Just One Kiss: A Black Alcove Novel (The Black Alcove Series Book 1) (14 page)

I decide that it’s best I go about the rest
of my shift throwing myself into work. If I’m busy, I won’t be able
to hear Logan at the other end of the bar making stupid and funny
comments about what he thinks he knows, and I sure won’t have time
to think about Ethan. My plan goes perfectly, but of course, that
ends real fast when Ethan walks through the bar door with a girl on
his arm. Not just any girl either. He’s with Abby.

Ethan

I had a plan and I thought it was brilliant,
but looking at Kelsey’s face right now, I know I screwed up. I
screwed up bad. Abby probably isn’t the best person to subject to
this, but she knows my intentions and says she has no problem
helping me out. But with the way her hand keeps grabbing my ass,
she’s creating a plan of her own.

“Abby, stop. You’re not helping,” I tell her
as I remove her hand once again. No man in his right mind would say
no to a girl when she grabs his ass, so I know I look like a total
dumbass right now.

We take a seat at the bar. I watch as Kelsey
walks away from us to the other end of the bar where Logan is. He
looks over her shoulder at me then nods his head. He hands her the
beer bottle in his hand and approaches us.

“Hey, guys,” he greets us, but he doesn’t
sound pleased. We make brief eye contact and then he lets out a
deep breath and shakes his head.

“I have to use the ladies’ room,” Abby says,
leaving us.

We both watch as she disappears behind the
door.

“Dude, what the fuck are
you doing bringing
her
here? I thought you and Kelsey were…I don’t know, getting
along now or—fuck, you were trying anyway.” He keeps shaking his
head. “You just messed everything up. I don’t know how to help you
and I definitely don’t want to. Not now. You’re on your
own.”

Logan doesn’t have to tell me twice.

“I was desperate. Kelsey won’t openly admit
she likes me so I thought—”

“That you should make her jealous,” he
finishes for me. “You don’t know her at all, do you? Your remember
Tyler, right?”

I nod.

“Did you know he cheated on her? With
Abby?”

Fuck.

I’m an asshole.

What kind of a person would cheat on Kelsey?
Kelsey deserves the best, and I’ll hurt anyone who doesn’t give
that to her, including myself.

“Yeah, I didn’t think you knew. And if you
did know, this was a complete jackass move.”

He hands me a beer and sets
some bright cocktail thing in front of Abby’s seat, a cranberry
vodka maybe—who cares?
I fucked
up.

“Have your drink and get out of here, man.
That’s the best thing you can do right now. Better yet, just go
now,” he advises and I just nod my head.

The moment Abby returns from the bathroom,
we leave. I don’t look back to see if Kelsey is watching because I
hope to god she isn’t.

How am I going to fix this?

Kelsey

The remainder of the
evening goes by in a blur because I can’t stop thinking about how
Abby has ruined something else for me. Logan knew exactly why I
asked him to switch sides with me. There was no way I was going to
wait on Ethan while he was sitting with
her
. Instead, I just watched them
from my end of the bar. I know he was trying to get me to react or
at least say something. I wanted to. I wanted to tell Abby she is
wasting her time, because he’s mine. But all I saw was history
repeating itself.
He cheated when he first
kissed you, Kelsey. He will do it again.

I force back the tears as I clear the last
table of its empty drinks. Why can’t I find a guy who is happy with
just one woman? Rain is pouring down outside, and for the last
hour, the sound of drops beating against the window is the only
thing that has kept me relaxed. I stop, still holding a few dirty
glasses, and watch as everything outside looks cold and depressing,
much like my life at this very moment.

I have no one to blame but myself. I can’t
be upset with anyone but me. Ethan doesn’t know about my past
relationship. I never told him. I shouldn’t be upset with him. We
hardly know each other, and one kiss doesn’t mean anything.

“Hey, is it cool if I head out?” Logan asks.
He pulls on his jacket and pauses at the top of the steps while I
head behind the bar.

I set the dishes in the sink and nod my
head.

“Of course.” I smile at him. He studies me
for a minute.

