MIA
The next week was torture for Mia. She’d called another emergency meeting with the girls and they helped her see that she had maybe overreacted to Jack kissing her. But it hadn’t been just a kiss for Mia. It had knocked her socks off. There was no other way of saying it. She’d never, ever been kissed like that before. Never felt like that before. She could still taste and feel his lips on hers, five days later. Her stomach lurched when she thought about it. Which was way too often. A hundred times a day, at least. Sometimes, when she was alone and didn’t have work to distract her, a hundred times an hour.
On the morning of the fifth day, AK (After Kiss, as Mia thought of it) when she arrived at the office, Mia kept her gaze resolutely turned away from Jack. Honestly, she just had no idea how to handle the situation. It wasn’t just the kiss that was bothering her. She’d been sure he’d apologized because he regretted kissing her, and then she’d been so mortified at that thought that she was so glad she’d cut him off. A little voice inside her questioned her logic, but Mia wasn’t listening. In fact, she tamped that voice down with all her might. It was easier to believe he’d been caught up in the moment and regretted it than to hope for something more.
The minute she sat down at her desk, she glanced over at him. Fuck. Why did he have to be so gorgeous? Dragging her eyes away, she looked down to see a post-it note tacked to her computer screen. We need to talk. Arrange a conference room. She sighed. They did need to talk. Because how the hell was she going to continue working there, just meters away from him, with all this unresolved tension roiling around?
Emilia, have we got a free conference room available in an hour? She loved the inter-office messaging system.
Hey boss, yeah we do. Room4.2. Want me to book it?
Yes, please.
Who should I add to the meeting?
Jack. Make it private. Hide our names.
A muffled squeal came from the direction of her cousin’s desk and Mia could hear her mouse clicking furiously as she booked the room and sent the invite. She turned to watch Jack, who had a pen behind his ear and was typing furiously on his keyboard. He stopped, reached for his mouse, and clicked. His head shot up and he looked straight at her. She felt the impact right to her core and couldn’t stop the blush that rose to her cheeks. All she could hope was that he couldn’t see it from that far away. Then he winked, making her think he knew exactly what impact he was having on her.
* * *
Mia was feeling confident and also full of nervous energy as she entered the conference room and pulled the blinds shut. She was ten minutes early, but knew Jack wasn’t far behind. He’d seen her leave; she’d felt him watching her.
“Oh good,” she said when he entered the room. “You come quickly.” She almost bit her tongue when his eyes lit up with humor. That was not a good start! These Freudian slips were going to be the death of her.
“Not generally,” he said, in the same low voice he’d used in the carpark. “But with you…” He let his voice trail off as he looked her up and down appreciatively.
“Jack, this is why we’re here,” she put a hand up in defence when he took a step toward her. “No. I mean, it’s gone too far. The notes, the kisses. You can stop, now.”
His brows furrowed in confusion. “You want me to stop?”
“Well, obviously. This prank has gone on for long enough.”
“What prank?”
“This one,” she gestured between them. And then towards her own body. “You and me.”
“You think this is a prank?” He asked gently.
Mia nodded.
“Mia,” he stepped toward her, ran his hand down her arm and clasped her hand tightly. “You really don’t know, do you? You don’t know what you do to me. You are amazing.” He stepped even closer, touching his hands to her hips. “You have all this going on, these skirts you wear, how they show off your amazing figure. You don’t know? I promise, this isn’t some sick joke. I am hot for you in so many ways. Let me show you.”
Mia was speechless as his lips touched hers, tentatively at first, as if asking permission and then with more heat. He spun them around so that her bottom was against the table and leaned into her. She held on to him for dear life and lost herself in his kiss as his hand moved up to her breast, making her moan. He growled in his throat as he popped the top three buttons on her blouse, impatient to get closer to her.
Mia lost herself in him.
“Mia,” he said, and the desperation in his voice was clear. “I want you.”
“Mmmm,” she skirted back on the table so that she was sitting on it fully, and wrapped her legs around his waist. She felt wanted. And powerful. Kissing him back hungrily, her tongue meeting his in an endless dance, her hands in his hair, she delighted in the feel of his cock, hard against her.
“God, stop.” He pulled back just slightly and rested his forehead on hers. Their heavy breathing filled the room, and neither of them trusted themselves to move. “We have to stop, but maybe you believe me now.”
Laughing softly, Mia felt lighter than she had in weeks. Just like that, everything inside her moved into place. The confusion was gone, the unknowing. She had convinced herself that someone like Jack couldn’t be attracted to someone like her and he had proved her wrong. She wanted Jack, and he wanted her. Emilia had been right. It could be simple. Her heart was soaring.
“Well… what do we do now?” She couldn’t help asking the question.
“The summer garden party’s in a few days, so we’re going to that and we’re going to dance together. I’m going to hold you in front of everyone. And then… we’ll see where this takes us.”