Heat Wave

Jessica sighed, running her hands through her hair which was becoming increasingly wet as the afternoon wore on. Llanview had been hit by a June heat wave and every day was hotter than the one before. High temperatures were normal for this time of year, but it was never like this. The thermometer in her house had actually broken. It was the hottest day on record in Llanview and it didn't help that the humidity had reached the same record levels.

She should be inside, sitting in a bathtub, surrounded by ice cubes, but instead she found herself in the park watching her cousin Starr sing in the summer talent show. She really did look cute in her Madonna/Marilyn-esque costume that Jessica and Blair had gotten her dressed in. Starr was at the moment singing "Material Girl" and wearing a miniature pink dress, complete with blond wig, gloves, and fake diamonds, without breaking a sweat. She was adorable. Starr really was meant for the spotlight. And in the spirit of all children the world over Starr was utterly impervious to the heat surrounding her. She was bounding around on the makeshift stage with unending enthusiasm, eating up the attention.

Jessica smiled before wiping her forehead with the back of her hand once more.

How long does this thing last anyway?

Jessica had visions of the pool waiting for her back at Llanfair. She couldn't wait until she could head home and change into a bikini and submerge herself into the cool waters. Jessica was wearing one of her skimpiest outfits with most of her body exposed, but she still felt like steam was coming off her body.

Starr's song came to an end and she bowed happily to the crowd beaming with pride. Jessica clapped loudly until her hands hurt. Her little cousin was adorable and had done a great job up there. Jessica watched Starr run off the stage and caught a movement out of the corner of her eye.

She turned and saw Antonio walking towards her slowly.

Now that man can move.

As he walked the muscles in his chest moved under his t-shirt. His arms were deeply tanned and covered in a dusting of hair causing her to wonder whether his naked chest would be covered with the same amount. She continued south with her perusal before looking back up to his face where his eyes were watching hers.

Antonio caught her looking at his body and smiled, causing Jessica to blush and look away.

He saw me checking him out! Oh God, how embarrassing.

Antonio stopped in front of her. "Is this seat taken?" he asked gesturing to her blanket.

Jessica smiled in response, still slightly embarrassed. "It is now. Have a seat."

"Thanks," Antonio said as he lowered himself to a sitting position next to her.

"What are you doing here?" Jessica questioned him.

"I was walking through the park and saw the show. Thought I would watch for a few minutes. Starr did well. She made a great Material Girl," Antonio answered, smiling.

Jessica laughed agreeing with him. "Yeah, she did, but don't tell her that. Did you hear all the applause? Blair is going to have a hell of a time getting her to come back down out of the clouds."

"She definitely looked like she was enjoying the attention," Antonio said as he looked around the crowd and spotted the excited Starr with a tired looking Blair.

"Well, she is Todd's daughter," Jessica said looking in the same direction.

Antonio smirked, before agreeing. "Very true."

The two sat watching the show and chatting. Antonio talked about how slow work was right now, jokingly blaming it on the heat, saying that criminals didn't want to operate in this kind of weather. Jessica told him how wonderful it was reconnecting with her mother and getting to know Natalie better. A man selling concessions came around and Jessica and Antonio both got bottles of water as the man gave them two ice-filled glasses. Antonio, ever the gentleman, insisted on paying.

As he got to his knees to extract his wallet from his back pocket, Jessica couldn't help but admire his backside. She would love to reach out and give it a squeeze. Jessica blushed at the direction her thoughts were taking.

Oh God, do you have it bad.

Antonio handed her the glass and bottle, noticing her flushed face. "You okay?"

"I'm Fine, it's just the heat," Jessica covered quickly. "Thanks for the water."

"You're welcome," Antonio said before taking a sip from his glass.

Come on Jessica, could you be any more obvious? A blind person could tell that you're interested.

A teenage boy took the stage and the sounds of Frank Sinatra filled the air. Antonio sat back gracefully on the blanket and leaned back on his hands as he stretched out his legs. The two sat quietly enjoying the music and each others company.

I look like a wilted flower and look at him. It's 110 degrees out and he is still as gorgeous as ever.

