Summer Kisses (24 page)

What was she doing here
?

What a fool she was. She dressed in record time before quietly stepping out of the office and heading for the back door, where she slipped out of the building unnoticed.

It was early on Saturday morning when Jill jumped at the sound of a high-pitched screech. “I’ll call you right back,” she told Chelsey before clicking her cell phone shut and running outside her apartment. She saw Derrick rushing down the stairs with the dog. He had made a leash out of strips of cloth. “What was that noise?” she asked. “Was that you or the dog?”

He stopped three steps from the bottom. “Very funny,” he said, looking over his shoulder at her. “Hank and I have been kicked out of the apartment building by the manager.”

“Hank?”

“Yeah, I thought that was a good name for the beast.”

“You can’t leave me,” Jill said.

He grinned. “I’m pretty sure that’s the sweetest thing you’ve ever said to me. I didn’t know you cared.”

She raked her fingers through tangled morning hair. “You know what I mean. My parents are coming tomorrow and you promised to do a taste test after I cook a trial dinner today.” He was also going to watch Ryan while she finished an article for the magazine and returned some calls, but she kept that to herself. Her shoulders fell in defeat. “I need you.”

He looked at his watch. “I’m taking Hank to my place in Malibu. I’ll be back before you can say, ‘What would I do without Derrick Baylor in my life?’”

“What would I do without Derrick Baylor in my life?” she said.

He winked. “Now say—”

She cut him off with a huff and headed back inside her apartment.

Jill shut the door behind her and looked around at the mess: There were boxes of diapers stacked in the corner of the room. Formula and bottles covered the kitchen counter. Dishes filled the sink and papers were scattered across the coffee table. The portable crib took up most of her small living area. She had set it up there so she could keep an eye on Ryan while she got things done. She looked at Ryan and watched him kick his legs and stare wide-eyed at the toys that dangled from a plastic band tied from one end of the crib to the other, high enough that he couldn’t hurt himself.

She smiled at her son. “Did you hear what your mother just said to your father? She said she needed him.” Straightening, she moaned as she found herself looking into the mirror on the wall directly across from where she stood. “What are you doing to yourself?” she asked her reflection. “What do you want?”

“I want him,” her reflection answered.

“Well, that’s too bad,” she told herself, “because he’s taken.”

We always gave up too easily
. Her sister’s words came back to haunt her. Laura was right. She never stuck up for herself. She never fought her parents for her independence and she never fought for Thomas. Hell, she never told Thomas what she wanted either. Their relationship had been a farce. She’d always felt more alone when she was with Thomas than when she was without him. She had never once been honest with herself. It was time to grow up.

The truth was she liked Derrick and he liked her.

She needed to develop a backbone and see if what they shared could grow into something more. A broken heart never killed anyone, she told herself.

The remainder of the day flew by. It was amazing what one person could accomplish with the right motivation. She had dressed in a pair of dark jeans and a green halter top that made her green eyes pop. The vitamins she’d been taking had given her hair more shine and her skin looked better than ever.

