Page 38 of Sex Coach

I imagined I was kissing somebody else .

And not just somebody . A specific somebody .

Michelle.

Her mouth, soft and hesitant under mine. Her tongue, sliding past my lips, hesitant and shy .

But the woman I was kissing was anything but shy. The kiss didn't fit. It was enough of a disconnect that every time I started to find myself getting into it, I had to do a reset .

And Alicia noticed .

She eased back, clearing her throat .

Something happened then that hadn't happened in all the years I'd been doing this. I felt awkward – awkward and out of place .

Alicia either felt it or saw it, because she eased the dress sagging around her shoulders back up into place, reaching behind her to tug the zipper up .

"Maybe it's just years of practice," she said lightly. "But when a man is thinking about somebody else and kissing me, I can tell ."

I flinched, her words hitting right on target .

"Jake..." She reached up and cupped my cheek. "It's okay." She tugged me down and pressed her lips to the corner of my mouth. "I figured out a long time ago that serious emotional commitment wasn't in the cards for me and that's...okay. It's messy and painful and frankly? Those serious emotional commitments can be annoying . But that doesn't mean it's not the right fit for everybody ."

"Alicia..." I covered her hand with mine, squeezing gently .

She smiled back at me, the expression in her eyes wry. "Can I offer you some advice, big guy ?"

"I'm yours for the night. You can do whatever you want ."

She laughed softly. "That's the thing...you're not mine. Not for the night, not for anything. I can tell. You're not into this any more than I'm into eating tofu, no matter what I tell my dietician. So...go find whoever this is you're thinking of, and lay those kisses on her ."

* * *

A n hour later,I sat in my car, staring up at the building in front of me .

It was ironic .

I'd had a client who lived here once .

She'd moved out of town not long after her divorce six months ago, but she'd lived here. Had I ever walked past Michelle without noticing her ?

I had no idea .

I don't know what it was that had drawn me to her, but something had and whatever in the hell it was, the pull was strong enough to yank me off course .

Nothing had yanked me off course in years .

Not since I decided just what my course was .

Memories of a phone call, then reading that letter washed up to remind me, but even with that being front and center in my mind, I couldn't banish Michelle .

That nervous, sweet smile .

The way she chewed on her lip before she asked a question .

The way she laughed and the odd observations she made that had me doing the same thing .

Alicia had repeated herself when I'd gone to leave .

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