Saturday, October 4
I opened my eyes and squinted because of the light streaming into Jenna’s bedroom. A glance at the clock revealed that it was well past noon, but I wasn’t surprised. Dawn’s first light broke before we finally slept. Ah…just the thought of the previous night brought a slight smile to my face.
As Jenna started to stir next to me, I became aware of the weight on the pillow above my head. When a fluffy grey tail began to flick me in the face I realized her cat was just about sitting on my head, glaring at me. I resisted the urge to shove the cat over and turned my attention to Jenna.
She was more enjoyable to focus on anyway…
She was sleeping on her side with her back to me. I put my arm around her waist and gave her a kiss on her shoulder. Her skin was like ice against my lips so I pulled the covers up over us and said, “Good afternoon.”
“Huh,” she answered me, voice heavy with sleep. “What time is it?”
“Almost one.”
“Hmm…I haven’t slept this late in ages.”
“It is a Saturday if that makes you feel any better.”
“I don’t know that anything could make me feel any better than I do right now,” she said, snuggling back against me.
“You sure about that?” I kissed the nape of her neck and pulled her back against me.
“Well…the obvious is excluded from that.”
“How about we pretend that you didn’t exclude that and let’s put it to the test?”
I could detect the exact instant her pulse quickened and she gave in. After everything we had done the night before, I doubted she’d ever be able to hide herself from me again. Of course, after everything, I knew better than not taking full advantage of her mood.
Jenna reached back and ran her fingers through my hair. I traced my lips across the back of her neck, enjoying the provocative way she wriggled against me in response. My hands slid up her stomach until they reached her breasts and I wondered if it was possible to retrieve the contents of the nightstand without taking my hands off her. I didn’t think there was anything I loved more than her body.
Somewhere close, a door slammed.
“Jen! It’s time to get up, sleepyhead. Your phone must be off the hook and I’ve been calling you for…hell-o.” Trista stopped short at the bedroom door. I could tell that was more than a little shocked to see me feeling up her best friend under the covers.
Shit. Were we even still covered?
“Hi, Trista,” I said in an attempt to diffuse the tension, not that I thought it would be a success.
“I, uh…Jen, uh…I’ll talk to you later,” Trista stammered as she fled the condo.
Jenna sat up, brushing my hands off her in the process. “Crap! I’m sorry, but I have to go after her. Do you, uh…do you have plans?”
“I have to get a new cell phone.”
She sighed. “I’ve already apologized for that. Do you have plans beside that? I’d…well…” She retrived her robe from the floor. “I’d sort of like to see you again…”
“No other plans,” I said, enjoying the sight of her slipping into her robe. I liked that she didn’t want me to slip off while she was gone. “I’ll be here when you get back.”
The cat leapt over to the edge of the bed nearest Jenna as soon as she rose and was looking up at her, head cocked to the side.
Jenna scratched the cat under his chin. “I know you’re hungry, Buddy. I’ll feed you as soon as I get back.”
“I can feed him if you want me to.”
“That’s sweet of you, Jackson. I won’t be long,” she said, exiting.
I allowed myself to linger in bed after she left, something I never did. Of course, falling in love was also something rare for me. I meant what I told her the evening before while she was sleeping.
With great reluctance I got out of bed. After I put on my pants I followed the cat down the hallway towards the kitchen. I decided to get a pot of coffee brewing before I retrieved the can of cat food from the pantry where he was rubbing his face. I threw away the wrappers from the food I picked up while I waited, glad I made the call to pick up something. It had come in handy at three that morning when we finally took a break from each other, starving for something else.
Last night had been perfect, I thought to myself as I set the plate of food on the floor for the bossy grey cat. The little one was nowhere to be found. Well, okay, perfect might have been a bit of a stretch. It would have been except for one minor incident. I hadn’t counted on Jenna flipping out on me afterwards. Good thing I had a way of calming women.
“Damn hot water heater,” I muttered.
