Opposites Attract (8 page)

~

Alyssa
closed her eyes and just enjoyed the feel of Brad inside her. He
moved slowly, taking his cues from her. Unlike other men, like Jake
who thought they knew it all, Brad let her hands guide him and set
the pace she needed. She held him deep inside her as she felt the
beginnings of her second orgasm of the night start to build.

He
stayed right where she wanted him to be until she felt herself
explode. Her hips bucked against him in rhythm with the pulsing
within her. She finally released her double-handed hold on his
adorable ass, grasped her knees and drew them up as he sank in even
deeper. She threw her head back into the pillow with an “Oh,
God. Yes.”

Then
he took her hard and fast until his own release followed hers. He
finally let out a groan and collapsed beside her, careful not to
crush her under his weight. Still breathing hard, he said, “Lys?
I hate to bring it up, but I have to tell you. You’re
definitely not cold in bed.”

She
laughed. It seemed like an eternity had passed since she’d let
Jake’s ridiculous words get to her. In just an hour, Brad had
washed her soul clean of Jake and his ability to hurt her ever again.

Alyssa
rolled on her side and smiled at her adorable geek. “I’m
not sure you can determine that just from one time. We better do it
again.”

He
let out a short laugh of his own, grabbed her and rolled them both
over until he was above her again. “You might just kill me
tonight, but it’ll be a nice way to go.”

Chapter 7

On
Wednesday Brad looked up from his desk and across at Alyssa. It was
exactly one week since that fateful day when Maria’s laptop had
entered his life. Said laptop sat next to him in his cube, waiting to
be returned to its owner. He was feeling kind of sentimental about
it. Without it, he and Alyssa might never have found each other.

Alyssa
caught him looking at her. She winked and smiled as she talked to
Jane on the phone. He felt the familiar warmth spread through him as
he looked at her and smiled. What a difference a week made. Alyssa
had been in his bed every night and in his life every day for the
past week and he didn’t want it any other way. He loved her, he
knew that for certain. What he didn’t know was exactly how and
when to tell her.

He’d
been so deep in thought, her kiss on his cheek startled him. “Hey,
you don’t mind that I’m having lunch with Jane today, do
you? We made these plans weeks ago.”

“
Of
course not. Don’t be silly.” He grabbed her around the
waist. “Of course I’ll miss you to death, but you can
make it up to me tonight.”

“
I’m
sure I can come up with somehow to make amends.” She smiled.

He
laughed. “I bet you can. You better go. It’s almost
twelve.”

Glancing
at her watch, she nodded. “You’re right. I’ll see
you later.”

She
kissed him on the mouth this time, ensuring he wouldn’t be able
to concentrate on his work. Brad finally reluctantly released her and
she left for her lunch date with Jane. He’d barely gotten back
into his latest assignment when he heard his name being called from
across the office. Looking up, he saw a very tan Maria walking toward
him, smiling.

“
Bradley,
my savior. I’ve come to kidnap you and take you to lunch.”

“
Hey,
Maria. You don’t have to do that, really. I’ve got your
laptop though. I’m sure you’ll be happy to get that
back.”

“
Oh,
you got that right. It looks good as new.” She took it from
him. Raising it to her lips, she kissed it as he laughed. “But
seriously, I came home to find a contract and the promise of a nice
fat advance check in my mailbox and it’s all because of you. I
insist on taking you out, your writing partner too. Is she around?
I’d love to meet her.”

“
Alyssa’s out to lunch
with a friend, but I’m sure she’ll be sorry she missed
you.”

“
Then
it’s just you and me.” She grabbed his arm and looped
hers through it. “Where do you want to go?”

He
finally gave in. “There’s great sushi right across the
street.”

“
Sounds
good. Lead the way.”

Brad
stopped by the front desk to tell Lisa where he’d be in case
Alyssa got back early and wanted to join them. It still amazed him
that he was actually with Alyssa. In a strange wave of giddiness,
Brad couldn’t wait to tell Maria all about it at lunch. After
working on her book, it felt like he knew her even if he really
didn’t.

~

It
was great to be out with Jane, but Alyssa was anxious to get back to
work to see Brad. She’d never felt like this before about any
other guy, not even Jake. Particularly not Jake. How had she ever
even thought that she loved that guy? Being with Brad changed
everything for her.

Alyssa
was in such a good mood, she even slowed down long enough at the
front desk to say hello to Lisa the perky little receptionist.

“
Hi,
Alyssa. Brad is across the street with some woman at the sushi
restaurant.”

Alyssa’s
heart stopped. She felt her lunch start to creep back up her throat.
He said he didn’t have any plans for lunch. Actually, now that
she thought about it, he’d been a little too eager to get rid
of her before she left, hadn’t he? She felt the blood drain
from her face.

“
What
woman?” She tried to ask casually but her voice sounded shrill
in her own ears.

Lisa
shrugged and popped her chewing gum. “Don’t know. But he
definitely knew her, they were walking like arm in arm.”

“
Thanks.”
Her pulse thundered in her ears as she spun around. She headed right
back out the door and across the street, narrowly missing getting hit
by a car.

Alyssa
waved off the hostess at the front desk and glared into the dim
restaurant. There was Brad sitting with a woman and they were
laughing together. She spun on her heel. She couldn’t stay
here. She felt like she was going to pass out. Knocking over a
display of take out menus, she rushed to get out the door. On the
sidewalk, she stood with her hands braced on her knees, trying to
catch her breath and hold off the blackness that hovered on the edge
of her vision.

