Cherry Popper Page 6

  “Well, anyway, Dad and I will stay up until you get back.”

  “Ugh, Mom, I’m not a kid anymore. I’m a grown woman. I can take care of myself. It’s just a date. Who do you think took care of me while I was in the city?”

  My mother’s eyes widened. “All right then. If anything happens, call us straight away.”

  “I will. Thanks, Mom.”

  She nodded. “You look lovely in that dress.”

  “Oh thanks, Mom.”

  “Of course, it would look better if you lost some weight…”

  I groaned inwardly. “Yeah, well, I guess I better go down.”

  We went down the stairs together. God knows what was going through Mom’s head, but all I could think of was Jesse. I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about him all day. I’d been so pissed when that girl came up to him in the diner, but maybe that had all been some kind of play on his part, something to get me hot, bothered and jealous about the fact that he was focusing his attention on her, and not on me?

  Whatever it was, it worked, and before I knew it, I’d found myself making out with him in my car, his mouth hot and hungry as it moved over mine. The masculine smell and heat from his body ignited something deep inside me.

  I felt a shiver go up my spine at the memory. God, but he was a brilliant kisser. It took everything I had not to straddle him right there and then. Just have him take me the way I’d wanted him to outside the bar.

  I felt it in my bones that this affair could end in tears for me if I wasn’t careful, but I told myself I knew what I was doing. I’d keep my heart out of it. After Mark’s betrayal, I needed to just let go and have fun. No strings. No commitment. And a guy like Jesse was perfect. He would never be anything close to a guy you could settle down with, have family, grow old with but as long as I was in town, I didn’t see why I shouldn’t have a little fun. Or a whole lot of fun, as the case may be.

  He picked me up from outside the house, and I could practically feel my mother watching us from afar, as I climbed into his car while he held open the door.

  “You look good,” he remarked, grinning at me. He was wearing a blue button-down shirt with a couple of buttons open and black jeans. He had even shaved and run a brush through that gorgeous thick mane of his.

  I was surprised at how different he looked, how well he cleaned up. “Not too bad yourself,” I replied, watching him glance up at the house.

  I did the same, and saw my mother dropping the curtain at once.

  “Let me guess, they’re not exactly delighted you’re going out with me?” he remarked as he pulled out of the driveway and into town.

  I shook my head. “Actually, I didn’t tell them who you were. I might even have lied about your profession. They have no idea who you are,” I confessed.

  “So I’m the taboo choice, huh?”

  I suddenly realized how it must sound to him. I was so caught up in how I was feeling I didn’t think how it would sound to him to tell him how my parents thought about people from his social class. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for it to sound like that. It’s just my parents, you know?”

  His eyes gleamed with amusement. “Don’t feel guilty on my behalf. I have often found forbidden fruit to be the sweetest.”

  I smiled gratefully at him. “Thank you for understanding.”

  He fired up the ignition and put the car into motion. “That’s me. An understanding guy.”

  “So where are we going for dinner?”

  “There’s a place just outside town. Opened up a few months ago,” he replied, glancing at me. “It’s nothing very special, but it’s better than the bar again.”

  “No, that sounds perfect,” I murmured, and I felt the butterflies stir excitedly in my stomach even as I tried my very hardest to play it cool. How could this guy have this much of an effect on me? He hadn’t so much as laid a finger on me, not even a kiss on the cheek to say hello, and yet my body felt as though it was being drawn to his. It was almost impossible to resist, and definitely impossible to ignore. Even knowing that this was exactly how he landed all the girls in this town in his bed before me, I was helpless to push back against the strong desire for him welling up inside me.

  We arrived at the restaurant, and I raised my eyebrows as I climbed out of the car.

  “What is it?” he asked. “Something wrong?”

  “Nope.” I shook my head. “Just didn’t expect a place like this to have set up shop here, that’s all.”

  “Hey, we’re not a completely backwater town,” he reminded me.

  I looped my arm through his. I was trying to playing casual even though just touching him like this made the soles of my feet prickle with excitement.

