Page 40 of A Tinsel Tale

“Have you forgotten we were athletes and champion ballers back in the day?”

“‘Back in the day’ is the operative phrase. Move over, chumps, there are new ballers in town.” Casey says. She’s a character and I find myself liking her immediately.

“Girls against guys,” I declare. Jamie folds his arms across his chest pouting.

“Quit sulking, you’ll still be able to canoodle,” Casey says.

“Is my buddy sulking because he didn’t get his way?” Tank chimes in.

“Yeah homey, aren’t you supposed to be on my side?” Jamie grumbles, shoving Tank.

Tank grabs him and gives his head nookies. They wrestle for a second, like two big kids.

I swear it’s like I’ve found a lost treasure.My guys. I’d spent most of my teens hanging with these boys, both of whom I loved completely and unconditionally in very different ways.

Casey and I win two out of the three games, and we aren’t shy about boasting as we leave the bowling alley. “Girl power,” Casey singsongs, fist bumping me.

“The ballers were out balled,” I joke. Jamie’s arm is slung casually across my shoulders as we walk to his truck. We reach Casey’s car first and stop to say our goodbyes.

“Don’t forget the fire station open house Saturday from noon to three,” Jamie says to Casey. “We’ll have tons of food and beverages.”

“I can make that,” Casey says. “I have evening shift that night.”

Tank squints down at her. “You’ll come?”

Casey is all smiles when she answers. “I’d love to. I wouldn’t want to miss the chance of seeing my local hero in action.”

The six-four linebacker blushes. “Aww, shucks,” he says. As I mentioned, the biggest teddy bear,ever.

“Well, it’s true. I admire you guys. Fighting fires is dangerous work.”

Casey gets into her car and rolls down her window. “I had a great time. Let’s do this again.”

“For sure,” I say.

With one last wave, she pulls out of the lot.

Jamie elbows Tank. “Bout time you step up and show her why she can’t live without you. Like Taylor Swift’s tune, “You Belong to Me.” What she’s been looking for is right here…. has been here the whole time. Right?”

“Shut the fuck up. You’d better pull that log out of your own eye,” Tank replies. Tank hops up into his truck and starts the engine. He grabs the door handle and spouts off before shutting it, “Hey, Mr. QB, you telling me to step up my romantic game is like telling me to parachute out of the plane while you’re still buckled in.”

“Get out of here. See you tomorrow.”

Jamie and I stroll to his truck, in no hurry. The waning moon is bright in the sky as I gaze up and point out the Pleiades star cluster. “See the brightest star over there?” I say pointing. “That’s Sirius.” It’s by far the brightest star in the sky on this cold December night. “Did you know that it’s two times bigger than the Sun? If they were side by side, Sirius would outshine the sun. Weird, isn’t it?”

Jamie leans against the truck and pulls me to his chest. “I love how smart you are.” He kisses the tip of my cold nose. I tip my head back parting my lips. He dips down and kisses me… leisurely, lingeringly, satisfyingly… a soul deep kiss that makes my toes curl. His lips are insistent, his tongue licks, explores… he tastes like popcorn and the Twizzlers he just ate. His mouth and tongue are leaving no hostages as he devours me. Breathless, I bunch his hair between my fingers, holding his mouth to mine. His hands slide down to cup my butt and he tugs me tight against his hard cock. I moan into his mouth. I want him so bad I’m trembling.

Against my lips he murmurs, “My place?”

“Yes,” I answer breathlessly. He presses his lips to mine one last time, releasing me before he opens the door and I climb in. We can see our breath and the windows fog up while we wait for the truck to heat up. He blows into his hands then rubs them together. He grabs a cloth from the middle console and wipes the condensation from the windshield. When he looks at me his eyes are smoldering with need.

He takes a deep breath. “I’ve never wanted anyone or anything as bad as I want you, Evie Parker. I feel like a horny teenager.”

A shaky laugh escapes. “Same. It’s crazy.”

He brings my hand to his lips and presses a kiss on the tender skin of my inner wrist. My lady parts respond immediately. The low hum is like a current traveling through my body, landing right in the epicenter of my desire.

“Let’s get the hell out of here,” he growls. Abruptly he puts the truck in gear and practically peels out of the lot.

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