Poet

by A. M. Johnson

  I didn’t go back, choosing Spanish Mass with the folks instead. There was no point in entertaining any feelings or fantasy of someone like him. Once he’d gotten to know me, he’d figure out that the devil could stand right next to you in church and you’d never know it.

  Tonight, he was dangerous in his worn jeans and a white, long-sleeved, fitted thermal. Coarse-looking, dark hair framed his lips and was smattered along his jaw line and chin, a little longer than I remembered. His Adam’s apple bobbed and the room heated as we stared at each other. His lips parted, slowly easing into a grin that made my heart gallop and my cheeks flush with heat.

  “Kieran...” Kelly’s voice was fuzzy as the whoosh of my pulse clouded the sound around me. “You’re late.”

  Kieran.

  He kept his eyes locked on mine as he spoke, “You told me to bring my own beer, so I stopped.”

  The heat in my cheeks poured down my spine, my arms, filling my stomach and then spilling down to my legs. Those blue eyes watched me combust, watched as if he knew the effect he was having on me. His full lips pulled wide, lifting a bit more on the left side as he handed his brother the beer without looking away from me. Kieran offered me his hand, and his voice pooled low in my belly as he said, “I’ve missed you at church.”

  “I’m folded into fortune, so you can carry me with you for luck.”

  Hayley Stumbo~

  The blush on her cheeks intensified as she slid her small hand into mine. The heat from her skin scorched my palm, and my smile skated past appropriate. I did my best to keep my eyes on hers. The dress she was wearing, all that caramel skin on display, she had unwrapped herself since that Sunday. The sexy, but modest get-up she had on the first time I’d seen her had peeled away to reveal sin with curves for miles. The dark pools of her eyes were ringed in amaretto as she assessed me. Neither of us said a word, and like last time, I held her hand too long.

  Kelly cleared her throat, and I released her hand as she asked us, “You guys know each other?”

  “Not technically,” I said. “I saw her at church a couple of weeks ago.”

  Kelly’s lips spread triumphantly across her face. Liam noticed it too as he shook his head with a small smile. His eyes met mine with a knowing stare that made me wonder if he’d figured out that this… this was the girl I’d told him about at the gym the other day. Her voice held sparks of victory. “This is Melissa. I used to work with her at Lifeline, but she’ll be working at Irene’s soon.” This was the chick she wanted to set me up with? I almost laughed. Almost. It was too cliché. Fate. Everything happens for a reason. But… maybe it was more than that. My smile tipped into a casual, lopsided grin as Kelly continued, “This is my brother-in-law, Kieran.”

  I wanted to take her hand in mine again, but I figured that would be weird, so I put on my best smile instead. “Nice to officially meet you.”

  My eyes met hers and a flash of terror crossed over them as she took a step backward. “Good to meet you.”

  Melissa sucked on her bottom lip and the energy from earlier turned more anxious by the second. I wanted to salvage the mood. “Have you been attending St. Ann’s long?”

  She nodded. “I usually go to the Spanish service.”

  “You speak Spanish?” I asked, impressed.

  “Yup.” She dropped her eyes to the sweater that covered her arm and exhaled a shaky breath.

  “Let me take that for you,” Kelly offered as she darted her eyes to me and then Melissa. “I’ll put your things in my room.” Melissa handed her the sweater and her small purse. I took a private moment to admire that rich looking skin again. I bet it was just as soft as her hands, and I had the urge to run my thumb up her arm. “Liam, will you put these beers in the fridge?”

  Liam nodded and gave Melissa a small smirk. “Go easy on him.”

  For the second time in my life, I imagined what it would be like to clock my brother in his damn jaw. My throat contracted and my face heated as Melissa laughed. The mirthful moment fell flat as she looked at me and then toward the kitchen. Liam and Kelly were whispering to each other, no doubt about us, and I’d never been more embarrassed. This was why I liked to meet people on my own. But for all intents and purposes, I had met Melissa on my own.

  “This is awkward.” I thought maybe honesty could break the ice.

  Her cheeks filled with color again as she bit the side of her smile. “A little.”

