Cocktails & Dreams (12 page)

He stopped her with a gentle hand on her lips. “Nope. I like this idea. Back to the beginning.” He grinned as he trailed his fingers from her mouth to trace the neckline of her tank top. “You’re cute when you babble.” Nick’s eyes followed his fingers with fascination, and he licked his lips. “The rest of the time you’re just irresistible,” he said, stepping forward to press his lips firmly on hers.

Resistance didn’t even cross Jena’s mind as she slid her hands over his shoulders and upward to stroke the hair at the nape of his neck. He moaned in the back of his throat and folded her closer, running his hands over her back and hips as his tongue met hers. When he lifted Jena to sit on a low repair table, she took advantage of the position to wrap her leg around his hip and pull him hard against her. Nick chuckled, putting a hand flat on the table on either side of her hips and moving forward until she was leaning back on her elbows, almost lying on the table. His mouth traced kisses down the side of her neck as Jena arched her head back, and he slid one hand under the hem of her shirt to lightly caress her stomach. She inhaled sharply, then let the air out with a sigh and whispered, “Nicholas.”

His touch became more urgent, traveling upward to her breast. “Too many clothes,” he muttered, pushing aside the cup of her bra.

“Just five pieces,” Jena whispered in his ear.

He stopped moving. “Shoes count as two?”

“Yep.”

Nick rested his forehead against Jena’s chest and shook his head. “That’s my girl,” he said.

The sound of the boathouse door crashing open was followed by a giggle and a loud, “Oops!” before the door shut with a bang.

Nicholas and Jena froze and stared at each other, breathing raggedly. She felt a hot blush flood her face before the incongruity of their position struck her funny bone. She snickered, and in an instant he joined in, tugging Jena upright and setting her feet on the floor. Kissing the top of her head with a loud smack, he squeezed her, resting his cheek on her hair.

Jena wrapped her arms around his waist, giggles still escaping occasionally. “See what you do to me, Mr. Cooper? I ask you out for a perfectly innocent date, and you have me behaving like a hoochie again.” Her laughter trailed off.

Nicholas raised her chin and looked into her eyes. “‘Hoochie’?” he asked skeptically, grinning at her renewed color. He smoothed her hair away from her face. “This isn’t normal for me either, Jen. Ask Conor—he’ll tell you how boring I am.” He refused to let Jena drop her head again. “Hey, promise me you won’t feel bad about us. That would kill me.”

She nodded, feeling a little better, but a slight awkwardness persisted as they continued the aborted search for the scull she wanted. Working out the issue of how to get the two-man scull launched without overtaxing Nicholas’s newly healed shoulder allowed them to become comfortable with each other again. They spent the rest of the day talking, rowing in lazy patterns and returning to the dock to switch places every once in a while. When it was Nicholas setting the pace, Jena enjoyed watching the smooth play of the muscles of his back and the side of his leg, and felt the same regard trained on her when she was at stroke.

Finally returning the scull to the boathouse, they sat at the end of the dock and lazily munched on the light lunch Jena had packed. She asked Nicholas about his experiences as an EMT, enjoying the animation in his face and the nervous hand that constantly pushed through the dark hair that was growing out nicely from the severe cut she’d first seen on him at New Year’s.

The sun was heading toward the water when Jena noticed how long they had been sitting and talking. “Well,” she sighed, “I suppose I should get you home, Nicholas.” She jumped to her feet and gave him a hand up as he groaned.

“My ass is asleep. Rub it?” He smiled slyly.

“Nice try. Not even remotely gonna consider it after what happened earlier.” She smiled.

Nicholas caught her hand as she turned toward the parking lot. “Let me take you to dinner. You’ll have to drive again, but I’d really like to continue our date. Please?” He looked at Jena through his lashes, and she slapped his arm.

“I should never have told you about the effect that look has on me, manipulator!” she scolded. He laughed. “It wasn’t even necessary, because I never turn down free food as a matter of principle. Well, unless the guy is psycho-scary. I might have to reconsider the principle then.”

Since Jena’s apartment was closer to the university, they decided to stop there first. When they got to her door, Jena was a little nervous, partly because Nicholas had never been to her apartment and partly because of her traumatic peepee-sighting event.

