“Calm down, would you?” I say after I almost trip over him on the way to the door. “Anyone would think you were the one with a date tonight. And don’t try breaking out to visit Draco, either.” Okay. I am, talking to the dog like he’s a person. What’s going on with me? I think I’m happy.
I’m definitely the guy who wants to see a woman two nights in a row, which is something I never could’ve been accused of in the past. I normally hold women at arm’s length for the first three, four, five dates. Depending on how busy I am and how interesting she is.
But Lauren.
Lauren’s different.
I can’t describe it, but it’s something I feel inside, and I know how stupid that sounds because I just met the woman. It sounds stupid enough even in my own mind, but there it is. I can’t deny it. There’s something different about her.
She’s…effortless.
With her, I don’t have to try. I can have a conversation with her. There’s a refreshing honesty about her. She’s natural. And she’s warm. And kind. And she even puts up with that piece of work mother of hers. She’s a sly one, but pretends to be a bumbling fool. Which earns Lauren a spot in Heaven if there is such a place. I sure as hell couldn’t handle her with so much grace on the regular.
The memory of her arrival, of how awkward and poorly timed the whole situation was, is enough for me to make certain the next time will be at my place. I suppose it was a good thing she showed up just when she did.
I lost my senses last night.
Sex after one dinner with my next-door neighbor? That’s not me, a little too much like begging for trouble. If it were terrible, there would be no avoiding her afterward. Never spit in your own rice bowl, my grandfather used to say.
Still, I was going to. I was more than ready to.
I have to be smarter than that tonight, is all. I want to get to know this girl, but I can’t let myself get swept up. Keep your cool, man. I straighten my shirt collar.
Chapter Nineteen
Lauren
“So, tonight’s the night then!” Danny yells as the front door bangs shut behind him.
I walk out of my room to greet him. “I thought you were coming home early to help me get ready!”
He takes his hat off and holds it in his hand as he scans his eyes over me. “Turn around,” he orders.
I obey.
He straightens the collar of my top slightly and tucks my hair behind my ear. “You look stunning,” he tells me, grinning. “You didn’t need my help, after all. And yeah, sorry, got caught up at work, you know.”
I chew at my lip. “Do you really think I look ok?”
“You look great, but…”
“But?”
He looks thoughtful for a moment, and then the twinkle comes back to his eyes. “I thought you’d be wearing your new top?” he asks with mock confusion, “You know the one your Mom liked so much?”
“Shut up,” I tell him sternly.
He moves his face closer to mine and peers at me.
“What?” I ask worriedly.
“What have you done with your eyes? They look amazing.”
“I followed an online tutorial,” I reply, feeling pleased with myself. I wasn’t usually one to wear a great deal of makeup but Jackson was certainly worth the extra effort.
He lifts me up by my hips and swings me around, making me feel even giddier than I already do. “You look like a million dollars, baby girl. Now go get him!” he says setting me down.
“He’s picking me up here, actually.” I glance at my watch.
Danny laughs. “Ah, yes, the convenience of dating your neighbor. I wonder if you’ll make it back here tonight… or you will be busy not sleeping next door.”
“Oi,” I tell him, pointing a warning finger at him, “I’ll be in my own bed, you’ll see. We’re just going to the movies. It’s just going to be a nice chilled date. No naughtiness. No Mom either!”
There’s a knock at the door and I freeze.
“I’ll get it,” he says.
I nervously take a last look in the mirror. My eyes do look nice, I think. I hope. The green brings out the green flecks in my hazel eyes and compliments the pale green silk top I’m wearing. I’ve gone for black jeans and high-heeled knee length boots. He’s so tall I felt I could do with the extra height. I hear them introducing themselves to each other.
I take a deep breath.
“Hey!” he says, smiling as he walks in beside Danny. Next to Danny, who is no lightweight in the looks department, he is an unbelievably gorgeous specimen of a man. I can’t imagine ever getting tired of just gazing at him. To my surprise, he looks a little bit in awe at the sight of me too. He’s looking at me as if I am beautiful. The way men look at Nina. God, how I wish I knew whether it was just the potion or if it’s real.