  “Did you want a drink?” I nodded my chin toward the kitchen and caught Kemper’s eye. Tris was with him and Tana, and I prayed that they wouldn’t mess this up by coming over here.

  “I don’t drink,” she said very matter of fact.

  “Not even water?”

  Those dark eyes flickered with an underlying amber flame as they narrowed. “Smart ass.”

  I chuckled and her pink lips pulled into two spectacular dimples. “I’m the baby of the family, it’s a defense mechanism. Come on, I’ll get us some water.” I didn’t ask permission, or really even think about how forward it would seem, but I laced my fingers through hers, my heart hammering so loudly it nearly drowned out the music in the room. She hesitated for three agonizing seconds, but then curled her fingers through mine.

  Win number one.

  “You don’t have to drink water on my account,” she said, allowing her cute-as-hell irritation to slither through the syllables.

  “I came here to meet you, so I do what you do.” I shrugged and she dropped my hand.

  “You didn’t come here to meet me, drink your beer,” she said, and I had a feeling my wins from here on out would be hard fought.

  She breezed past me into the kitchen, leaving me to admire the low cut of her dress, and how it exposed the majority of her back. I watched as the fabric shifted, revealing more of her tan, lean thighs with each sway of her hips. If she wasn’t so short the skirt of her dress would’ve ridden just below her ass. Melissa was a five foot, maybe five-foot-one hourglass. She paused by the granite countertop, and her cheeks flamed as she caught me staring. I took a few steps toward her, and her breathing shallowed. The distance between us became nothing more than an arm’s length wide.

  “I did,” I said as I slipped a piece of her hair behind her ear. Her eyes filled with apprehension. It was a risky move, but her personal bubble seemed to waver.

  She swallowed. “What?”

  “I came here to meet you.” She rolled her eyes and I laughed. “I’m serious. Kelly told me I had to meet you. And I’m not going to lie, I’m glad you are you.”

  Melissa’s fear faded as she huffed out a laugh. “What the hell does that mean?”

  “It means I was disappointed when that beautiful girl from church never showed up again.”

  Her head fell back, and the slope of her neck had my pulse chasing its own beat as she laughed openly. The sound of it was rough and alluring and the muscles in my stomach clenched as the blood in my body drained south. Her onyx eyes filled with fire as she mumbled, “Cabrón.”

  “Cabrón?” I lifted my eyebrows as her laugh sputtered. “And that means, what?”

  “It means that was a cheesy pick-up line.” She bit the side of her cheek, her dimples popping, and I couldn’t stop my smile if I tried.

  “One word means all of that?” I asked, a little doubtful, and Melissa’s face filled with light as she looked up at me.

  “It means you’re a dumbass.”

  I barked out a laugh and that barrier between us dissolved. “Well, I’m glad I made a good first impression.”

  I stepped past her toward the fridge, opened the door, and grabbed a beer and a bottle of water. I kicked the door shut and made my way back to her. She was still smiling, so I figured I hadn’t lost completely yet. I handed her the water and cracked open my beer as she thanked me. The silence wasn’t uncomfortable, at least not to me, as I threw my bottle cap onto the counter and took a drink. I kept my eyes on her as she surveyed the room. She seemed out of place, and not in a bad way. Everyone here was covered in i
nk, piercings, and hair dye. She seemed pure in a room full of artifice. She had hardly any makeup on and her skin was a blank, honey-colored canvas as far as I could see. Her black hair fell down her shoulders in soft waves, and I had to grip the bottle in my hand in an attempt not to reach out and touch it, touch her. She was refreshing.

  “Hey.” Tris’s voice was a buzzkill. “I haven’t heard from you.”

  I had no idea what to say. I never promised to call Tris, or anything else, for that matter. We’d kissed and that’d been the end of it. I only knew her number because she’d programmed it into my phone. I’d never asked for it.

  “Avenue’s has been really busy.” It wasn’t a lie.

  “I’m Mel.”

  Mel…

  “Shit, sorry. This is my friend, Tris. I work with her sister’s boyfriend.”

