Chapter 19
CHAPTER 19
“L ast day of class,” Apple said as she slowly sat down in the seat beside Charlie. “Bittersweet. Can’t say I’m sad to be done with this ridiculous excuse for a class, but I will miss spending an hour every week with Doctor Hottie.”
“His name is Luc.”
Had that come out snippy? She hadn’t meant it to, but lately, with everyone commenting on the looks of the man she was sleeping with—not that any of them knew that fact—she’d gotten a bit…jealous wasn’t the word. But…ah, screw it, she was jealous.
“I know his name, girlie.”
“Then use it. We say, as women, we want equality. Not to be treated like pieces of meat. Doesn’t that mean giving the same courtesy to men?”
There. She wasn’t jealous. Just a paragon for gender equality.
Apple raised one gray brow. “I suppose. But there’s nothing wrong with appreciating a little eye candy. You can still respect someone and put them in your spank bank.”
Spank what?
Did the cranky old woman know what that phrase meant? “Where the hell did you hear that term?”
Apple shrugged. “We got that new special channel app. One of them has a late-night talk show with some woman who calls herself a sexpert. No idea how she got a degree for that, but the lady is sharp and funny. I like listening to her talk while I’m doing the dishes.”
A shiver crawled up her spine. She hoped doing the dishes wasn’t some weird code for sex. She did not need that mental image in her brain. The thought of Luc being in Apple’s spank bank was something she’d rather not know, but there it was. All knowledgeable and what not.
She was saved from any more sexual revelations when Luc called the class to order. He congratulated everyone on the completion of the course. He’d even printed out certificates. She had no idea what the hell for. Like she was going to frame her anger management completion credentials and hang them in her office. Look everyone, this piece of paper says I’m not a raging bitch anymore. Yay me! A snort of humor left her. Yeah right.
Truthfully, she had to admit the course had helped. She didn’t find the little things pissing her off as much anymore and her mother had mentioned she’d been less abrasive lately. Which was her way of politely saying her daughter hadn’t been a pain in the ass the past few weeks. One might say she’d grown since the class started. She’d even started looking into doctors who did testing for ADHD. So yeah, maybe this tiny ember burning in her chest could be classified as pride.
Luc called her name, his eyes heating as he watched her come across the room to accept the small piece of paper with her name and “Course Completed” typed on it in stupid swirly font. Another ember burned, lower in her body. This one she recognized all too well. The fire of lust, desire, need.
She’d come to a decision last night. She wasn’t ready to give up this…whatever the hell it was, with Luc. Now that the class was over there was no reason to keep things secret. She wanted more. She had no idea what Luc wanted. It wasn’t as if they’d discussed it or anything. For all she knew his thinking could be, the class was over, so they were over.
Not if I have anything to say about it.
And she did. Because if there was one thing Charlie Jackson had never been accused of it was timidness. When she wanted something, she went after it and whatever happened, happened. You couldn’t get what you wanted if you never asked for it in the first place.
Grabbing the paper from Luc’s fingers, she gave him a coy smile, gently stoking her finger along his as she pulled the paper free. A very low and soft growl passed through his full lips. She silently cheered as she turned and headed back to her seat. With a reaction like that she felt pretty good about Luc wanting to continue their late-night activities.
Yeah, but will he want to continue them in the bright light of day?
Question of the hour. A long hour in which she had to sit there and listen to her lover congratulate everyone again and again. He also warned them that slip-ups happened.
“One class isn’t going to do much if you don’t carry through on what you learned in here.” Luc glanced around the group, dark brown eyes landing on each of the students. “Remember to breathe, think about what is really making you so angry and pause before you lash out. And don’t forget, I’m always here if you want to take another class or just need someone to talk to.”
“That’s good to know,” Kim purred from her seat, leaning so far forward in her chair, Charlie was surprised the woman didn’t fall flat on her face. Seriously, her obvious advances were just embarrassing. Or maybe that was her jealousy talking again. Who the hell knew?
Luc gave Kim a polite smile but didn’t encourage the woman. The rest of the class was filled with a small party of sorts. There were pastries and actual decent coffee provided by Tin Cups. One of the teens played the latest annoying trending song that she knew would now be stuck in her head for days. Oh crap, was she getting old? Wasn’t hating young people’s music the first sign of crotchetiness? Next thing she’d be yelling at the damn kids to keep off her lawn or some shit.
As the hour wound down everyone started to shuffle off. Charlie hung back, waiting for her moment to talk to Luc. The room finally cleared, leaving just the two of them.
“So.” She clutched the stupid completion paper in her hands to keep them from fidgeting, hating that she was so nervous.