After my first cup of coffee, I turned my thoughts to the case. I knew I didn’t have much time left to figure out what Blackstone was up to and even though it was my job to stay close to Jenna I also knew it wasn’t yielding the results I needed. I would have to find a way to split my time to meet both of those objectives.
At some point I would have to face facts. Jenna was part of my job. As much as I wanted to pretend I had any future with her, I didn’t. Regardless of the outcome of the case; it would be over soon. I would go back to D.C. and Jenna would be here, hating me.
Once I heard Jenna open the door to the condo, I decided to set my thoughts aside. It was too late for me to walk away now; we passed the point of no return. Until the case was over, I couldn’t let Jenna sense I was conflicted. For the time being, she was all mine.
“That was long,” I commented as I handed her a cup of coffee.
“Sorry. It couldn’t be helped. Apparently, once you shock the hell out of your best friend, she doesn’t just drop it.”
I followed Jenna into the living room. She plopped down into the chair and placed her feet on the ottoman. I took that as a sign she wanted to talk, so I sat on the loveseat nearest her.
“Has she forgiven you?”
“Of course; I’m very lovable. Besides, she needs a maid of honor.”
“Really?” I realized how that sounded. “The maid of honor part, not the lovable thing.”
“They got engaged last night, which is why she’s been calling all morning from his house,” Jenna said, a faraway look passing through her eyes.
“Are you alright?”
“Yeah, it…brought back memories, that’s all.”
“Okay.” Time to change the subject. “I don’t think your cat likes me much.”
Jenna smiled and shook her head “I wouldn’t take it personally. He was Tony’s cat. I imagine he wouldn’t like any man in my life,” she replied, absent, her gaze again far away.
I got the impression something else was on her mind, something she wasn’t telling me.
“Okay, what’s going on here?”
“Nothing.”
I could tell she was lying. I was trained to read people and she was an awful liar. I rose and walked over to where she was sitting. As if she were reading my thoughts, she moved her feet off the ottoman so I could sit down.
“Come on, Jenna. I can tell something else is on your mind. You aren’t having second thoughts about last night, are you?”
“No, of course not. It’s just…”
“You can tell me anything.”
“I know, Jackson. I guess I feel, uh, awkward.”
“I thought we already talked about this and you felt better about it?”
“No, we did, but…I’m not usually as forward as I was last night. I’m not the kind of woman who keeps a supply of condoms by her bed and…”
“I’m glad you did,” I interrupted her.
“Me too,” Jenna replied, averting her eyes.
“While we’re on the subject,” I began, taking her hand in mine, “you should know I don’t make a habit out of this sort of thing, either. As far as you being too forward; I don’t think that’s possible. Anything short of what you said wouldn’t have gotten the point across to me. I can be dense about this stuff.”
“I noticed.”
“Finally, I get a smile out of you.”
Jenna set her coffee on the table next to her chair. The knot on her robe was not tight – at all – and I could see a provocative triangle of creamy skin peeking through. I found it difficult to tear my eyes away and focus on her face when she turned back to me.
“Jackson, you haven’t done much dating since your wife died, have you?”
Slippery slope. Not good.
“Only the obligatory fix-up’s my friends tricked me into. I can’t remember the last real date I’ve been on.”
“Me neither, but I think I made up for lost time last night.”
I wasn’t keen on the idea of talking about my ‘dead’ wife. I knew I needed to change the subject, but I also knew it had to be subtle. Mmm, I think I have the perfect solution. “You did?”
“Yes. Why?”
“Because I don’t think I did.” Come on, Jenna…take the hint and run with it.
“You’re kidding, right?” Jenna looked shocked. “I can’t even remember how many times we had sex last night. How could you not…” She got the hint. “Huh. Well we should do something about that.”
I scooped her into my arms. On the way to the bedroom I stopped at the door to make sure it was locked. I didn’t want any visitors walking in. At least, not for a few hours…
© 2009, Sydney Katt. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use of content will result in dragon attacks.
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