13. Only Human
ONLY HUMAN
“Micah sleeping?” Baker asked when he walked around the backyard to Tasha’s place later that night.
“He is. He goes down fast and stays that way. He’s got so much energy that he wears himself out.”
“That’s great at night, but maybe not so much during the day.”
“Take the good with the bad. Can I get you a drink? I have Fierce beer.”
She’d picked up two four packs at work this week. It was the least she could do. Have something on hand that he’d like.
“Did you buy that for me?”
“I did, but I’ll have one with you. I should know what they taste like more than I do.”
“Do you even like beer?”
“I got one I know I will like, the other I’m not sure.”
“Bring me what you’re having,” he said.
She was glad he’d said that. She didn’t remember the names and didn’t want to ask him in with Micah sleeping. Not that her son would know. His door was just resting shut, and there was a gate in front of it.
He’d been known to get up and call her, but if he ever got up and wandered, she didn’t want to take the chance he was going to get into mischief.
She opened the fridge and pulled out two cans of the lighter IPA. A little fruitier and most likely not his thing, but she could be wrong.
Once both beers were poured into glasses, she walked back to the patio and handed his over.
He took one sip, and of course he knew what it was. She wasn’t sure why she was surprised.
“Do you like that one? It’s probably too light for you?”
“It’s fine. I’m not super fussy about anything Mason and Ben make.”
She took a sip, letting it linger on her tongue a second. “It’s good. I’m sure I can get through a glass of it.”
He laughed. “I’ll keep that comment to myself.”
“I know. I’m horrible. I’m not much of a drinker. I like a mixed drink like the best of them when it’s sweet and fruity, but don’t have more than one, maybe two. They can hit you hard and then it’s just a lot of sugar.”
“Did you know I’m working on bottled mixed drinks now?”
Her eyes got wide. Not over the knowledge of his job, but how sexy he looked with his legs spread out in front of him, his ankles crossed, his body relaxed much more than she was feeling.
Why couldn’t she be that comfortable around him? She tried to portray it at work.
Where there were witnesses and she knew there’d only be so much she could do.
But here alone at her house, the warm breeze of the night, the beer in their hands, both of them much more casual and reminding her of their kiss… Yeah, she was struggling to get any part of her to calm the hell down.
And wasn’t that part of this?
Part of the game they were playing.
Ugh. No games. She’d done that before. Or been forced into it.
“I didn’t know. What kinds?”
“Right now espresso martini and a strawberry daiquiri.”
“I’ll pass on the martini. I like my coffee hot, not cold and not dirty. Anything strawberry, sign me up.”
“You’ll get the first bottle when it’s ready. Which should be in a week or so.”
“Thanks,” she said, holding her glass up to his, then taking another sip.
It was better this time.
“So,” he said. “You should know that Mason stopped me today.”
“Okayyyyy,” she said, dragging the word out, waiting for some missile to land at her feet.
“It’s not that bad. Let’s be honest—everyone knows what is going on.”
She sighed. She knew that, but it still was hard for her to get a handle on so many knowing her personal business.
Not that there was much to say.
Other than the kiss they shared last week, and only Margo knew that. She didn’t think that Baker would be the type to share.
Or maybe she was wrong. She didn’t know him well enough.
Since their kiss, they’d shared some texts, one night of lengthy texts going back and forth. Almost like a phone conversation but with their fingers.
Over an hour of her smiling so much and so hard that her cheeks actually hurt.
And when she climbed into bed and thought more of the man sitting next to her, she might have let her hand wander down between her legs.
Hey, she was only human. And horny.
Very, very horny.
“Lay it on me.” She braced herself. It couldn’t be that bad. If it were, Margo or Hope would know by now with the way things traveled in the brewery and pub.
He let out a sound that could be a laugh. Maybe a snort. A cough?
“Mason saw me talking to you this morning.”
“I figured. He was coming into the doorway when I was leaving. Let me guess? He wanted to know what was going on with us?”
“Let’s say he’s noticed me seeking you out this week.”
She tried to cover her smile with another sip, but him nudging her toe with his sneaker gave away that she’d caught onto what was happening.
Not that she liked a man to pursue her that hard. Not like Shane had.
But if Baker and she didn’t even make contact at work, she’d think he was embarrassed or something.
And it wasn’t as if she could go looking for him, so the only choice was him doing it when he thought she’d be in the break room.
“I wonder if anyone else noticed it.”
“I think so. Or at least Ben. No one has said a word to me about it other than Mason today.”
“And what exactly did you talk about? You didn’t tell him about our...talk.”
“No. Not about the kiss either. I don’t share that shit and he wouldn’t ask. It was more about getting ahead of Jolene.”
“Got it.” This time she took a larger gulp to get past the knot in her throat.
Was this really going to work?
It seemed almost too complicated when they said they were trying to keep it simple.
But if it was too simple, then it wouldn’t be fun either.
She needed some fun in her life.
“That was pretty much it. He can read between the lines, but he knows I’m not going to be putting a bullseye on us at work.”
“Sounds like it’s already there.”
“I’ve been dealing with it for years. It’s new for you. How are you feeling about it?”
She shrugged. “Honestly. Not great but not horrible. I’m only there for another month, then back to teaching.”
And she wouldn’t see him several times a week either. So if they were going to do this thing, they needed to get a head start.
