Chapter Nine

He brushed the tears from her eyes with the back of his fingers…for a moment she reveled in his light touch, then to her horror she found that it only made her cry more…the tears chasing one another down her cheeks. This will never do, she thought. He can't see me cry…I don't want him to. She tried to get up and make her way to the bathroom, only to find he blocked her.

"No running, Jordan. Not this time. We need to get this all out in the open."

Reluctantly she sat back down on the floor, trying to inch a little further away. He would have none of that, either, closing the gap between them until her back was against the couch. "I shouldn't have pushed you away," he started.

"Well, like I said…it's all water under the bridge. I guess it really doesn't matter now. I mean, you've got Kim and I have John…we've gone on with our lives."

"You asked me this question Jordan, so I'm going to ask you the same one: Are you happy?" Woody gently took her hands.

She drew in a breath that wasn't quite as steady as she would have like for it to have been. "I don't know…content…maybe. Work is good. And my relationship with John is ….is …."

"Is what? Better than ours was? Passionate? Warm?" He was looking in her eyes now, willing her not to look away.

"It's…I don't know…I guess it's normal. We see each other…have a lot in common. We get along well."

"Truth or dare. Are you two living together?"

"Truth. No."

"But you've talked about it."

"He's mentioned it. I'm not too sure I want to. My turn. Truth or Dare. Are you and Kim living together?"

"Truth…no. She has her own apartment and I still have mine. Truth or dare, Jo. Be honest. Have you slept with him?"

She felt her cheeks grow warm. She answered so softly he nearly had to bend down to hear her answer, she replied, "Truth. No. But he wants to."

Woody drew a deep breath. "Jordan…"

"No…it's my turn. I realize you're sleeping with Kim. So I just want to know one thing. Truth or dare. Do you regret not making love to me that night…back in my apartment?"

"Truth. Yes. So many times. I wish I could go back and change what happened…or didn't happen then, and take back what I said. But I can't. And I do regret it. I'll regret it for as long as I live."

She lowered her head. "It's good to know you regret it, too. At least we have that much left."

"A heart full of regrets?"

She nodded. "I'm sorry I didn't make you realize how much I did need you. I guess I'm just too independent…I know I come across as not needing anyone…that I'm fine by myself. But I'm not. I'm just like anybody else. The only problem is, I just hide it better than most people."

"Truth or dare….Then do you still need me, Jordan?"

She looked back up at him, only to find his face inches away from her own. What was in her heart was having a difficult time translating into words to come out her mouth. But her eyes spoke volumes to him. He gently reached out and cupped her cheek, tilted her chin up with his thumb, and found her lips again, this time not letting her break away.

And this time she didn't want to. She completely ignored the warning voice in the back of her head. She kissed him back, opening her mouth for him, sliding her arms around his neck, and letting her tongue tangle again with his. It was that way for long breathless minutes…Woody maneuvered her into his lap, her straddling his legs, and facing him. He toyed with the hem of her sweatshirt, running his thumbs along the waistband of her pants. Getting no resistance from her, he softly slid his hands up the inside, skating along her ribs, marveling at the baby-soft texture of her skin.

Until his palm came in contact with her breast. Her bare breast. Jordan wasn't wearing a bra. He groaned against her lips, only to hear her chuckle. A chuckle that changed to a moan when he gently kneaded one and then the other. "Woody…" she said, her voice sounding weak, even to her.

"Want me to stop?" His lips were caressing the side of her neck now.

"No…please…no."

His eyes locked with hers for a moment. "No?'

"Don't stop," she whispered, claiming his lips again, and letting him push the sweatshirt up higher, breaking away from him only to let him take it off, then turning her attention to the buttons on his shirt, undoing them and running her hands down his chest. Jordan wasn't sure how long they were there together like that, but soon Woody stood, taking her slight weight with him. She wrapped her legs around his waist as he carried her to the bed.

Sometime in the middle of the tangled sheets and tangled legs, she felt him tug off her jeans and she returned the favor…and then everything got hazy as her nerve endings only remembered how he made her feel….tingle…from the trail of warm, open-mouthed kisses he left from her shoulders to the tiny butterfly tattoo on her hip bone….to the quivery sensations his hands caused as he touched her. She remembered hearing him moan against her lips as she likewise explored his body.

If they had regrets before, there would be none after today. She heard herself call out his name from somewhere….it sounded far away…only to have him answer with her own in return.

And when it was over, they slept…through the rest of the afternoon and early evening, only to wake up and do it again.

A ringing of a cell phone jolted them both awake the next morning. Woody flipped the phone open. "Hoyt," he said softly. "Hmmmmm. Okay. No. That's fine. We'll be ready." Closing it back up, he ran a hand down Jordan's back, lightly cupping her bottom. "That was the chief. They'll be up here to get us this afternoon to take us to the airport."