“Trav?” she called, opening the door slowly and entering with eyes closed, as had become her custom. “Leis?” All was silent. Jena breathed a sigh of relief, pushing the door open and glancing back to see Nicholas watching in silent amusement. “Don’t laugh at me, big boy. If you’d seen what I saw a while back, you’d be scarred, too.” She tossed her keys in the bowl on the end table and dropped her bag on the floor next to the TV.

Nicholas chuckled. “I live with Conor, a.k.a. King Schlong. Do you really think you’ve been more traumatized than I have? I could tell you stories.” He stopped, laughing at Jena’s horrified face, and walked over to examine her bookshelves.

The man was nothing if not thorough in getting to know her, Jena thought. She hesitated in the doorway, wondering what he was thinking.

Noticing her hovering there, Nicholas flapped his hand at her with a grin. “Take your shower. I’ll just be here, mentally dissing your favorite authors.” He turned back to the shelves.

Jena was drying off when she heard voices in the kitchen. Yanking on a robe, she hurried out to find Nicholas talking to Leisa and Travis. Nick’s eyes darkened as he swept them over Jena’s clinging robe and wet hair; this time she didn’t have to wonder what he was thinking.

“Jena, we have the best idea, sweet pea.” Leisa’s voice was like honey as she wrapped her arm through Jena’s. “I know you guys were planning on going out to dinner, but how about an evening in? Trav and I brought this huge pizza, and we plan on watching movies tonight. Please? We haven’t seen you in days, sugar,” she wheedled, looking up at Jena with puppy-dog eyes.

Damn her. Jena was a sucker for puppy power. She looked helplessly at Nicholas, and he laughed.

“Why not? I’ll just owe you a rain check on dinner. I’d like to clean up a little bit, though, so can I borrow your car for a few minutes? My parents will be bringing mine out here soon, thank God, but for now I have to rely on Conor, and he was going out.”

“Travis can give you a lift,” Leisa offered brightly, “and you guys can pick up beer on your way back.”

Travis gazed at Leisa with adoration as she ran his life. “Sure, sugar. Nick?”

The men headed out with promises to hurry back. As soon as the door shut, Leisa was tugging Jena back to her room. “Come on, come on. You don’t have much time.”

Jena pulled a plain white bra out of the back of a drawer and, Leisa made a face. “Jesus, Jena! Haven’t you bought underwear in this decade? At least grab that thong.” She grabbed it herself and threw it on the bed as Jena tossed her a glare and extracted a pair of gray yoga pants and a navy fitted tee.

“That’s just sad,” Leisa remarked. “As soon as the movie is on and things get going, Travis and I will make a tasteful escape and—”

“No, Leisa! You have to promise me that you’ll stay or
I’ll
leave right now, I swear to God.”

Leisa looked skeptical. “Right. And watch you guys get all up on each other? No thanks!”

Jena sank down on the bed, staring at her hands. “Leis, that’s what I’m trying to avoid. I would like to prove to myself that I can exert the smallest bit of self-control around Nicholas, okay? And I’m not doing so well already.” She told Leisa about the incident in the boathouse, and Leisa giggled.

“You and self-control have only a nodding acquaintance,” Leisa agreed.

“Leisa, this is so not funny. You have to stay in the apartment. Please. If my self-control were Batman, Nicholas would be the Joker. If it were John Connor, he’d be the Terminator. If it were Superman, he would be—”

“Lex Luthor, right? I get it.” Leisa shook her head.

“No,” Jena shot back, “he would be the kryptonite. You can always put Lex Luthor in jail, but the kryptonite…its power is unstoppable.” Jena’s voice trailed off as she finally noticed Leisa’s bemused face. “What?”

“God, Jena,” Leisa whispered. “You are
such
a dork.”

Jena pushed her out the door and dressed quickly. She shoved the thong back in the drawer from which it came, not willing to brave overwhelming lust while worrying about butt floss. Some torments were too much for any woman to handle.

Just as Jena set out plates, Nicholas and Travis returned, each carrying a six-pack of beer and bags of munchies. Nicholas and Jena shared the couch, while Leisa and Travis lounged on the floor, eating and talking until everyone was full, and then they let Nicholas pick the movie.

