Jerith put his hand on the younger man’s shoulder. “You and me, we’ll talk, okay?”
“Really?” Ryan was obviously surprised that Jerith would take the time to do that for him.
“Yeah, there’s a lot of shit you need to know before you take that step. Think you can hold out for a day or two?”
“I don’t think I’ll have a choice. Mom’s been watching me like a hawk since yesterday—I don’t know why.” Ryan looked chagrined at his mother’s scrutiny all of a sudden.
Jerith realized it was his words that had caused that, and he nodded to him. “I’ll talk to her, okay?”
“That’d be great, Kid, thanks,” Ryan said, brightening again.
“What will be great?” Nicolette asked from the couch.
Ryan looked over at his mother, then back to Jerith. Jerith nodded his head toward the hallway; Ryan nodded and went off to his room.
“Nothing,” Jerith said, walking over to her. She was wearing a black shirt that buttoned up the front; it was long, but short enough to expose her legs. She was sitting up now, looking up at him. Jerith had showered and changed, and was wearing his faded jeans and a sky blue shirt. He had his leather jacket slung over his arm. He squatted down in front of her. “Did you really have a good time tonight?”
“Yes, I really did,” she said. “You look tired though.”
“I am, but I wanted to see you.”
“Well, why don’t you at least sit down and relax.”
He sat down on the floor, looking up at her.
Nicolette laughed, and stood to take his jacket from him. He watched her as she went to hang it up. The shirt did indeed cover most of the vital stuff, but exposed her legs even more than the skirt had; he couldn’t take his eyes off them. He was starting to feel a little bit like poor Ryan.
She stopped. “Do you want a drink or anything?” He shook his head. She nodded and walked back over to sit down. Eventually he turned around to watch TV. They flipped around the channels until House came on. Jerith was very tired, and eventually he scooted down, leaning his head on the couch. Nicolette found herself stroking the long strands of blond hair that lay across her hands. She had moved to lean her head against the arm of the couch, lying down. Eventually she started to stroke his head, her hands moving down the length of hair she could reach. It was indeed as silky as it looked—Nicolette was amazed.
Jerith was happily surprised when he felt her hand touching his hair. It had a soothing effect and lulled him to sleep, even though he tried desperately to stay awake, wanting to experience the feeling, but he was too exhausted to win the battle.
Nicolette realized he’d fallen asleep. She had seen how tired he had looked when he walked in. She could only begin to imagine how much energy he had expended at the concert that evening, and then being up as late as he had been the night before, talking to her on the phone. Now he was just plain worn out. After long consideration, she stood up and moved to kneel next to him. She touched his cheek lightly, whispering his name.
Jerith opened his eyes tiredly.
“C’mon,” Nicolette said, pulling him gently to a sitting position. Jerith nodded, starting to stand. He assumed she was telling him to go home. He was very surprised when she took his hand and led him down the hall to her bedroom. She turned and sat him down on the bed, her eyes telling him that she expected him to behave himself. He grinned at her, and nodded as if she’d actually spoken out loud. She reached down and pulled off his boots, then pushed him back to lie on the bed.
She left the room for a few moments, and Jerith could hear her moving around the house; he figured correctly that she was locking up. She came back a few minutes later and slid into the other side of the bed. Jerith turned on his side and watched her try to get comfortable.
“Go to sleep, Jerith,” she said, smiling. She sounded like his mom.
“Yes, Mother,” he muttered, and obediently closed his eyes. Within minutes he was asleep again. Nicolette lay on her back, her face turned toward him, watching him. Eventually she fell asleep too.
♫ Five ♫
Jerith woke the next morning at 7:30 a.m. Nicolette was still asleep. He propped his head up on his elbow and watched her. He was surprised that she had trusted him enough to let him sleep in her bed with her. He realized she probably didn’t have any extra rooms… Of course, she could have made him sleep on the couch or something. As if she knew she was being watched, Nicolette opened her eyes and looked straight at him.
“Good morning,” he said softly.
