Jay would be upstairs. Pulling at a random strand of her hair in the elevator, she couldn’t stop the stress. Student loans. Moving. Eating. At least she had the pizza gig for extra cash. She’d have to find a new full-time job. When the doors opened, she decided to not tell him. Not until she had another job.
She smelled the air and her mouth watered. Chicken marsala, if her nose proved right. Jay had done too much for her already. She’d gotten this job to be independent, and she’d not ask anyone for anything. She had to prove this.
“Hey, I made us dinner.”
She stepped into the living room, tasting the pasta in her memory. Glancing to her left, she saw the chicken and pasta dish sitting gracefully on the dinner table, complete with napkin settings and dishes. “You rock.”
“Tell me about your day.”
“Terrible, but dinner is making it better, Dimples. You’re clean and adorable. Let me go change out of my clothes I sweated half the day in.”
His eyes beamed with pride, causing her to blush. “Food will be done in about a half an hour. I’ll pick a movie for us.”
Friends. This was normal for friends. At least, she drilled that in her head while she hoped the blush didn’t go all the way to her toes. “We’re relaxing at home?”
“Hurry. I want to hear about everything.”
She’d get a new job first, then tell him. She didn’t need Jay to fix this. She’d studied for far too long to take a handout. Though she couldn’t ask for a hug at the moment either. She might want another kiss, and she had no time now for complication. She lived with the guy. In her room, she dropped her expensive new clothes on the floor and stepped into the shower. The grease of the pizza pans smeared on her elbows beckoned her to her heavenly shower.
“Botanical retreat” sounded refreshing, so she hit that setting for her shower. A light mist sprayed her head, relaxing her. Living here gave her this at least. Penny let out a moan. She’d be good for tonight. Friends. No benefits. Not until she could stand on solid footing, confident in her smarts and work ethic to keep pushing her ahead.
After pulling on a pair of sweatpants and nightshirt, she joined Jay in the dining area. He looked adorable in his jeans and solid-color navy blue t-shirt. He had already served the food and opened a bottle of wine. “You are one of the best friends a girl could ever ask for.”
Putting his hand on his heart, he fell backward with a smile. “Ouch. The friend zone, cutie.”
Clearing the air was good. Last night’s kiss burned in her mind again, though she denied it for now. “We are friends. It’s what I need.”
Winking, he asked permission to eat. She picked up her fork to dig in while he told her, “I guess I can use a break from women. I am focusing on work at the moment.”
She almost knocked her glass to the ground, though she caught herself. Ignoring her idiocy, she met his eyes. “You should, Dimples. You’re doing amazing.”
His dimples grew. “Thank you. Now tell me about your day.”
Telling the truth without lying took a lot of thinking. She slowly let out, “I was on my feet a lot, running around. It’s stressful, but I’ll figure it out. I don’t want to talk about it.”
Shrugging, he took a sip of wine before asking her, “What should we talk about, then?”
Sex. How it could be fun, and how she spent years of her life planning it between them. Not that he knew that. Taking a sip of her own wine, she winked. “What movie did you pick for us? And when did you learn to cook anything? I’m impressed.”
Leaning closer, he whispered, “I spent a lot of time with the chef in my mother’s house growing up. She talked a lot, and I found her interesting.”
Pushing his shoulder back across the table made her laugh. “I didn’t know that about you.”
As he put his glass to his mouth, she wished she had kissed him. “There is a lot you don’t know about me.”
Shaking her head, she put her chin up to dare him. “What else? Two more secrets.”
He stopped moving for a split second before a smile broke out on his face. “Two more?”
Sipping her wine, she calmly nodded. “Yeah.”
He circled the glass with his finger. What would he do to her body with that motion? “Your mom was fired from my dad’s company during our freshman year because my mom caught them kissing in his office. I befriended you despite being told to stay away from you.”
Her jaw dropped. Was he serious? “It’s why Mom pushes so hard for you and me, then. She hoped we’d get married since the day I mentioned your name. Wow.”
“Unlike most women, you’ll make any man the luckiest guy when you become a wife and mother.”
Huh?
His cheeks turned red. Was he blushing? “In the distant future… I’m going to stop talking.”
“No, don’t.” She smiled. “You surprised me, and it’s been a long day. Tell me the next secret about you.”
