“Sure thing, Ma. I’ll ask her before I try to hold her hand. And if I take her to a dance, I’ll keep a good foot between us. Say, we can even sit together in church. That’ll be swell.”
His father chuckled, then covered with a cough when Laura glared at him. She turned to Jack and smacked his arm. “Don’t be a smartass.”
“Yeah, smartass,” Josh repeated from just inside the house, holding a cookie.
“Joshua Daniel Bloom, I’ll—”
The boy darted out of sight, laughing.
“Nice mouth, Ma. Dad, witness. When Dan comes home, make sure he knows Josh’s potty mouth came from Grandma, not me.” He raced away before his mother could yell athim. Instead he overheard her scolding his father to stop laughing.
The short drive back to Dan’s place and the subsequent walk to Ann’s gave him time to think. What the hell did he want with her? Inside her pants, obviously. That was number one. But then what?
He knew better than anyone that one couldn’t relive the past. The teenagers they’d once been in high school had long since matured. Well, mostly. He chuckled to himself remembering Josh and his Grand Canyon, then sobered up, trying to puzzle out his feelings for Ann.
He was a man with a man’s needs. Though he’d had his share of sex and relationships, being around his family had started him thinking about more than casual hookups or girlfriends who went nowhere. He wanted more than just companionship. He wanted…
Love—a dreaded emotion that constantly plagued him. Ann had been his first love. Not his last, but certainly his deepest. His other girlfriends through the years had never measured up to who he thought should be by his side. A gentle, easy-going redhead who thought he hung the stars and the moon.
He still didn’t understand why she’d cheated on him with Terry Chapman. Terry had hated him then and probably still did. A rival in sports and with the ladies, he’d always sniffed around Ann, but she’d nicely shut him down. Or so Jack had thought.
Annoyed and hurt all over again, he shoved the door closed on those memories. What was the point of digging them back out? Yeah, his other girlfriends complained he didn’t emote or communicate like he should, but Jesus, did he have to verbalize everything? Some things a guy just knew. Like when to bail on a woman. And some things he didn’t want to know. Like maybe he hadn’t been as good in bed as he should have been. Or that he hadn’t made her feel like he should have.
He’d lost his virginity to the one girl he’d never forgotten. Was it any wonder he wanted a piece of her now? Then, before he’d barely known what to do with his equipment, she’d rocked his world. And with that kiss in her tiny office no better than a closet, she’d done it again.
He wiped his sweaty palms on his jean-clad thighs.Nerves of steel, Jack.Don’t let her see she’s got leverage over you.His old problem with Ann would no longer be an issue. He knew how to please a woman, and from that kiss at school, she responded to him with the same intensity she had always had.
If only he could keep things physical. But already he was feeling hearts and flowers. He wanted to spend time with her. To walk her home after school and talk about her day, make her dinner, rub her feet, watch movies and television while cuddling on the sofa.
Man, his buddies would crucify him if they knew how much he liked the things women seemed to go for. To Jack, a solid relationship involved more than just fucking. Which explained why he was the one always breaking off his relationships while his girlfriends begged him to take them back. He might not always communicate the deep stuff that well, but he was hell on wheels in bed and did romance just right.
Like his last relationship. He’d wined and dined Beth, brought her flowers, went for midnight strolls under the moonlight. She’d loved it, loved him. But there had been no lasting spark. Once the sexual newness wore off, Beth had become a clingy woman needing constant attention. They had nothing else in common other than lukewarm sex.
Hell, she still called to see how he was doing—and they’d been finished for two months. Thinking about it, he put his cell on mute as he walked up Ann’s steps.
Nothing about Ann had ever been lukewarm. Hot as hell, passionate, angry or loving. But never boring. What would she be like now? Did she still love horror movies? Did she still have a sweet tooth? Did she still read a book’s ending before starting it?
He remembered everything about her. Especially the scent and feel of her. And since that kiss…
With a groan, he tried to get a handle on his stupid emotions and growing erection.Think about Josh. Think about Mom and Dad. There we go. Nothing stiff on me now.
He knocked and waited. She answered quickly, looking amazing in a pair of jeans, boots, and a fuzzy blue sweater that brought out the beauty in her eyes. Like his, they were blue, but much darker. They reminded him of sapphires, he’d once told her, and he still remembered her sweet blush.
“Hey, angel. Lookin’ good.” He smiled and drew her hand to his mouth.
Her lips parted, her cheeks flushed and her breathing grew more rapid. All the right signs. He turned her hand over and kissed the middle of her palm, gratified when she gave a soft sigh.
He winked at her. “Let’s go.”
“Where to?” She pulled on a vest and zipped up, then let him hold her hand as they left the house.
He thanked his lucky stars for getting an agreeable Ann tonight and enjoyed the brisk air outside as they headed back to his place. “We’re going to my house. I mean, Dan and Julie’s.” He waited to see what she made of that, had all his arguments ready to go.
“Okay.”
He blinked. “Okay?”
“Sure. I assume we’re going to eat there, right?”
