Forgiving Patience (18 page)

“Yeah. When you talk, you sound
unhappy.”

“It’s not what I want to be doing
forever. I have other dreams, but for right now it’s what I have to do.”

“And what do you really want to be
doing?”

“I have plans of opening up my own
coffee shop and bookstore. Nothing fancy, just a place people can go to escape
their lives for a little bit.”

“I can see you doing that.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. When you talk about it, your
eyes light up, and you almost sound giddy. It’s cute.”

While finishing up dinner, they
talked about Jake’s work with the house and how he had enjoyed the distraction.
Just like he could tell with her, Anna could see that he took pride in his
work.

* * * *

She was stuffed. She couldn’t believe
she had eaten that much in front of Jake, but the steak and baked potato were
excellent. Or maybe they weren’t, but she had been living off frozen dinners,
so shoe leather would have tasted good. When he handed her a glass of wine, she
decided to take a seat on the gently used couch. She was sinking into it when
he walked over to her, holding a beer, and took a seat at her feet.

The intensity in the room went up a
notch…or two, and she was sure he too could feel it. They stayed silent for a
while, but that was fine with her. It gave her time to think and mind her
breathing, to slow it before she had an anxiety attack. She took a sip of wine,
fluffed out her shirt to cover her
poochy
stomach,
sipped from her glass again, wiped her sweaty palms one at a time over
 
her jeans, and decided on one more
sip…letting it linger on her tongue.

“I make you nervous,” Jake
acknowledged.

“What…no. You don’t.”

“Then, what’s up with all the
twitching?”

Damn, you need to get it together
here, Anna.

When he turned around, her body
started to betray her. His eyes took on a serious and dangerous look. She could
have sworn she heard his heart beat just as rapidly as hers at that specific
moment. “I’ve had a problem for the last four or five days.”

“What’s that?” she asked.

“I have never been the type of guy
who becomes satisfied very easily, and lately I’ve been starved for this one
thing.” He held up one finger. His expression told her she was in deep trouble.

Jake took the glass of wine out of
her trembling hand. Getting up on his knees, he nudged himself in between her
legs. “You are too serious most of the time, and you always seem to have
something going on in that pretty head.”

And then, to her utter surprise, he
kissed her…hard. His mouth sank over hers, forcing her to melt into the couch.
The kiss was filled with need and desire on his part, and she wasn’t sure what
she felt just yet. After the initial shock of his kiss, she could feel him
deliberately slow the pace and allow her to catch up. She instinctively kissed
him back, wrapping her arms around his neck, much like he’d made her do the
first time they danced. His tongue snaked between her lips, and she matched it
by using hers too. There was a connection they shared. It was so strong it
caused things to happen to her body that she’d never experienced before. A
moisture surged below.

Good God, this man was known for
being talented at many things out on the baseball field, but she was having
trouble thinking he could do anything better than this intense, mind-blowing
kissing.

What was she doing? Kissing Jake was
not… Her brief thought of clarity was lost as he laid her back on the couch. He
leaned into her body, not allowing all his weight to rest on her, but enough of
it so she could feel the hardness between his legs. She should have stopped her
stupidity right then, but her need for him was too strong. Physically, she was
lost in the moment and couldn’t will her body to stop what felt so damned good.

Her body hummed with passion and her
own needs. She wanted this man…but wait… “Jake, stop.” She pushed him back. “I
can’t do this.”

His breath was ragged, but his eyes
were still glazed over with desire. “I know,” he said. He didn’t push off her
body just yet. “I didn’t ask you over so we could have sex. I want you to know
that.”

“I never thought that,” she reassured
through her own unsteady breathing.

“Good.” He rose to his feet but put a
hand up, as if signaling for her to stay put.

She did, mostly out of weakness than
obedience. He got back down on his knees. Still studying her face, he placed
his hand on her neck and then traced a line gently down to the middle of her
breasts. A shock zapped her into a different reality. Her breasts reacted to
his touch, but she didn’t much care. He left her chest and moved down her
stomach, circling her belly button. Though he was only touching her on top of
her shirt, it was as if his fingers were burning a line through her skin. When
he moved a little lower, she bit her bottom lip to stop the moan wanting to
escape. She knew it was wrong on so many levels, but she wanted this.

“I know we can’t have sex, but I want
to take care of you. I want to make you quit thinking so much and just feel
what is happening right now. Can you do that, Anna?”

She needed this. It had been years
since she’d been with a man, and while her experience had been okay, she had
wanted more. Anna wanted to feel what other women talked endlessly about. She
wanted to be a normal woman who could allow a man to meet her needs every now
and then. So, she nodded her acquiescence.

With no urgency at all, he unbuttoned
her jeans and pulled down her zipper. Before moving any further, he stopped, as
if asking if she was completely comfortable with what was about to happen next.
She couldn’t protest even if she had wanted to. She was past the point of no
return. Her heart beat through her chest, her vision blurred his face, her ears
hummed—blocking out all other noises. She was completely lost to Jake.

Her breath caught as he slipped one
hand inside her jeans, inside of her panties. Oh—my—Lord! Anna became caught up
in the stroking of his fingers along her wetness. From far away she heard him
say, “That’s right, sweetness, just feel. No thinking.”

That was not an issue. She couldn’t
think of anything beyond his skilled fingers gliding across the slickness of
her sex. Her eyes closed as she became in tune with her body and what it was
crying out for. Jake took extra care with that special part that drove a woman
out of her mind. She had to hold on to something or she was bound to come up
off the couch, so she clenched both fists and held on tight. She was hot and on
the edge of having a mind-blowing orgasm. It was intense—and simply wonderful.
As she moved against his finger she shook uncontrollably. It was a rhythm she
didn’t know who set, but it was fast and urgent. Eyes closed, she drank in the
moment before coming. As if knowing it was time, Jake bent down and kissed her
softly on the lips—and that time she couldn’t stop her moan as the sensation
rippled through her. Wow.