He leaned closer, like he was about to share the biggest one of all. She followed, letting him come closer when he whispered, “Third secret is that I’m a science-fiction guy. Give me aliens and a space war, and I’ll be at the movie.”
Move her lips a fraction more and she could kiss him again. The electrical bursts inside her screamed to do it, but she stepped back. Breathing normally, she laughed. “Okay, Dimples, that means we’re watching a sci-fi movie, then. I like the ones with a princess as the star.”
His face contorted. “Too girly. Guess again.”
Smiling around him became easy. She needed this. She’d been drained all day.
Putting the last dish in the tray, she hummed while listening to him in the shower. Making her way to the living room, she plopped on the couch, picked up the remote, and waited a split second for the machine to follow commands. Jay’s hand grazed her shoulder, making her look back. No shirt, but a pair of cotton pants. If she didn’t live here, she’d run her hands down his muscles, yanking those right off. Pulling her next to him, he gave her a fast hug. “Let’s get started.”
Sighing, she let him adjust in his seat while not peeking at his shoulder. Perfection personified, sitting next to her while the movie roared onto the screen. When the alien appeared, killing the person in the suit, she twisted into that waiting shoulder. Not moving, she rested there, inhaling his fresh, soapy smell.
Every time someone screamed on the screen, she pushed closer until his hand went around her back. Her mind wasn’t on the movie, but on how tasty dessert would be if he did more than hug her.
The beep rung in the air, killing her fantasy world. “Who’s calling?” she asked while he picked up his phone to see.
His eyes grew larger while he read his screen. “My mother’s coming up.”
Pulling her t-shirt up a little, she asked, “What?”
His hands went to her waist, pulling her closer while he said, “I don’t have time to explain. Just do this for me.”
She opened her mouth to ask what, but he claimed her lips, pulling her into his body. Her body softened while his kiss sent her straight out of her known universe. Her entire body rocked closer to his lap while his hands traced down her back.
“What the hell is this, Jay?” his mother’s imperious voice called out, landing her back in her body, sitting on his lap. “You’re living with the riffraff?”
She wiggled, but he sent her a pleading look. She stopped, then he kissed her cheek. “Mom, Penelope is my girlfriend. This is my condo. You don’t own any stake in my company or my house, and I expect you to be nice to Penny.”
Sighing, she rubbed her face to his, recognizing his chin needed a shave. The roughness made her own skin more sensitive and aware, stealing her voice.
“Jay, she’s not good enough for you. You must see that.” His mother’s nostrils flared.
“Get out. I didn’t invite you, and you’re being rude.” He kissed Penny’s forehead, again, and her eyes fluttered.
His mother gave her the coldest stare, numbing her body. She should say something. Eva would have a cutting remark ready to launch. Kate dismissed her, focusing on Jay. “Wait. I came to deliver this from your father.”
“Put it on the counter, then go,” he told his mother, then he kissed the side of Penny’s mouth. In the background, she heard his mother’s dragon breathing, but with Jay’s arms around her waist and his warm lips on hers, she lost all other thought. She rocked and brushed against his growing erection. At least she wasn’t the only one aroused.
She had opened her mouth to say something to his mother when Jay swooped down, claiming her lips in another kiss. She wrapped her arms around his waist, forgetting everything else, while he deepened their kiss, pushing her down on the couch.
Slowly she came to her senses. “Your mom.”
Jay stepped back and turned around. “She must have left.”
Her entire body had no control, because he came back to kiss her. She traced his face and stared into his eyes. Breathing heavily, he whispered, “We should go to bed now.”
Moaning, she took one more hard stare his body. His need pushed into her, and if they took their clothes off, had he propositioned her?
“Our own rooms.” He still hadn’t caught his breath, and his lips were so close to hers. “I’m sorry, I had no warning earlier.”
Her own body exerted too much heat. All she could do was nod.
Pulling away took all his energy, just as sitting up and not touching him took all of hers. Sighing, she stepped away without analyzing anything. All she could do was sway to her room and close the door behind her.
Running her hand in her hair before she traced her finger down her mouth, reliving tonight, she hoped one of the channels in her bathroom spa could cool off her spiking temperature. She’d have stripped his clothes off if he hadn’t sent her away. Her body quivered at her door, aching to run to him.
She didn’t. She let her moans of almost-pleasure float out of her mouth before she made her way to bed.
Tonight, in dream world, he’d finish what he started.