  Chapter 15

  Mia

  He led me inside and gave the host our names. She led us to a private corner table, lit by candlelight.

  I wasn’t sure I had ever seen a place like this in my hometown before, all dark polished wood, deep reds, and gold accents. I took my seat opposite him and grinned as I looked around. “Thank you for taking me out tonight.” I glanced at him, fluttering my lashes playfully. “It’s nice to get out of the house for a while.”

  “Most people would never want to leave if they had your house,” he replied.

  “And if they had my parents, they’d get where I was coming from,” I countered.

  The waiter arrived with a couple of menus.

  Soon, we were choosing food and talking about high school, going over the dramas, the dates, and tears. Everything that seemed so ridiculous in retrospect, but had carried the weight of a full-blown Shakespearean tragedy at the time.

  “Hey, remember that time Miss. Greenwald went brick red when she found that giant dildo in her drawer?” I asked.

  “I’ll always remember the way she sprang back as if it was going to sit up and bite her for the rest of her life.”

  I started to giggle. “Poor woman. I bet she had never seen a real life one before that.”

  “That’s exactly why I did it. She looked like she’d never had a day of fun her entire life.”

  My jaw dropped. “You did that?”

  He grinned. “That was my retirement present to her. I didn’t know she was going to have a nervous breakdown over it.”

  I began to really laugh. “So you thought you were doing her a favor?”

  “Something like that,” he conceded sheepishly.

  We were still laughing when the waiter came. We ordered two steaks, salad, and a good bottle of red wine.

  As I sipped, the wine and conversation flowed easily between us. “So, how long have you owned the garage?”

  He shrugged. “I got the place a couple years ago. Thought I should put down some real roots, you know? Stop just drifting around, and actually do something with my life.”

  “Despite what my parents think, in my opinion you’re doing better than most of the guys I know our age,” I pointed out.

  He grinned and eyed me, letting his gaze linger on my mouth for a moment. “Sure am,” he replied.

  I knew at once that he wasn’t talking about the garage.

  I felt heat and chemistry crackling through the air between us, just like it had on that first day we had met at the garage. I shifted nervously in my seat. I wasn’t sure how to play this game, but I knew I wanted to win, if winning meant I got to feel the way I felt last night again. I took another sip of wine, letting the complicated flavor mellow over my tongue. The feel of it in my mouth made me braver. I would never again, do what I did with Mark…play the submissive female role. Always saying yes, always trying to please. Always waiting for him to initiate the sex. No, this time I would be the strong one. I intended to take my pleasure where I found it. Just as I opened my mouth to flirt with him, I spotted someone making their way toward us.

  Two someone, actually.

  “Julie!” I exclaimed, beaming as she weaved through the tables toward me.

  Stan, her fiancé, was following her, but he had an expression on his
face I couldn’t get a read on.

  I stood up and smiled at Stan then gave Julie a quick hug. “Hey you,” I greeted.

  “I didn’t realize you would be here tonight,” she remarked, and her eyes slid over to Jesse. She paused for a moment when she saw who I was with.

  Jesse stared back at her, his expression unreadable.

  Her expression also remained equally unreadable. “You guys should join us,” she suggested, but so coldly, it was clear that the offer was only on the table because she knew it would have been rude not to make it.

  “No, it’s fine,” Jesse answered. “You guys enjoy your evening, though.”

  “You sure?” Julie pressed.

  “Certain,” he replied firmly.

  A brief moment of awkwardness set in before Julie shrugged and turned to her fiancé. “Well, see you later,” she stated, her voice a little hard. “Can I borrow you in the bathroom for a second, Mia?”

  “Yeah, of course.” I nodded, furrowing my brow.

  She led me out of the main part of the restaurant and into the ladies. She made sure the door was shut behind us before she turned to me, and the sweetness that had been present in her voice before dropped away suddenly. “You’re on a date with Jesse?” she asked incredulously.

