No Kissing Allowed

by Melissa West

  “Cameron?”

  I took a step forward, reaching out to touch the front of his suit jacket before I remembered where we were and stopped myself. “Sorry, I couldn’t help it.”

  He grinned and edged closer. “No one takes the stairs. We’re alone.”

  “How alone?”

  Another step. “Alone enough to do this.” He leaned down, his minty breath warm on my lips, before his mouth covered mine. I gripped his jacket, holding him to me, and he chuckled against my mouth.

  “You’re going to get me fired, you know that, right? I’m not going to be able to keep my hands off you at the office. Prepare for lots of private meetings.” He kissed me again. “In private rooms.” His tongue swept over my lips before dipping inside my mouth, teasing me. “With lots of private attention.”

  I moaned. “Dear God, you’re killing me.”

  Aidan pulled away to look at me, his eyebrows drawn. “Seriously, though, are you okay with this?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I like you. I want to spend time with you. But I’m still not willing to—”

  “Commit.” My eyes found the floor. “So there will be others. You’ll be with others. Like Misha Kyle.”

  He jolted back. “What?”

  “Misha Kyle. You went out with her.”

  His eyebrows went up. “I did?”

  “Yes, Alexa saw you two together at—” I waved my hands in the air. “It doesn’t matter. It’s none of my business.”

  “Misha is a longtime friend. She and I met up a few weeks ago to discuss her modeling in a photo shoot for one of our clients.” He lifted my chin and peered into my eyes, searching. “I haven’t been with another woman since I met you, but if we do this, it has to be a secret, and it has to be casual. I can’t allow it to be anything more. And I won’t take another step with you until I know you understand this and are okay with it.”

  I thought of other guys I might meet in the city. Wouldn’t those dates operate on these same rules? Well, not the secret part. But no one went out on a date with the assumption they were dating the person they would marry. It was always casual to begin with, and then if the match was there, it’d turn serious. This could follow that path, too. Plus, Lauren had been right last night. My focus was on my career, not dating. Still…

  “Maybe we should set some ground rules?”

  “Like?”

  “Like nothing on office property.”

  Aidan motioned around the empty stairwell, and I laughed. “All right. So nothing on our floor. And—” I paused, needing to build my courage. “We don’t try to label it.” I felt stupid saying it like that. Of course there were no labels. But I needed to say it out loud if I hoped to keep my own emotions in check. My job was important to me. I couldn’t allow this to mess up everything I’d worked for, but I also couldn’t ignore the chemistry between us. I hadn’t felt a spark like this in a long time, maybe ever. If there were no labels, then maybe it wouldn’t feel so wrong.

  He stared down at me, as though trying to find something in my expression, something that gave me away, but I was good at holding in my emotions. Keeping my face straight. I’d become a master at it after my dad died.

  “All right,” he finally said. “But I have a few rules of my own.”

  My eyebrows shot up in question, and he edged closer to me. “No romance. No talking about feelings.” My body stilled. “It complicates things, and this is complicated enough.”

  I thought again of my talk with Lauren the night before, how easy it would be to step into this with Aidan, and before my doubts could convince me otherwise, I said, “Okay.”

  “Okay?”

  “I said okay, didn’t I?”

  He smirked. “You did. I’m just not sure you mean it.”

  Ignoring him, I pushed on. “Any others?”

  “No meeting family or friends.”

  This one was easier to digest. I could only imagine my mother’s face if I brought Aidan home. This is my boss. We’re kissing and will likely have sex. Again. But nothing serious. Just sex.

  “All right. No romance. No family or friends. Anything else?”

  He shook his head. “No. You?”

  “No, though I’m sure I’ll think of something.”

  Aidan laughed. “I’m sure you will.”

  We made our way up the stairs, careful to keep a bit of distance just in case we stumbled upon someone, but Aidan was right, the stairwell remained empty. I walked through the door first, said hello to Alexa and that I would see her in the break room for coffee soon, then walked straight to my cube, ducking inside like I was a criminal on the run. Thoughts began circling through my head. Surely there were cameras in that stairwell. Anyone could have seen. But then my cell vibrated with a text and I picked it up to find a number I didn’t recognize.

