boss is being really understanding all of a sudden, which makes me suspicious.”
“Why?”
“Because she’s usually pretty stern. This time she told me to take an hour or two for dinner. She never tells me to take time off.”
“Well, maybe she appreciates all you’re doing.”
“That would be nice. How about you? How was your day?”
He caught her up on his studies and told her about tomorrow’s seminar with the law firm.
“That’s where you’re going to be working, right?”
“Yeah. I’ve
interned with them for the past two summers.”
“And you like them?”
“They’ve got a great Environmental Law practice.”
He collected their garbage. “It was great of you to bring me dinner. And the milkshake hit the spot.” He kissed her.
She would have liked to kiss him longer, but there were people around and she needed to return to work. When he pulled away, she glanced at her phone. “Oh my gosh, I’m going to be late.”
He caressed her shoulder. “Relax, I’ll call you a cab. You’ll be back to work, dry, in twenty minutes.” Jacob walked her out. He flagged down the cab. “Thank you again. You have no idea how great you just made my day.”
She kissed him, pulling away reluctantly. “Well, we’re both busy, but we have to eat, right? I wanted to see you, even if I did show up looking like this.”
He stepped away and looked her up and down. Her cheeks heated at his perusal. She resembled a drowned rat. “You’re just about perfect to me.”
Aviva was speechless. Was this guy for real? Although her hair was short and dried quickly, it probably looked like it did most mornings—like a porcupine—as a result of the rain and having run her fingers through it to try to give it some kind of order. Since she hadn’t expected it to rain, she’d left without a jacket, never mind an umbrella. Her clothes were splotchy, soggy and clingy. Okay, he probably didn’t mind the clinginess, but still. She’d cried all over him. Her eyes were probably puffy and red. This was his idea of perfect?
She found her voice. “You have an odd idea of perfection, but I’ll take it.”
He chuckled. The sound rumbled in his chest as he squeezed her against him. He handed her into the cab, and it pulled away. Perfection was hard to live up to, but living up to his ideal didn’t scare her as much as she expected. When she could no longer see him, she leaned back in the seat. Regardless of the difficulties during the past two hours, the look on his face when she showed up, the happiness in his voice, made it all worth it.
Five Minutes to Love Page 6