Not only was Ryan asleep in his room, she’d already returned phone calls, written a first draft of this month’s column, and dinner was in the oven. The phone rang. It was Chelsey. No more calls tonight, she decided. She clicked the phone to Off and set it on the kitchen counter. All she needed to do now was set the table. After that, she planned to concentrate on making Derrick forget all about Maggie Monroe.

~~~

Derrick called Jill for the third time, but there was still no answer.

The day had been endless.

Upon arriving at his Malibu home, his sister’s car broke down, so he had dropped off the dog and then drove Zoey to Mom’s house so she could borrow their car. Then Grandma Dora showed up and insisted he stay and eat lunch with all of them. By the time he finished visiting, ran to the store for dog food, dropped off the food and then left his house in Malibu for the second time, his other sister called and blurted out that Aaron had left Maggie.

He tried to call Jill hours ago, to tell her he would be late, but she hadn’t answered her phone. Next, he drove to Maggie’s house, where he sat waiting for Maggie to return home. It was now dark outside.

Relieved to see Maggie’s car finally pull up the gravelly driveway, he stood and headed that way.

“Derrick,” she said the moment she climbed out of her car and spotted him. “What are you doing here?”

“I heard about Aaron leaving,” he told her. “I thought maybe you could use some company.” Damn, he thought, the minute the words left his lips. It was too early. Too early to offer her the world and see what she thought about that. Heavy lidded, bloodshot eyes told him Maggie wasn’t ready to discuss her future with him or anyone else.

“You need to leave,” she said, shaking her head.

He followed her up the walkway leading to the front entrance.

After she unlocked the door, she turned to him and said goodnight. He put his arms around her and held her close, but she pushed him away. She went inside and shut the door behind her without a glance back or another word spoken.

For a long moment Derrick stood in silence. He felt empty and hollow, his chest tight.

It was midnight by the time a taxi dropped Derrick off and he trudged up the stairs leading to his apartment. The bartender at Murphy’s had cut him off after a few hours and called him a taxi. The stars were out and the crickets were chirping as a cool wind blew in from the Pacific.

The lights in Jill’s apartment were on. He was surprised to see her door come open. Jill stood beneath the door frame, looking worried. “Is everything okay?”

He nodded.

“Is Hank okay?”

“Hank is good.”

“Are you okay? You look pale. Is it your leg?”

He looked past her, into her apartment, and saw that the table was perfectly set with a white table cloth and fine china, crystal wine glasses, and candles waiting to be lit. He was a fool to have let her down when she had told him she needed him. “You look amazing.”

“Thanks.”

“Is Ryan awake?” His legs felt unsteady as he approached. He put a hand on the doorframe to help keep his balance.

“I put him to bed a while ago.”

She looked beautiful tonight. “I’m sorry about today,” he began, aware of the mere inches of air between them. He could smell her soapy clean hair. She was a cool breeze on a warm day.

“Did you eat?” she asked him.

He shook his head, but the truth was he couldn’t remember.

“You’ve been drinking.”

She was looking up at him, her eyes adoring, her full lips beckoning him and making him forget everything else.

“Do you want to come inside?”

He nodded and said, “I thought you’d never ask.”

She opened the door wider and somehow he managed to step inside without falling on his face. The room did a little spin and then stopped. Whiskey never did sit well with him. He followed her into the kitchen.

“I made a chocolate soufflé,” she said. She dipped her finger into the creamy middle and then turned and held her finger up. “Do you want to try it?”

He took her finger into his mouth and licked it clean.

And that was that.

He couldn’t stop himself from kissing her if he tried. With the palm of his hand on the back of her head, he brushed his mouth over hers and was instantly consumed by the sweet taste of her. She didn’t push him away and for that he was thankful. He deepened the kiss. Her tongue met with his. Need, desire, and lust took over and he lifted her high until she was sitting on the counter near the sink.

She surprised him when she pulled her top over her head, revealing creamy white breasts spilling over a sexy pink bra.

He followed suit and pulled his shirt off, and then pushed the soufflé aside, but not before dipping his finger into the middle of it. He made a path of chocolate from her mouth, downward over her neck and lower until he met with creamy mounds of flesh. Lowering his mouth to the bottom of the chocolaty trail, he slowly worked his way back up to her mouth.

Her fingers made a trail of their own through his hair, bringing his mouth impossibly closer to hers. Her lips were sweet and hot and he realized in that moment that he needed her more than ever. Everything around him was a blur, but he knew that was because his world had literally just been flipped over on its ass.

Jill’s pent up desire was obvious, and he was going to be the one to set her free. He would see to that. She needed him as much as he needed her.

She pulled her mouth from his and made a downward trail of kisses over his jaw and down his neck. When she pulled away, he lifted her into his arms and carried her to her bedroom.

After stripping off each other’s clothes, all bets were off. They were on the bed, and he hovered over her. Jill was no longer the reserved mother of his son. She was a siren. Her hands and mouth explored, slowly at first, and then building in intensity until her breathing was uneven. Her enthusiasm was contagious and it seemed neither of them could get enough of one another until he entered her. Her body melded into his and every movement she made felt like a well-rehearsed dance…as if she had been made for him alone. Her warm lips no longer caressed his flesh, but her eyes met his as they moved in a rhythm all their own.

He was breathing hard, his mouth hovering over hers, and in that moment as they both exploded together into unprecedented rapture, he possessed absolute clarity, a lucidity that threatened to turn his life, his world, upside down. It struck him quick, like the flash of a shooting star, or like being hit over the head by a hammer. Cupid had shot him right where it counted.

Suddenly nobody existed in this world but Jill.

The emotions that ran through his body were alien, like setting foot on foreign lands for the first time. Derrick was somewhere he’d never been and he wasn’t sure how he felt about it. The air was no longer just for breathing. Every molecule inside of him was alive, pumping vigorously through his veins like blood that had been given oxygen after a long draught.

Her head now rested in the crook of his arm, her breathing even against his chest.

No awkwardness in the silence, just a quiet peacefulness in the aftermath of bliss.

