"So I was hanging off of the balcony, and Brian was turning green and hanging onto my shirt like I was going to go airborne at any moment."
Shay tilted her head back and laughed. I smiled and leaned in close for the punchline. "The best part was that there was this little lip, kinda like an awning, right below the railing. If I would have tipped over I would have gone a whole foot and a half."
She brought her free hand up to her mouth, smothering a giggle. The wine glass in her other hand wobbled slightly. I took it and set it down on the table.
It was almost ten o'clock. Jake had fallen asleep an hour earlier. We had killed the whole bottle of wine. Shay's cheeks were scarlet; she was a lightweight when it came to wine.
Of course, I was feeling pretty good myself. I stretched out, my arm draping casually over the back of the couch.
"Jake was so happy you stayed for dinner," Shay said softly.
"There's not much I wouldn't do for him," I admitted.
Shay stared at me. She seemed to be considering the weight of that statement. Finally, she nodded.
"I know that now. You're a good dad."
I smiled. "You doubted?"
"I've doubted a lot," she replied cryptically.
"Why?"
The wine had loosened her tongue. She settled back, her head falling against my arm. "Where do you want me to begin? My mother who never thought I was good enough? My sister who can't do anything more than lecture me or tell me how much more accomplished she is? Having a great job, but not loving it? My weight? My crappy love life?"
"Any positives?"
Shay smiled. "Jake. He makes everything else insignificant."
I wrapped a soft curl around my finger. I let it go and watched it bounce back into place.
"I'm sorry I added to all the bad," I whispered. "But I'm also glad that I contributed to the positive."
Shay's eyes grew moist. "We both had a lot of issues. I've blamed everything on you, but I had my own demons. I could've said no that day, Nick, but I didn't."
Things were getting heavy. I didn't do heavy well. I gave her a teasing grin. "It's cause you wanted my sexy, fluffy bod."
She laughed. "You still haven't lost the ass, Carter."
"I'm surprised you noticed."
She tilted her head. "I am female, you know."
I licked my lips. Was it the wine? Was it the tiny little Yankee Candle that smelled like lilacs that she had lit? I wrapped my fingers around her wrist.
"I know."
I should have punched him like I did earlier. His fingers were wrapped around my wrist and his thumb was stroking my pulse point.
Did you know that's one of the sexual pressure points? I'm pretty sure Nick did.
I shouldn't have lit that candle. Why did I like candles so much? They meant trouble.
Why had I mentioned Nick's ass? Yes, it was unavoidable, but did I have to admit it?
And why did I have to throw out that 'female' line? As if Nick hadn't said 'bounce, bounce, bounce' earlier...
I glanced over at my wine glass. My wrist was tingling. I scooped it up and drained the last remaining drops. We had started to evening with the theory that wine was heart healthy.
But a whole bottle?
"Nick..." I said slowly. This was wrong. On so many levels. I had just wanted him to stay for a pork chop. And now, and now I was getting lost in those eyes. His eyes needed one of those peelable warning labels that stated: WARNING: if you stare too long you will lean forward to get a better look.
And just like when you give a mouse a cookie, if you lean forward for a better look, you're probably going to want a kiss to go with it...
I knew the wine had relaxed me a little too much. I also knew Nick wasn't drunk. Red wine didn't have that effect on guys. Especially guys that had spent years inhaling drunks and drinks like Pez candies. That was why I expected him to be the rational one.
The thing is that Nick and rationality do not go together. His lips brushed mine slowly like a hand running lightly over a blanket. When I didn't pull away, he pressed harder. His fingers left my wrist, his hand cupped my chin, pressing my jawbone slightly.
He got the desired effect. My lips parted at the same time his did. Our tongues met. His mouth was fire. I pressed into him, my hands finding refuge on the back of his neck.
It's a proven fact that Nick has giant hands. They're the type of hands that can make girls cluster and giggle over the possible implications. They were hands that knew exactly what they were doing.
I didn't make the comparison at the time, but the couch had never proven an obstacle for Kevin. But for Nick, it just didn't seem to be enough. The man that had gotten busy in a tiny bunkbed wasn't satisfied. Ever so slowly he broke the kiss and knelt down on the floor by me, drawing me down with him. I went willingly. With knelt facing each other. His eyes stayed open as he kissed me again.
I'm not usually an open-eyed kisser. But there was something explosive about kissing him and trying to decipher the dirty thoughts I saw in his darkening eyes that sent a little thrill down my spine.
I know it's horrible, but I didn't think once about Lauren. It was hard to think about the impact of cheating when a man slides your shirt off to bare the smooth skin of your shoulder and nibbles like your his next main course. And it's equally impossible to think when that hand cups your breast and presses his groin against you at the same time.
Those things render a female thoughtless.
Ergo, what then could render me sane? Well, that's easy.
It happened like this. As a result of Nick pressing his groin into me, I had my hand down his pants, trying to decide if he had either received a late 20's growth spurt or my memory was just cloudy. Meanwhile, Nick's teeth were in my shoulder. I was pretty sure I was moaning like a wounded animal and Nick was grunting when we both heard the sniffle.
It came from behind the couch.
"Mommy? Where awe you? I wetted my bed again. I'm cold."
Nick's teeth left my shoulder. My hand flew out of his pants not a moment too soon. Jake's head poked around the couch. He sniffled again. I scrambled to my feet, shrugging my shirt back onto my shoulder.
Saved by the bed-wetter.
