Page 40 of Lace 'em Up

The need.

I’m less than a week out from not getting married.

And I almost kissed another man.

Or…well, I had kissed him because our bodies had been plastered together, our lips had touched, and?—

My mouth is still tingling.

Hand shaking as I slowly lift it, I press it to my mouth, trying to capture the sparks of sensation still coursing through my skin.

A brush of lips and…

I’m shattered into a million pieces.

I’ve never felt anything like it—something so intense that all of the air left my lungs, every nerve was firing with sensation. I was—or maybe am—desperate for his touch and lips and?—

Cock.

I shudder, push that aside.

Because…

The voices are coming closer.

“I could use a cup of coffee,” I hear the woman—presumably the aforementioned Mama Bang (what with all the baby boy talk)—say. “My flight was delayed and I almost missed my connection and?—”

“Mom,” I hear King say. “I actually need to talk to you about?—”

A petite woman with hair as dark as King’s turns the corner into the kitchen and skids to a stop, eyes going wide. “Oh.”

King’s right behind her, wearing the beleaguered expression of a son who knows there’s no point in fighting it.

“Oh,” Mama Bang says again, clamping a hand to her chest, mouth opening and closing. “I—” She turns to King, voice dropping. “I didn’t realize you weren’t alone.”

“Clearly,” he says dryly. “Hence, you showing up early and unannounced on my porch?”

She swats at him. “Hush now,” she tells him, positively bouncing with emotion. “And introduce me to your girlfriend.”

I choke.

“Mom—”

But Mama Bang doesn’t give him the chance to explain. She just strides across the kitchen, hair bouncing, hand extended.

I think it’s for me to shake, so I lift my own. “Hi,” I say. “I’m Rory?—”

Only our palms don’t get the chance to meet.

Because…

Her arms are wrapping around me instead.

I still, heart pounding.

This…is strange.

I never really realized it before—that there are different kinds of hugs. I should have because I know there’s a difference between a lover’s embrace and a friend’s comfort.

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