Jessica was pulled out of her musings when she felt something cold being dragged slowly from the back of her ear to her pulse point, down her neck and back again to repeat the process. It was an ice cube. Antonio and ice. Flashes of her fantasy filled her head and Jessica had to bite her lip to keep from moaning out loud as she felt her body react to his touch. She hadn't noticed that he had moved closer so his body was aligned with hers. Jessica shifted her head back so she would feel more pressure from Antonio's hand.

Antonio smiled, amused at her reaction. "Does that feel good Jessica?" He asked quietly.

"Mmmhmmm," she murmured in response.

Antonio chuckled softly, sending chills down her spine. "I'm glad," he said still rubbing his hand along her collarbone even though the ice had melted away.

Jessica twisted her body to look at him once she could do so without blushing. "Why did you do that?"

Antonio leaned forward until his face was inches from hers and Jessica could feel his warm breath against her skin. "You looked hot," he answered huskily as he caught her gaze with his own.

Jessica felt herself grow warmer. She was melting and it definitely was not from the heat.

She found herself getting lost in his eyes. Antonio had the most beautiful eyes; deep and unending pools which were looking into hers with blatant desire. Jessica's mouth was suddenly dry and she swiped her tongue along her bottom lip to moisten them. His eyes darkened and a muscle throbbed in his jaw as he watched her tongue move across her lips. Jessica knew seconds before it happened that he was going to kiss her. She could read it in his eyes. Jessica caught her breath as his head leaned forward, slowly taking her mouth with his own. All sane thought left her with the first touch of his lips upon hers. It didn't register that they were in a park surrounded by people; she felt like they were alone in the world.

His lips were soft and gentle against hers as he sucked at her bottom lip. At first the kiss was questing, getting to know the feel of her mouth. In response, her hands moved of their own volition to his chest, gently squeezing his pectoral muscles through his shirt, feeling his heart beat. When Antonio gently nibbled at her bottom lip, Jessica gasped, and opened to him. His tongue surged into her mouth stroking against her own. She moaned and moved her hands up to encircle his neck, scraping her nails along his skin.

Antonio groaned low in his throat as he threaded his fingers through her hair and turned his mouth to deepen the contact. Jessica responded meeting every stroke of his tongue with one of her own. Things were quickly spiraling out of control. Her fingers moved into his hair as she sucked on his tongue, pulling another groan from him. At that moment, Jessica wanted Antonio more than anything, more than breath. It felt like he was trying to inhale her. When it finally felt as if she would pass out from the passion and lack of oxygen, Antonio lifted his head before burying it in her hair, breathing heavily against her ear.

What a show of their own they had just performed.

When he raised his head to look into her eyes once more, Jessica could still see the desire. Along with it though, there was something else: Surprise.

That made her smile.

"Are you alright?" Jessica asked teasingly.

Antonio ran his thumb over her swollen lips. "I will be."

She laughed softly looking around at the quickly departing people. "I think we missed the grand finale, but at least we can get out of the heat."

"Good point," Antonio agreed.

Jessica got to her knees and started to gather her stuff together as Antonio did the same.

"I better get going. I'm due back at the station." Antonio stood up before taking her hand to help her stand as well.

"Thanks for the water," Jessica said before letting his hand drop.

Antonio nodded his head, smiling. "Thanks for the blanket."

"Take care Antonio," she murmured.

As Jessica started to turn away, Antonio reached out taking her hand in his, stopping her movement. She looked at him in question, but Antonio saying nothing, lifted her hand to his mouth and gently kissed the back of it. Without breaking eye contact he turned her hand over and grazed the inside of her wrist with his lips. Jessica gasped, wide-eyed as she felt his tongue lightly trace the pulse there before sucking lightly on the skin.

Antonio gently released her hand, smiling once more before walking away from her. "I'll see you around Jessica."

Her senses shattered, Jessica could barely respond as she croaked out her reply. "Yeah Antonio, see you around." She watched him until he was out of sight before letting out a pent up breath. "Oh boy."

Now she needed that ice-cube bath for a completely different reason.