“You too,” Charlie said halfheartedly after her.
It was obvious that in Kristen’s world, I was going home with Charlie. I felt a faint sense of pride thinking that was what Charlie wanted her to think.
I turned to face him directly. “What happens Monday morning?”
He studied my face and pushed a strand of hair behind my ear. The familiarity of it made me shiver, and I could tell he noticed.
“I guess I’ll treat you to Joe’s. It’s probably my turn.”
I never imagined Charlie being close enough to feel his breath on my face. I didn’t want to move away.
“But don’t you think . . .”
I didn’t know how to finish the sentence.
“Want to get some fresh air? I keep thinking someone’s going to put on NSYNC or some other garbage song that’s going to turn you into a pumpkin.”
Charlie signaled to Perry that we were leaving. She came over and hugged me tightly.
“I hope we see much more of you,” she said affectionately.
I fiddled with the buttons on my coat as we waited for the elevator to reach the twelfth floor.
For what felt like the tenth time that night, I was acutely aware of my body. My heart was racing. I could hear both of us breathing. I felt shy and confident and hot and cold.
The doors opened, and we moved wordlessly into the elevator, each of us standing with our back pressed against the wall behind us. I was afraid of what would happen if any inch of me shifted forward. I could feel him looking at me as the elevator started to descend.
“Sam . . .”
Whatever anchor was holding me dissolved, and I suddenly felt his hands on my face, my hair, my shoulders. I bit my lip and searched his eyes for a signal. I felt his hands move to my lower back and press me against him. His mouth grazed mine, and I pulled him toward me, feeling the weight of his body against me. I closed my eyes andlet myself kiss him, softly at first and then with an intensity I didn’t recognize.
The elevator opened. Neither of us moved.
“You’re shaking,” he whispered.
“I don’t want to stop kissing you.”
“Then don’t.”
He hit a random floor and cupped my face in his hands as he kissed me even more deeply than the first time. I could feel my heart pounding against his chest as the doors closed and he pressed me gently against the elevator wall.
“I want you,” he whispered, taking his lips off mine and brushing them softly against my neck.
My whole body was on fire.
He hit the stop button and stood back to look at me.
“I want you too,” I said huskily, not recognizing the sound of my voice.
He bent down and kissed me again gently, then hungrily as his hands firmly traced my shoulders, my arms, my back, my hips. I watched him kneel down, his hands running over the sides of my legs down to my ankles, gently taking the hem of my dress and slowly pushing it up past my knees. He kissed the outside of each knee, and I shivered.
He looked up at me as he carefully pushed the dress farther up toward my thighs, then my hips. I met his gaze as he deftly held the dress up over my thighs with one hand and moved my thong to the side with the other. I opened my legs slightly and watched him softly taste me. I gasped as I closed my eyes and tilted my head back against the wall. All thoughts stopped, and my body took over. I came so intensely I almost couldn’t hold myself up.
“Take me home,” I whispered.
He took me in his arms and held me against him.
“I really, really want to.”