He comes forward and stops in front of me. He’s freshly shaved, his jawline smooth and perfect. Green eyes twinkling and dimples creasing. And he smells delicious. “You look beautiful,” he whispers.
I think I might faint. “Umm…you don’t look too bad yourself.”
He grins. “Shall we go?”
“Nice to meet you, Jackson,” Danny yells as we leave together. “And have a great night, you guys. I won’t wait up for you, Lolly!”
Ugh. Really? I give him a look as I close the door behind me.
“Lolly?” Jackson teases, as we walk down the steps towards his car.
“It’s an old nickname,” I tell him. “My friend Nina started it and it kind of just stuck. With some people, anyway.”
He laughs. “I think it’s cute. Should I call you that too?”
“If you really want to,” I say, rolling my eyes. “But just don’t introduce me to your parents like that!” My stomach lurches. What the hell did I say that for? “Not that I’m expecting to meet your parents, or anything!” I quickly add.
“Oh, I don’t know, I met your Mom on our first date, so maybe I should get you back,” he replies, grinning at me and…winking.
Oh, my Lord! This man can actually make my knees tremble.
“So, you’re not very keen on Lolly, then? Maybe I’ll have to think of a new nickname for you.”
We’re in a cab heading to the movie theatre and I’m thinking about how much I would love for him to have a nickname for me. “If you want,” I whisper.
He look deep into my eyes and for a while, it feels as if there is no one else in the universe except the two of us ensconced in this warm taxi and hurtling through the stars in space. Then he lifts a finger and touches my bottom lip. “Are you real?” he murmurs, his voice full with wonder.
A cold claw clutches my stomach making me shudder. All this is because of the potion. None of it is real.
“Are you okay?” he asks, a frown beginning to form on his forehead.
I quickly nod and force a smile. “So what are we watching?”
He smiles. “How do you feel about horror movies?” he asks me tentatively.
“I love them!” I lie. I don’t really like slasher movies at all. Give me a romantic comedy any day, but I really don’t care what movie we see. I just want to sit in the darkness with him.
“Great. There’s a new one out. A remake of The Ring. It’s meant to be really scary. You know, the one where the girl crawls out of the TV screen?”
I have no idea, but I just nod and smile, and try not to think about creepy girls crawling out of TVs.
Our seats are at the back of the mostly empty movie theatre and we settle into an empty row with our salty popcorn and huge cups of Mountain Dew. I wonder if he picked the back-row seats on purpose. I sneak a look at him, his profile gives nothing away. I haven’t made out in the back row of the movies in forever. .
“How was work today?” I ask him, but the movie is starting.
He leans over and whispers in my ear, “Terrible.” Then he smiles. “But I’m with you now.”
My stomach flutters and when I lean back I realize his arm is around me, so I slant i
nto him instead and pray that he can’t hear my heart which is thumping loud and fast.
It’s soon thumping for a different reason though and when I let out a loud gasp, my hands flying to cover my mouth, he chuckles and pulls me in closer.
“I thought you liked horror movies,” he whispers, smirking at me, but in a kind way.
I like when you whisper like that in my ear, I think to myself, breathing in his musky aftershave. “I do,” I whisper back in protest. “I just didn’t realize this one was going to be so scary.”
“That’s generally the idea,” he replies, still looking amused, and then he takes my hand and puts it on his arm. The girth of his bicep is impressive and his skin is so smooth and taut. “Just squeeze tight if you need to,” he tells me.
“Ok.” I smile, trying to look normal even though my retinas are scarred with the bone-chilling images I’ve just seen. I hope I don’t have nightmares tonight! I adjust my eyes to just below the screen, letting them glaze over, blissfully out of focus, breathing slow and deep.
