His tongue darted out to moisten his lips and she mirrored him. They didn’t speak, there was no need for words. Everything that needed to be said was conveyed through their eyes. In his, she saw the confusion and hunger, the fear and hope. It hurt to see him that way.
Then the song ended and with it the magic. Jason stiffened, stepping back when she lifted her hands, and gave her an awkward smile. “Shit, I can’t do this. My God…you…I could have…I mean, I want to…” He sighed. “I gotta go. Good night, Monica. You’ll be okay here, won’t you?”
“Sure. I’ll be fine. Bye.” She watched him as he pushed his way through the crowd then decided to call it a night as well. Being a very sexy, very available Monica—despite all the gawking stares—just wasn’t what she’d expected it to be. That didn’t surprise her.
What did surprise her was finding Jason standing next to her car, his back turned, his head lowered as he scribbled a message on a piece of paper and slipped it under her windshield wiper. As he turned around to walk to his car, he saw her watching. “I…uh…” He ran his fingers through his hair as he visibly grappled for words. “God help me, but I want to talk about this.”
“About what?” Jane asked, wanting to be crystal clear about his intentions before jumping up and down with glee and making a total ass of herself. She hurried to get closer, hoping he’d forget all about talking and just get to the good part. She could only imagine what a make-up kiss would be like from a guy like Jason, especially after that incredible dance. “Us.”
She did a little celebratory skip across a couple of empty parking spots. “You do?” “Don’t look so happy.”
“Sorry. I’m finding it tough to contain myself these days.” She performed a little happy dance—including a shake of the tush—for his benefit then flung her arms on his shoulders and pressed her body to his. His erection was a stiff bulge that pressed against her stomach. “Looks like you’re having a hard time too,” she teased as she slid a hand down between their bodies toward his crotch.
“Cute.” He grabbed her wrist to stop her and gently pushed her away. “Uh-uh! Not yet. We need to take this slow. I feel like I don’t know you anymore. I need to know if this is really you or if it’s all some kind of act.”
“Oh no. This is no act. It’s me.” When he didn’t look completely sold, she added, ”You don’t believe me? Then let me prove it to you. Give me a chance to show you who I am. Let’s start over from the very beginning.” She held her hand out. “Hi, I’m Jen—er, Monica. Monica Starke.” “Jen?”
“I…uh…that was my nickname in grade school. You see, there were two Monicas in my third grade class, so everyone started calling me by my middle name,” she said, not sure what Monica’s middle name actually was, and hoping he’d never read her driver’s license. “Really? You never told me that.” Looks like he’s buying it! Mental note to self, check driver’s license as soon as possible. “How could I? We just met.” He took her hand in his and gave it a shake, staring into her eyes as if he could see clear down to her soul. “Hello, Monica. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Now that we’ve gotten the formalities over, how about we sleep together?” she suggested, half-teasing, half-serious. “Wow, mighty forward, aren’t you?”
Feeling a little naughty, she grinned. “What can I say? That’s me. I know what I want and I go for it. So what’s the answer?”
He stepped back and crossed his arms over his wide chest, clearly distancing himself. “Didn’t anyone ever tell you that the man likes to be in control?”
“Sure. And in bed that’s exactly the way I like them. Completely in control, if you know what I mean.” She winked. This teasing, flirting stuff was a whole lot of fun!
Jason’s jaw dropped to his chest and then he laughed. “I can’t believe you just said that.” “Do you expect me to apologize?”
“No. But that doesn’t mean we’re sleeping together either. I don’t have sex on the first date.” “Was this a date?”
“See? We haven’t even gone on a date yet. What kind of guy do you think I am?”
“A really nice guy,” she answered honestly. “So when are we going to have our first date?” “How about Friday? Seven o’clock?”
“Hmmm…I’ll have to check my calendar.” She smiled. “That sounds great! See you then.” She plucked the note from her windshield and fisted it before getting into her car. Jason, being the gentleman he was, opened her door for her and gave her a flirty smile as she slipped into the seat.
She read the scribbled message—Call me. We need to talk.—then slipped it into her wallet, taking a quick peek at Monica’s driver’s license while she had it handy. Monica’s middle name was Irene. Oh well. Hopefully Jason would forget her little fib. Closing her wallet and dropping it back in her purse, she started the car, opened the window and said “goodnight, sweet dreams”, in the huskiest voice she could manage.
His laughter echoed in her head all the way home. And her dreams were sweet that night as well. Very sweet.
