I gasped as he bent down in front of me and rubbed it between my legs, as he kissed the inside of my thighs and groaned.
He stood back up and looked into my eyes, sighing. “What type of sandwich do you want?”
“Turkey...”
“With cheese?”
I nodded.
“Don’t take too long getting dressed.” He kissed my forehead and left the room.
I collapsed onto the bed and shook my head in disbelief. I knew I’d be in serious trouble if I didn’t walk away from him right now. If I left this room and didn’t ask him to take me home right away, I wouldn’t be able to rein in my feelings for another minute.
He was getting to me and I couldn’t deny it anymore. I thought about him all the time. My heart did flips whenever I saw him at work, and I looked forward to hearing his sexy voice over the phone at night.
This is not how this was supposed to go...
I sat up and reached for the clothes he’d bought me. I slipped into them and smiled once I saw that they fit me perfectly. I kicked on the flip flops and headed back out into the kitchen, rehearsing a short speech in my head:
Jonathan...I need you to take me home. We can talk about why on the way, but I don’t think—
He looked up and smiled once I stepped into the room, making me lose my train of thought.
Screw it...I’ll just take the trouble...
He handed me a plate and walked me outside, to a small wooden swing that was standing on the porch. He waited for me to sit down first and placed his arm around my shoulder.
Our special silence slowly crept in on us and we ate our food without saying a word. We simply looked out at the ocean, at the calm waves that were frothing and foaming against the coast.
As soon as I set my empty plate on the ground, he pulled me into his lap and held me close.
I lay back in his arms and smiled as he kissed me—repeatedly.
Chapter 16
Claire
I tossed and turned in my bed, wishing I could somehow will myself to sleep, but it wasn’t working. All I could think about was him—him touching me, him kissing me, him getting to me.
After he dropped me off at home yesterday, I promised myself that I would spend my Sunday alone so I could further analyze the situation between him and me. I needed to write down my expectations, best and worst case scenarios, and weigh all the pros and cons of whatever the hell this was.
I even told Sandra and Helen to come over so we could discuss it over chilled wine and cheese—so they could distract me from calling or texting him.
All of a sudden, my “get ready to run” alarm started ringing. I knocked my phone off the nightstand to get it to shut up. There was no way I was running this morning.
My phone hit the floor with a thud, but the alarm kept blaring on and on.
“Ugh!” I rolled off the bed and onto the floor, feeling around for it in the dark.
Once I finally had it in my hand, I looked to hit “dismiss” but I saw that it was a phone call. It was Jonathan.
“Hello?” I answered.
“What are you doing?”
“At five in the morning?” I groaned. “Take an easy guess.”
“Are you on your way outside to let me take you away for the day?”
“What! No. I’m going back to bed. I went out with you yesterday. We don’t need to—”
“Can I please take you out for the day?”
“No. You should’ve mentioned this earlier. I have—”
“I’m not the ‘keep asking’ type, Claire. You have twenty minutes.” He hung up.
What?!
I lay on the floor, confused—processing what the hell was going on. I had plans for today—concrete, definite, no-Jonathan-allowed plans. I couldn’t let him keep doing these spontaneous things to me. This wasn’t how this was supposed to go. Then again, I wasn’t even sure what “this” was.
“Ten minutes.” Jonathan.
I sighed. I didn’t want to know what he would do if I didn’t meet him outside. I rushed to the bathroom and brushed my teeth.
I slipped into a pair of loose fitting khakis and a slimming red shirt, pulling a thin gray sweater over it. I went down to the kitchen and left a note on the fridge for Ashley and Caroline:
“I hope you both enjoy your off day today, but please make sure all the dishes are done by this evening. I left thirty dollars for lunch and dinner on my dresser. If your grandmother comes by for her mixer, it’s in my trunk. Love you! See you later, Mom.”
I grabbed a box of breakfast cookies and made my way outside, rolling my eyes once I saw Jonathan step out of the town car.
He held the backdoor open and smiled as I approached. “Good morning, Claire.”
I didn’t respond. I slipped inside the car and slid over to the other side.
“Are you ignoring me?” He cocked his head to the side.
I crossed my arms and leaned against the door. I was too tired to engage in a conversation with him. I couldn’t believe his nerve—to think he could demand to go out with me at any hour of the day, to show up where I was and simply assume that I was willing and ready to follow him wherever he wanted to go.