  I nodded. “Yeah, it’s not a big deal, is it?”

  “You want to be careful around him,” she warned. “I know you’ve been out of town for a while, so you don’t know how it is, but trust me, he’s not someone you want to get caught up with, Mia.”

  “Oh, no?” I wrinkled my nose.

  “I told you last night. That man has been through every woman in town and then some,” she went on, repeating what she had said last night. “He’s probably just looking for some fresh meat with you. He’s just going to use you and then throw you away, just like he has with every other woman he’s been with.”

  “Alright,” I replied casually. To be honest, her assessment of Jesse didn’t bother me at all. I wasn’t in town for long, after all, and I wasn’t looking for anything deadly serious with somebody. I just wanted a little fun, to blow off the steam I had been holding in this whole time with Mark. And what better way to do that than with a man who never seemed to take things seriously?

  “I mean, he even tried to hit on me.” She shuddered, as though she couldn’t believe she was coming out and saying it. “I turned him down, obviously, but he’s just…he’s gross, Mia, and I don’t want you getting all caught up in that.”

  “I appreciate it, but I’m a big girl now,” I replied patiently. Jesus, I’d forgotten how fucking stupid small-town politics could be; I was just out for a good time, and Julie felt the need to take me aside with this portent of doom shit as though I had no idea what kind of guy Jesse was. “I’m just having a little fun, that’s all,” I assured her. “I know how to take care of myself. Trust me, after Mark, I’ve earned this.”

  She eyed me warily. “But that is exactly why I’m warning you. Mark couldn’t be the kind of man to affect you like Jesse could. He didn’t hurt you, but trust me Jesse will.”

  I smiled tightly. “What makes you think I won’t hurt him?”

  “Hurt him? You?” She shook her head in disbelief. “Mia, stop kidding yourself. He’s the town slut. “

  I smiled tightly. Somehow, this conversation felt like it had just taken a turn for the worse. “Alright. Thanks for the warning, but I think I still want to have some fun with this.”

  “I suppose I can’t stop you, but just…use some protection, and look after yourself, all right?”

  “I will,” I promised her, more than a little pissed at the way she was talking to me. Like I was some brainless city girl who was just going to walk into this town and fall in love with the first guy who took her out to dinner. I knew what I was doing, and I knew precisely what to expect from a man like Jesse, Why wasn’t it all right that I just wanted something a little fun for a change?

  “Well then, you have a good night.” She frowned, paused for another moment, and then ducked out of the room to join her fiancé.

  I looked at myself in the mirror; my eyes were shining with excitement, despite the conversation. The truth was I couldn’t wait to see where the rest of this night would take me.

  Sure, it was far removed from the real world, but what I needed more than anything was a hot fling. Something fun, irresponsible and sexy to get my mind off all the shit that had happened back home. I had a life back in the city, a real life that I would have to return to, and it didn’t involve someone like Jesse, so why not enjoy what I had right in front of me?

  I grinned at myself in the mirror, fixed my hair, and then headed back outside to finish my hot date.

  Chapter 16

  Jesse

  “Everything all right?” I asked as she took her seat opposite me.

  She had an amused expression on her face.

  I glanced over to see Julie firing me a dirty look as she made her way back to the table.

  “Yeah, everything is just fine.” She waved her hand, her eyes looking wicked. “I guess your reputation is even worse than I thought.”

  “What did she say about me?” I cocked my head to the side. Not that I cared especially since whatever it was, Mia seemed more amused than anything else.

  “She just warned me off of you. Apparently, you’d go after anything with a pulse.”

  I tried to hold back the sarcasm, but couldn’t. “Julie trying to warn you off me is like a crocodile advising someone to become vegetarian.”

  “Actually, she told me you tried to hit on her one time and she shot you down.”

  My eyebrows rose. “She said I tried to come on to her?”

  “So many women you don’t remember, huh?” Mia mocked, but she was smiling.

  I glanced over at Julie again. “I remember the incident all right, but that’s not quite how I remember it.”

