Page 8 of Moving to Love
Sandi and Joci had lunch once a week to touch base and catch up. It was something they started doing years ago when the kids were little.
Joci looked at Sandi and hugged her again. “Everything is fine. I’m fine. Gunnar is fine. But I do need to talk to you. Jeremiah asked me to leave with him tonight.”
“Mom…I’m headed over to see the guys.” Joci smiled at Gunnar as he started to walk away. With a wave, he was off.
Sandi absently waved at Gunnar, quickly turning back to Joci and said, “Tell me. What did you say? You better have said ‘yes’ this time.”
“Hello, Joci. You look beautiful.”
Oh, Gawd! His voice made her shiver. Shit, her body reacted to that man before she could even put a thought to it. Joci slowly turned to see Jeremiah standing next to her and handing her a bottle of water. Taking a deep breath, she looked into his eyes.
“Hi, Jeremiah. Thank you. How are you?”
Jeremiah leaned in close to her ear and whispered, “You look beautiful, Joci.”
She looked at Jeremiah and blushed. He chuckled, and her face flamed a bright red. Great!
Sandi said, “Hi, Dog. Looks like we’re going to have great weather tomorrow.”
Jeremiah looked up at the sky. “It sure does. That means more riders, which means more money for the cause. Gotta love that.” They bobbed their heads in agreement.
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Joci undid the cap on her bottle of water and took a long drink as he watched her. God, she was beautiful—stubborn as hell, but so beautiful. She took his breath away.
He knew he affected her. He watched her when she was near. He could see the muscles in her neck moving with each exaggerated swallow. When he spoke to her, she licked her lips and looked him in the eye, not blinking. God, if she only knew what that did to him. His cock twitched every time he thought about her. And when he saw her, it had a life of its own; his stomach flipped, and his breathing became unsteady. She had been avoiding the inevitable, though.
This morning, things changed. Jeremiah looked at his watch. He hated walking away from Joci, but he was anxious to get this meeting finished to begin his time with her.
“We’d better get this show started. If you’re ready, come on over to the side of the building.”
He nodded at Sandi and Jon, gave Joci a little wink, and walked away. Joci needed to sit down. God, that man affected her whole body, her whole nervous system. Her knees were weak, and she was lightheaded. Sandi laughed at her.
“Gawd, Joci, tell me you gave up and decided to go out with that man. He obviously wants you, and you obviously want him.” Sandi leaned in a little. “And just think of all the fun you could be having…after hours.”
Joci swallowed to moisten her throat. “Sandi, we’re going out tonight.”
“Finally. For crying out loud, Joci, he’s been circling for almost a year.” Jumping up and down a couple of times, Sandi shrieked, “I’m so excited!”
Jon shook his head at his lovely wife. Nodding to Joci, he said, “Okay, ladies, let’s go hear what’s up for tomorrow.”
As they rounded the corner to the side of the building where the pre-ride meeting was being held, there were about one hundred and forty people sitting and standing around waiting for the meeting to start. All the proceeds from tomorrow’s ride would go to area veterans who were in need. Medical assistance, work on their homes to make them more user-friendly to a disabled veteran, educational assistance for returning veterans, or any other sort of need that came up.
Jeremiah was a veteran of the Gulf War, and both his sons and all his brothers served in the military. It was with love and pride that he held this ride every year. Last year, they had over seven hundred riders and over twelve hundred people who attended. This year, they expected it to be much more.
Joci loved stuff like this, and she adored this cause. Her own family had served in the military. Both her parents and her sister Jackie’s husband, David, were veterans as well.
As Joci, Sandi, and Jon rounded the building to the back parking lot, Joci saw that the stage had been constructed for the festivities tomorrow. Some volunteers had been working on it today.
“Mom, Sandi, Jon…over here!” Gunnar had a spot ready for them at the front table with her sister, Jackie, and brother-in-law, David, and some of their friends. Connor was there as well. Connor was the best friend of Keith, Gunnar’s father. When Keith had left, Connor stepped up and helped Joci with Gunnar.
As they approached the table, Jackie and David got up and hugged Joci. She waved at their friends.
“Hi, Connor. How are you? I haven’t seen you in a few days.”