  The contact list serves a purpose after all.

  I grinned as I added Aidan’s cell to my contacts.

  Stalking me, I see.

  Aidan: Oh, you have no idea how badly I want to stalk you right now. You look amazing in blue.

  I peered down at my sweater. It was a basic V-neck, but it had a funky boyfriend vibe that I loved. I started to type back something flirty, when I noticed Gayle beside my cube and jumped.

  “Are you all right? I didn’t mean to startle you.”

  Faking a smile, I tucked my cell into my bag, my heart pounding. Had she seen Aidan’s name on my phone? Surely not. Still, I needed to be more careful. “Um, yes. Fine. Can I help you with something?” I waited.

  “We’re meeting in about ten minutes in the conference room to go over the campaign. Blast wants us to present in two weeks.”

  “Sure.” I waited for Gayle to leave, and then reached for my phone, expecting to see a text from Aidan. Instead, I found this:

  Mom: DON’T YOU KNOW HOW TO USE YOUR PHONE? WHY ARE YOU IGNORING ME? WHEN ARE YOU COMING HOME AGAIN? THANKSGIVING? CALL ME!

  I hadn’t yet determined if Mom was angry with me all the time, or if she simply preferred to text in all caps. Or maybe she’d somehow set her phone to caps and wasn’t sure how to undo it.

  I pictured my mom waiting for my call, angry that I hadn’t talked to her in two days. I mean, seriously, Lauren spoke to her parents once every few weeks, but my mom acted like I’d committed the sin of all sins if I sent her to voicemail, which I never did because then that all-caps text would turn into an all-caps phone call, and my ears had heard enough shrill screams from my mom to last me a lifetime.

  I contemplated sending her a quick text now or waiting until after my meeting, when another text came through.

  Eric: Have mercy on an old man. Call your mother before she drives me to drink. Again.

  I smiled. Eric hadn’t drunk a drop of alcohol since he returned from Desert Storm. He used to tell me stories of his father, a World War II veteran, with horrible PTSD. He drank so much that he was convinced Eric and his brothers and sisters (eight of them in all) were Japanese military. So when Eric came home from his own war, he vowed to never drink. To never be his daddy. It was one of a thousand reasons why Eric was the best man I knew and one of my favorite people. I loved him like a father, even if the thought made me feel guilty inside. He was good to my mom, and he loved her…which wasn’t always the easiest thing to do.

  I stood up and peered over my cube to the conference room, where Gayle and creative were already seated. Dang it. I quickly texted to Mom, So sorry. Call you after work today? Then I remembered that I was going out with Lauren and Grace. I’d have to call her before we went out.

  When I arrived at the conference room, everyone was already there, including Aidan. I purposefully chose to sit at the exact opposite end of the table from him, sure that I couldn’t trust myself to sit in the only other empty chair—the one directly beside him. Aidan gave me a knowing grin as I sat down, then launched into the meeting. I listened as he went over the final campaign, watched as his full lips moved, and then my thoughts went sout
h. I remembered the feel of them on my cheek, my neck, the sound of him moaning into my mouth. Dear God…

  “Cameron?”

  I blinked. “Yes?”

  Everyone at the table was staring at me, clearly waiting for me to answer some question I hadn’t heard. Shit. I tried to remember what had just been said, who had been speaking, anything, but all I could think about was making out in the stairwell after the meeting. This was a problem. A serious, serious problem. New rule: no unbelievable kisses before work.

  “Are you with us?” Aidan asked, his eyes flashing. All devil and sin.

  I glared at him, before glancing back at Gayle. “Sorry, can you repeat that? I was—”

  “Distracted?” Aidan added, his expression even. He knew exactly what I was thinking about. Damn him.

  Gayle gave me a comforting look. I felt sure if she knew the underlying meaning behind this little exchange she wouldn’t be so comforting. “I asked what you thought of the latest mock-up.”

