What starts out as a celebratory kiss is soon less about celebration and more in line with copulation. And it's all on me.
What I'm thinking when I run my tongue across his lips, I don't know. I can try fooling myself that it was automatic, but even I'm not that gullible.
As his tongue tangles with mine, I melt against him, rational thoughts as lost as I am to the moment. Instead, my world centers on where our lips and bodies touch.
I'm fully into it when what had been a niggling thought forms. There's no way a guy kisses like this without a heap of practice.
I'm doubtless one of dozens of women who've tasted this man's sweet lips. I break our kiss and stagger back, all the while wiping my lips. Not in disgust, but hoping to dull the tingling that shows every sign of taking over my body.
"Let's forget that just happened. It's been a long week. I'm um, yeah, I'll just…"
Despite my not managing a complete sentence, Zac gets the message. His gaze sharpens, his lips tighten, and the humor that lights him up from inside is snuffed out.
Without saying goodbye, he hightails it out to his truck and is soon roaring off down the road. The garage falls silent but for the hum of the fans.
That is until I hear an all too familiar, "Yoo-hoo." Despite my desire to close the garage door and hide from the world, I can't. It's not Mary's fault I feel awful. And anyway, a blow-by-blow account of Barry's kidney stones will take my mind off what a fool I've just made of myself.
Whether it will rid me of the ugly little voice telling me I've led Zac on, that I'm not so sure about. And anyway, him not being interested in anything long term, he'll get over it, perhaps quicker than I will?
ZAC
On pulling into the driveway at my place, I'm no clearer about what just happened with Kelly. She'd been into it. There was no doubting that.
Hell, she started our kiss, and there was nothing casual about the way she ran her tongue across the crease of my lips. If it was the other way around, I could understand her changing her mind.
However, I've never forced myself on a woman and don't intend to. Most of the time, the problem was fending them off.
So why then do I desire the one woman who doesn't want me in return? Beyond my help on the float, that is. There's a moment's remorse when I remember the reason that she's stuck working on it is because of my interference.
Will I even be welcome back on site, let alone allowed in the garage?
I guess I'll find out in the morning. It being Saturday, my only reason to be there will be to work on the float, with Kelly quite within her rights, to tell me to get lost.
I'm staring at the microwave while I nuke something to eat, when I decide I can't wait. I can't leave things as they are. Kelly doesn't deserve me storming off into the night.
I'm also intrigued by what a proper relationship with Kelly would be like. My last long-term relationship was …
The microwave dings and I give up trying to work out when it was. It was a long time ago. Perhaps too long.
And, if I'm honest with myself, sleep won't come easy if I'm thinking about what went wrong. Soon enough, I'm back at Kelly's after gobbling a lasagna that had been hotter than the sun.
Seeing the garage door shut comes as no surprise. However, there are no lights showing, other than the one on the front porch. That's not right. I've never seen the home as dark as it is now.
Not content with driving away, I park my truck, worry gnawing at the pasta meal now sitting in my gut like a brick. I'd rather risk Kelly yelling at me to get lost than not take the time to check she's all right.
She's not out for the evening, because her car sits in the driveway. There's nothing tentative about my knock on her front door, with it loud enough to wake the dead.
I've been hammering for five minutes before I accept the door won't be opened. Short of breaking in, or calling the cops, there's nothing else I can do. I don't even have her phone number, with her saying it wasn't necessary. And I sure can't ask Ethan for it.
The less he knows about how much time I'm spending with Kelly after hours, the more likely I am to keep my job. While easy-going, he didn't want us fooling around with clients.
I'd argue that all I'm doing is helping Kelly with the float, but I'm not that convincing a liar. If he pressed me on it, I'd have to tell him the truth, and that's something I'm not ready to face myself.
Worrying about a woman is an alien emotion, and not because I don't care for the women I date. It's more that I never date them long enough to form a genuine bond.
The realization that I've done so with Kelly hits me like a ton of bricks, similar to that in my gut. I might even care for her enough to risk my job.
I'm back at my truck, ready to ring Tyler for Kelly's number, when I look up at the house next door. Unlike Kelly's place, every light on offer appears to be working over at Mary's.