“Is everything alright?”

No.

“Yeah, everything’s great. I’m just getting
tired,” I say, and when he doesn’t respond I know he’s deciding
whether or not to believe me.

“Alright… well, if you need anything, just
call, okay?”

“Thanks,” I say and follow behind him as he
leaves so I can lock the door.

Before I reach it, the
jukebox begins to play “Endless Love” by The Bird and The
Bee.
Does everything have to depress me
right now?
I used to love this song, but
now the words are bound to tear me apart. It’s a song that mocks me
of something I’ll never have. I head for the jukebox with the goal
of changing the song to some hate music – because anything would be
better than this — when I feel a cold breeze from the front doors
opening. I turn to tell whoever it is we’re closed, but freeze when
I see Ethan standing in the doorway.

He isn’t wearing the same clothes as he was
earlier, and a pang of dread flows through me as every awful idea
runs through my mind. His wet hair drips into his face and his
black t-shirt and jeans are sticking to his body. His chest is
moving quickly as he breathes and his now dark and determined green
eyes are focused on where I stand.

My eyes go wide as I take him in. The wet
look makes him even sexier than before, but his eyes are the piece
causing me to take a step back. The desire in them matches the
exact way my heart feels. He came here for me, I know that much. I
also know I’m not letting him leave until we’ve resolved this one
way or another.

Ethan stalks toward me, and when he gets
close enough, I take another step behind me, bumping into the pool
table. My palms grip the table to steady myself as he presses his
body against me and leans forward, placing his hands right next to
mine.

“I don’t want to play games, Kelsey. I want
you and only you. I’m sorry about tonight. Abby doesn’t mean
anything to me. I have never felt for someone the way I feel about
you and I didn’t know how to handle it. I still don’t, but I do
know the only way I want to figure it out is with you. I want you
in my life no matter what happens.”

I’m stunned speechless.
Everything is a clouded mess inside my head. I want to tell him
that I want him, too, and together we could have it all, but I
can’t form words.
Say yes, Kelsey. Say
anything
.
Forget
the past.
I manage a small nod.

He doesn’t waste any time waiting for more
of a response. His lips crash against mine and I wrap my arms
around his neck to pull him closer. Our mouths move desperately
against one another while his hands glide down my back until he’s
cupping my butt. He grips each cheek tightly, picking me up and
setting me on the table.

“God, I want you so bad,” he breathes into
my mouth.

My knees part as he moves between them,
jerking my body into his. Since I’m wearing another skirt there
isn’t much of a barrier left between us, and when he grinds his
hips into my core, I can feel how much he wants me and that only
fuels my body even more.

“Kelsey,” he says, separating our lips and
trailing kisses down my neck. I love the way he says my name. I
lean my head back to give him better access, but I don’t let go.
Pleased sounds escape my lips as he moves further down my body. His
hands find the hem of my shirt and a wave of desire washes through
me as they rise underneath it, his fingers reaching the edge of my
bra.

The soft music in the background and our
rapid breaths surrounds me. It only intensifies the fire between
us. Ethan removes his hands, but I grab his wrist in protest. He
smiles and lets out a small laugh. “Trust me, ok?”

I lock my eyes on his, accepting his silent
promise, and let go of him. He quickly lifts my shirt over my head.
He drops the shirt to the ground and leans back.

“You’re so beautiful,” he says then kisses
me again. He unsnaps my bra, removing it from my body, but never
pulls his lips away from mine. His hands find my breasts and he
squeezes them gently, letting his thumbs play with my nipples a
little longer.

I moan into his mouth and the warmth between
my legs tells me how much I enjoy what he does to me. I let my
hands roam over his body slowly and stop at the waist of his jeans.
My fingers unbuckle them and once I have them unzipped, I slide my
hands underneath and around to his backside. I put my hands flat
against his firm body and pull him into me, moving my waist against
him as I hold him there.

“Ah fuck,” he cries, quickly moving his
hands to my skirt. “I can’t wait much longer.”