“Hi,” she replied tiredly. She glanced over at the clock on her nightstand. “I thought you’d at least sleep in this morning.”
“I did,” Jerith said, grinning.
“Oh, God.” Nicolette rolled her eyes and put her head back down on her pillow.
“Go back to sleep.”
“I can’t sleep now, knowing you’re awake.”
“Why not?”
“Because… I just can’t.”
“You don’t trust me? I was a good boy all night, wasn’t I?”
“Yes, you were. That’s not… I… never mind.” Nicolette moved to sit up.
“Nicky,” Jerith said, putting his hand out to stop her. “Don’t go, please.”
Nicolette looked over at him, and after a few moments lay back down.
“Have you always been so tense around men?”
“I’m not tense around men,” she said, looking straight at him. “Just you.”
“Why?”
Nicolette sighed, looking up at the ceiling. “Because I don’t want to get involved with you.”
“Why?”
“Because, Jerith, you’re a rock star, not exactly the kind of profession known for extended relationships, okay?”
“That’s a bit of a stereotype, isn’t it? And from what I’ve heard, cops aren’t exactly known for their fidelities either.”
Nicolette narrowed her eyes at him. “I’m not like that.”
“Neither am I.”
Nicolette looked at him for a long moment, then sighed again. “It’s just been me and Ryan for so long, and I don’t want to depend on anyone else right now.”
“Well, does it have to be a lifetime commitment? You said you’ve gone on dates since your husband—haven’t you even kissed these guys goodnight?”
“I’m not a nun, you know. Sure I have.”
Jerith moved closer. “So why can’t you kiss me?”
“I can if I want to.” Nicolette sounded a little bit indignant.
“And what if I want to kiss you?” he asked quietly, looking into her eyes.
“I don’t think—” Nicolette started to say, shaking her head. Jerith’s lips on hers stopped her cold. The kiss was intense. He reached out to grip her waist, pulling her the last couple of inches toward him. Her shirt had twisted during the night, so he actually touched bare skin—he thought he’d die. When the kiss ended, Nicolette was breathless. She looked up at him and saw that he was deeply affected by it too.
Jerith didn’t move his hand. Instead, he started to stroke the hollow of her waist. “Just like I thought,” he mused quietly.
What?” she said softly.
“I knew your skin would be like silk.” His voice was very serious. Then he looked at her, his eyes searching hers. “I just want to touch you—can I?”
Nicolette had never had a man say something like that to her before. She nodded slowly, wanting him to touch her, but not trusting her voice after his candid statement. She closed her eyes and felt him unbutton her shirt. She heard him draw in his breath when the garment fell away. Her body was exposed to him, except for the lace and satin bikini underwear she wore. Jerith had to wait a minute to touch her, it took him that long to rein in his desire. He’d expected her body to be nice; he’d had no idea how incredible it would be. She was tanned from head to toe, and she could have easily been mistaken for one of the ancient beauties like Athena. Her body was perfect, with not a mark on it—he couldn’t belie
ve it. He’d wanted her very much before, but now he knew he would be aching from this one for a long time.
After a few minutes, he ran his hands down her flat stomach, and then down her legs. Her skin was smooth and silken. After a while he could feel her responding to his touch. When his hands trailed lightly over her breasts, he felt her tense, but he also saw her breath quicken a moment later. He was watching her face when she opened her eyes and looked at him. She brought her hand up to the back of his neck, pulling his face down to hers. As they kissed, she unbuttoned his shirt. When his skin touched hers, he pulled back, breathing heavily.
“Wait, Nick, we gotta stop.”
Nicolette grinned at him, her eyes knowing.
“I know—so much for being a full-grown man and having control,” Jerith said, trying to calm his breathing.
She pulled him down to her again, kissing him more ardently this time.
“Nicky, Nicky,” he murmured against her lips. “Baby, we have to stop…”
Nicolette looked up at him, staring into his eyes. “No, we don’t.”
That was all Jerith had to hear. He moved to kiss her again, this time taking full possession of her body with his hands, making her gasp and moan.
