I wait until the humor in his eyes is replaced with seriousness before I explain, “Put your right foot on the pedal and slowly push down. Once the bike is moving, put your left foot on the pedal while focusing forward and balancing the bike.”
“Got it,” he claims before putting both feet on the pedals at once and pitching to the side. I grab the bike frame in an attempt to stop his fall and end up crushed under the bike and him.
“Shit. Shit. Juniper. Are you okay?” Mav scrambles to his feet before picking the bike off of me and reaching out a hand to help me up.
“I’m fine. You didn’t hit me full speed.”
“And here I thought you would be the one to kiss my boo-boos today.”
Why does the idea of kissing his boo-boos make me feel all hot and bothered? My body is such a slut for the movie star.
“It’s all good,” I say as I brush my hands off. “I don’t have any boo-boos for you to kiss.”
“Darn.” He curls his bottom lip in a pout.
“Let’s try this again,” I bark before I decide biting his bottom lip is a great idea. “You will learn how to ride a bike today.”
“Yes, Sergeant West.”
“How come I’m a sergeant? I could be an officer.”
He ignores me and climbs on the bike again. “Listen to my directions this time,” I order before repeating the instructions.
He wobbles as he begins to pedal. I hold onto the seat and follow him. “You need to pick up speed. It’s hard to balance when you’re biking this slow.”
He glances back at me. “No! Don’t look at me. Focus forward.”
I push on the bike seat to increase his momentum and he picks up speed. He pedals in earnest now, and I chase after him.
“You’re doing it! You’re riding a bike!”
He glances over his shoulder at me. “I am!”
His hands follow the movement of his head and the bike veers to the left before hitting a patch of grass causing the bike to careen to a stop. He doesn’t get the chance to steady himself before he’s flying over the handlebars. I rush forward and try to catch him, but we end up in a heap of arms and legs on the ground.
He rolls us until he’s looming over me. “Finally. I have you precisely where I want you.”
I can’t catch my breath as I stare up at him. “And where’s that?”
“In my arms,” he whispers before his head descends and his lips find mine.
At the first touch, I sigh and open up for him. It’s been entirely too long since I’ve felt his lips on mine. His tongue darts in and mine reaches out to duel with his. His hands thread through my hair to hold my head the exact way he wants, and he takes over. He doesn’t build the kiss up. Not my Mav. He plunders from the start.
He continues to plunder until we’re both gasping for breath and my fingers are embedded in his t-shirt holding him close to me.
He smiles down at me. “There she is. I’ve missed you, June Bug.”
June Bug? Missed me? Holy balls of puppy chow!
What am I doing? I didn’t come here to re-ignite our love affair. I planned to teach him how to ride a bike and maybe rekindle our friendship – not stick my tongue down his throat. I release his t-shirt and shove at his shoulders until he rolls away. As soon as I can, I spring to my feet and sprint to my bike.
I jump on and pedal away before I end up making a bigger mistake – falling in love with Mav again. He broke my heart once. What’s to say he won’t do it again?