Changing Course (15 page)

"Tell me where you learned to bowl?" He asks pushing his empty plate away and reclining back in his chair.

"Ugh, you're not seriously going to make me tell you this story are you?"

"Of course I am. The fact that you don't want to tell me only makes me that much more curious."

"Fine, one of the bowling professors was, um...very attractive. Kara and I took every class he offered until one day, his equally attractive boyfriend showed up to take him to lunch." Just as I expected, Brett throws his head back in laughter.

"Wait, let me get this straight, you paid to take bowling classes just because the instructor was good looking?"

"Pretty much. Well, I didn't pay for them. I was on a scholarship. So technically, the college paid for them."

"Scholarship?" His eyes perk in surprise.

"Yeah, I had an academic scholarship until I got my first degree."

"Wait, you already have a degree?"

"Yep, I have a bachelors and two associate degrees."

"Wow! What are you still doing in school then?"

"I didn't exactly think my Bowling Alley Management degree was going to take me very far in life. Honestly, I'm a little creeped out by all the sweaty shoes. I learned to enjoy the sport from my cute professor, but I'm not cracked up to spend forty hours a week in a bowling alley."

"Oh my God, you really did hustle me yesterday." His loud accusation makes me playfully bite my lip and look away. "Shit, that's even hotter than the dress." I barely hear him mumble to himself.

"Yeah, sorry about that."

"No, please don't apologize. Who else knows about this little skill of yours? I believe Caleb needs to join us next time for a bowling excursion. You can win back some of my money he stole in poker last month. You'll be like my own secret weapon." I barely contain my excitement as he talks about future plans together. Just the idea of a second date brings an instant smile to my face.

"Judging by that smile, I think you like the idea of hustling Caleb too. I've got to tell you babe, I like that a lot." He flirts, and we both start laughing.

When the check arrives, Brett doesn't even look at the total. He just hands his credit card to the waiter. My eyes must have grown wide, because he shakes his head and says, "Not one word, gorgeous. This has been completely worth whatever is on that total line." He essentially hushes me before I even have a chance to comment.

Brett

A
S WE
leave Lang's, I slide my hand down Jesse's back, stopping just above the curve of her ass. God, she looks incredible tonight. I've been wanting to peel off that dress from the first second I laid eyes on her. I never noticed it before, but I think I might have a slight obsession with heels now. For such a short woman, Jesse has two of the most amazing legs I have ever seen. But then again, the whole Jesse package is sexy.

I was shocked at dinner when she told me she already has a couple of college degrees. I mean, seriously, I pegged her all wrong. This isn't a girl stuck in a job at a coffee shop. Jesse is a woman with so many dreams, she doesn't even know how to focus in one place. I dig smart girls, and listening to her talk tonight, only reinforced that. She might be quiet and shy at first, but once you break her out of that invisible shell, she's unbelievable.

When she opened herself up to me tonight about her childhood, it killed me. The last thing I was trying to do was intimidate her with my car or restaurant choice. I just wanted to take her someplace nice and do it in style. She deserves that. I hate that my attempts to impress her actually brought out some painful feelings for her. I wish she didn't feel like that, but I loved the way she fearlessly opened up to me. I hope a little insight into my background brought her some semblance of comfort. She has nothing to be ashamed of. We all have a past. Especially me.

"It's still early. You want to go for a drive?" I ask as we leisurely stroll towards my car.

"Yeah, sure." She innocently lifts her big brown eyes in my direction. It's all I can do to wait the last three steps before pinning her against my car. I catch her off guard because she stumbles forward, but I won't let her fall. I gently lift her off her feet, spinning her to face me. One hand sifts into her hair, the other tracing down her waist.

"What if we go back to my place instead? I've got some beer and we can pretend to watch another movie." I don't wait for her to answer. I lean down and begin to trail kisses over her exposed shoulder.

"Mmm, that sounds like a much better plan." She turns her head, exposing her neck, and inviting me in for another taste of her skin. Who am I to turn down a beautiful lady? But before I can kiss her again, she buries herself in my chest. Her arms are curled between us as she snuggles into me.

"I had fun tonight," I say while enjoying the moment of closeness. It's been a long time since I've been able to share something so simple with someone.

"Mmmhmm," is her only response.

I think she has taken this moment from hot and sexy, and down shifted it to sweet and innocent. But then she loops her hands under my arms, grabbing my shoulders, and pulls me down to kiss the red mark she left last night. She ends the lingering kiss with a wet dart of her tongue, licking up my neck.

I let out a growl, "I need to get you home."

"I agree," she moans.

"In you go." I pull open the door, jokingly shoving her inside as quickly as possible. Luckily, she gets my joke and starts giggling. Unfortunately for me, it causes my dick to go ridged, and I have to ride home uncomfortably trapped in my pants.

W
HEN WE
arrive at my apartment, I waste no time grabbing two beers out of the fridge. I walk over to see her sitting on the couch with her jacket still wrapped tightly around her. I place the beers on the table in front of her and remember my manners.

“Here, let me take your jacket."

"No, it's okay. I shouldn't stay long," she says, retreating back into herself. Jesse is unlike any woman I have ever met. She is either shy and reserved, or feisty and hilarious. It's like dating two different women. I thought we made such progress at dinner. She opened up to me about her past, but it seems the drive home has set us right back into insecure territory. It's going to be my personal mission to shatter the shell that she uses as a shield.