Moments before he finally gave in to his own need, he looked down at her again. “You sure about this?” he said, not even sure he could stop now but not wanting to push her too hard.
“Jerith,” she said huskily, “make love to me, now.” Her tone brooked no argument, and Jerith gave her no more.
Their lovemaking was passionate and exquisite for both of them. Jerith felt like he’d been waiting for her forever; his body responded to her in a way he hadn’t experienced with anyone before. Nicolette just let everything go. She didn’t think about what would happen later—she just enjoyed what was happening right now. Her body had lain dormant for so long that it awoke with a vengeance. It was as if she couldn’t get enough of his hands, his lips, any of him. They spent most of the morning making love, and eventually she lay with her head on his chest, asleep. Jerith stroked her hair. He felt so good, he couldn’t even think about moving.
He almost jumped when he heard a knock on Nicolette’s door, and then Ryan walked in; he’d assumed his mother was alone. He’d assumed wrong, and was surprised to see Jerith lying with his mother sleeping next to him, her head on his chest, her arm around his waist. Fortunately, she was fully covered, as was Jerith from the waist down.
“Jerith…” Ryan said, looking extremely embarrassed. “I—I’m sorry, I thought…”
“It’s okay, Ryan,” Jerith said quietly, glancing down at Nicolette to make sure she hadn’t awoken.
“So I guess you two are really together now, huh?” Ryan whispered, overcoming his embarrassment as his curiosity took over.
“Don’t know just yet,” Jerith said honestly. “What’s up?” He felt uncomfortable with Ryan standing there staring at him.
“I, um, I’m goin’ to Mandy’s. I wanted to check with Mom.”
Jerith nodded. “Look, don’t wake her up. I’ll tell her. You, uh, remember what we talked about, right?”
“Yeah,” Ryan said, nodding.
“Ya think…?” Jerith said, his look asking the full question.
“She called me… Maybe,” Ryan said hopefully.
Jerith nodded. “Give me a minute, okay?”
Ryan nodded and left the room, closing the door softly. Jerith was loath to leave Nicolette’s bed, but he didn’t want her son going off half-cocked and getting himself into trouble either. He appeared a few minutes later, wearing only his jeans, to find Ryan sitting in the kitchen. Jerith reached into the closet for his leather jacket and hung it on the back of a kitchen chair, which he then sat down in.
“Look,” he said, his expression serious. “First of all, no matter what you’ve heard about this girl, you let her set the pace, okay?”
Ryan nodded, but he looked like he didn’t understand.
“What I mean, Ryan, is that no matter how hot she gets you, if she changes her mind, that’s it.” He made a cutting gesture with his hand.
“You mean if she doesn’t want to?”
“Yeah.” Jerith reached into his jacket, pulling out his wallet and opening it. “But if things get a little bit heavy, I want you to use this.” He tossed the younger man a condom, feeling a little bit of déjà vu. His father had had a similar conversation with him when he was Ryan’s age. He realized belatedly that he hadn’t followed that advice a few hours before. He knew he was clean—he’d checked often enough—and he was positive that Nicolette wasn’t a concern in the STD department, but there was the birth control issue. That was a conversation they’d have to have later.
Ryan looked at the condom, then at Jerith. “Doesn’t the girl usually take care of this stuff?”
“Most girls take care of birth control, but that’s not gonna protect you from anything else, and birth control’s not always one hundred percent, ya know.”
“Yeah,” Ryan said, nodding. “My mom says she was taking the pill when she got pregnant with me.”
“See? And you don’t want to start your own family just yet. Just be careful, okay?”
“Yeah,” Ryan said, but Jerith could see he wanted to ask more questions.
“Ask, Ryan. What do you want to know?”
“I just don’t know… I mean… if I’ll measure up, ya know?”
“I’ve been there, Ryan, and there’s no way around it.”
“Yeah, but what if I… you know…” Ryan shrugged. He couldn’t actually say what he was thinking, as if it would happen if he did.