He considered carefully before snagging
I Am Legend
out of the drawer. “How’s this?”

Leisa clapped her hands. “I love that one, Cooper. Jena will cry, but she loves it, too, so don’t worry.” Leisa took the DVD from his hand and cued it up.

Nicholas raised an eyebrow at Jena. “You cry at zombie movies?”

“Okay, yes, I do,” Jena said defensively. “This one, at least. Will Smith is just so lonely, you know? I feel sorry for him.” Jena aimed a cushion at Leisa’s head and missed. “First you call me a dork and then you embarrass me. There will be payback, bitch.”

Leisa laughed and tossed the cushion back to Jena.

“Leisa called you a dork? What was that all about?” Nicholas asked, and Jena rushed to answer before Leisa decided to “help” again and spilled the whole story.

“Comic book discussion. Forget it. Are we going to watch the movie or not?” Jena flopped back on the couch and pulled a blanket over herself, pointedly watching the screen.

Nicholas chuckled and sat down by her feet, rubbing them through the blanket. After a few minutes, he whispered, “Is there room for me?”

Jena smiled, moving toward the edge of the couch to give him room to settle behind her. Nicholas sighed in contentment as he wrapped an arm around her waist and snuggled her within the curve of his body, tangling their legs together and resting his cheek against the top of her head. Jena sighed, too, wrapping her arm over his encircling forearm and twining their fingers together.

As the movie played, Jena felt Nick’s breathing even out, followed by a soft snore. Leisa laughed from the floor, and Travis shushed her. Snuggled into Nicholas’s warmth, Jena briefly considered staying where she was when the movie was over. Ultimately, though, she decided that would probably not be the best idea if she were trying to prove to herself that she could spend time with Nicholas and not jump on him, because the temptation was great. She’d never make it to morning without running her hands all over him.

Turning carefully in his arms, Jena stroked Nick’s jaw until he started to stir. “Hey, sleepyhead. Time to go home.”

“Crap. What time is it?” Nick opened one eye and looked at his watch, then snuggled Jena closer. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep.” He yawned. “I haven’t been sleeping very well lately. I need you to keep the dreams away.” He pulled his head back slightly to smile at Jena’s pink face. “Or is that saying too much?”

She smiled back, squeezing him for just a second. “Nope. I like it.” She grimaced when Leisa called out from the kitchen, offering Nick a ride home. “I guess it’s time, huh?” She rolled to her feet and pulled him to his, ignoring the little voice in her head that argued stridently that he should just stay.

Nicholas followed her to the door, dragging his feet. She took the opportunity to pull his face down for a deep kiss. “I can’t believe I wasted the opportunity to delve into the five pieces of clothing to
sleep
, for God’s sake,” Nick murmured when they came up for air. “Forgive me?”

Jena smoothed his unruly hair as best as she could and straightened his shirt before curling her hands in the front and pulling him down for another kiss. “Nothing to forgive. I liked you holding me while you slept, Nicholas.” A whisper of uneasiness drifted through her as she realized how much she’d liked it—how natural it felt. Could it be wise to get used to that feeling, she wondered? Nick held her more tightly, and she decided that she didn’t care.

Leisa and Travis were back in the room and saying their goodbyes, so Jena pulled Nick’s head down to say quietly, “It’s not five pieces anymore, anyway. See? No shoes.”

Nicholas looked down as Jena wiggled her toes, and she quickly did the magic trick all girls know by seventh grade.

“It’s two, now,” Jena whispered in his ear, slipping her bra in his pocket and laughing as she fled to her room.

N
ICHOLAS
M
UST
H
AVE
P
ULLED
that damned bra out of his pocket a dozen times over the next few hours, just to breathe in Jena’s scent and smile over her boldness. Of course, he could have left it on the couch, but how much fun would that be? Even as he was rolling it up and stuffing it in his jacket pocket, Nick had desperately wanted his hands to take its place on Jena’s body. He couldn’t believe he’d wasted an hour with her by sleeping.