  They didn’t shake hands, and that not-so-uncomfortable silence became suddenly painful.

  I wasn’t a dick. If anything, I went out of my way on a daily basis to be mindful of people’s feelings. Working with Liam was like trying to shovel snow in a blizzard. His constant aggravation was a customer service nightmare, and I was always the one who ran in to rescue him.

  No, I wasn’t a dick, but I wanted Tris gone, and I tried not to feel guilty as I said, “It was good to see you, Tris.”

  I wrapped Melissa’s hand in mine, and she didn’t fight it. Liam and Kelly were talking to a few of the guys from the shop. Kemp and Tana were people watching from the couch, and I was sure I’d get an earful on Tuesday about why I hadn’t called Tris. My eyes drifted down to Melissa as I guided her into the living room. She was sucking on her bottom lip again, her free hand grasping the bottle of water like a life vest, and part of me sort of liked that I made her this nervous.

  “It’s too loud in here,” she said and looked up. Her smile pulled wide when she caught me watching her.

  Liam’s place was an open floor plan, not too many places to hide, except for one. Kelly kept all her blankets hidden in this cushioned bench that ran along the back wall. No one was sitting on it, and it was about as private and one-on-one as I was going to get.

  Melissa took a seat and let go of my hand. I denied the rush of disappointment I felt as I sat next to her.

  “Any less awkward yet?” I asked with a quiet chuckle.

  She smiled and shook her head.

  “Do you prefer Mel to Melissa?”

  “My friends and family call me Mel.”

  “What should I call you?”

  She sipped from her bottle of water. The condensation from my beer bottle wet my heated hands as I awaited her response. She set the water down as she raked her bottom lip through her teeth and my eyes fell to her mouth. I wanted to taste her lips, press my teeth into the soft flesh.

  “Mel is fine,” she whispered, pulling me from my impure thoughts, and then swallowed deeply as she shifted her attention to the room. “I’m not good at this,” she admitted.

  “That makes two of us, then.” I gave her a lopsided grin and her shoulders relaxed as she leaned her head against the wall.

  “I don’t think that’s entirely true. You seem to have a fan club.” I followed her gaze and found Tris at the end of it. “Why didn’t you call her?” Melissa’s tone turned dark. “That’s such a shitty guy thing to do.”

  My smile fell. “You assume a lot.”

  She turned her head, and I watched as the accusation paled her features and turned them to stone.

  She laughed without humor. “Maybe, but I know enough.”

  Her judgment should’ve bothered me. But there was a desperation in her eyes, a small piece of night, pleading for me to tell her she was wrong.

  “You don’t know me at all,” I said, keeping my tone easy.

  “I don’t,” she confirmed. There was horror swimming behind her eyes, and I wanted to open her up, read her pages, discover what nightmares, what stories she had hidden behind her smile and that sexy dress.

  The room buzzed with conversation as our eyes challenged each other to go first. Ask me, her eyes said as they drifted to my lips. If lust was a sound it would crackle like firewood burning on a pyre.

  “Would you like to know me?” I asked.

  She cleared her throat and looked down at her knees. “What do you do at Avenues?”

  It wasn’t exactly a yes, but it was a start. I couldn’t hide my building smile. Win number two. “I run the front desk, keep the finances straight, and save Liam’s ass whenever he’s being a dick.”

  “It must be nice, though, getting as much ink as you want for free… my b— my friends have a lot of ink.” She peeled the paper off the bottle of water as I processed her little slip. Was she about to say boyfriend?

  I pushed up the sleeves of my shirt and showed her my arms, bare of ink. “I only have one tattoo.”

  She cocked her right brow. “One?”

  I nodded. “On my chest. But I can’t show you… I save the tattoo unveiling for at least date number three.” My cocky grin extended all the way to my ears as she laughed. “I like the sound of that. You have a good laugh.”

  “Are you always this honest?” she asked as she draped her right leg over her left and the seam of her dress lifted, exposing the majority of her thigh. If I knew her better I might’ve placed my hand there, felt the muscle underneath the silk of her skin, let the warmth seep into my palm until she leaned into my touch.

