Champagne Kisses: A Timeless Love Story (3 page)

Jenny sidled up to the bar, wedging herself between a bar-stool and the dark-haired one who had been looking at me earlier. He turned and gave her a once-over, a cocky half-smile crossing his lips. The other two raised their eyebrows as she used her sexiest voice, though it was hard to hear over the music. "Hey, Soldier."

The handsome, dark-haired man set his drink down on the bar, careful not to spill it. Behind him, Blondie nudged Redshirt. They gave us appreciative smiles before turning to hear what the dark-haired man said to Jenny.

"Hey, yourself." The dark-haired man's voice was even better than I could have expected. I could have listened to him talk all day.

"Can I buy you a drink?" Jenny said, flirting shamelessly. I fought the urge to roll my eyes, especially since I knew she would be hitting Kimberly and me up for the cash later to pay for it.

"Of course," he said. "Whiskeys all around, then." He grinned at her as he called to the bartender and ordered the house whiskey. I wanted to play in this game too, so I slid in between him and the blonde friend. Kimberly was hot on my heels.

"I'll take one too," I chimed in.

The dark-haired man turned and raised his eyebrows at me. I finally got a look at those crystal clear blue eyes of his. I could lose myself in those eyes. "You like whiskey?" He gave me that cocky half-grin, and I couldn't help but smile back.

"Make mine a double," I said to the bartender as he poured out a row of drinks. Mr. Tall-Dark-and-Handsome gave me an approving nod as we all reached for a drink.

"What are we toasting to?" Blondie asked as we raised our glasses.

"To meeting new friends," Jenny shouted right away. We all grinned, clinked our glasses, and drank. The amber liquid gave a satisfying burn as it went down, and a happy warmth starting to tingle in my limbs. This was going to be a good night.

Jenny set her empty glass on the bar. "I'm Jenny. This is Rachel, and that's Kimberly."

"I'm Dean," the dark-haired man said with a smile. His blue eyes twinkled in the dim light.

"I'm Matt, and this here's Anthony," Blondie added, tipping his head toward the tannest of the three.

"Call me Tony." Redshirt gave all three of us girls a big grin, but his brown eyes lit up when they met with Kimberly's. I could practically hear Cupid's arrow fly past me and skewer the two of them, even with the bar music playing overhead.

"So, Dean, where are you boys stationed?" Jenny asked, fluttering her eyelashes. I gave Matt a shy smile as I played with my glass, rolling it around between my fingers. He was big and tall; I guessed he had probably played football in high school given his build, and I would have happily had another drink with him, but his eyes were glued on Jenny.

"What makes you think we're stationed anywhere?" Dean said, leaning his back against the bar, able to see Jenny on his right and me and everyone else on his left.

"Your tattoos." Jenny brushed her hand against his arm where the eagle's claws poked out under his shirt sleeve. "I like tattoos. You wanna see mine?"

Dean stiffened slightly at her touch. It was as though he finally realized that she was focusing her attention on him, and that the rest of us were watching to see what happened next. He frowned slightly as he tried to figure out what to say without turning her down.

"Dean's not big on tattoos, but I'll show you mine if you'll show me yours." Matt jumped into the conversation before Dean found the words he was looking for. I hid a small smile as I turned towards the bar, looking for the bartender to order another drink. Matt's eyes hadn't left Jenny from the moment she walked in. There was no way he was going to let her walk out with anybody else.

Jenny looked Matt up and down for a moment, then glanced at Dean. A slow smile crossed her face as she realized she had a sure thing with the muscular blonde man. How did the saying go? "
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush."
It was almost magic as she shifted herself away from Dean and next to Matt.

"Buy me a drink?" she purred, oozing desire. Matt's face broke out in a goofy smile, and he waved the bartender over. The bartender actually paid attention to him, and scuttled back down the bar with two fresh beers.

Matt threw some money on the bar and wrapped his big arm around Jenny, leading her off toward a booth. I knew she was going to be having company tonight. I managed to catch the bartender before he disappeared again, ordering myself a beer.

