Make It Last (14 page)

             
Nicole had turned pink
, then looked down at the napkin that she was slowly tearing to pieces.
“
Well, I gr
ew up in Dallas. My parents are
wealthy and I went to private schools all my life. It was expected that I would go to SAGU and study Youth Ministrie
s, then come home and marry my high s
chool sweetheart, and we would start a congregation tog
ether. The problem was that I do
n’t love Jake, and I couldn’t go through with my parents
’
plan
s
for me. I studied English in school and broke it off with Jake. My parents were very disappointed in me and I just couldn’t go back, so I came here to start a life on my own.”

             
“Wow
.
Did you know anyone here before you came?”

             
Nicole smiled and giggled a bit, as if still a
mazed by her decision. “No.
I just picked a random spot on the map and showed up. I had a little money saved up, so I was able to rent an apartment, but even with the money I
make as a hostess
, it is started to become a struggle. That is why
I’m
hoping to move up to a serving position, and I’m thinking about getting a roommate.”

             
Briana looked at her in amazement.
“
You’re
so brave
.
I don’t think I could ever do what you did, not in a million years
.
”

             
“Thanks, but it’s
no big deal.” Nicole said with an embarrassed shrug
.

             
Thinking back on the conversation,
Briana couldn’t help
but be
impressed about Nicole and the decisions she’d made in order to be happy.

             
Deciding
it was time to get some coffee, so she rolled out of bed and headed to the kitchen.
When she walked in, she saw that Pete was already there making a pot.

             
“Hey,” she
said with a yawn. “What are you doing here?”

             
When Pete turned, she saw that his jaw was colorful with the bruises that were starting to form.

             
“Ouch.”

             
“It’s
not so bad,” he
replied, gingerly touching his jaw. “I brou
ght Kara home and stayed over. S
he was pretty shook up last night, and I wanted to make sure she was okay.”

             
“Is she?”

             
“Yeah,” he
said smiling to himself as he made two cups of coffee. “She’s great.”

             
Before Briana could ask him about that smile
, he wandered out of the kitchen and into Kara’s room, shutting the door behind him.
She
looked at the shut door for a moment, then shrugged and poured herself a cup of coffee.

             
Once she’d gotten her caffeine fix, she looked at the clock and decided that it was late enough to give Colin a call.

             
“’Lo,” he said gruffly, answering on the third ring.

             
“Hey, Colin, it’s Bree. You asked me to give you a call.” Even though that was true, she felt nervous now that she was talking to him.

             
His voice got softer.
“Good mornin’. I’m glad you called. I was just getting dressed, so I didn’t even look to see who it was before I answered it. I’m happy it’s you.”

             
She
smiled at his respo
nse, and felt herself grow
warm at the thought of him pulling his clothes on after a hot shower.

             
She cleared her throat. “Um… w
ell, I was wondering if you wanted to do something today. I have to work tonight, but not until five.”

             
“That would be great.
I’m
working later tonight
,
too, because we have inventory, so that works out perfectly.”

             
Briana swore that she
hear
d
a smile in his voice.
“Well,” she began,
“I was thinking that I could co
me over and make you lunch. I’
ll pick up everything at the market, then come by. Will that work for you?”

             
“That sounds great.
”

             
“Okay, I’ll be there in a little bit.” She smiled as she disconnected, then ran to the bathroom so she could shower and get ready.
She
shave
d
, lotioned, and primped. She put on a red sundress with white sandals and blew her hair dry. She was trying to look effortlessly casual. It took a lot of work.

             
When she finished she headed to the market and picked up ingredients for Chicken Milano, with fettuccini noodles, salad, and asparagus. As an afterthought she grabbed a bottle of red wine, and headed to the register. She really wanted to impress Colin with this meal.

             
When she arrived at his place
, she fel
t butterflies in her stomach
as she carried the bags up the stairs.

             
Before she could knock, the door flew open, and Colin stood before her, all sexy and smiling.
She took in his bar
e feet, cargo shorts, and grey T
-shirt, before reaching his face and the
flash of
dimples
.
It was all she could do not to sigh and stare, but she gathered her wits and smiled up at him, lifting the grocery bags to show him what she’d brought.

             
He leaned o
ver and kissed her on the cheek
, as he took the bags from her hands and moved to the side to allow her access inside.

             
“H
i,” he said as she walked past
him.

             
“Hi,” she said back, her smile still in place.