  “Oh, no?” She perked up. “What happened?”

  “The way I remember it going down was she turned up at my door in a giant fur coat and nothing underneath, except some leopard-print lingerie, but I was seeing someone at that time, so I turned her down. As I recall, it wasn’t hard to do either. She’s not my type.”

  Her eyes widened. “Hang on. Did you just say leopard print?”

  “Yeah?” I cocked my head at her. “Why, is that a thing?”

  She started laughing. “That’s her whole thing. It’s her move. Animal-print panties and a barely-there bra. She says it works every time.”

  “Well, I’m the exception to that rule, I guess.”

  She chuckled some more.

  I had to admit I felt surprised to see how little what Julie said had bothered her. Most women, if their friends had come to them and tried to warn them off a guy, would have backed right the heck up, but she didn’t seem to give a damn.

  And that was hot as hell.

  She was her own person, defined outside her friends, something I never would have credited her with back in high school. I found I liked the new Mia a whole fucking lot. So much, I wasn’t sure I could wait through dinner to get her on her own.

  “Hey.” I leaned toward her, and she ducked her head close to mine, so close I could smell her perfume. I was reminded of that night outside the bar, when the scent of her had filled my senses and made my head spin.

  “Yeah?”

  “You want to get out of here?” I suggested, and I found that my heart rate had picked up in my chest. “We could get the steaks to go?”

  She grinned widely and glanced around toward her friend’s table, but Julie was talking with Stan, not paying any attention to us. “Back to your place?” she whispered.

  For an answer, I slipped my hand on to her knee beneath the table. Her mouth dropped open in a gasp, and I grinned. Not in a million years could I have imagined that I could have this kind of effect on the hottest girl in school. After all, she did turn me down at the height of my pulling power.

  She got to her feet and glanced to the do
or.

  I slipped an arm around her waist, and went to the host counter to get our food to go. After a few minutes, they brought it and I threw a fifty on the counter. Then I hurried her out before she had time to think better of her decision.

  Chapter 17

  Jesse

  I was surprised we even made it back to my place, if I was being honest; she didn’t say a word to me in the car, didn’t even look at me, but I could feel the need coming off her in hot, heavy waves, as though she was trying to contain herself but failing. We pulled to a halt outside my place, not far from the garage.

  She glanced at me. “We’re really doing this, huh?” she muttered.

  Here it comes. The big NO. I shrugged. “If you still want to.”

  In a flash, she unbuckled her belt and was on top of me, pressing down to kiss me, her tongue in my mouth, and her hands on my chest.

  I let my hands roam all over her, pushing up that tight little dress she had been wearing all fucking night long, and grabbing at her thighs, her round full ass.

  Fuck, she felt good, better than I’d expected, even.

  That night outside the bar, I hadn’t had a proper chance to feel her like this, to feel the weight of her on top of me, to touch every part of her, to fulfil those cravings I had been trying to ignore since high school.

  I slid my hand between her legs and cupped her through the thin fabric of her panties. She groaned and pulled back for a moment, eyes closed, head back. I grasped the back of her head and pulled her toward me, sinking my fingers into her neck, pressing my forehead to hers. “Look at me,” I ordered.

  She opened her eyes, her gaze burning into mine. My cock was already painfully hard and I knew I had to have her or I was going to fucking explode. I had waited long enough. Since that night at the bar, I had been waiting for this, desperate for it and a damn pair of sweet smelling panties as a memento wouldn’t suffice either.

  She only wore a small scrap of lace, so I hooked my fingers into her panties and ripped it off her body. Her pussy, freshly shaved glowed sweetly in the dark. I was dying to suck on it, but with shaking fingers, she had begun to undo my jeans. I lifted my hips so she could pull down my pants. Greedily, she wrapped her fist around my cock, stroking me a couple of times, and she let out this guttural, almost animal-like noise that seemed born from a deep hunger inside of her. She wasn’t holding back, wasn’t trying to play at being cute or coy.