“Stop slandering the competition, Dave,” Sebastian replies with a grin.
“Alright, alright. It’s a small order, so it’ll be done before your food. The address is …”
Dave rattles off the address—and it’s one I recognize.
A jolt of electricity rockets up my spine. I straighten like a rod in my seat.
“I’ll go!” I blurt out.
Eyes turn to me. Suspicion swims in Sebastian’s. “Why so eager?” he asks.
I hesitate. “Well … just realized I could use the exercise.”
The guys understandably aren’t buying it. Luckily, Dave saves me from more grilling by announcing, “It’s ready.”
“That quick?” Carter asks as I eagerly leap to my feet.
“Yep,” Dave answers. “Just a soup and a salad.”
I don’t waste a second snagging the bag and hurrying to the door. The last thing I hear is one of the guys asking, “What’s hisdeal?” as I close the old wooden door behind me and step from the warm and cozy pizza place into the freezing night.
Two nights ago, when Carmen and I went stargazing, we were enjoying a brief respite of milder weather. But since yesterday, the full force of Vermont winter has stormed back with a vengeance.
By the time I’m a block away from Pasqually’s, a hard, harsh rain is starting to fall. It only lasts a couple seconds, though, because it turns into something more than rain.
It starts to hail.
Slowly at first. Then faster. The clumps of ice grow at an alarming rate, and soon I’m running along the sidewalk with my head down and my shoulders hunched as I get pelted by hailstones.
The sound of hail smashing against the ground has grown to a steady roar by the time I arrive. I hurry past Cindy’s house to the back apartment where Carmen lives. I breathe a sigh of relief when I’m up the stairs and underneath the short awning in front of her second-story door. At least I don’t have hailstones smashing into me.
I knock on her door. The noise of the hail pummeling everything only grows. I think I hear a window shatter somewhere nearby.
The lock of the door clicks open, and anticipation wells in my throat. I jumped at the excuse to deliver this just to see Carmen, but now I’m second-guessing myself. What if she sees me and immediately thinks I’ve turned into a creepy stalker, even after I explain the situation?
But I don’t have much time to live in my head. The door quickly swings open.
My heart twists at the sight of her in an oversized sweater and shorts. I can’t stop my gaze from ticking down. Her shapely, tanned legs and the fluffy socks that go halfway up her shinsscramble my brain. The base of my cock aches with a sharp, hot throb.
I quickly pull my eyes back to find her brow pinched with surprise and bewilderment.
But unless I’m being too optimistic … it’s not pinched with displeasure.
“Jamie?” she asks.
With a nervous smile, I hold up the order bag. “Bon apetit.”
A guarded grin tilts on her mouth. She slants her head, looking dumbfounded. “You’re a delivery boy now?”
“It’s a long story.”
She looks over my shoulder. Her expression pulls with worry as the rumble of the hailstorm grows. Another sound like shattering glass pops over the din.
“Come on,” she says, stepping back to make room in the doorway. “You’d better tell it inside.”
15
CARMEN