It’s not until about halfway through and a particularly blood-curdling scream that my eyes flick back to the screen and I witness the gore and horror. My fingers close tightly around Jackson’s beautiful bicep, squeezing, pushing the awful images from my mind. I don’t even realize I’m closing my eyes, until I feel his soft lips meet with mine. I blink them open quickly and then shut again.
He’s kissing me. Oh, yes. That’s better. It feels so good.
I kiss him back, my hand still gripped tight around his bicep. I love the way I can feel his muscles flex slightly with his every tiny movement.
His tongue enters my mouth, or does mine search for his first? I feel myself sinking into a safe haven of pleasure, the screams onscreen no longer bother me as his arms hug me tight.
I feel his hand on my throat, stroking, moving up to my face and then his thumb in my mouth as his kisses follow down my neck. I suck on his thumb, biting it gently and now his other hand is on my breast, squeezing softly, finding the erect mound of my nipple and pinching.
My hands are all over him, feeling his chest, his back, his glorious arms, and I’m clawing at him, needing to feel all him at once, wanting him.
His fingertips snake down my belly and pop open the button on my jeans and—oh god, I want to feel his touch down there. His fingertips brushing against my stomach softly, making me want him more and more.
I glance around quickly at the sound of another scream, brought back to reality momentarily, but there is no-one else around us and getting naughty with Jackson is a million times more preferable than watching the movie.
“Relax,” he whispers, smiling, kissing me, gently and then more urgently, as his hand ventures further down and into my lace panties. His fingertips glide over me and find exactly the right place and I moan into his mouth as he rubs me.
Oh, wow!
His hands push my legs wider, then he lightly brushes against my slit. I widen my legs automatically. I am so wet he growls deep in his throat as his fingers plunges in. His thumb rubs against my clit as his finger moves in and out, all the while his mouth is on mine, our tongues entwined. His breath is heavy, almost panting, and I love how much he desires me. I want it to last forever.
He withdraws his hand, and in my head, I’m screaming No, don’t you dare. I’m so close to climax.
In the darkness, his eyes gleam. “I’m dying for a taste of Appleton pie,” he drawls as he yanks my jeans and panties right down to my knees.
I gasp in shock. Jesus!
Surely, he’s not intending to…
“You’re a bad, bad girl, Miss Appleton,” he whispers wickedly.
Before I know it, his head is in my lap, his tongue straining to reach me. The delicate flicks from the tip of his tongue make me cry out just like one of the poor desperate victims in the movie. I lean back in my chair and pull his beautiful head closer so his tongue can get even deeper as he hungrily licks my pussy. Oh, my God, the licking this man does. Like he can’t get enough. Like I’m the sweetest, most delicious thing, he ever tasted.
I never knew it could be like this. His dedication is astounding. He misses nothing. Every fold, every crease is seen to lovingly, lingeringly. It’s like his tongue is saying, mine, mine, mine. High-octane waves of rapture start flowing through my veins.
He takes my clit between his lips and simultaneously jams two fingers into me. I grind my ass up and down as he begins to finger fuck me furiously. I have to cap my hand over my mouth to muffle the moans as waves of intense pleasure cascade through me. “Holy shit,” I whisper, my hips jerking faster than ever. “Oh, Jackson, I’m gonna…!” I’ve never come so fast in my whole life.
Damn!
I’d stepped into the beginning of a climax that stripped me of all reason, but Jackson just keeps on going and I just keep on coming. The convulsions take a long time to subside. My heart beat races and I pant hard. Thank God, it’s dark in here, and thank God everybody else is too busy paying attention to the movie to notice me coming in the back row.
I stare at the screen blankly as Jackson eagerly laps up the juices that came out of my pussy and flooded his face as if it is the sweetest wine. It feels like the most natural thing in the world to have his tongue licking between my legs.
Chapter Twenty
Jackson
“You should have told me you don’t like horror movies,” I tell her as we walk down the street. Her cheeks are burning like her whole face is about to burst into flame.
