Nate (A Texas Jacks Novel) (16 page)

She pulls away slightly and looks up at me, and at the same time I dip my head down to take in her beautiful blue eyes. When I do, I see her face is filled with so much emotion, that I can’t take it anymore. I have to kiss this woman with every fiber of my being. I start to lower my lips to her pretty plump ones, but stop just a hairs breadth away from kissing her.

“Charlie, I’m going to kiss you now,” I whisper, giving her a chance to back out. After all, I did promise to go slow with her, and tonight I’ve done a few things that wouldn’t be considered slow. She blinks once, then twice, and finally, ever so slowly, closes her eyes and tilts her face towards mine. That’s all the permission I need as I crash my lips into hers.

The moment our lips collide, I feel that instant connection we have, but overwhelmingly so. Being lost in the pleasurable sensation of my mind and body, I was unaware of the moment that I started backing her up towards the truck. I push her up against the hood, lifting her up until her back is fully pressed on top, all while I continue to devour her luscious lips.

This kiss—there are no words for it. I now know what it’s like to get lost in the moment with her sweet mouth. It’s powerful, and possibly heartbreaking. I believe this woman could either mend my heart or break it, and I don’t know which one terrifies me more.

The moment my back dips onto the hood of his truck, my heartbeat kicks into overtime. I’ve been waiting for this moment to happen, and now it feels so surreal to have Nate kissing me. This is such a heady feeling, and it’s in this moment that I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that he possesses my heart.

I hold him firmly to me while he feasts upon my lips, like he can’t get enough. He pulls me tighter to his body, causing my legs to instinctively go around his waist, holding on for dear life while he kisses me senseless. There’s a strong connection between us, and I know he has to feel it, too.

He pulls back from our amazing kiss to gaze into my eyes. I can only stare back at him in a daze, while my lips feel tingly and thoroughly used. I run my hands through his hair, trying to sort out my thoughts. But only one keeps circling through my mind:
How far is Nathan willing to go to hold on to this connection we can’t run from?

I see a play of emotions dance all over his face as he waits for my reaction to the best kiss I’ve ever experienced in my adult life. There’s only one thing to say here.

“Wow.”

I slowly smile up at him as I bring one finger to my lips, feeling how plump and swollen they are. He just smiles back, like he’s on top of the world.

I
WAKE UP FROM A
foggy, dream-induced state to the annoying sound of my cell phone vibrating across the top of my dresser. When I got home last night, I turned it back on, since Nathan and I had turned both our phones off so no one could harass us during our date. I had planned to sleep in, so I set it to vibrate and promptly passed out with Nathan on my mind and a smile on my well-kissed lips.

Now, I’m awakened by the irritating clatter of my phone bouncing around and pulled away from my dream starring Nathan. I already know it’s going to be either Halley or Naomi on the other end.
Why did I turn my phone on before bed
? I guess it’s better to be the phone than pounding on my front door, or worse—both of them jumping on my bed to wake me up, since they both have a key. Sighing, I roll over and drag my body from the warmth of my bed to get it against my will. I know they’ll keep calling—or just show up—so I might as well get this over with.

“No. You can’t come over, and no, I’m not going to be a part of your torture session of questions.” Yep, that’s how I groggily answered the phone.

I hear chuckling on the other end of the line and pull the phone away from my ear to see that it’s Nate’s number.
Great
.
Just put me out of my misery now
, I practically groan as I crawl back to my bed and flop back down.

“Good morning to you, too, little one. Expecting an interrogation so soon, are you?”

“Do you
not
know my friends? I’m surprised they’re not here in my apartment, screaming the walls down already.” I say as I roll onto my side and snuggle back into the warmth of my covers.

“Oh, I’m sure they’ll be calling shortly. I just heard the guys talking to them on speaker phone. I’m pretty sure they’re going to come over and kidnap you for breakfast. They’re looking for the dish on last night, which was perfect, by the way. But don’t worry, I didn’t tell the guys much.”

I’m beaming a big, silly smile into the phone as I hear him say it was perfect.

“So, the reason I called was to tell you thank you, again, for being my date last night. The guys have been harassing me all morning, as I can’t get the smile off my face. And who could, after that kiss!”

Now I’m sure my face is beet red, but I don’t care because one, no one is here to see me, and two, I can’t stop thinking about that kiss, either.

“I have things to do today, but I couldn’t get on with my day until I heard your voice,” he continues.

“So basically, what you’re saying is, your day is now complete because of me? You’re welcome.” I laugh into the phone.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, smarty pants. Keep that up, and no more kisses for you.” He teasingly threatens.

