She smiles at me, so radiantly that it’s hard to peel my eyes off of her and put them back on the road.
Maybe my daughter’s best friend isn’t so out of reach for me, after all, and my heart thrills at the thought. It seems that she’s been thinking about me as much as I have her, and this unexpected encounter might just happen again. I squeeze her hand, and she looks at me, smiling.
“Yes?”
I chuckle.
“I just wanted to say I enjoyed it too.”
She giggles.
“Then I’m glad, Mr. Prescott. Let’s see where this goes,” she teases.
I growl. “You know better than to call me Mr. Prescott.”
“Dr. Prescott?” she asks, with her eyes dancing.
Slowly, I drag her hand over so that it rests on my groin. I’m already stiff again, hard and needy for her touch. Her cheeks blush, but then she gives me an experimental squeeze.
“Okay,” she breathes. “Rick then.”
What happens next almost gets us into a car accident, but I don’t care. The sight of her blonde head bobbing up and down in my lap as I drive is the perfect end to the night, and suddenly, I know I need to see more of Kara James.5KaraWhen I was a kid, I was delighted whenever the weather matched my mood because it was like I was a god, able to control the skies based on my whims. I can’t help but smile today as I cruise down the highway and the sun beats down on me, high in a cloudless blue sky. I’m certainly in a sunny mood myself. How could I not be, when I’m on my way to Rick’s?
The radio plays a popular pop song, and I mouth along with the words, pulling a silly face at myself in the rearview mirror. I can’t help but do a double-take at my own reflection because I look happier than I’ve looked in ages. I guess it is no surprise, since years worth of daydreams are finally coming to fruition. I’ve been spending time with Rick on weekends for about a month now, and each time I’m with him, I am still as ecstatic as I was the very first visit.
My mind drifts to that fateful night when we had sex at the hospital. It was scandalous, doing it like that in a locked exam room. Yet, it was also so intimate and hot. Rick made me feel things I had never experienced before, and also made sure that I was comfortable every step of the way. It’s proof that he thinks of me as so much more than an annoying little girl. He respects me as an adult, and as a woman. Since then, he has been nothing but kind, charming, and supportive--and nearly reverential of my body, which is certainly a plus.
I take a deep breath as I pull into his neighborhood, the one I’ve explored on so many walks and bike rides with Bailey. I wince. Bailey, of course, has no idea that I’m spending my weekends with her father. I’m certain she wouldn’t judge me for the age difference because she’s with Christopher, after all, who’s also more than two decades her senior. But would she hate me for pursuing her dad? That’s a different subject. Everyone gets touchy when it’s their own family.
I am still musing about the possibility when I get out of the car in Rick’s driveway, armed with my purse and a bottle of white wine. Bailey and I have such a strong friendship that surely she’d welcome my relationship with her dad? Still, as I knock on the front door, maybe this would be a sin too unforgivable even for us. Good thing she’s with Christopher right now, or else I wouldn’t be here.
“Hey, beautiful!” Rick interrupts my worries by opening the door, looking handsome as ever in jeans and a t-shirt that showcases the muscles in his arms. His amber eyes are warm, and that chestnut hair is brushed off of his high forehead. Rick’s rugged features are so masculine, from that strong nose to the cleft chin, and immediately, my insides go loose and warm. He has this effect on me every time.
Rick sweeps me into his arms in the doorway, and I melt into his embrace, leaning my cheek against his strong chest. I have a flashback to that time in the hospital when Christopher hugged Bailey, and I wished that Rick could hold me, too. Now, my desperate longings have become reality.
As if reading my thoughts, Rick kisses the top of my head, then holds me at arm’s length to regard me. “You look particularly radiant today,” he murmurs, his gaze openly traveling the length of my body. I’m not wearing anything particularly exciting, just jeans and a cute top, but he looks at me like I am a goddess who has mysteriously manifested on his doorstep.