“So,” he repeated.
Quite unhelpfully.
“So, um, I was wondering if you wanted to go out sometime this week.” Go out? Gah, what was she fourteen? She felt like it around this man. All raging hormones and not knowing what the hell she was doing.
“Out? Like…a date?”
“Yeah. But not like one. An actual one, with food and a movie. Or if you don’t want to be so cliché, we could do something else. As long as it’s not hiking. I know I’m a Colorado girl, but I hate hiking. If I’m going to be walking miles to get somewhere it better have a freaking bar or massage parlor at the end.”
She was rambling, she knew, but dammit she hadn’t been this nervous asking a guy out since she asked Adam Kirkson to the sixth-grade dance. Little punk had said yes only to back out when her friend, Chelsea, asked him a week later. She’d lost her date and her friend all in one go. She should have known then that life never let her keep anything she loved.
“You want to go on a date with me?”
The corners of his lips curled up. She supposed she could see the humor in the situation. They’d been sleeping together for weeks. Usually, people went on a few dates before hopping into bed. Dates were for getting to know each other. She’d said they knew each other pretty well by now. Still, she wanted to go out with Luc. And not just to show them off to the town and stake her claim. What had started out as a little naughty fun, she was quickly realizing, didn’t work for her anymore. She wanted more. She wanted…them.
“Yeah. The class is over so no one can frown on anything anymore. And you’re not totally hideous. It wouldn’t suck to be seen out in public with you.”
He chuckled. “Well, with a ringing endorsement like that how can I say no?”
The fearful weight of rejection she didn’t know she was shouldering lifted from her chest. But as happy as she felt, there was still something…off. The smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. Was he just being polite in accepting her invitation? No. Luc was kind, but he wasn’t the type of man to engage in any activity he didn’t want to do. Then what was this reluctance she felt coming off him?
“What shift do you have tomorrow?”
“Day. I’m off at six.”
She could work with that. “Perfect. Wanna pick me up at seven?”
He took a step forward until their bodies were inches apart. “Yeah. I can do that. And now that class is over, as you pointed out, I can also do this.”
His hand reached out to cup the back of her neck. His head bent, lips pressing against hers in a hot, fierce kiss. She clutched at his shirt, certificate falling from her grasp. They’d kissed before, but never in public. True, they were alone in the building, but they weren’t in either of their homes. Anyone could walk in and catch them. It heightened every sensation coursing through her body.
Luc was here, touching her, kissing her, not giving a damn if anyone caught them. It made her feel…wanted.
* * *
Luc savored the soft warmth of Charlie’s lips against his own. He wanted to take the kiss deeper, hotter, wetter, but although class was finished and they technically had no repercussions to fear from going public with their relationship, he still didn’t want to take things too far. It was one thing to get caught kissing Charlie in public, quite another to get caught naked and buried so deep inside her he’d forgotten himself. And that was exactly what would happen if they continued this kiss. He knew because it was what always happened around this woman.
She was his kryptonite.
Reluctantly he pulled away, resting his forehead on hers, their harsh breath’s mingling just as their lips had done a moment ago.
“Tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow,” she whispered. Lifting on her toes, she grazed his mouth with a soft kiss before turning and heading out the door, scooping up her crinkled, fallen certificate as she went.
He watched her go, a smile on his face, but a small worry in his mind. For once in his life, he hadn’t been thinking about the future. This thing with Charlie, he didn’t know where it was going, and he was okay with it. Things had been going so great he hadn’t thought about what would happen when the class ended. When their reason for hiding in the shadows was gone.
Truth be told, a small part of him had liked keeping Charlie all to himself. Something inside rebelled at the idea of sharing her, sharing them, what they had, with every one of Kismet’s prying eyes. He liked it being just them. He liked her being his safe spot to land. The one thing he didn’t have to explain or share with anyone else.
Plus, there was that deep seated fear that he couldn’t give her more. The past few check ins with his dad had been good, but a steep downslope often followed a steady climb. That was the way it was with addicts. A rollercoaster ride of highs and lows until they truly got clean or took that final plunge into the grave. Maybe this was his dad’s moment. The real deal. He hoped, but there was no way of knowing. And if the old man slipped again…he didn’t want to bring Charlie into all that. The woman didn’t need any more misery in her life. She’d had more than any one person should.
But when she’d stood there, rambling, trying her best to be sarcastic and hide her nerves, he couldn’t say no. Hell, he hadn’t wanted to. He didn’t want to end whatever it was they had. For once in his life, he wanted to keep something just for himself. So, he’d agreed. Now he hoped it didn’t all go to shit.