Page 12 of Beauty Of Her

As he deepened the kiss, I opened my mouth, inviting him. His tongue explored every inch of my mouth as his hands roamed over my body, but not sliding below my waistline, keeping the anticipation high. The heat between us was palpable, and I got wetter with each passing second. For a brief moment, I considered stopping this because overthinking had become second nature since the divorce. But then Brett kissed me again, and all rational thought disappeared. His kisses sent fiery shock waves to every bone in my body, and I hadn’t been this aroused…ever. Brett might have been younger than I was, and by how much, I didn’t know yet. But he knew how to kiss me.

My hands slid up his chest, finding comfort in the soft cotton of his shirt. Brett's hands were in my hair, tangling in the strands as he deepened the kiss. His tongue explored every inch of my mouth, and I moaned against him, unable to resist the sensations he was creating within me. He ended the kiss with a thin trail of saliva connecting our mouths, his forehead pressed against mine as we chased our breaths. "Julia," he whispered, “you are fucking amazing.”

I shook my head no, but his strong hands stilled me. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.” My hands slid up and down his powerful corded forearms, relishing his velvet skin over pure muscle.

“Oh, yes, I do. And if it’s the last thing I do, I will teach you how to grill a proper burger.”

I burst out laughing, tossing my head back as Brett took the opportunity to trail feather-light kisses up my neck until our lips connected again. Whatever was happening, it felt surreal. And whoever said going to see a movie alone sounded lonely had no fucking clue what they were talking about.

Two things stuck in my mind after my not-so-solo trip to the movies. The fact Julia baked burgers in the oven and our amazing fucking kiss. It was more like a full-blown, semi-heavy petting make-out session. It was like reliving high school with my senses on overload. Even the slightest contact with her sent my mind into a wild spiral. And the fact I kissed Julia for the second half of the movie, not even trying to explore her banging body further, meant something. Usually, when I was with a woman, I couldn’t move fast enough to get her clothes off, get her off, and chase my own release. Except with Julia, everything was different. I wanted to worship the ground she walked. Treat her like a rare found treasure.

Julia’s body was amazing, by the way. It was as if her curves were perfectly sculpted by the gods themselves. I couldn't wait to explore every inch of her. From hair I wanted to run my hands through, dark eyes I wanted to get lost in, supple breasts I wanted to suck on, and my imagination ran wild about what she looked like naked. Fuck. I was screwed.

I walked Julia back to her car after the movie ended and made it a point to get her number. I left a message for her the following morning, making small talk between myself and her voice recording. She never returned the call, and two painful days later, I continued to stare at my phone, waiting for Julia’s name to splash across the screen. Work became my only salvation as the one distraction from Julia.

I was in the meat locker, staring at frozen burgers, thinking about Julia. It wasn’t even eight in the morning, and I had already accepted that Julia would be my main thought. This was crazy. One searing kiss, coupled with an instant attraction with an equally sexy mind, and Julia was officially taking over my brain. Foods in the store began to remind me of her. Like these burgers, for example. How could she throw them in the oven and think her daughters would like them? I perused YouTube and searched videos for what baked burgers resembled, and the results were gross. Like, gag-worthy. From what I saw, a weird white film of fat erupted from the burger’s surface and bubbled. The only way to do away with the ungodly sight was to scrape the coating off with a knife. Did Julia actually eat the burgers in this condition? I had to get to her house and show her a better way. No, make that the right way to cook burgers.

My phone’s ring erupted, snapping me from my Julia-ridden thoughts, and the cool air in the locker hit me like a tidal wave. I fumbled the device out of my back pocket, my heart racing, hoping it was her. It was a woman, but not the one I wanted.

“Hey, Bridge.”

“So, how was the movie?”

I leaned against a frozen suspended lamb hanging from the ceiling and watched my breath cloud before my face. “It was the best movie I’ve ever been to.” My skin heated at the idea of Julia and her soft pink lips on mine.

“I told you!” Pride poured from Bridgette’s tone, except she had no clue what I meant. “What movie did you see?”

“I can’t remember.” I half laughed because I was telling the truth. Since that night, all moments before seeing Julia in the darkened room faded. She poured some spell onto me that I hoped never broke.

“How can you not remember? Did you get drunk? Isn’t it crazy how these theaters have full-blown bars? Seriously, what movie did you see?”

“I can’t tell you what movie it was, but I can tell you who I saw.” I ran a cold hand down my heated cheeks. Ugh, what was I waiting for? Stupid, Brett. Stupid!

“Brett, what did you do?”

“I didn’t do anything, I swear. But you wouldn’t believe this, Bridge. We were the only two people in the theater.” I shoved my free hand in my pocket, fighting off frostbite. Hanging out in a freezer wearing only a T-shirt was a poor choice.

“Just spit it the fuck out.”

“Julia.”

“What are you talking about? She was there?”

“Yup.” I nodded to the air. “What are the odds?” I bit my chilled lip, rocking on my heels. A cool silence settled over the phone, and for a second, I thought Bridgette either hung up or fainted. “Bridge? Are you there?”

“So, you saw each other, and what happened?” she stammered. “Wait, never mind. Don’t tell me.”

I laughed. “Nothing you couldn’t hear. But I’ll tell you this. I couldn’t stop thinking about her before. And now? She’s the only thing I think about.”

“Oh my God. Did you have sex with her?” I could picture Bridgette’s eyes bulging from their sockets.

“What? No. We were in a public place.”

“Like that has stopped you before.”

“No. We only kissed.” I rolled my eyes.

“Aw, you’re such a gentleman.” I was almost positive Bridgette matched my eye roll with her own.

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