It All Started With A Payback

Twelve: Fanning the Flame

Tori stole another glance at the man who was making her fidget like a child, waiting in line to ride a roller coaster for the first time. Anxiety and excitement made her feel the knot starting to form at the pit of her stomach.

At the moment, he was preoccupied with scanning the restobar to see if there was anything amiss after the transition was made. He looked like he was mentally counting the staff present as well, his eyes kept on darting from one server to another until it rested on the man tending the bar.

His long fingers absently traced the moisture on the glass of water. Oh, for crying out loud Victoria! Get a hold of yourself! She scolded herself.

Her mind was vividly conjuring images of those same fingers running through her hair, trailing her arm, her neck and the valley between her breasts until they find the perfect place to settle down..her breasts, which unsurprisingly were starting to swell achingly.

It was unfair that he now sat there seemingly completely unaffected. He, after all stimulated every organ and gland of her body that are capable of releasing estrogen into producing bucketsful of the hormone, thereby putting her in this state of mind.

Earlier while she curiously looked on, as the staff of Unwind transformed the coffee lounge into a restobar for car enthusiasts, he watched her in a manner that felt like he wanted to have her for dessert.

She was so self-conscious while they ate. She ate, he stared.....at her lips as though he was mentally kissing her....very...very thoroughly.

And the moment she lifted her eyes to his, she could feel the palpable heat emanating from them. If it were scientifically possible, those eyes may even have burned her clothes down to ashes.

Why wouldn't he look at her that way? She might as well have placed an enormous billboard on her forehead that read: I'm yours for the taking.

Back in the airport she just kissed him back as if their lives depended on it. Of course he would assume that she was ready to remove yet another restriction she herself imposed on whatever it is that they have was called.

Was she ready to do that? Can she trust herself not to yield into the temptation of sharing more than just a series of passionate kisses with him?

She berated herself for having so little control of herself. If she hadn't been away for a week and they kept on seeing each other everyday, she would have undoubtedly succumed to his charms way sooner. It really didn't help that he was so sweet and thoughtful all the time. The only mistake he had done so far was to let himself be seen and be kissed by his ex. He even immediately atoned for it by making known in front of the other woman who she was to him.

He hadn't tried to make a move on her since she told him what she wanted. The only thing he attempted to do was hold her hand and she let him. He looked at her with so much admiration and pride in his eyes when she shared the story of how she managed to convince her father to pursue what she wanted. It would seem that something was lacking if he hadn't held her hand then.

If it was his strategy to make her crave for his touch and kisses by not even attempting to break her rule again, then it was effective. Because the moment he did kiss her, ninety nine per cent of her thoughts about self-preservation took off with the aircraft that just lifted off from the runway.

She took a long swallow of water when he caught her staring, but judging by the way how dry her throat felt, she won't be surprised if she had been drooling.

Where the hell are you, Jon? Louie asked himself irritably. They already finished the buffalo wings, nacho salad and barbecue ribs and there was still no sign of his friend. Fridays were always busy and one of them had to be there. He couldn't just take off, especially now that most of the tables are getting occupied. He was dying to take Tori home rather he was hoping Tori would take him home.