             
They walked back in to the kitchen and Colin began taking the items out of the grocery bags.
“What do you need me to do?” he asked
when everything was lined up on the counter.

             
“If you want to start cutting the vegetables for the salad, I can get started on the main course. Is it okay if I rummage through your kitchen to find what I need?”

             
“Sure.
Mi casa es su casa. My mom loaded it up when I moved in, so I should have everything that you need.”

             
“Cool.”

             
Briana started to prep the chicken. While she worked, she was conscious of Colin standing next to her chopping and building the salad
. Her body seemed to hum and her pulse
quicken
ed at his nearness.
She watched his bicep flex with every slice of the blade, and started to feel lightheaded.

             
She cleared her throat and focused on the chicken, getting it breaded and placed in the sauce so she could put it in the oven. Once that was done, she put the
pasta water
on to boil.

             
“Do you have a grill?” she asked
.

             
He stopped
cutting and looked up at her. I
t seemed like
a
current passed through the air, and she knew that he was as aware of the sexual tension as she was.

             
“Hmm?” h
e asked. “Did you say something?”

             
She laughed,
her eyes blurring a bit as she met his gaze.

             
“Do you have a grill?” s
he asked again.

             
“Yeah. Do you need me to light it up?” h
e asked, placing the knife on the cutting board and waiting for her answer.

             
“Um, yeah.
” Her lips felt as dry as her mouth and she licked them quickly out of habit. His gaze followed the flick of her tongue and stayed
there for a moment, as he hoped
she’d do it again.
Her throat tightened and she struggled to remember what they were talking about.

             
“Oh, um… y
eah. I wanted to grill the asparagus.”

             
“Sure.
” His movements seemed slow, as he went out the back door to where
she assumed he kept
his grill.

             
Briana shook her head to try and clear the fog, then got out the asparagus and coated it with olive oil, pepper, and salt.

             
When Colin came back in she asked, “Is it gas or do I need to wait for the coals to warm up?”

             
“It’s gas.”

             
She picked up the plate of asparagus and walked by him, accidently brushing her arm against his taut stomach. She heard his quick intake of breath, and bit back the groan that started in the back of her throat. She rushed out and put the asparagus on the grill.

             
When she got back in
to
the kitchen, she looked at the timer and saw that t
he chicken still had forty-
five minutes to bake, so she turned off the water that had begun to boil.
Apparently being in the kitchen with Colin was making forget the basics.

             
“Shoot.”

             
Colin came up behind her, as if to try and get close enough to hear what she’d said.

             
“What is it?”

             
“I p
ut the asparagus on too early. T
he chicken won’t be done for a while and I don’t need to cook the asparagus and the noodles yet.”

             
Colin went back outside and came back in a few seconds later.

             
“No problem. I turned off the grill and we can set it up again when you’re ready.”

             
“Thanks.
”

             
“So,” Colin began, “Does that mean we have some time to kill before we have to do the rest?”

             
Briana looked at the timer again.
“Yeah, about thirty minutes.”

             
She’d barely gotten the words out, whe
n Colin pulled her against him
.
Her arms went around him eagerly and her mouth
eagerly
found his. He backed her up against the counter and she felt the long hard length of him against her.
             

             
His mouth was everywhere, her neck,
her
jaw,
her
earlobe. Her head fell back to allow him better access, and her hands began an exploration of their own.

             
His hands found their way to her bottom and he lifted her easi
ly, causing her to
wrap her legs aro
und his waist. He set her
on the countertop, and she shifted down, so she could feel
his erection press against her. She began to thrust as she tried to work his shirt up and off of him.

             
He broke away from her to help her, tearing
the shirt over his head
and coming back to meet her lips with his.

             
Her hands thrilled in the feel of his bare skin. She loved the muscles
that rippled with each movement
and started to feel crazy with need.

             
She struggled wi
th the straps of her dress. H
e reached down to help her, pushing the straps and the fabric down over her stomach, and taking her bra off in the process.

             
When their bare skin touched it was like a fire erupted inside of her. She rocked against him again, causing Colin to moan and he leaned her back to gain access to her breasts.
Then h
e sucked on one nipple as he used his fingers to knead and stroke the other.

             
Briana kissed his fore
head and leaned towards his ear
, trying to reach his skin, but not interrupt his wonderful assault on her breasts.
She scooted down a little further, eager to have him inside her. This caused her dress to push up
further along her thighs. She was frustrated by
hi
s shorts and her panties, which caused
an unwanted barrier.