The Final Score (32 page)

I gently kiss her lips, while my eyes remain focused on hers. Slowly, I lift her sweater over her head and take the time to softly kiss her lips and travel slowly down her neck, her collarbone, finally stopping at the top of her breast. I return to her enticing full lips, while my fingers retrace the steps of my mouth. I take pleasure watching the way she responds to my touch. She pushes up my shirt, keeping her eyes on mine, and I help her by pulling it over my head. I slowly unbutton her shorts and carefully slide them down, along with her leggings. My hands gently caress her legs while only leaving her dressed in her black lacey bra and underwear. My eyes drift over her flawless body, admiring every inch of it. I want her so bad, but I’m enjoying watching her as I softly trace the outline of her body with my fingers. She trembles beneath my hands and holds her breath.

We never break eye contact as we continue to move slowly. The feel of her hands gently running along my back cause chills down my own hard body. She carefully unbuttons my jeans, pushing them past my hips, her hand brushes against me and she’s aware of how much I want her. She continues pushing them down my thighs and I once again help her by kicking them to the floor. I slide her body underneath mine while kissing her tenderly.

“Are you okay?” I whisper in her ear.

“I’m perfect,” she purrs, enjoying my touch. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.
You know,
you’re the only person I’ve ever said that to,” I admit, my voice raspy with desire.

***

(Deanna)

I shudder when he tells me I’m the only person he’s ever told that he loved. It arouses me more, knowing I’m the only one he has ever felt this way about. He kisses me gently, watching me take pleasure in his touch as his hands caress my body. My whole body tingles with passion and I can barely hold out any longer. He grinds his hard body against me and my hands travel along his muscular back, massaging his body into mine. He kisses me with more urgency as his tongue probes mine. He slides his hand down my neck, gently brushing along my bra, trailing down my stomach. I feel his fingers slide in the waistband of my panties. I arch my body towards him, wanting to feel his touch.

Abruptly, every part of him stops moving. I realize he is no longer kissing me or touching me. I want him now. My eyes fly open to meet his panic-stricken, frozen face staring at me.

***

(Mikey)

“What’s wrong?” she asks, looking at my terrified face.

I slightly roll off her. “DeDe, I’m freakin’ out right now.”

I feel as if I’m having a panic attack, not that I ever had one before, but if I did, I’m pretty sure this is how it would feel.

“Wait, what?” she asks as if she misheard what I said.

“I’m fre
a—
”

“I heard what you said…
WHY
?” she asks in disbelief.

“I can’t,” I say, my eyes pleading for her forgiveness. “Aren’t you freakin’ out right now?” I ask with a grin starting to form on my face.

“What do you mean,
you can’t
? she demands. “I wasn’t freaking out, ‘cause I was too busy being into the moment, but now I am! What is going on with you?”

“I don’t know. It just freaked me out all of the sudden.” I sit up and start to laugh.

“What did?” she demands.

“This.” I wave my finger over her body. “You. Me. Like this. I feel like we’re doing something bad, like we’re gonna get caught or something.”

“Oh my God, you’ve got to be kidding me!” she says dramatically as she sits up beside me, covering herself with my shirt. “I cannot believe you, really I can’t.” She’s frustrated and embarrassed as she begins to reach for her clothes.

Now I really start to laugh. I grab her hand and hold it tightly in mine. “No, don’t get dressed… please,” I plead, trying to stop my laughter. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. This is awesome. I love you so much. Don’t be pissed, but it just got really weird, I couldn’t go through with it.” She’s glaring at me, clearly not amused. I know she’s fuming and embarrassed, and I want to make it up to her. I take a deep breath, trying to regain my composure. “Okay, I’m better. I think I got it out of my system.” I lay her back down while I slide my body over hers. She’s hesitant, but gives in. My body instantly stimulates the second she is beneath me.

I begin to kiss her again, my hands caress her body. I feel her start to relax beneath me when she wraps her arms around me and runs her hands through my hair. When she arches her body towards mine, our breathing becomes erratic. My mouth hungrily tastes hers and things begin to heat up quickly. I undo the clasp on her bra and my mouth trails down her neck towards her breast. I don’t know what the hell is going on, but I start to break out into nervous laughter once again.

“Get off me! I cannot believe this is happening right now. You are such an asshole!” She pushes me off her with great force.

I try not to laugh, but she’s so pissed off that it’s making me laugh even more.

“I know. I can’t help it. I swear. Aren’t you just a little freaked out? I mean, we’ve practically lived with each other since we were nine and ten. I mean, how many times did we sleep in the same room or sleep together on the couch? How many times have we fought over who was getting in the shower first? And not once, out of all of the nights we were alone together, did we even consider this ever happening.”

“Okay, now you’re freaking me out,” she says, starting to laugh herself. “Remember when you first met Luke and you used to come over and play, I used to follow you around and tell everyone you were my boyfriend and we were getting married…
and you used to get all embarrassed
. You were so shy back then.”

“Yeah, you scared the shit out of me. You were a brazen little seven-year-old.”

We both start cracking each other up, taking a trip down memory lane, remembering all of the times we shared growing up. She lays wrapped tightly in my arms with her head resting on my chest. It feels good and we stay like this for a while.

“Alright, Michael Vaughn, what are we going to do about this little problem you are having with feeling like you are sleeping with your little sister?” she asks, teasing me.

“Now who’s being an asshole? Don’t even say that. Now you’re really going to mess me up.”

“I’m kidding.
Relax
.” She seductively strokes her fingers softly across my stomach, igniting the fire inside of me once again. She takes the initiative and positions her body on top of mine, enticing me as her hand slides up the inside of my thigh. She kisses me in a way that is so sensual, my body is inflamed with carnal desire.