“Get to the finish line too soon?”
“Yeah.” Ryan blew his breath out in a sigh.
Jerith nodded, having been there too. “Best thing that works for me is to start thinking about guitar chords, or anything non-sexual. Maybe you could go over plays in your head, or something. You gotta find the right thing for you. But believe me, Ryan, this isn’t going to be your only shot at this. Just take it easy and don’t try to rush it.”
Ryan nodded, listening to every word.
“And if you don’t want to be remembered as a major asshole, make sure you give as good as you get,” Jerith said with a meaningful look.
Ryan nodded again, blinking. It was obvious the young man was tense over the idea of his first time.
“Hey, don’t overthink this, Ryan. Just see what happens. I didn’t want to pump you up or anything, but I didn’t want you going in unprepared either. Like I said, just take things slow and easy. Don’t expect anything, and that way you won’t be disappointed. And Ryan, remember, no does mean no, no matter how crazy you are by that time. That’s why God created Playboy.” His tone told the teenager that even a full-grown man with endless opportunities got frustrated sometimes.
Ryan grinned at his mother’s boyfriend, suddenly very glad he was around. If he hadn’t talked to Jerith, he knew he would have never had a chance with Mandy.
He left the house a little while later, actually thinking about what he would talk to Mandy about. He had managed to push the idea of sex far enough aside that he managed to sound reasonably calm when he arrived at her house. She let him in and proceeded to tease him for two hours, with shy looks and suggestive comments. She sat close to him, letting her hand trail over his leg as she reached for something across from him. Eventually, she asked him if he wanted to kiss her, and he managed to reply casually that he did. The kiss turned into something else, and since her parents weren’t home, she led him to their bedroom, where she allowed him to make love to her. She was surprised when he actually did a fairly admirable job; of course, it helped that she was thinking of Kid Michaels the entire time.
Ryan Jacob Harris became what might be considered a man that day—although subsequent conversations with Jerith would tell him that was far from the real test of manhood.
****
Jerith, meanwhile, had gone back to Nicolette’s bedroom and found that she was awake. She wa
s sitting up, staring off into space. Her eyes went to him when he walked in.
“Ryan gone?”
“Yes,” Jerith said, nodding. He knew something was on her mind.
“I heard you talking to him,” she said, but to Jerith’s relief she didn’t sound mad.
“Yeah… He kinda told me that something might happen with Mandy today, and I didn’t want him to go over there, ah, unprepared.” As he watched her, he realized she may have wanted to talk to her son about this. He walked over and sat on the bed, just across from her.
“Yeah, I heard that part too. You wanted him to be prepared, like us, right?” Her grin was slow, but he knew what she meant.
“I thought of that,” he said, reaching out to touch her hand softly. “You can rest assured I’m okay—I’ve been tested and everything,” he said cautiously.
Nicolette nodded. “I haven’t, but…”
“I’m not worried about that. I am worried about birth control though,” he said softly.
“Well, I’ve got that covered. And I take it my son is covered now too?”
“Yeah,” Jerith said, looking a little chagrined. “Look, Nick, I’m sorry. I just thought I should talk to him. It’s easier to talk to another guy about this stuff, ya know.”
“Oh, Jerith,” Nicolette said, putting her head on his shoulder. “You have no idea how relieved I am to have gotten out of that talk. I’ve dreaded it since the moment they told me he was a boy. I knew I wouldn’t know what to say, and I was afraid I’d alienate him more.” She glanced up at him. “I liked what you said. Especially about no meaning no—a lot of men wouldn’t have told him that part.”
“Well, that’s what my dad told me. I’ve yet to be accused of forcing someone into anything she didn’t want to do.”
“I’m sure of that,” Nicolette said, giving him a meaningful look.
“Are you now?” he said, his blue eyes sparkling in amusement. He leaned over and kissed her. Her hands moved to his hair and entwined themselves there. He touched her face gently. “God, you’re going to make me crazy,” he said, his voice a husky whisper, as he buried his face in her hair.
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