  I considered the images on the screen behind Aidan. Beyond font changes, it was virtually the same as the one he’d shown me in his office. Something was still off. My mouth opened to say that it was good, to tuck away my true thoughts until I was more established with the company, but that attitude wouldn’t help me move up. I had to be sharp, and part of being sharp was knowing when to voice your opinion and when to keep your mouth shut. This was definitely a time to speak up.

  “It’s very good,” I said, nodding to creative, because I’d learned they liked to have their egos stroked. “But I think something’s missing. Maybe…” I cocked my head as I studied the mock-up. “Maybe the kid shots need to be actual photos of the players as children. That kid looks nothing like the player. I think to really give this that emotional punch we’re looking for they need to at least appear to be the same person.” I waited for Aidan’s reaction. “And we should see them aging. Like a montage from kiddie teams to high school to college.”

  He released a slow breath. He was thinking about it, letting it churn around in his mind. Finally he focused on creative. “Let’s add in photos from actual players. If you can’t get them, find stock photos that are closer to the players. I want them so close they’d fool their mothers.” The guys from creative took notes on their iPads, and then Aidan nodded to me. “Good work.”

  “Thanks,” I said, a grin spreading across my face that I couldn’t contain. Suddenly, I was reminded how much I loved advertising and how much I loved this job. While Aidan’s no-romance–no-emotions rule cut deep, I knew he was right. My focus was on my career, and I couldn’t allow whatever this was to jeopardize everything I’d worked so hard to obtain.

  Aidan ended the meeting, and as we were all walking out, Alexa stopped me. “Lunch?”

  I eyed my phone. Sure enough, it was nearly noon. “Sure.” My bank account would hate me for eating out again, and I knew just what Grace would say—why not dip into your dad’s money? Just a little won’t hurt. What are you going to do with it anyway?

  I’d heard that very question a thousand times, and it never became easier to answer. The truth was I didn’t feel right buying anything at all with the money. I didn’t want it. I wanted him, alive. So I’d resigned myself that I wouldn’t spend a dollar of the money until I had something important to spend it on. Something life-changing. Something that would make him proud. I’d yet to find such a thing, so the money sat untouched. Besides, there was something rewarding in doing it all on my own.

  Alexa went for the elevator, and I stopped cold. “Yeah, I’m not stepping foot on that thing. I got stuck in it last night.”

  Her eyes went wide. “Are you serious? Why didn’t you tell me?”

  I shrugged. Because Aidan kissed me last night and this morning and I can’t seem to think about anything else. “I don’t know. I guess it slipped my mind.”

  She went toward the stairs. “Oh my God. Was there anyone else in there with you?”

  I paused, unsure if I should lie about Aidan or tell her the truth. It wasn’t like we’d had sex in the elevator. “Actually, yeah. Aidan.”

  “Holy shit.” Alexa spun to look at me. “You were stuck in an elevator with Aidan? What happened? Please tell me something happened.”

  Why didn’t I just lie?

  We were outside now, walking down the chaotic sidewalk, everyone out and about, and she was still waiting for my response.

  “We barely talked, and then the elevator was fixed. It wasn’t a big deal.”

  No, it was a huge deal. Aidan was caring and sweet and so open about his life. It was a different side of him—a side I wanted to get to know a lot better. The thought made my insides tingle with excitement. UT Guy and Aidan were blending together in my mind, each bit of information I had about him helping to put the pieces together. Aidan was professional at the office, driven and smart. But he was still a twentysomething guy and acted as such in his free time. UT Guy was his after-work persona, the real him when he didn’t have to be on. And didn’t we all have those two sides?

  We sat down for lunch and ordered salads; all the while I longed for fried chicken and mac and cheese. For a moment, I missed home. I missed the constant smells of something cooking from our kitchen, Mom’s voice as she sang along to some tune on the radio. Our house wasn’t grand, but it was a happy place to grow up.

  “So no hot make-out sessions in the elevator, then?”