  I didn’t miss her smile as I raised my gaze. “Most of the time. You?”

  “I’ve been known to be honest from time to time.” She smiled and it reached her eyes. The demons I’d seen earlier gone as that amber ring circled her irises once again.

  “When do you start at Irene’s?”

  “Not until after Thanksgiving, I think. My boss has to hire a new bartender, so I’m stuck there until he does.”

  “You work at a bar?”

  “Is that a problem?” Her relaxed posture vanished and I chuckled. “Why are you laughing?” she asked as humor parted her lips.

  “You remind me of Liam a little bit.”

  She shook her head, her cheeks brushed with a deep blush. “So, you’re saying I’m a dick?”

  She bit her lip again and, I swear, if we weren’t in a room full of people, I would’ve kissed her. She’d been teasing me with that damn mouth since I got here, and I’d been struggling with right and wrong a lot these days, but everything about her, even her attitude, seemed right.

  “You have attitude, I like it. My friend, Ronnie, says I’m a sass mouth.”

  She giggled and something inside my chest unfurled. Loose ribbons of heat pooled between us. “A sass mouth?”

  I nodded my head. “Yeah. Apparently, you’re right, I’m a smart ass.”

  “I’m always right.” She batted her eyelashes for show and giggled again.

  The sound of it put me at ease, made me feel at home, sitting next to her was natural, so I tempted the powers that be, and slid my hand in hers.

  “If you’re always right… tell me what I’m thinking right now.” I kept my voice low as I leaned in. It was the first deep breath I’d taken all night and my lungs filled with jasmine.

  “You think you’ve won me over.” She spoke, but the words trembled as I leaned back and trapped her with my stare.

  Like earlier, her skin lit in shades of pink and red, as if the deep tan of her flesh had been kissed by the sun. I let my eyes hold her gaze, wondering how long I could keep her captive. I wasn’t good at dating, my inexperience was a hindrance, a self-imposed handicap, but somehow I knew Melissa hadn’t been won tonight.

  “You’re wrong,” I said and squeezed her hand. “I was thinking about how you smell like jasmine and that you look sexy as fuck in this dress.” Melissa licked her lips and her disquiet faded into something else… something that made me feel bold.

  I held back my pride at the state she was in—flushed cheeks—eyes fixed on me. I was riding this wave, and I had no real clue what the hell I was going to
do when it peaked. I was an amateur.

  “What were you thinking?” I risked asking, but regardless of how she answered, my next question was queued and ready.

  “You’re confident, and… I think that’s sexy as fuck.” She gazed up at me from under her lashes and the air in my lungs stilled.

  I took a few, even breaths, steadying my heart rate. Confident… I never thought of myself that way, I’d always hidden behind sarcasm, using it as bravery, kept my head low, and held true to the commandments. When it came to women, confident was the last damn thing I was. What would she think of me if she knew the truth? That I was merely a student in her classroom.

  “Can I take you to dinner next week?”

  She chuckled. “See, I was right.” She bumped me with her shoulder, and I furrowed my brow. “You were thinking you won me over.”

  “You just said I was sexy.”

  “Doesn’t mean I want to have dinner with you.” She smirked, and I wanted to crash my mouth into hers, lick the seam of her lips and…

  All the years I’d denied myself, and this chick had me ready to pounce, and despite that need growing deep in my gut, I was scared.

  I released her hand and turned so I could see her at a better angle. “On a scale of one to cabrón, one meaning ‘yes, you’d love to have dinner with the sexy-as-fuck, confident guy you met tonight,’ or cabrón, meaning ‘hell no.’”

  “Your accent is terrible,” she teased.

  “I’m Irish.” I smiled. “Answer me.” She narrowed her eyes. “Please.” My smile spread across my face and her lips mirrored mine.

  “Three.”

  I laughed. “Three… is that a yes?”

  She held out her hand. “Give me your phone.” I reached into my pocket and did as she asked, maybe a little too eager, but who gives a shit.