I walked to his front door and opened it, painfully aware he was behind me every step of the way. What a waste of time this was. What possessed me to bring him food? He must have thought I was the saddest woman he’d ever met. Not only couldn’t I make a simple casserole, but there was also the issue of the pity kiss. How pathetic. I stepped out onto his porch, ready to dart for my car and hightail it out of there, but stopped. Now was not to the time to confront him about the kiss. But I needed to. Or somehow I needed to redeem myself. But how?
Spinning around, I gazed at his dark stare and bit my lip.
“You okay?” he asked.
I shook my head, hardly able to believe what I was about to do, before I slammed my body to his, crushing our mouths together. As I crashed into him, he stumbled a bit and we would have fallen had he not managed to get his footing. Of course while he was trying to keep us from tumbling to the floor, I was trying to kiss him and he couldn’t quite participate initially. When he managed to get his footing, he was still for a moment, stunned, but I was undeterred despite my less than smooth initiation of the kiss. I pressed my mouth harder to his and once I threaded my fingers in his hair, he came to life. His lips moved against mine as his hands fisted the material of my shirt. When his tongue swept in my mouth, I lightly nipped it, earning a small hiss from him, before he squeezed me tighter. What started off clumsy was turning into a rather intense moment.
When I managed to pull away, he released me slowly, his hands sliding down my body before he dropped them to his sides. His eyes darted between my mouth and eyes as he sucked in a long breath. When Paul kissed me the first time, he was so smooth; flawless. My kiss, well, it was awkward. But judging by the look of shock in his gaze and the way his mouth quirked slightly, he seemed just as flabbergasted as I had been after he kissed me.
Clearing my throat, I gave a small smile. Then I turned and walked to my car, climbed in, and drove away. It was nice to be the one to leave him speechless.
“I think that’s where we should stop today,” I tell Ashley. “I want to get home and check on Neena.”
“Okay,” she acknowledges and waves a hand for Zane to remove my mic. “I really think Neena is going to like this.”
“I hope you will . . . make it tasteful, Ashley. She is twelve.”
Ashley smiles. “You mean leave out all the dirty kissing and sex parts.”
I cringe. Maybe I’ve volunteered a little too much detail. “We haven’t gotten to any sex parts yet,” I point out.
“No, but I am on pins and needles waiting for it. But don’t worry, I promise to make this G-rated for Neena.”
“Okay. Next week it is then, yes?”
“See you then.”
We’re sitting in the living room, waiting for Clara to get home. I had to cancel my time with Ashley this afternoon to pull off this surprise, but it will be well worth it. Clara is going to be stoked.
Vanessa is sitting on the end of Neena’s bed, a cup of coffee in hand, working off her hangover. Apparently it took two Xanax and a few shots of whiskey to get her on the plane. Ally was practically carrying her piggyback style when I’d picked them up from the airport.
“You okay?” I question.
She sips her coffee and mumbles, “I’ll make it.”
Ally sits beside Vanessa with Neena behind her, braiding her hair. The two women have doted on Neena since they walked in the door, remaining close to her most of the time. It’s like the mother in each of them came out as soon as they walked in the door and they needed to be close to her.
“She just pulled in,” Marcus informs us from where he’s peeking out the front window.
“She’s going to be so happy,” Neena gushes as she claps her hands in excitement. It’s been so long since I’ve seen her smile like this. My heart swells at the sight. She quickly pulls out her camera and climbs out of bed, readying it to capture Clara’s reaction. This kid. She slays me. She is so happy right now and it has nothing to do with her; it’s all about her mother. Knowing her mother will be elated to see her longtime friends gives her great joy. Immense pride washes over me. I’m honored to be her father.
Vanessa and Ally go and hide in the kitchen just before Clara opens the door to enter. She first notices Neena with her camera and chuckles just before she crosses her eyes and sticks her tongue out.
“The camera loves it, Mom,” Neena jokes.
“They say I was made for it,” Clara jests back. She tilts her head and assesses Neena. “You look like you’re feeling well tonight.”
“I am,” Neena beams.
Clara looks to me and smiles. It’s not just a greeting, it feels like there’s meaning behind it. I tilt my head and give her a questioning look. But she shakes her head as if to say, later.
Neena is still filming her, and Marcus and I are watching her every move. Clara freezes, her eyes narrowing in suspicion. “What’s going on, guys?”
“Nothing,” I chirp. That’s right. I’m chirping. No shame in my game. “We just missed you is all.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah, we did,” Neena agrees.
Walking to her, I lean in and kiss her softly. And she lets me. I move closer to the shell of her ear. “We’re not the only ones that have missed you.”
“No?” she questions, her smile flirty, her eyes darting from Neena back to me as she blushes. Does she think I’m being dirty right now; talking about my dick? Shit, now I am thinking dirty. Damn it.