* * * *

Jake was kissing those pale pink lips
as she moaned, using her fists to clench both sides of the couch cushions as
she floated up and then back down. He had instinctively become hard with the
first thought of kissing her soft mouth. And he was telling her the truth when
he said he wasn’t out to just have sex with her, but he had to admit he would
have had his pants down as soon as she asked for more. She wasn’t ready for
that, though, so he was content to give her what she didn’t know she needed—an
orgasm she would never forget. He took pleasure and caused himself more pain at
knowing he was the one to give it to her.

He got so caught up in watching her
lose all inhibitions that it was like…she was the one touching him. He was
getting almost as much pleasure from this as she was. He felt faint and
limp…but that was all right by him. It made him feel alive again to be
swallowed up by something other than his self.

When her eyes fluttered back open,
she said, “Thank you.”

“Anything for you, sweetness.”

* * * *

She woke to a creak in
the floor. She opened one eye to peek at what was causing the floor to settle,
but deep down she already knew. It was the devil. She hadn’t been visited by
him in a little over a week, so it was just a matter of time before he would
come. She slammed her eyes shut when he stood over her and tried to slow her
breathing to a normal pace so he wouldn’t know she was really awake. When he
reached under her nightgown, she forced her mind to take her someplace else.
She had always wanted to go to Disney World—that’s where she decided to go
tonight. A ride on the tea cups…just her and her mother.

Anna woke, sat up, and instantly
reached to turn on her bedside lamp. Her gaze searched the apartment, checking
for anything out of place. “It was just a dream, Anna. Nobody is here.” She got
up and poured herself a glass of water. Talking a long gulp, she felt calm
enough to crawl back between the sheets. She laid her head back down on the
pillow and left the light burning beside her. She might be an adult now, but
every now and then, even an adult needed a nightlight.

* * * *

Anna arrived an hour before
Em’s
bachelorette party started. Seeing only a black SUV in
the drive, she knew Em was the only one home. She cracked the door open. “Em,
it’s me.” She went ahead and let herself in, figuring Em wouldn’t hear the
knock due to the overly loud music being played. Em had a thing for the old
stuff, but Anna only hoped they didn’t have to listen to
I’m
Every Woman
and
R.E.S.P.E.C.T
all night. But she wasn’t holding
her breath.

She couldn’t help but smile at the
excessively suggestive decorations. Everywhere she turned, she had a male body
part staring her in the face. There were balloons, streamers, a tablecloth with
matching centerpiece, and any and everything penis-related. No wonder Em had
insisted on decorating for her own party. Her friend knew there was no way in
hell Anna was capable of such choosing provocative things. Anna was thankful to
Em for taking the responsibility away. Since she was the maid of honor, it
technically had been Anna’s obligation to the bride. She was definitely going
to have to make it up to her. If it had been up to Anna, the party would have
consisted of balloons with the word BRIDE printed on them and solid pink plates
and napkins. While she would have never dreamed of throwing this kind of party,
she admired
Em’s
bravery and sense of fun. She only
hoped to have same kind of free spirit. Maybe for tonight, she could forget
about all things Jake-related, have a good time, and be the woman who could
throw a penis-themed party.

“What do you think? Does it need more
balloons?” Em asked, coming from the kitchen carrying a meat and cheese platter
into the living room. She looked vibrant in her hot pink dress. It was cut low
in the neck, exposing cleavage that every boy in the surrounding two counties
had admired back when they were teenagers. The dress was tight fitting, showing
off her curvy body, and stopped a ways above the knee. Was she really wearing
zebra-print stilettos?
Only Em,
she thought. On anyone else it would
have looked like an outfit about to be worn on Hooker Street, but on Em it just
looked stunning. Her hair and makeup looked like it did any other day—perfect.
She made Anna look plain and boring in a pair of jeans, camisole, and matching
cardigan with black strappy sandals.

“No, I think you’re good on the
balloons, but you might need some more of everything else.”

“Seriously? Damn. I knew I needed
more streamers.” After stomping her foot, she headed back to the kitchen.

The countertops were covered in every
type of platter. The last time she’d seen this much food, it was at Em and
Tommy’s party. There were chips with guacamole dip, desserts, a chocolate
fountain, strawberries that she assumed went with the fountain, more meats and
cheeses, bite-size sandwiches, and a cake still covered in a box. She only
hoped the cake wasn’t in the shape of a penis too.

“No, Em, everything looks great. A
little suggestive, but you did a good job. There’s only one thing.”

“What?”

“Please don’t tell me the cake is
shaped like a penis, I don’t think I can eat a male body part with a straight
face.”

Em had one hand on her hip and took a
cheese cube with the other. “Not even Jake’s?”

Stunned was Anna’s only reaction.
“Em.”

“Just saying. The way I hear it, you
two have seen each other several times
alone
since you’ve been back, and a woman
can’t resist a man who looks that good for long.”

“I’ve only seen Jake once alone, and
all of those other times, it was unexpected—and might I add that I wouldn’t
have seen him at all if someone had warned me he was living at my place?” She
eyed Em, letting her know she still didn’t appreciate her keeping that bit of
information from her.

“We’ve already discussed my reasons
for hiding that information. You’ll thank me later when he has you spread out
on your bed, pleasuring you to the point where all you can do is moan his
name.”