Read Write On Press Presents: The Ultimate Collection of Original Short Fiction, Volume II Page 31

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  “Tell me more about your bucket list,” Nick asked as they pulled back into the country club parking lot. The ride had been gloriously fast and the wind had whipped through them forcing Jessica to hold tightly to him. Hallelujah.

  Pulling to a stop he helped her off the bike. Her cheeks were flushed and her hair a mess. With the music from the band drifting out into the night air he felt like he had been transported into his own personal fantasy. His hands stayed just a little too long on her hips and he knew that his eyes were revealing too much. She looked at him from under her lashes and smiled shyly. Smiled. At him.

  “You promise not to laugh?”

  “Won’t laugh. Not unless it’s a list that involves mud wrestling and standing on chair while shooting shots of tequila, because I gotta tell you sweetheart, I can’t imagine you dirty or drunk.” Her sweet, clean smell was surrounding him and it was all he could do to release her and step back.

  “Oh, but drinking is on the list.” Her eyes held a wicked gleam. “Just one drink of whiskey or absinthe. I want to feel the burn.”

  The burn. She wanted to feel the burn. His head almost exploded. He laughed in disbelief.

  “No. No way.”

  “Yes way.” Her chin came up in a stubborn gesture. “I will do everything on my list.”

  “Tell me what else is on it.” He watched as she hesitated and he could almost see her editing it as her eyes flicked to his mouth. Interesting.

  “Well...I can check riding a motorcycle off. So, I still need to go cliff diving, go to a club, and get a tattoo.”

  “Short list.” They were walking back to the pool area. “Are you sure you haven’t left something off, like skinny dipping?” He was teasing her, but suddenly the image of her naked and dripping with water made his heart almost stop. He quickly added, “Or dancing on that table with tequila before you get a tattoo?” She laughed as he hoped she would.

  Again she looked at him from under her lashes, and again he was treated to a shy smile. She was such a mix of innocence and sensuality it made it difficult for him to keep his desire tethered. He wanted to run his hands over every inch of her, starting with her dark silky hair. He could almost feel its texture in his hands. Instead he took a step back and waited. He wasn’t disappointed.

  “Yeah...I left something off...dancing...with a boy.” She was looking at the floor and he watched as a blush crept up her cheeks.

  “You’ve never danced with a boy?” His voice was incredulous. “Oh come on! You’ve had to have had them crawling over you.”

  “No...no...not at all.” Her words came in a rush. “See, I wasn’t allowed to date until I was sixteen, and that was a year and half ago. Then I’ve been so busy with my classes. My parents wanted me really focused on my studies. I...applied to Harvard...and ...”

  She looked down, now blushing furiously. He could see her taking a deep breath before she continued. “I did date, but the only dance I went to, my prom, I was...eh...voted prom queen and danced the slow dance with the prom king, who wasn’t my date...so that doesn’t technically count...and I mean a slow dance, because fast dancing could be with anyone, right?” She said the words in a rush and finally raised her eyes from her thorough study of the pavement they were standing on.

  She looked into his eyes and he could tell she was miserably embarrassed. “I’m not trying to get you to dance with me, you know. I’m just explaining.” But she was; he was almost certain. A slow dance. Jessica Roberts and him.

  Maybe he was going to get that brief moment in time he had asked for.

  A moment when where they came from and who they were was meaningless. Because the look in her eyes had nothing to do with seeing a boy from the wrong side of the tracks and everything to do with wanting him to pull her into his arms. Her eyes were signaling something beneath the embarrassment, and it was hope and heat.

  He knew in his head it was all about the bucket list, but he put that out of his mind as he stepped forward and grabbed the moment, the one he had never even had the courage to dream of. As she slid into his arms the sweet notes of the song Unchained Melody drifted out to them.

  Oh my love, my darling...I’ve hungered for your touch ...; Nick tried desperately to ignore the words surrounding them and the way she fit so perfectly in his arms. The top of her head tucked neatly under his chin as they moved in a slow, graceful swirl around the pool patio of the Brighton country club. He wanted the dance to last forever.

  As the last notes faded, she looked up into his eyes. “I lied.” He knew he wasn’t imagining the heat in her eyes or the way she clung to him.

  “Lied?” He forced himself to pay attention to her words.

  “Yeah. There was one more thing on my bucket list that I didn’t mention.” She had that stubborn tilt to her chin that he already recognized as her way of plowing through her fear. Fear?

  He waited for her to go on. But instead of talking she stood on her toes and kissed him. It was sweet and soft and just the feel of her lips on his seemed to pull the best in him out, because he found himself stepping away from her before the kiss deepened. No way. He could not kiss her the way he wanted to kiss her. Christ, she was so innocent.

  “Oh...I’m sorry...it’s just that I’ve never kissed a boy...“ Her words trailed off self consciously.

  “Yeah, that’s kinda obvious.” His words came out in a strangled sound. He knew the minute they hung between them that they had hurt her feelings. Her face turned bright red as she turned to go, struggling with her manners.

  “I’m so sorry, it was stupid. We barely know each other...and thank you so much for the ride—”

  Suddenly something snapped in him. He reached for her, pulling her solidly into his arms again. The thought of her walking away was unbearable. He knew they couldn’t be together. There were a million reasons why they couldn’t be together, least of all that he had a date with Navy boot camp in exactly two weeks. But all of that flew out of his mind as he watched her turning to go.

  “What I meant was—” His mind went blank as he got lost in the green of her eyes. They just stared at each other for a long moment. Then he pulled her closer, feeling her soft curves and lean muscles press against him. He stifled a groan, took a deep breath and tried again.

  “What I meant was it was obvious you don’t know that when you kiss someone and you look like you do, they’ll never be happy with just one kiss.”

  She looked confused for a minute and then that damn smile lit her face again and he was lost.