“You’re not going to work on the weekends once school starts?”
She shook her head. “No. The money is great, don’t get me wrong, but I don’t want to leave Micah with my parents, though they’d take him.
This is the first summer I’ve worked. I didn’t want to, but I had to pay to keep Micah’s spot at daycare and it didn’t make sense to pay for it and not bring him there.
But why would I bring him if I were home?
I was lucky enough that they had an opening for someone this summer at Fierce and were willing to work around my schedule. ”
Didn’t mean it’d work out so well next year. She couldn’t think that far in advance.
Nor would she admit that the money came in handy. It was almost double what she was paying in daycare for the week and gave her spending money rather than the tight budget she’d had every summer when she wasn’t working.
“This thing with us, where or when do you see it moving?” he asked. “Not putting pressure on you, just that, once you’re back to school, we really won’t see each other much.”
“I know. I thought of that too. I don’t mind you coming over when Micah’s in bed, but you might get sick of it. You might get sick of a lot of things because I’ve got a child.”
“Stop,” he said, putting his hand up and then reaching for her free one on the arm of the chair next to him. He threaded their fingers together and that slight touch set off so many flames in her body that she was ready to get up and crawl into his lap.
What the hell was she waiting for?
Why was she turning this into more than it had to be?
Yep, she had some serious PTSD right now when it came to men.
Didn’t trust them worth shit.
But Jolene Fierce had an excellent track record. She’d never pick a guy who was a loser. Or someone with secrets.
Which was wrong. He had them. So did she. And that was the reason she wasn’t so concerned he had trust issues.
“Sorry. It’s a trigger for me.”
“Then unload the gun. I know you’ve got Micah. I get it. Maybe I’m nervous over it too. It’s not as if I’ve dated anyone with a kid before, but I don’t have a problem with it either. You call the shots there. I get it.”
“Thank you for that,” she said. “It means the world.”
He tugged her arm a little. She wasn’t sure what he wanted, but he did it again. “Move closer.”
She edged her chair closer until it brushed his, the scrape of it barely audible over the pounding in her ears.
He leaned toward her at the same moment she leaned toward him, both of them meeting in the middle like it was inevitable.
As if gravity had been waiting for them to stop fighting it and just fall.
Their lips touched first, quick and brief, like they’d been here before and could move on. Then his mouth opened, hers followed, and their tongues slid together in a slow, deliberate stroke that stole the breath from her lungs.
The sparks she’d felt when his fingers had twisted with hers earlier burst into full flames scorching her and curling deep in her center.
The kind of heat that whispered reckless ideas in her ear. The kind that made her think he wouldn’t just allow her to climb into his lap…he’d welcome it.
He wanted it as much as her.
He got her exactly where she needed to be, telling her without words that he felt the same as her.
She’d come this far. It was time to take the next step.
Her lips left his in a soft pull, dragging out the contact and not wanting to let go. Even if it was only for a moment.
Her feet were planted firmly on the patio as she set her glass aside. Then she shifted slow enough to give him a chance to stop her, but steady enough to show she didn’t want him to either.
She settled onto his lap, right where she wanted to be. Right where he guided her with hands that were on her hips. His arms circled her, and his eyes locked onto hers so dark and intent, he was seeing straight through her.
He absolutely knew she was testing them both.
Then he closed the distance, capturing her mouth in a kiss that told her everything he felt. A kiss that erased doubt, erased air, erased everything except the two of them and the truth burning between their bodies.
His mouth moved over hers with a hunger that wasn’t rushed, but sure. Confident. Like he’d finally been given permission to stop holding back.
His hands slid up her spine, his fingers splayed wide, anchoring her to him as if he needed her close to breathe. Every shift of his lips, every slow drag of his tongue, felt like a confession neither of them could speak out loud.
Her fingers gripped his shoulders because she wanted to feel him. She wanted to feel a solid, steady man letting her take up space on him like she belonged there. Like she’d never be given a reason to leave.
And the way he reacted…the low sound deep in his throat…the way his hands tightened on her hips like he might pull her even closer if he could, it sent another rush of heat spiraling through her.
She hadn’t expected this.
But she wanted it. She’d hoped for it.
She just hadn’t really thought it’d happen.
And now that it was, she didn’t want it to stop. She didn’t want those doubts any longer.
She didn’t want to be cautious. She just wanted to feel.
He pulled back just far enough to rest his forehead against hers, their breaths mingling and equally unsteady.
“Tasha…” he murmured, her name sounding like something dangerously close to losing his last thread of control. Like he was fighting a battle she didn’t fully understand yet.
Except she understood it because she was right there with him.
“What?” she whispered, brushing her thumb over the sharp line of his jaw. Losing herself a fraction at a time around him. She told herself not to do it but couldn’t seem to stop.
His eyes flicked to her mouth, then back to her gaze with a look that hit her straight in the chest. “If you keep kissing me like that,” he said, voice low and rumbling in his chest, setting off an avalanche of sensations between her legs, “I’m not going to have the strength to stop where we are.”
But they had to stop. At least right now.
So, as hard as it was to do this, she climbed off his lap and planted her butt back in her chair.
“This sucks,” she said before she could stop herself, because the truth was, she was setting the rules and she wanted to break every single one of them.