"I guess that leaves just you and me," Dean said, putting money on the bar for my beer before I had the chance. I glanced beside me to see that Kimberly and Tony had vanished into a dark corner of the bar together. Looking at Dean, though, I wasn't sad. I was glad to have him all to myself.

"I'll get the next one, then," I said as the bartender whisked the money away before I could tell him otherwise.

"Deal." The man had a wicked grin. It was just lopsided enough to give him such a cockiness that I couldn't decide if I wanted to smack it or kiss it off his face.

"It was Dean, right?" I asked. I was doing my best to play nonchalant, but it was hard. With those blue eyes, and rippling arm muscles, he could have had me on the bar right there.

Dean nodded. "So, what are three lovely ladies doing in a town like this?" The corners of his eyes crinkled as he smiled and sipped on his drink from before we arrived.

"We just got out of school. We're celebrating while we still have loan money and before real life sets in. What about you?" I asked. It took conscious effort not to inch closer and touch him.

"We're on leave. We have to head back out at the end of the week." He said it like it didn't bother him, but his jaw tightened and his arms crossed his chest. I could tell that he wasn't looking forward to returning to whatever real life was for him.

"Why'd you come here?" I asked, guessing that if he didn't mention where he was going, he didn't want to talk about it. "I would think you would want to go to a bigger city for a vacation. Someplace like Miami or Vegas, not a tiny tourist-trap beach town like this."

He gave me that wicked smile again. Something deep inside me started to ache to feel that smile kiss me. I hadn't felt this physically attracted to a man in a long time. I'd had a couple of boyfriends in college, but nothing had ever really stuck. My relationships were either all physical or all mental, and neither of those will last for long without the other.

"Frontera's mom has a beach house here. It's nicer than anything we could have gotten anywhere else," Dean said matter-of-factly. "She's not using it, so we got it for the week. Besides, this place is all Frontera ever talks about. We had to make sure he wasn't making it up." He took a long draw on his drink.

"Frontera?" I asked, confused.

"Tony. Sorry, he's Anthony Frontera, but we usually call him Frontera."

"Well, I guess if you need to, you can call me Weber," I said with a smirk.

He laughed and finished his drink. "All right, Weber. What's your plans for your 'real life' that you're delaying by coming here?"

Normally I would have been put off by such a question, but I opened up to Dean immediately. I bought the next drink, and he bought the one after that. My head was starting to buzz, so I slowed down, feeling that I had drank enough.

I talked about my hopes of working for a fashion designer in New York, about my dreams of opening my own design place. In the meantime, how I'd be happy just to get a job in the field. He listened attentively, nodding at just the right spots, asking questions that I was happy to answer. It seemed so easy to fall into a conversation with him, and I felt myself leaning closer and closer as we talked. He didn't volunteer any information about his job in the Army, and I didn't ask. I was happy to talk about myself for a while.

After talking for what seemed like forever, I decided to change the subject. "So," I said with a sly smile. "Where is this house that Tony couldn't shut up about?"

"Are you trying to get my address?" Dean asked with a mock-scandalized look, putting his hand up to his face like some Victorian age lady. I couldn't help but laugh. "It's right off the beach and about half a block that way." He nodded his head up toward the expensive houses. "It's the blue one."

"Are you serious?" I exclaimed. "That place is huge! You could fit half the Army in that house," If it really was the house I was thinking of, it was the biggest house on the beach.

"Yeah, it's probably the nicest place I've ever been," he said. He set his empty glass on the bar and gave me that smile again, this time with a little bit of conspiracy behind it. "You want a tour?"

"Hell yes!" I couldn't even hide my excitement.

J
une 5th, 1990- Evening

Dean took me by the hand, and we stumbled out of the brightly-lit bar and onto the sidewalk. I knew that the other girls would wonder about where I went, but I didn't care. I could feel the whiskey and beer buzzing through my system, making me giddy. We were outside before I realized that Dean hadn't let go of my hand. I could feel his heat seeping into my skin, sending little tendrils of electricity up my spine. I was lightheaded, and I knew it wasn't just from the alcohol.

Since I'd seen the house while out on the beach with Jenny and Kimberly, I already knew the way to the house. I half-consciously started to lead the way. "What's your hurry?" he asked. "That eager to get me to my house?"