Suddenly,
Brad was there beside her. “Lys. Are you okay?”

Tears
clouding her eyes, she pounded his chest with her fists. “You
bastard! You’re just like him. Who is she?”

“
Whoa.
Wait. Lys, that’s Maria White. The lady with the laptop. She
came home from the cruise today and stopped by to pick it up. She
wanted you to come to lunch with us too, but you were out with Jane.”

Alyssa
looked up at him uncertainly. “Lisa said you two were walking
arm in arm.”

“
Yeah,
Maria grabbed my arm to literally drag me away from my desk when I
said she didn’t have to take me to lunch as a thank you. But
Alyssa, she’s a lesbian. Didn’t I tell you? That’s
why her sex scenes sucked. She was on an alternative lifestyle cruise
all week with her life partner. She was just telling me about it.
Jesus, Lys. Do you really think I would cheat on you?”

The
pain and disbelief was evident in Brad’s eyes. Alyssa felt
doubly bad. She shook her head as the tears streamed. “No. It’s
just seeing you there…it all came back, everything I felt when
Jake cheated on me.”

He
hugged her tight.

“
God,
you’re shaking. Oh, Lys. First of all, please never think that
I’m anything like Jake. And more importantly,” he raised
her face to look at him, “this is not how I wanted to tell you
this, but I love you.” He kissed her wet face all over. “I
love you.”

There
were tears in his eyes now too.

A
big sob escaped her. “I love you too. I’m so sorry.”

“
Shh.
Don’t mention it again.” He shook his head and wiped away
her tears. “Do you feel well enough to come in and meet Maria?”

She
nodded her head. “And maybe have a nice stiff sake. I think I
could use it. I feel so stupid.”

“
You
are not. Any guy who’s dumb enough to cheat on you is stupid.”
Brad cocked his head to one side. “I may be many things, but
I’m definitely not dumb.”

Brad
kissed her, hard and deep until she had to pull back before they
created a spectacle in the middle of the sidewalk.

“
Come
on. Maria’s waiting.” As Brad turned to lead them both
back into the restaurant with his arm around her, he stopped.

“
Lys.
Do you know that guy over there? He’s staring at us.”

Alyssa
craned her neck to see past him. “Oh, my god. It’s Jake.”

Brad’s
jaw dropped as he took in Jake. He was tall and skinny and with his
long blond ponytail, looked like he should be playing volleyball on
some beach. More importantly, he wasn’t riding a kick ass
vintage Harley, but a baby blue scooter.

“
That’s
Jake?”

Alyssa
glanced up at Brad. “Yeah.”

That
would teach him not to stereotype. “What’s with the
scooter? Doesn’t he own a car?”

“
He’s
saving for one but he hasn’t got a job right now.”

Brad
practically snorted at that revelation. “Sorry. Okay. Look, I
think you should go over there and talk to him. You need to let him
know it’s really over so he can get on with his life and we can
get on with ours.” He couldn’t believe this was the guy
that just a week ago he didn’t think he could compete with.

Just
then Alyssa’s phone rang. She looked at the readout. “It’s
him.”

Brad
glanced over. Sure enough, scooter dude had his cell out.

Alyssa
answered it and then handed the phone over to Brad. “He wants
to talk to you.”

Brad
frowned and took the phone. “Yeah?”

“
Hey,
man. Do you like, love her or something?”

“
Yeah,
I do.” Brad looked at Alyssa and smiled.

“
She
love you?”

“
Yes.”

“
Well,
I’m warning you, dude. She sucks in bed.”

Brad
laughed. “Thanks, but I haven’t found that to be the
case.”

“
Yeah,
whatever. And FYI, that big red bag of hers that she’s so proud
of? It’s a fake. Cost like fifty bucks online. Oh and tell her
I want my mp3 player back.”

With
a click and a purr of his scooter, Jake was gone. Brad closed
Alyssa’s phone and handed it back.

“
What
did he say?”

Brad
wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “He wants his mp3 player
back. Now come on, there’s a sake and a lesbian waiting for us
inside.”

And
an entire life ahead of them.

The
End

LIGHT MY FIRE

Chapter 1

Amy
Gerald took her favorite mug off the shelf, added two packets of
sugar substitute and exactly two spoons of non-dairy creamer, filled
it with half decaf and half regular coffee and stirred. She raised it
to her lips, about to take the first blissful sip of the morning,
when her assistant’s head shaking stopped her mid-way to her
eager lips. “What?”

Henri
shrugged and smoothed the perfect cuff of his impeccably clean and
pressed white linen shirt. “Nothing. It’s just no wonder
you have no man in your life. Look how picky and precise you are
about your coffee. No man could possibly live up to your impossibly
high standards.”

She
thought about the last jerk she’d dated. Unfortunately, her
so-called high standards hadn’t extended to him. Amy raised a
perfectly plucked brow. “And you should talk?”

“
I
have a man in
my
life,” Henri reminded.

“
I
know. Thank you for rubbing it in. And Kenneth is perfect, which is,
I’ve decided, exactly the problem. All the good men in this
town are gay.”

Henri
tilted his head, considered that thought, then nodded. “You’re
right.” He indicated himself with a dramatic sweep of one arm.
“Case in point.”

She
laughed. “At least I’ll always have you. Now come on,
Maria’s interview will be on television in a few minutes and I
don’t want to miss it.”