“I had one already.” I jutted my head toward the table I had vacated, indicating that I left my drink over there. I didn’t bother telling her that I barely got more than two sips of it before she hit the stage. And that once she had, I forgot all about the beer.
“Thank you for this.” She held up her glass.
“Welcome.” I paused, and then something I’d been wondering since the first song she sang came to mind. “How come you don’t date but always sing love songs?”
She stopped and cocked her head to the side in a way that let me know my question had flared something in her.
“First of all, how do you know I don’t date? And second, I don’talwayssing love songs.” She finished the rest of her margarita. Plucking the empty glass from her hands, I placed it on the bar.
“Because when I questioned whether you had a husband or children at home you looked like you were about to have a conniption at the idea.”
“That doesn’t mean I don’t date. And how do you know my face wasn’t just a result of you asking such a private question in the middle of a surgery?”
“It was the end of a surgery, and I was drawing a reasonable conclusion based on the facts that I had in front of me. Simple analysis.”
“Like the scientist you are.”
“Yes.”
“What if your conclusion is wrong?”
“It’s not.”
“How do you know?”
I stepped closer to her, crowding her space, leaving her nowhere to move since there was a couple standing directly behind her.
“Because the way he was looking at you on stage …” I stopped and jutted my head toward the saxophone player who was still onstage setting up for his next set. Pushing her hair behind her ear, I lowered my lips. “I can tell he wants you, and my guess is that he’s even tried but you’ve turned him down.” My voice was low as I said the words directly into her ear.
“You’re right,” came her whispered reply.
I looked down, my eyes landing on those full lips of hers. I had every mind to run my tongue along the seam of them, prying them open and capturing her every moan until she begged me for more.
“Dance with me.” Pulling back, I waited for her response.
When she nodded, I took her by the hand again and led her to the center of the dance floor, before bringing her into the circle of my arms. I didn’t even recognize the notes of the song that began playing, but I appreciated that it was a slow song because there was no way I was about to let her go from my embrace.
“Sam Smith.” She sounded pleased.
“You know this one?” I questioned, looking down on her.
My jaw tightened at the smile that appeared as she nodded. “‘Say it First’ is the name of the song.”
I could’ve asked her to sing but I chose not to. I wanted to just be with her in this moment, for whatever reason. Maybe I could steal memories of tonight, with her in my arms, for the long nights alone. Possibly.
Grace must’ve felt the same way because soon enough she melted against my body, into my arms. Her free arm stretched up and over my shoulder to wrap around my upper back. She laid her head to rest against my shoulder and began stroking my back with her hand. I stiffened, waiting for the usual discomfort I felt whenever women got too close to well up in me. Typically, I could hold a position like this for maybe a minute or two before it got too uncomfortable and I needed out. But the feeling never arose. It was the oddest and best feeling I’d ever felt.
I let my arms tighten around her body, pulling her into me even more as I intently sought to listen to the lyrics of the song. The singer was revealing to his lover his vulnerabilities and asking that she tell him first. Theitwas obvious. He was asking that she love him and tell him so. I wasn’t one for music, let alone love songs, but listening to the words of this song hit me deeper than any song had in a very long time, if ever.
I moved back from Grace; the hand that had been resting at her hip rose, cupping her neck and cheek, angling her head upwards. And without hesitation, I lowered my lips to hers. The need to know what her lips felt like had finally won out.
The tiny gasp of surprise she let out pushed me further, filling me with need. She soon relented and gave into the kiss, opening her mouth, granting me entrance to just one of the many places on her body that I sought to explore.
My entire body lit up, and felt like I was spinning around at a dizzying pace. But instead of wanting the spinning to stop, I began to ache for more. I attempted to deepen the kiss but it was at that moment that Grace pulled away from me. A bewildered look in those brown eyes stared back at me. Her eyes searched mine for something as she heaved, trying to regain control of her breathing.
Just when I thought she was going to completely move away from me, she lunged back into the kiss full force, this time pulling my face to meet hers. My hands went to both sides of her face, cupping it to regain control of the kiss. When she surrendered to me, to my controlling the tempo of the kiss, that ache began to well up in me again. My tongue flicked against the corner of her mouth and she let out a dangerous moan. So much so, that I knew it was time to end the kiss, although my cock squarely disagreed.
When I pulled back, with her face still in my hands, we both were breathing heavily, staring at one another. I don’t believe either one of us expected the kiss to be that damn intense or that damn fulfilling.