He’d paid for that later, of course, when sleep escaped him and his mind insisted on replaying every minute of the previous Friday night in a torturous loop. As much as he wanted to respect Jena’s request to slow it down…
damn.
He’d never been what you would call oversexed, but he’d been thinking and dreaming about this woman for months. It was becoming impossible to pretend not to remember how Jena felt under him, around him. Impossible not to remember how her hands felt on his skin or the sounds she made at her climax. Or her taste—everywhere. Maybe if last weekend was as far as they’d ever gone it would have been easier to wait, because he’d be guessing and anticipating. But it wasn’t the furthest, and he wasn’t guessing. He
knew
what he was missing, damn it. Conor and his damned Cheez Whiz analogy popped into Nick’s mind, and he had to laugh at how apt it had turned out to be. There was really no going back.

The thing was, how the hell was he supposed to bring up New Year’s Eve? “
Hey, do you want to talk about the spectacular sex we had that I forgot, but really I didn’t, because I’ve been dreaming about fucking you ever since”
didn’t really appeal to him as a conversational opener, and he couldn’t think of any other way to express what needed to be said. He hated to admit it, but Conor was right.

All his agonizing turned out to be a moot point, however, when his parents showed up with his car a few days before start of term and Nick was obliged to entertain them.

Touring the area with his parents, he carefully doled out information about his friends while keeping Jena to himself. As much as he cared about her, he wasn’t willing to brave his mother’s inevitable enthusiasm and his father’s equally inevitable coolness without her by his side. Over lunch, he deflected all of his mother’s delicate inquiries about his finances, as well. Nick had an uneasy truce with his parents when it came to money. They had planned for many years to pay for his education, so he allowed them to do so, but he couldn’t bring himself to take money from them beyond that. He was twenty-six years old, for God’s sake, and didn’t need his daddy’s money to live anymore. Both parents thought Nicholas was being ridiculous, but he had saved carefully from his job as an EMT and calculated that he should be fine for that year of school, at least.

It was with a sense of guilty relief that Nick left his parents at their hotel to rest before they met their old friends, the Calls, for dinner. They planned to take a short tour of the coast with the Calls before returning on Sunday evening. Nick would take them to the airport early Monday morning, before his first class.

Returning home, he flopped on his bed to recover and call Jena.

She answered after the first ring. “Hi, Nicholas. How’s the visit with the parentals going?”

“Boring. Lonely.” He heard the sound of drawers opening and shutting, with a “crap” thrown in every few seconds. “What are you doing?”

“Looking for underwear. All I can find are the granny panties I save for that special time.” Jena laughed. “Too much information?”

“I’m getting used to it. What are you wearing now?” Nicholas settled on his back and closed his eyes, readying himself for the mental pictures.

“Nothing, actually.” Jena’s voice was nonchalant, while Nick felt his heart actually stop beating for a minute. “I got all sweaty in kickboxing class, so I had to take a shower before I go over to Leisa’s to put the finishing touches on the party décor. It’s an island-themed thing. Sarongs, bikinis, fruity drinks. Are you still coming?”

“Not yet, but probably very soon,” he teased. “Holy shit, Jena, you should warn a guy before you unleash all of those images at once. You naked. You sweaty. You in the shower. You in a bikini.” Nick groaned and she laughed. “Can I see you tonight? Please?” He wasn’t too proud to beg.

“Unfortunately, no. Leisa has us roped in to a girls’ night of fun. If it makes you feel any better, we’ll probably spend most of the night talking about you guys.” Nick heard a satisfied sigh. “Finally! It’s a thong, but it will work.”

“Jena, are you
trying
to make me pop like a sixteen-year-old? That would be some humiliating shit right there.” Nick was only kidding…a little. “And speaking of thongs, I came into possession of a pink thong and bra set a while back. New Year’s Day, in fact.” He waited, wondering what Jena would say.

“Ooh, sounds sexy. I bet they were fun to take off. Fun involving teeth and tongues and hands…” Jena took a deep breath and then sighed. “Care to part with them?”

Nick grinned, glad to have finally gotten some sort of confirmation from her that she was his Angel. He felt a twist of regret that he could only vaguely remember the events she was clearly reliving. “After that comment? You probably won’t want them when they’re about to join your shirt in the come-stained category.”