~~~

After making love to Derrick Baylor, Jill had awoken at three in the morning to Ryan’s crying. She was surprised to see that Derrick was gone, since she hadn’t heard him leave the apartment and he hadn’t said goodbye. At six Jill showered and dressed and then gathered the courage to walk over to Derrick’s apartment and see what was going on. He wasn’t home but there was a note taped to his door.

Jill, I’m sorry I had to leave so abruptly. Things to do, places to go. I’ll see you in Malibu
.

Also included in the note was his address and gate code.

She read the note once again. He was obviously having regrets. Why else would he run away like that? Jill knew that she had nobody to blame for last night but herself. He’d been drinking. That should have been her first clue that it was not a good idea to sleep with him.

But he had been so damn charming.

One kiss. One lick of her chocolaty covered finger, she thought. That’s all it had taken to get her all worked up.
Sheesh
.

She was everything her parents accused her of being: irresponsible, immature, and impulsive. A lot of “I” words. She could think of a few more to add to the list, like idiot and insane.

By eight o’clock, the beautiful cloudless Saturday contrasted greatly with Jill’s mood as she, Sandy, Lexi, and Ryan drove down Highway 101 toward Malibu.

The windows were rolled down and the warm air lifted Jill’s hair from her shoulders. Feeling sick to her stomach, she tried to sound cheerful as she spoke to Sandy, who was unusually quiet this morning. “So tell me,” Jill said, keeping her eyes on the road, “how was your appointment with Connor the other day?”

Sandy huffed. “Oh, no you don’t. You first. It’s obvious that something is going on with you and I won’t hesitate to bet that it has something to do with you and Derrick.”

“I saw him last night,” Jill said. “End of story.”

“Pshhh. Don’t be ridiculous. I’m not so easily fooled. What happened?”

Jill glanced in the rearview mirror and saw Lexi examining Ryan’s toes.

“Go ahead,” Sandy said, “give me a few hints.”

“Okay, let’s see…there was chocolate soufflé involved.”

“I WUV chocolate!” Lexi shouted.

“Not too loud,” Sandy cautioned Lexi. “We don’t want to wake the baby.” Sandy pursed her lips as she tried to think. “Give me another clue.”

“There was licking involved.”

“I WUV wicking popsicles.”

Sandy laughed. “I don’t think she was licking popsicles, honey, but thanks for—” Sandy’s eyes bulged when she finally got a hint of what Jill might be getting at. “Oh, my God! If you weren’t licking popsicles, then—”

“Wowipops!”

They both laughed before Sandy leaned between the seats and handed Lexi her cassette player with the earphones. “Do you want to listen to your favorite song?”

“Yay! Old McDonald had a farm!”

Once Sandy had Lexi situated with her earphones, she straightened in her seat and turned back to Jill. “And I thought I was the wild one.”

“Needless to say, I would be singing a different tune right now if he hadn’t made a quick exit in the middle of the night.”

“No goodbye?”

Jill shook her head. “Just a note on the door to his apartment.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I have no idea.”

“I don’t get it. What does all of this kissing and licking going on mean? You told me the other day that you thought Derrick liked someone else.”