  “With who?” Lauren asked as she and Grace sat down to join us, both on extended lunch breaks—aka their bosses were out of the office. I introduced them and then returned to my salad.

  “With Aidan, our boss,” Alexa answered with a laugh. As though the possibility were absurd.

  I shook my head and smiled. “Sorry to disappoint you. No elevator make-out sessions to report.”

  We preferred the stairs.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Lauren and Grace were already at the bar that night, ordering drinks, before I could ask if one of us should stay sober. You know, as lookout. Or maybe just because I wasn’t feeling the go-wild vibe Lauren and Grace had sung the entire walk over.

  We’d agreed to stop by True Heat, a new club that had opened up and was touted to have the best apple martinis in the city. Apple martinis were to our group what cosmopolitans were to Sex and the City, so there we were, eager to see if we agreed. The problem was that while I loved my friends, I didn’t want to have random guys talking to me, dancing with me, trying to get me back to their apartments. My mind was on one guy. And that realization was freaking me out.

  I’d spent the rest of my afternoon in creative, working through the final campaign additions, and then when I finally returned to my desk, Aidan’s light was off in his office. He’d gone for the day without even a text good-bye. I tried not to read too much into it. We weren’t anything, barely enough to even call us a something, yet it felt very much like a something to me. No romance, no feelings. No labels, I reminded myself. Though I knew I was already labeling us.

  I stepped up to the bar and smiled as Lauren handed me the signature apple martini. “It’s orgasmic. Try it.”

  I took a sip, then two, moaning for effect. “Wow. I think I need a cigarette now.”

  She grinned. “Oh, you will after you see what we’ve found.” She leaned in closer and pointed to her left to a table of guys, Grace already talking away to one of them. The other two were staring at Lauren and me. A few weeks ago, I would have been stoked at the possibility of meeting someone new, but now? My insides felt as though they’d been flipped upside down and weren’t quite sure how to work.

  “You must be Cameron,” the guy nearest to me said. He had thick dark hair and dark eyes and the sort of eyelashes that made girls want to weep from jealousy. He was cute, but beyond that, I felt nothing for him at all—no excitement at the potential. No interest in learning more about him.

  “I am,” I said. “But I didn’t catch your name.”

  He held out his hand. “Eli. Your friend told me you’re i
n advertising. I’m a graphic designer at GG.”

  GG—aka Graham Group. Just the name made me uneasy after hearing Aidan talk about his dad.

  “Ah, good firm,” I said, already wishing I could get out of the conversation.

  “Where do you work?”

  “Sanderson-Lowe.” I peered around to see if the girls wanted to go dance, only to find them already on the dance floor. Crap.

  Eli leaned in closer. “We’re competitors,” he said, his eyes flashing with mischievousness.

  Yeah, not happening.

  I motioned to the dance floor. “I’m just going to go find my friends.”

  “I’ll come with you.”

  And now this was turning into one of those scenes in the movies, where the girl was stuck with the weird guy, when she wanted to be with her soul mate, and then soul mate guy walked in and swept her off her feet. Only, my guy wasn’t going to walk in and he certainly wasn’t going to sweep me off my feet. The thought made me sad for reasons I couldn’t fully understand. Didn’t I want to focus on my career? Wasn’t I the one who said no labels? So why did none of those ideals seem right to me anymore? The truth was deep down I wanted it all—the career and the soul mate. I just wasn’t sure that was reality.

  My thoughts cut short at the feel of a hand on my stomach. I started to turn just as Eli pulled me flush against his chest, his body moving before I realized that he was trying to dance with me. If pressing your bulge against a girl counted as dancing. I bit my lip to keep from cringing audibly. My gaze darted over to Lauren and Grace, but they were actually into their guys, laughing and flirting and having too good of a time for me to ruin it. I tried to keep pace with the bulge-presser, moving my hips as I took a step away from him, only to have him match my step, securing me to him. Ugh. I spun, dancing around him, which was clearly the wrong thing to do, because now he was looking at me like I was some sex kitten in his latest fantasy. God, get me out of here.