With his admission we take
full advantage of removing every last piece of clothing from the
other’s body. Once I’m completely naked, he picks me up to move me
back to the middle of the table and then he climbs up to join me,
crawling over me until his body is above mine.
We’re totally going to have sex on top of a pool
table.
This isn’t like me, but I love
it.

Ethan gently lowers himself between my legs.
The feel of his skin brushing against mine sets my body off. I want
him to touch me anywhere his hands will go. His lips trail kisses
across my cheek, down my neck, and between my breasts.

“God, you smell like cinnamon,” he says,
pulling my nipple into his mouth and sucking hard. My hips lift of
the table at the sensation his lips send through my body. I moan,
causing Ethan to grab my waist. He holds it firm against his.
Moving from one breast to the other, his hands glide to the back of
my thighs, to the inside of them, climbing higher until I almost
lose myself the moment his fingers touch my core. Slowing, he
slides one in, then another. He keeps kissing me and with each
stroke I’m more turned on. I don’t want to wait anymore. I want him
inside me.

I pull my body away quickly, taking him off
guard as I push him on his back. With one leg on each side of him,
I gaze down at his body.

“You are so fucking hot.”

“Kelsey, don’t swear or I’m going to lose my
shit.”

I smile and kiss him hard. His hands move to
my waist, positioning me right over him and slowly, I lower myself
on to him.

“Fuck,” he growls, grabbing my face and
refusing to let our lips part.

I grind my hips, his meeting mine thrust for
thrust. Each movement is perfect, rough, and when he stills my
body, I try my hardest to continue. I pull my lips from his to look
him in the eye.

“Don’t move,” he breathes. “Just stay right
there.”

I do as I’m told and in seconds, Ethan is
ramming his hips up harder and faster. My head falls back as I let
out sounds I didn’t know I could make.

Two more thrusts and we both fall into a
bliss I never knew existed. From this moment on, I have a feeling
Ethan is about to show me a lot of things I didn’t know.

Ethan

We’re still lying on the
pool table after our bodies relax. I have Kelsey firmly secured in
my arms. I hadn’t planned this.
Liar.
Alright, so it was a
possibility in the back of my mind, but I didn’t make her do
anything she didn’t want to do.

Bringing Abby here tonight was a mistake,
but I’m not upset with the way the evening turned out. Had I not
messed up and then turned so desperate I couldn’t wait to see
Kelsey again, I wouldn’t be here right now.

I pull Kelsey’s body closer to mine, her
back to my front, and I trail soft kisses across her shoulders. I
spot three freckles just under her left ear and I kiss each of
them. Ever since our first kiss, I knew there was something between
us that I would never find with someone else. We might have only
been teenagers, but when you know, you know. I ruined it then, but
I’m not going to ruin it now. I’m going to tell her everything. I
just need to find the right time to do it.

“We should probably get dressed,” Kelsey
suggests, but I don’t want to move.

“Let’s just lay here a while longer,” I tell
her and she laughs as I pinch her sides playfully.

“Ethan, anyone could walk by the windows and
see us if they look close enough. I don’t feel like giving a free
show.”

I hadn’t thought of that. I don’t want
anyone to see what’s mine. I quickly move off the table, pulling
Kelsey with me, and then I stand between her and the window as she
gets dressed.

“Hmmm, I’d say by the way you’re watching
me, I should probably keep my clothes off,” she teases as she pulls
on her shirt and stands in front of me fully clothed.

My body reacts to her words. She’s right.
I’m ready to do it all over again. She bends down to grab my boxers
and jeans then tosses them to me with a big smile on her face.

“If you help me finish closing this place
down, we could go back your place, maybe watch a movie,” she says,
already pushing chairs into the tables. I observe her perfect body
from the backside as she walks away.

I better not screw this up.

Kelsey

There’s no easy way to say
it. I, Kelsey Brian, am that girl, that girl who sleeps with her
boss.
Oh. My. God.
I can’t stop thinking about last night. I’ll never be able to
look at the pool table the same again, or the whole bar for that
matter.