I stuck my tongue out at him. "All right, big guy, what else do you have in mind?"

He shrugged his shoulders. I couldn't help but notice the strength in them whenever he did that. "Have you ever checked out the shops in Old Town?"

I smiled. "Yes, we went there earlier today, as a matter of fact."

"Did you check out the surf shop? There was some surfboards with some fantastic designs on them," he said.

I shook my head. If I had seen it, I had probably just walked right past it. I had never been surfing in my life.

He grabbed my hand and smiled. "Come on!" he said, sounding like an excited five-year-old. I couldn't help but come along.

When we got to the store, it was already closed for the evening. Still, Dean pressed his face to the glass and looked at them. Even in the dim light from the street, I could see a whole wall full of surfboards. Dean pointed out a few that he liked. The ones he picked tended to be simple and super masculine. The rest were mostly beach scenery, but one in particular caught my eye. It reminded me of a watercolor painting, something that Kim would have painted.

"I love surfing," Dean said, still peering into the store. "One day, when I retire, I'm going to live on some resort island and just surf every day." He turned toward me, smiling. "How about you?" he asked.

I laughed. "I have no idea where I'll retire. I have to actually get a job to retire someday."

He laughed back at me. "I didn't mean that. I meant surfing! Do you like it?"

I crossed my arms. "I've never been."

"Never been!" he shouted, as if he had never heard something so ridiculous. "I'd love to give you a lesson sometime."

I smiled. "I'd like that."

Our eyes were locked. Dean's crystal blue eyes seemed to gleam as he delved into mine, and I just wanted to melt right into them. "For now, though, you wanted to see the house."

I fell out of the trance for a moment. "Right. The house," I said. He held my hand again and began to lead the way. Suddenly, he seemed to be walking a little faster, as if he had a purpose now.

It was a short walk to the big, blue house. As Dean stepped onto the Southern-style porch, I was just tipsy enough that I missed the last step and tripped. Dean caught me effortlessly, wrapping his strong arms around me and making sure I never hit the ground.

This close, I could smell his cologne. It was clean and fresh, like soap but with a super masculine undertone. His heat was wonderful against my skin, sending little pangs of hot desire deep into my core. His face came close to mine as he made sure I was steady on my feet. For half a heartbeat, I was sure he was going to kiss me. I wanted him to kiss me more than anything. Our lips were so close that I could feel his breath, and I leaned forward, silently begging him to kiss me.

But he simply gave me that infuriating smile and pulled away.

He didn't let me go until he was sure I was relatively stable, but I shot him an evil glare. I had wanted that kiss. He simply continued to give me that impish grin as he grabbed my hand and led me inside the giant house.

The inside was just as beautiful as the outside. The wooden floors creaked as we crept past heavy white wooden furniture with comfortable-looking cushions and giant painted seascapes to a big open kitchen. Dean let go of my hand for a moment. The disconnection almost seemed to cause me physical pain, even though he only did it to open the fridge and get us drinks. I wandered across the wooden floor until I came to a couch facing the large window overlooking the beach. The moon was starting to rise, casting a magical glow across the white sand.

I flinched as a purple and gold top went flying past my head, followed by a giggle. Looking down over the couch, I could see arms and legs of two people, along with the tattoo that we had heard Jenny admire. Color rushed into my cheeks. I backed away slowly, and Jenny and Matt never even noticed me, but I still couldn't get the blush off my face. I made my way into the kitchen where Dean grabbed my hand and hurried me to the foot the stairs. Moans of pleasure started to come from the couch, and the two of us giggled as we sneaked up the stairs. The dark seemed warm and inviting, caressing the two of us like clandestine lovers.

Dean guided me carefully down a hallway and into a room. He hit the light switch, and I instinctively closed my eyes as the light blinded me. When I opened them up again, I surveyed the room. The king-sized bed dominated the space, but the wicker furniture was comfortable-looking and reflected the easy style of the beach outside. Dean held up a bottle of champagne with two champagne flutes in one hand, condensation already collecting on the cold glass. He headed toward two big French doors.