“As if you could hold back on kissing. You’re just as addicted as I am—admit it.”

“Is that so?” I hear the smugness in his tone.
Shoot
. I shouldn’t have given him that in.

“Hey, just trying to feed your ego. Someone has to!” I grin to myself for that one.

“You’re playing with fire, woman.” He chuckles. “Are you free later tonight? I thought we could hang out at
Texas Jacks
and do some two-stepping. What do you say?”

“Sure, if you plan for me to trample on your toes—count me in! Do you want me to meet you there?”

“What? Why would I want to meet the prettiest girl in town at T.J.’s? No. I pick my girl up—she doesn’t meet me anywhere. Not if I can help it, at least. Just make sure you’re ready at eight, wearing a sexy jean skirt and your boots.”

“And will you be wearing your butt-hugging jeans?” I can’t help but giggle as I say that. It seems a little crazy to say it, but it feels good to try my hand again at flirting. “It would be a crime if you didn’t. I need something to keep me motivated for when I run into Halley and Naomi in a little while. You know, in case I feel like strangling them, instead I’ll picture your sinful-looking butt.”

“
Charlotte Davenport
!” He bursts out laughing. I hear the phone muffle a bit, then I hear him yelling to the guys, “You won’t believe the things Charlie’s saying to me right now. I think she needs to see the priest and do ten Hail Mary’s.”

“Oh shush! I can hear you, by the way, and I’m not even Catholic!” I roll my eyes, even though he can’t see it.

“I think an alien came and spirited Charlie away if she won’t see a priest,” he continues talking to the guys. “She’s talking about my sinful butt.”

“I think it’s time for me to go.”

“Charlie, you’ve definitely shocked me. Where’s my shy girl? I think your feisty side is coming out. Are you going to treat me to more of that later?”

“If you came to dinner at my parents’, then yes, I would. Though, it wouldn’t be flirty.”

“Fine, fine. I’ll stop. Promise.” I can tell that the tone he’s using is still playful, but a little different now.
What did I say?

“I’ll be ready at eight. Until then, try to keep your mind focused on your day before you wind up in a ditch.”

“Yes, ma’am. See you soon, short stuff.” He hangs up first.

I toss the phone on the bed and pull the covers up over my face. I really want a few more hours of shut-eye before I have to face the firing squad.

“Charlotte Davenport!” I hear a while later, but really—according to the clock—it’s only been like 45 minutes. Groaning, I roll over and look up to see my two best friends standing over me.

“Wake up, you hard-sleeping rock!” Halley pulls back the covers. “Time to get up. I can’t believe you’ve kept us waiting until now!”

“This is exciting, Charlie!” Naomi chimes in. “You’ve officially gone on your very first date, like ever!” She’s practically jumping up and down. She isn’t really, but she looks like she wants to.

“It was not my first date, come on—I’ve been on quite a few in the past.” I remind them both as I sit up, running my hand over my hair and tucking some stragglers behind my ear. “Remember there was Sheldon my junior year of high school, and Phil at the end of senior year. Then there were Khalid, Art, and Bill during our freshman year of college.” I rub the sleep out of my eyes.

“Okay, fine, but the high school boys don’t really count, and the college guys were only a few dates each. So, I’m not counting them because none of them were serious,” says Halley.

“How can you tell that this one’s different?” I ask, because really, I want to know.

“I see the way he looks at you, and vice versa. Let’s not forget that the guys told us earlier all about how he can’t stop smiling. It’s a whole new ballgame, sister!” she says.

I climb out of bed and stretch all of my limbs, yawning really big before making my way into the kitchen, knowing they’ll follow as I go. “I hope you ladies brought me some cocoa and donuts, or something else to eat. I’m starving!” I call over my shoulder.

“We figured as much. We really wanted to take you out to eat, but then we considered the time, and knew we wouldn’t make it out ‘til lunchtime. So, ta-dah! Here we are.” Naomi says, grinning from ear to ear at me. “Now, grab your drink and the breakfast sandwich we brought you and spill the beans, already! We’re dying over here for the hot goss!”

I give her a funny look. “Hot
goss
? Who even says that? Never mind, I don’t want to know. It was probably some ridiculous celeb. Moving on—”
Well, I guess it’s in for a penny, in for a pound
. Time to rip the old Band-Aid off by getting it over with straight out of the gate.

I look each one in the eye, seeing how anxious they are to hear what happened. “We kissed.” Okay, I might have told them flat out, but I know my cheeks are stained red at the moment.