Jena was silent for a second. “Why the hell is that so damn hot, Nicholas? You mention getting off, and I just want to…guh.” She growled, words lost.

It was good to hear the need in her voice. Nick had been beginning to feel like some crazy perv who was making something out of nothing.

“If you aren’t going to come over here, and I’m not allowed to go over there, it’s time to get off the phone, Jena. Sincerely. I have a problem to take care of.”

She laughed. “See you tomorrow night?”

“Definitely. Don’t do laundry again.”

“Naughty, Nicholas,” Jena purred. “I can do naughty. Take that as you will.” She was laughing when she hung up.

Nicholas shook his head and snapped the phone shut. What the hell was he supposed to do with that when Jena would be unavailable until at least tomorrow night?

Conor knocked once and stuck his head in the door. “Done phone sexin’ your mystery girl?” He smirked. “Don’t look at me like that! You’re the loudest motherfucker I’ve ever encountered when it comes to sex. One day, you’re going to have to buy a house far, far out in the country, or your neighbors are gonna hate you, man.”

“I wish I had that problem now,” Nicholas muttered.

Conor slapped the doorjamb. “Quit whining about your blue-balls, Emoboy, and let’s get the hell out of here. The girls are having a hen party, right?” Nick nodded. “No one says you have to stay home and wait around for them. Let’s have a debauched evening of beer, balls—cue balls, that is—and babes. Make it so.” Conor puffed out his chest and swaggered down the hall toward his room.

Nicholas snorted and picked up his phone again to call Travis. Walking to his doorway, Nick called out, “Babes…riiiight. You do realize that if you actually caught one, Samantha would rip your dick off and mail it home to your mother, don’t you?”

“Don’t bring my momma into this, Dickolas.” Conor pointed a finger at Nick from the entrance of his own room. “Sam’s a one-off. And even if she wasn’t, Sam likes my junk too much to mess with perfection needlessly.”

Travis answered his phone to the sound of Nicholas’s theatrical retching. “That’s charming, Nick. Hello to you, too.”

Nick laughed. “Sorry. King Schlong made me do that.” Travis’s loud laugh made Nicholas review what he’d just said. “Wait. That sounds bad. God, I’m channeling Jena now.” Nick groaned and sank down on the bed, shaking his head as Conor caught on and bellowed laughter.

“You can only dream, bitch. I don’t bat for the home team.” Conor continued to chuckle sporadically as he walked to the bathroom and began shaving.

When Travis’s hilarity finally started to die down, Nicholas explained Conor’s plan and asked Travis if he’d like to come along. Trav agreed, and after a little wrangling over where to go, Conor cast his vote for “that skanky bar we went to last time,” making the vote for Stevie’s unanimous.

There were quite a few more people in the bar than there had been the first night, and waiting at the bar for a pool table to open up seemed like a good option. After a while, Travis hooked up with a few other musicians he knew, and they took the small stage, burning through Stevie Ray and Clapton songs and getting the crowd jumping. Travis was in his element, and Nicholas was surprised to hear the throaty growl in which Trav sang, wondering if Leisa had ever seen this side of her man.

Of course, thinking of Leisa made Nicholas think of Jena, and he found himself wondering what she was doing right then. He’d drifted into fantasies of picking her up and taking her home with him when Travis snapped his fingers in Nick’s face and smiled knowingly when he startled. Grabbing both their mugs off the bar, Travis headed for a table that had just been vacated.

“Jena’s pretty great, isn’t she?” Travis chuckled and took a long swallow of his beer, pushing his sweaty hair back from his forehead and carefully setting his guitar aside. Nicholas flushed and nodded in reply, and Travis kicked the chair across from him out and waited until Nicholas sat down before continuing. “I’ve known Jena for quite a few years, Nick, and I’ve never seen her like she is with you. She’s a good girl, you know?” Nick felt himself relaxing again, and smiled a little. “Out of all the parties and clubs and generally crazy times we’ve had, I’ve only seen her go off with a party hook-up one other time,” Travis said, suppressing a smile as he raised his mug.

