Page 11 of Step By Step

I gather her closer, cradling her soft body against mine as we spin. I am not sure how long we sit there, kissing, whispering in the dark, making that merry-go-round spin. By the time it slows down, she has wound me tightly around her finger. I am not ready to call it a night, so when she speaks again, I am elated.

“Our hot dog date was great,” she whispers as we lay watching one another. “How about next time you come to my place with your favorite movie? I will make the snacks.”

“Tomorrow night?” I offer, my heart stilling until she grins, nodding.

“It’s a date, DJ. Now, kiss me until this thing stops spinning.”

Pulling her closer, I savor her laugh when I give a powerful kick to the earth to get us going. I taste her smile as I dip my head, kissing her as we keep spinning in the darkness.

Chapter Six

Jenna

Behaving like a kid never felt this good.

Writing songs all night, watching game shows all day, grabbing a few hours of sleep, then working the late shift at the mall has been the best time. When I was young enough to act this way, I was too busy trying to grow up. I am doing all the things I forgot I loved to do again.

Having Jordan there to do them with me makes it the most fun of my life.

“Good morning, sunshine,” he greets me with a stunning smile after I stumble to the door.

It is late afternoon so I should be ashamed he just woke me up. I am not. In fact, with him here, all I want to do is crawl back into bed. We have taken things slow so far. It has been less than a week since we met. Seeing him here, looking so damn handsome, now when I am soft and needy, I suddenly want to speed things up.

Reaching out, I grab his hand, pulling him after me towards my bedroom. Thankful I took time to brush my teeth and pull a comb through my curls, I fall back on my bed with no pretense of grace. I pull him along with me, smiling as he laughs, pushing up, so he doesn’t crush me.

“Good morning, handsome,” I whisper back as I thread my fingers through his dark hair. I bite my lip, watching his eyes fall to my mouth. Got him. Once he looks at my mouth, it is not long before he kisses me.

Jordan lets out a little groan and, just as I hope, he bends his head to kiss me. I kissed a few guys before, but our first kiss that night on the swings blew me away. It was never that way before. And I believe it will never be this way again. Only with him, with this sweet, sexy, soulful man who has slowly opened himself up to me and let me do the same.

“Jordan,” I whisper when his mouth works down my jaw. “Will you stay with me tonight? I don’t want you to go this time.”

Jordan goes still, both of us breathing hard. So yeah, it has been a few days since we met. I knew that same night I wanted to sleep with him. I have never been with anyone before. No one has ever made me feel the things I have felt with him.

It might not be tonight, but I am giving myself to Jordan.

“You mean... come home with you after the show?”

Braver than I have ever felt, I nod. His sparkling eyes darken, his hand sliding beneath me on the bed. He pulls me flush against him, slowly lowering his firm body until I am pinned beneath him.

“Yeah, I want to stay tonight. No rush, baby. We do not have to do anything. I just want to be with you. It’s getting harder and harder to kiss you goodnight and walk away.”

Sighing, I tighten my fingers in his hair, pulling him to me. My mouth opens for his seeking tongue. I love kissing him. We have spent hours doing it. That first night at the park, if he had pushed it, I would have given myself to him then. His kisses give him complete control of me.

Wiggling beneath him, I push at his shirt, wanting to feel his skin. He is right, there is no rush. None other than the way my body craves his now. If he was missing touch for all this time, I have done my best to make up for it. I always want his hands on me, even if it’s just his hand on my thigh when he takes me to lunch at the mall.

The other night we rented a movie and before long, I wound up curled up in his lap. His hands found their way beneath my sweater, his mouth all over my neck, marking my skin. I lose control the minute he touches me and when he kisses me, nothing else exists but the need for more, more, more.

“I wrote a song today,” I whisper against his mouth as I push him away, yanking at his shirt. I want to feel his skin on mine. It has all I have thought about since the night we made out on the couch. His hands on my skin felt like magic. I want more magic, I want skin to skin magic.

“Tell me about it, baby,” he hums, pushing at my top until it’s bunched beneath my breasts. I whine a little, smiling when he laughs and pushes it further.

Lying there in the sunlight, bare for the first time for him, I hold my breath. He pulls back, just a little, the sunshine lighting him up. God, he is beautiful. I am falling so hard and so fast for him. He makes me think love at first sight can happen.

Jordan makes me want to write songs about love being real.

“Jesus, you are so perfect,” he whispers, his hand flattening between my breasts, running over the skin slowly. It sets me on fire. When he lowers his head, eyes still on mine, his tongue flicking at a nipple, I moan. He does it again and I can’t help the sounds I make because it feels so good.

Beneath him, I am greedy, pulling him closer, my legs locking around his hips. I want to push at his jeans and pull off my shorts. I want it all and I want it with him, but he is right. There is no rush.

---