Even though I appreciate his patience, the burn has increased with every hour that I’m with him. Now every touch puts me on edge. Every time he brushes against me, I’m on fire. I want him.
And I’m ready.
When he tells me that he wants to stay home on Friday night, I know that the time has come. There’s no man in the world who can hold out this long and frankly if he doesn’t do something tonight then I might take matters into my own hands. I’m rushing around cleaning the house, straightening things and I’ve changed my shirt several times.
My brother is sitting at the table in the kitchen. He watches my mania with curious eyes. “Why do you keep wiping that counter? You’ve been at that same spot for the past ten minutes.”
“This place is filthy! I’m just cleaning up.”
Jamie looks around. “It looks fine. You weren’t this OCD when I lived at home.”
Izzie looks over at me with knowing eyes. I told her that Zack was coming over earlier because she wanted to know if I had plans. Her usual drinking partners have done the unthinkable and all gotten boyfriends. This has put a serious dent in her partying.
Luckily she takes pity on me. I think she can tell that I’m really nervous and on the verge of having some kind of breakdown.
“Women get on these random cleaning binges sometimes. I do it, too when I have PMS.”
He shakes his head. “Women are a mystery.”
“I have an idea. James, why don’t we go to the movies? I’ll even buy the popcorn.”
Relief sweeps through me and I give Izzie a grateful look. The thought of doing sexy things while they’re around freaks me out. What if they heard us? My brother and I are cool but there are some things that I will never feel comfortable talking about with him. I’ll be way less stressed if Zack and I have the house to ourselves.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve done that,” Jamie says. “That would be great. Yes, let’s do it.” He looks really excited.
I could just hug Izzie for this. She can be pushy and brash sometimes but she’s always there for me. Entertaining my brother is way above and beyond the call of friendship. Jamie is pretty conservative and I’ve noticed that Izzie has tried to tone down her more outrageous traits while he’s around.
Fifteen minutes later they are gone and I’m waiting in the living room having finally given up on achieving a perfectly clean kitchen. When Zack knocks on the door a few minutes later, I yank it open right away.
He looks at me and then behind him. “Am I late?”
“No. I was just right here. That’s all.”
He follows me inside and I wait while he hangs his coat on the stand. Then he turns and pulls me into his arms. Our kiss quickly turns hot and I’m practically climbing him where he stands. He pulls back slightly and licks his lips.
“Missed me, huh?”
“Yeah. I have.” Suddenly hit with nerves after almost climbing down his throat, I lead him into the living room. “Do you want anything to drink?”
He claps his hands. “No, I think I’m good.”
I notice that he’s freshly shaved and he’s taken the time to change out of the T-shirt and jeans he usually wears under his coveralls at work. The jeans he’s got on now look brand new and his shirt is a button up. His hair has been buzz cut so it’s all the same length for once. It dawns on me then that he’s cleaned up for me.
He’s nervous, too.
“So, how was work today?” I sit on the couch and pat the cushion next to me.
“Good. I think we’re finally caught up for once. Gabe has been doing some of the admin stuff from home now that he’s feeling better.”
”That’s great. I had a pretty good day, too. I’ve been editing some of the photos I took of you that first day.”
That gets his attention. “Really? Can I see them?”
I smile to myself. This is perfect because he’ll have to come to my room. I couldn’t have planned that better.
“Sure. Come on. Some of them are pretty good.”