Page 23 of The Hot Mess

I could suddenly remember times in high school when I’d spot her just like that in a corner of the library. Even then, I was vaguely aware of how much she intrigued me. But I was a horny teenage boy then and popular in our school. I didn’t have to seek girls out. They came to me. I didn’t have time to chase my curiosities about the Meadows sister…which I knew all too well now was an intense attraction.

I started to turn to leave her there, undisturbed. That was the right move. But the moment my feet pivoted, I felt the ball of stress and guilt build back up in my chest again. I was going to feel that way with or without being around her again. I also couldn’t avoid her forever.

Why not drop in and say hi? It was the gentlemanly thing to do, for her sake, considering how I had to leave in an awkward hurry. What could it hurt? It’s not like we were going to bang right there in the middle of the office…right? No. No way I would cross that line. So, there was no reason not to give a friendly hello.

12

Jada

Ijumped at the sight of the shadow moving in the doorway, looking up to see Jack standing there…which did next to nothing to calm my nerves. For as much as I had tried not to think about him, I’d be lying if I said I succeeded in the slightest. He kept sneaking into my brain, and all of a sudden there he was, sneaking into my office.

“Jack!” I held my hand over my heart, grateful at least that it wasn’t some ax murderer.

“Sorry. Did I startle you?” He flashed that lady-killer smile of his.

“Just a little.” I reached for my bottle of water and took a sip. “You’re back.”

He nodded and stepped in further. “Got back in this morning. I see nothing went up in flames with me gone.”

“Stick around longer and we’ll depend on you enough that things may not go so smoothly next time.”

He towered over my desk with a devilish look in his eyes. There was something different about him:the way he looked at me, the pattern of his breathing. Then there was the intense energy crackling between us, which could have been lost on him for all I knew. But I sure felt it. It was enough to make it hard to breathe.

“You look good,” he commented, eyeing my cleavage.

Maybe I would have been pissed at anyone else for being so obvious. But this was Jack. My first. The man who blew my mind in bed just a few nights before.

“So do you,” I offered. But of course he always looked good, and he had to know that.

“What are you working on?”

“These interviews,” I replied, trying to calm myself. “The first set goes up on the site tomorrow, so I’m just doing a little proofreading. It’s always easier for me to do in print rather than on a screen.”

I could have kept rambling just to fill the room with anything other than my intense craving for more of him. But he circled around my desk, leaning against it right next to me. The closeness made my throat tighten up and my stomach explode with butterflies.

“Catch me up on everything.”

“Well…” I looked back down to the papers, trying to ignore the heat emanating from his body. “I’m editing this interview with a guy named Mike Rosner…”

“No, not on work,” he cut me off. “I mean with you. How have you been while I was gone?”

I stared back at him, blinking. Was he on the hunt for some sign that I caught the “first lover” attachment and obsession for him? Was he doing damage control? Snooping for any hint that I might have run my mouth off about what happened between us?

“Me? Oh…well…things have been fairly uneventful, I guess,” I stammered nervously. But it was clear by the way he crossed his arms and waited that my answer wasn’t enough. I racked my brain for what I could say to make myself sound interesting. “I hung out with your sister again,” I blurted.

“Hung out with her?”

“Yeah. I mean, I continued our interview, of course. But…we’re friends, sort of.”

He pursed his lips, looking surprised. “That’s weird. She doesn’t normally like the women that I’m into. It seems you’re a first for me too.”

My cheeks blushed. I didn’t need any more of a reminder that he took my virginity. And I sure as hell didn’t need more reasons to want him again. But being around him gave me just that, whether I liked it or not.

The sexual tension was too thick to bear. I gave up on trying to act normal and shot up from my seat. He didn’t budge an inch, but instead turned to meet me face to face.

“Are you saying you’re into me?” I dared to ask, our eyes locked intently.

His gaze dropped, taking in long, slow drinks of my body. I didn’t recoil this time, but straightened and let him get a good look. If he wanted what I had to offer, I wasn’t going to try and talk him out of it.

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