“Yeah, I’m the type that screams and ducks down to avoid looking at the screen, but you know what? I think I really like them now.” She gives me a teasing smile.
Her eyes are bright and sparkling and I stare at her in awe. I’ve never felt like this about any woman before. I used to laugh at my friends for acting like love-sick pussies and now I’m doing the same. I put my arm around her and catch another whiff of her shampoo. It hints of lime and coconut. I can’t believe it but I’m rock-hard without her having to do anything but rest against me.
What the hell?
I brush my mouth against her forehead and relish the softness of her skin. There’s something seriously sexy about this woman. She’s gorgeous but she acts like she isn’t, for a start. She goes to my head like a glass of champagne, the way the old song says. I never quite understood that until just now. I feel dizzy, foggy, like I would if I were half-drunk. I might as well be, only it’s her I’m drunk on. And making her come like that in the movie theatre. No woman has had that effect on me. I can’t keep my hands off her.
I love how she just let herself go like that. I can’t remember the last time I did anything so risqué in public; it’s not usually my thing. But tonight I didn’t have a choice. I could fucking smell her arousal and I had to taste her, or I would have gone raving crazy in that cinema. It had been seriously hot though, and I’m still buzzing from it.
“I enjoyed watching you scream,” I say with a wink.
She blushes bright red.
Damned if that doesn’t turn me on.
“No offense, but I think there would have been way more screams if I’d had to actually watch the whole thing!” she says.
My eyebrows rise. “Is that a challenge?”
She gives me a look, full of daring. “Maybe.”
I don’t know if she’s trying to be seductive or not, but fuck it, it definitely has me all wired up. “You’re on.” I glance at the time. It’s just 10:00. Time enough for one drink. “I know this great little place around here that does out of this world cocktails. Feel like having one?”
“Well, I can’t say no to out of this world cocktails,” she says, slipping her arm through mine.
Work has kept me busy and I haven’t been there for a while, but when we arrive, the cocktail list is still impressive.
“This is nice,” she murmurs, looking around, “How did you find it?”
“I used to come here with my grandfather,” I tell her. “He lived in a care home
nearby and we used to sneak out and drink cocktails here.”
“That’s so adorable,” she gushes, smiling that unashamed smile of hers that makes me smile too.
I’d deliberately chosen the example I knew would make her heart melt. Telling her I’d brought numerous girls here probably wouldn’t have gone down so well, not that she needed to worry. None of them had anything on her. But that was all a while ago now anyway, the days before when I was a carefree young man.
In truth, it had only been on one occasion that I’d been here with Gramps, when he was still around. But the memory was so vivid it could have been a hundred times. The bartender had laughed at the sight of an old man in a hospital gown and a scruffy student sitting together drinking cosmos in the middle of the afternoon and the thought still makes me smile. We’d felt like naughty children sitting there, drinking in a bar, breaking the care home rules. It was one of the last afternoons spent together before the cancer finally got the better of him.
She’s perusing the cocktail list, biting her bottom lip, which is the sexiest thing ever and I feel a stirring in my pants. It’s incredible how much this girl turns me on. I almost feel out of control. “Anything take your fancy?” I ask her.
“I always go for the same thing.” She hands the menu to me. “Why don’t you surprise me?”
I order us two cosmopolitans. It’s what Gramps and I had, all those years before.
“This is great,” she says, taking a sip.
Her eyes look so beautiful tonight. So sparkly. I could look at her forever. Jeez, what’s happening to me!? “Oh. Um…” And since when do I trip over my tongue like this? “So tell me about what you do, then. I know hardly anything about you.” Totally bizarre, but I actually want to hear everything about the woman I’m dating.
She hesitates and crinkles up her cute little nose before telling me about an amusingly bad day in her life. She screws up her nose again. “It’s so frustrating because I know our system is the best out there and I wish my colleagues would recognize that .”
The Magic Cupcake Page 9
