Chapter 14

Kiss and Tell...And Kiss Some More

They stood there, in front of the sofa, kissing. Whatever hurt or anger that Alex had felt for him over the past two months was certainly gone.

Minutes earlier, Bobby had initiated the kiss but it was Alex who'd taken control -hungrily returning and deepening each of his kisses. He'd never felt such passion from any woman. His mind was a blur, as he tried to keep track of all the feelings and sensations he felt as she touched him.

It was as if she couldn't get close enough to him. She hugged him and ran her hands over his shoulders and down his back, pressing him to her. She ran her fingers through his sweat-dampened curls, to the back of his neck, then to his face, where she gently traced the border of their melded lips with her fingertip.

Each one's tongue explored the other's mouth, tasting and teasing. Bobby remembered back to their first kiss on the patio -how her skin felt, how she tasted of fruity wine. He remembered what that kiss had done to him and his body -and, once again, his body betrayed him, exhibiting without doubt the lust he had for her.

She felt it, too, and pressed into him even harder, squirming and rubbing against him as the desperation of their kiss continued to grow.

Her ardor more than surprised him -it was more than intense. He never imagined that her physical yearning for him would hold such ferocity but, here she was, his little Alex -letting him know in no uncertain terms how badly she wanted him. And he wanted her equally, if not more.

But not yet.

X X X

Mrs. Eames made a fresh batch of iced tea and carried it out to the back deck, where her husband and daughter, Meg, sat talking about the latest family news.

"Thanks, Mom," Meg said, as she reached for a glass and a wedge of lemon.

"You're welcome, honey," she smiled, as she took the seat opposite Meg.

"Do you think your sister's been acting - -different lately?" Mrs. Eames asked.

"Different?" Meg asked. She shook her head 'no' after sipping from her glass. "No -she's been grouchy as usual," Meg tried to joke.

Johnny Eames chuckled behind his newspaper.

"You sister's not grouchy," Mrs. Eames said. "She just hasn't seemed like herself lately. I thought maybe she would've confided in you."

"No," Meg shook her head again, in a lie. "She and Bobby are working on something big," she added vaguely.

"Oh, well, I can understand that. Some of the cases they work on are so big and complicated," she said sympathetically.

"You can say that again," Meg agreed, then silently laughed to herself, Bobby sure is BIG and complicated.

X X X

Bobby raised his hands, gently taking Alex's cheeks between his palms. He slowly weaned himself from her kisses and took a step back. He smiled at her, his chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath.

He continued to hold her face, fixing his gaze into her eyes.

"We need to talk," he whispered in a raspy voice.

He lowered his hands to her shoulders and took another step back, towards the sofa. The bulge below his waist suddenly made him feel conspicuous.

He watched Alex's face -watched her eyes travel up and down his body. She was now just as flushed as he was when he arrived.

His hand traveled down the length of her arm, finding hers, and guiding her a step towards the couch so they could sit.

They sat on the couch, breathless and flushed. A sense of awkwardness crept upon each of them as they realized how strange it was that seconds earlier, in their moment of passion, they were completely comfortable and at ease. And now, apart -not touching - and knowing they had to talk things out -the feeling of unease returned.

Sensing that Alex was feeling the same thing, too, Bobby reached for her and pulled her close, under the protective comfort of his arms. She leaned into him and settled against his chest. An involuntary sigh of relief escaped her lips and she nuzzled closer.

Bobby kissed the top of her head. "That was nice."

"Mmmm," she hummed, as her hand came to rest on his chest. "I've missed you."

The room went quiet. Both of them knew they had to talk. Each of them had things they wanted to say, but the words didn't come easily. Finally, after a minute or two, Bobby found the courage to begin.

"You know, we could've been doing that for the past eight weeks," he said with a chuckle, half teasing to ease the tension.

"That -and more," Alex replied, equally playfully.

He kissed her head again. "So, what happened? What did I do wrong?" he questioned, assuming the blame.