"What do you mean you can't stay long? You promised me beer and another taste of those delicious lips." I reach forward tucking her hair behind her ear. "You can't promise a starving man sustenance, then take it all away." I glide my hands down the back of her head to cup her neck. Gently, I tilt her head back and place a series of kisses on her mouth. On the last kiss, I gently touch my tongue to her soft bottom lip. "Say you're not going to take it away," I whisper against her lips.

She can't stay stuck inside her head forever, and if I have learned anything with Jesse in the last few days, I affect her just as much as she does me. I'll use whatever means I have, to make her go back to the flirty woman who was eager to come home with me outside the restaurant.

When she doesn't immediately respond to my words, I break out the big guns. Literally. I step back pulling off my own jacket. Laying it across the chair beside me, I raise an eye brow at her. "Gorgeous, I'm not ashamed to admit that this cute, sweet, shy girl thing that you have going on right now is a real turn on. However, I miss the woman who I had dinner with tonight. You might remember her. She was laughing at me and making fun of my lackluster bowling abilities. If I recall correctly, she was even making out with me in the parking lot of a five-star restaurant. She was a firecracker.

“I happen to know she has some sort of fetish with my arms, so this is strictly an effort to lure her back." I reach down making a showing of rolling up my sleeves even further. My silly play did exactly as intended. Jesse starts shaking her head and laughing at me.

"You are so full of yourself," she says, rolling her eyes.

"It worked though. She's back! I'd recognize that eye roll anywhere. Care to explain to me where you went."

She lets out a groan, "I’m just a little nervous. It feels like scheduled hook up time. When we were in the moment, it was easy but now…I don’t know."

"I didn't schedule this! If this works out, maybe I'll schedule you for next week, but tonight was just pure luck," I tease trying to ease her nerves.

"Are you always this big of a jerk when a girl doesn't want to kiss you?” Her serious tone makes my head snap up. She walks away, picking up the beer that was sitting on the coffee table. Tipping it up, she completely drains it before turning back to face me.

"Hey, you know I was kidding, right? I wasn't trying to be a dick. I was just trying to make you laugh, that's all. There is no pressure tonight, Jess. I just wanted to spend more time with you. I like having you around."

"You know for such a big tough guy, you really are a sucker." She winks at me.

"You little..." I don't complete my thought before racing across the room sweeping up her petite body up, and softly dropping her onto the couch. She lets out a squeal the minute her feet leave the ground. I watch her writhe under me while I pin her to the couch tickling her. As much as I like to think of myself as the gentleman I portrayed tonight, I can't help but wish she was writhing in ecstasy while I was buried inside her. Just the thought makes my pants stir. I'm lying on top of her and the way she's moving has caused her dress to ride up. I realize that my denim zipper is directly against her panties. And damn, if that doesn't almost finish me off.

I lock my eyes to hers and stop moving. She’s staring at me with flushed cheeks as if she just realized our position as well. Just as I begin to move away, I see her tongue peak out wetting her lips. Oh yeah, this is happening.

Jesse

O
H MY
God, oh my God. This cannot be happening...can it? Brett has this hooded look like he wants to devour me, and my panties are soaked. I am surprised I'm not leaving a wet spot on his jeans. Oh please, don't let it be leaving a wet spot. That would be humiliating.

Okay Jess, it’s time to woman up! You can do this. Deep breath! This is what you have been dreaming about for months.

"Jess?" Brett asks with slight hesitation in his voice. Before I give myself any more time to chicken out, I lift up and cup the back of his neck and pull him into a deep kiss. Proving to myself that I'm okay with this...whatever this may be. Pushing up on my elbows, careful not to break the kiss I reach down to unzip my dress.

"Let me do that, gorgeous," he breathes into my mouth. His hands glide down over my breasts to the zipper on the side of my dress. My skin is on fire and he can probably see the blush from my head to my toes. Brett slowly peels the top down and exposes my red lace. He traces around my hard nipples with his fingertips, before reaching around to unclasp my bra. With one flick, I feel it loosen and begin to fall away.

Just before it completely exposes me, Brett pulls each side tight against my body, leaning down to catch my eyes with a questioning look. He has skills and he radiates confidence, but he's still searching for permission. Which is something so sweet that it immediately makes me throw all caution to the wind. I lie back down, pulling my bra from his hands, and tossing it off to the side of the couch, where we are still lying entwined.

Lying half naked before this jaw-dropping man should be terrifying, but the look on his face makes me feel confident, even sexy. Brett makes quick work of removing his shirt, discarding it into the rapidly growing pile of clothes on the floor. I die a little when I get my first glance at his hard body. He couldn't be any more perfect. He’s trim, but well defined. Every muscle in his shoulders ripple as he moves himself back into place over me. I can't stop myself from reaching forward and tracing a finger over the ridges on his stomach. His skin is tan and a small amount of hair dusts across his chest. He’s the masculine ideal, and nothing like the boys I've been with in the past. This is a man in every sense of the word.

Brett captures my lips in a heated kiss, but doesn't deepen it. Instead, he moves to my neck, trailing wet kisses down to my chest. His descent is too slow for me. Reaching forward I thread my fingers in his hair and arch my back, thrusting myself closer to his mouth. Surprised by my boldness, he looks up at me with a lust-filled gaze, silently begging for permission to continue. All I can do is bite my lip and nod my enthusiastic approval. He wastes no time sucking a nipple into his mouth and lightly tugging on it with his teeth. I can't stop the moan that comes out of my mouth.