That little smile nagged at Nicholas. It wasn’t the first time he’d had felt like Travis knew something he didn’t. Mind racing, Nick realized that Jena wasn’t the type to have gone partying in San Francisco by herself. Travis was her best friend…
That son of a bitch
, Nicholas thought with grudging admiration for how Travis had kept Jena’s confidence.

Nicholas let envy lace his reply. “Lucky guy. Who was he?”

Travis choked on his beer. “That’s Jena’s story, I guess,” he said when he could talk again, wiping his chin with his hand and glancing at Nicholas swiftly.

Nick grinned at Travis and raised his eyebrows.

Travis shook his head, chuckling. “When did you figure it out?”

Conor quickly spun the chair next to Nicholas backward and sat straddling it. “Who, Captain Clueless? It couldn’t have been before last weekend, and I had to put the idea in his head. Though I’m pretty sure Jena confirmed it without words.”

They both snickered.

Nick dropped his head into his hands. “So let me get this straight. You both knew, and no one thought to clue me in?”

Travis raised his hands. “I swear to God, I never thought you were that trashed when Jena got in the elevator with you. It wasn’t until you came into the office and had no clue who I was that I realized what had happened. I’ve been bugging Jena to talk to you about New Year’s since that day, but Leisa told me to lay off, and Jena was embarrassed enough already.”

Nick laid his forehead on the table. “Leisa knows, too?”

“Yep.”

“So, basically, what you’re telling me is that I’m the last person to have full confirmation of who I slept with last December thirty-first.”

“Sleeping was only the smallest portion of the evening, from what I overheard.” Conor’s loud guffaw filled the room as Nicholas banged his head on the table. “I can’t believe I went to the john and almost missed this. Classic.”

Travis put his hand on the table where Nick was still methodically banging his head. “You
are
channeling Jen. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen her do that in the last few months.”

Nicholas sat back in his chair and tried to decide what to ask next. “What has she said about it, Travis? I mean, I’ve sort of asked Jena about it indirectly—” Nick pointed at Conor, who had started chuckling again. “
You
shut up—but she just avoids the topic.”

Travis looked conflicted as he stared at the beer he swirled in his mug and then he finally looked up. “I never said this, and I will beat the shit out of you if it gets back to me. Jena referred to herself as your ‘most forgettable fuck’ when she realized you didn’t remember New Year’s at all, and has refused to talk about it ever since.”

Conor’s voice was quiet for once. “Ouch.” They sat in silence for a minute as the lights began to come up for closing. Conor continued with more animation. “Shit, she should have been there all those nights you woke me up with your noisy-ass dreams. Her face might have been a mystery, but she was definitely
not
forgotten. Either idiot, here, has the best imagination in history, or your roomie is one fucking incredible lay. No offense intended.”

Travis and Nicholas both stared at him, mouths open.

Conor’s look was uncomprehending. “What?”

Shaking his head, Nick turned to Travis. “Ignore him. It’s not worth the effort it would take to explain on how many different levels that was offensive. You know Jena better than I do. How do I talk to her about this? Or should I let it go and pretend it didn’t happen? I don’t want her thinking…well, what she’s thinking. Idiot, here, is right about one thing: I can’t get her off my mind, and I haven’t been able to since that night. Jena is definitely not forgettable under normal circumstances. I just had way,
way
too much Jäger that night. It is evil, evil, delicious stuff.”

Travis chuckled and stood to leave, grabbing his guitar. “Tell her that, man. She needs to know.”

After Nick and Conor told Travis goodbye in the parking lot, the ride home was quiet. Pulling into an open space in the garage, Conor turned off the truck and sat in silence for a minute.

“You know, Nick,” he began in his most serious tone, “we’re fucking lucky guys. You met a girl who lived a continent away that totally rocked your world and here you are,
with her
. And me?” He grinned wickedly. “I have all of blond, big-boobed Cali before me, thanks to you.” Con shook his head and looked intensely at Nick. “Do you realize how rare and wonderful that is? Probably you don’t, because of your monk-like existence, but take my word for it, it’s a miracle. You’re an idiot if you don’t talk to Jena and get your shit straightened out, my friend.”