"You didn't do anything, Bobby," she said, (except use a hooker as a substitute for me --God I've got to stop thinking those things. I already promised myself I'd never let him know I know -I never want to embarrass him --I've got to accept it and forgive him and move on) as she glided her fingers over his pectoral muscle.

"I must've done something," he persisted. "I apologized a few times -I didn't mean anything by it when I asked you about the wine bottle...and then you just stormed off..."

He felt her move against his chest as she shook her head 'no'.

"Well...if you insist," she said, still in a playful tone. "It wasn't just Sunday. I was mad at you Friday night, too."

"Fra-Friday? Friday night was perfect. I thought you had a nice time," he answered, sounding sincerely perplexed. "I know I did."

"I would've had a nicer time if you'd have come in when you brought me home."

"You really got mad at me for that?" he asked.

"Well -maybe 'mad' isn't the right word. "Maybe...confused...disappointed."

"I - I wanted to show you a nice time, Alex. Din-dinner and dancing - tr-treat you like a lady," he explained.

"You did, you did," she assured him.

"You made it perfectly clear to me on the ride home how you wanted the evening to end," Bobby said, as if reminding her -more of edge to his voice.

Alex freed herself from his arm and sat up straight on the couch, exclaiming "What!?"

"I said, 'you made it perfectly clear to me on the ride home how you wanted the evening to end'."

"And just how do you figure that?"

Afraid that things were going to take a turn for the worse, Bobby gave her a playful little smile and held out his hand. "Come back over here and snuggle, and I'll tell you."

It was a bribe she didn't mind accepting, so she smiled and settled back against him.

"Okay, I'm back," she said. "Now tell me how on earth you came to that conclusion."

Bobby chuckled. "Umm, maybe it was because for the entire hour and a half ride home you complained about every one of your dates expecting to..."

He paused, searching for a tactful substitute for "get laid." Then continued, "To be invited in, just because they bought you dinner."

"I wasn't talking about you! I was talking about them!"

He squeezed his arm tighter around her. "Well," he began, as he kissed the top of her head again, "I wasn't taking any chances. You deserve to be treated like a lady -by a gentleman."

"Well, it wouldn't have been a 'chance.' If you'd have come in, it would've been a sure thing," she sassed him back. "From our kiss on the patio, I figured you got my message loud and clear - I know for sure that at least a part of you did." Her hand traveled down his body and came to rest dangerously close to the aforementioned part.

They again sat in silence, while Alex thought about his words.

"So, um -you were disappointed, huh?" he teased with an almost-gloating tone.

She giggled and slapped his thigh. "Don't get cocky!" she warned.
The two of them laughed at her poor choice of words and he hugged her tighter.

"You know, I had a big night planned for us. I bought sexy lingerie and everything -and you had to go be a gentleman," she teased.

"Wh-what kind of s-sexy lingerie?"

"I'm not telling...it'll spoil the surprise," she said, slapping his leg again.

"Wh-when do I get the surprise?" he asked wearing a devilish smile that she couldn't see.

Alex shrugged her shoulders. It was her only answer.

"So -what do you want to do? What do you think we should do?" Bobby asked.

She rubbed her hand up and down his thigh. "I think we should start over."

"I think that's a good idea," Bobby agreed, smiling. "We'll pretend that tonight is our first date. I'll go home and shower and pick you up later. We'll have dinner and go dancing," he said, squeezing her. "But this time, I promise I'll come in when I drive you home. How does that sound?"

"Well," Alex smiled slyly as her fingernail traveled up and down his thigh. "It sounds like a good idea -except for two things."

"T-t-two things? Wh-what?" Bobby stammered.

"The dinner and the dancing," Alex answered.

Bobby was confused at first, but as her hand traveled to his fly and she gave a gentle squeeze, he understood her loud and clear. He was going to see her 'lingerie surprise' sooner than he expected.

End Chap. 14