“Trust me. I stopped thinking of you as my little sister when I reached the tenth grade. You don’t want to know what was going through my mind all of the times I bumped into you when you were coming out of the shower, wrapped in a towel,” I say huskily, giving her a sly smile. I’m barely able to control my hunger for her as I roll her onto her back, straddling over her, gently pinning her hands over her head as I entangle my fingers with hers.

She arches her body into mine. My hand softly strokes the side of her face. She wraps her free hand around the back of my neck, pulling me towards her as she whispers in my ear, “You’re right. I don’t want you to
tell me
, I want you to
show me
what was on your mind.”

And just like that, our little problem goes away. We spend the remainder of the evening and into the early morning with our bodies intertwined, romantically and playfully quenching our desire for each other.

Chapter 25

(Luke)

I stand quietly in the doorway, admiring the view. I can stand here all day, just watching. I lean against the door, thanking God for the millionth time for giving me another chance.

“Are you watching me again?” JJ says cheerily—her back to me—sensing my presence as I watch her hand gracefully move the brush across the canvas.

“How did ya know?” I ask, walking up behind her, kissing the top of her head.

“I just knew.”

“That’s really good.” I admire the painting. “Did you have another dream?” I ask, looking at the image of the woman watching over the celebration.

“No. Not in a while,” she says, discouraged. “Sometimes I think if I don’t paint her, I’ll forget her.”

“No, you won’t. You’ll always remember.”

“Do you know what this is?”

“Yep. Our wedding.”

“I wish she was with us.”

“She was, just like your painting. I know it. She’ll always be with you, especially on important days like our wedding, and when we have our babies. She’ll be there for all of the special times in your life.” I kneel in front of her, stroking her face gently with my hand. She tilts her head towards the softness of my touch and smiles. She still misses her mom, but I know that her life is fulfilled. She is happy and I no longer worry about her like I used to in that regard.

“What are your plans today?” I ask, twirling her hair through my fingers.

“Just hang out here and get some things done.”

“Do you feel like taking a ride with me? I need a few things from the hardware store. I want to hang the pictures in the living room.”

“Sure, when are you going?”

“Whenever. Finish what you’re doing. I gotta jump in the shower.”

“I’m finished for now. If you help me clean up, I’ll join you,” she adds seductively.

“I’m already on it.” I take the brush from her hand and kiss her lips.

***

(Mikey)

I awake to the warm feeling of her body molded with mine. Her long dark hair is sprawled across my pillow and I breathe in the fragrance of her citrus-scented hair. I glide my fingertips along her body, tracing her curves and watch the goose bumps form on her skin in the places where my fingers softly graze her body. My mouth kisses each spot tenderly and it sends waves of electricity through my own body, causing goose bumps on me as well. A grin forms across my face as I think about how much I love that she affects me this way.

“Why are you smiling?” she asks sleepily, her eyes remain closed.

“How do you know I’m smiling if you’re not looking at me?” I whisper softly in her ear.

“I can feel your lips on my skin and I can tell you’re smiling,” she tells me as her mouth curls slightly upward.

“I’m extremely happy right now. Have I told you lately how unbelievably in love I am with you?”

“Not since I’ve been up.”

“Turn around, look at me.”

“No, I look horrible.”

“DeDe, I’ve seen you look like shit a hundred times before in the morning, and today is not one of them.”

“Oh my God, is that your idea of a compliment? What is wrong with you?” She places the palm of her hand across my face and shoves me away from her.

I start to laugh and, once again, grovel for her forgiveness; obviously, a feeling I’m gonna have to get used to. She finally gives in to me as I take her in my arms. I whisper my love for her while intimately exploring her body.

Afterwards, her body is draped across mine, both of us spent and feeling fulfilled. My hands gently stroke up and down her back while I revel in the feel of her skin against mine.

In keeping my promise that I would include her in all of my decisions from here on out, I tell her about the call I received yesterday before leaving LA. I explain that before we get our hopes up, that I must first check out his story. I hate leaving her so soon, but she agrees it is for the best so we can move on either way.

I call his number and arrange for a meeting later this evening. While De showers, I make us coffee and breakfast.

***

(Jesse)

Before heading to the store, Luke insists on dropping by the condo to visit with Mikey. They didn’t have much of a chance to talk last night at the club and he wants to know if Mikey could use his help with his lead about Lora Rae. I text both Mikey and De that we are popping in, but neither of them get back to me. I’m sure the thought has not even crossed Luke’s mind of what we might be walking into. He’s so oblivious.

Before I can suggest maybe knocking first, Luke is already inside. Mikey is sitting alone at the table in just shorts, drinking a cup of coffee. A look of surprise crosses his face and I can see that he is uneasy. A bowl of eggs, bagels and fruit are sitting on the table along with two plates and another cup of coffee, steam circling the top of the cup. Mikey and I simultaneously see Luke’s eyes rest on the cup.

“Hey, what’s up?” Mikey greets us. “There’s coffee in there,” he says uneasily, pointing to the kitchen. “Grab some plates.”

“What’s up?” Luke says, walking into the kitchen and pouring us each a cup.

I look over at Mikey and mouth that I am sorry. He gives me a strained smile and shrugs nervously. At the same time De comes out of Mikey’s bedroom with her hair wet and wearing one of his t-shirts. She’s caught off guard and it’s too late to turn around.

It’s awkward for all of us.

She says hello while Mikey points to the cup he poured for her. She nervously makes her way to the table.