Chapt. 12

It took Claire a minute to register that he was kissing her, and that she hadn't pulled away. When she finally did register his lips pressed firmly to hers, urging hers to return the kiss, she still hesitated to pull away. She felt his tongue graze her lips as his thumb rubbed her right cheek. Everything in her told her to stop what was happening and yet the urge to kiss him back won out as her lips began to move smoothly against his, with his even. She leaned in when his hand circled her neck and pulled her more firmly against his lips.

She couldn't tell how long she sat there, kissing him before she finally pulled away. Her hand went to her lips, lips that were still heated from the contact. They were swollen in the most wonderful of ways. She tried her hardest to remember the last time she'd been kissed that way, but she couldn't. That made her wonder exactly when it had all gone wrong with Stephen. How long had they been cohabitating without really living? She let her eyes lift to meet Joe's and she felt that something that she always felt when their eyes met. It was a feeling she couldn't identify but one that she felt all the same.

"I um… I'd say I'm sorry but I'm not sure that it would be an honest statement." His voice was barely a whisper. It was as if the kiss had stolen his ability to speak.

"It's okay… I just um, Joe I'm not ready to do this with ANYONE yet. I'm sorry. I really should get back to my car."

He looked properly wounded and held his hand out for hers. "I understand, and I in no way want to push anything on you that you aren't ready for just yet. I will not lie and say that I am not interested in knowing you though, that I don't like you."

She smiled. "I respect your honesty. And I thank you for tonight. It was really nice."

They rode back to the performance center in an easy silence. Once there he again opened her door for her and helped her down from the big truck. He walked her to her car and opened her door for her, closing it once she was settled in. She rolled her window down and smiled up at him. "Thank Joe, I'll see you soon and we can start really putting his faction into play."

"Yes ma'am, I look forward to it." He said slipping his hands into his jeans pockets. He stood there as she drove away, watching her go until her tail lights faded when she rounded the corner. How had she affected him in such a short time?

Claire checked into her hotel and settled in with her mind full and spinning. She kept playing the night over in her mind and wondering when she would feel okay with what had happened with someone who wasn't Stephen. She didn't know if it was a good thing or a bad thing that she'd noted Joe wasn't a bad kisser. Or that her hand kept going to her lips, remember how his had felt there.

An hour later she was showered and settled in the bed with a book. She grabbed her phone and text Matt. "So he took me too dinner, then for a walk at Downtown Disney. We sat and talked and then he kissed me. I didn't pull away but I did put an end to the night when it was done.'

A minute later he replied. "And here I thought we were making progress lol. Claire it's okay to feel ya know. It's okay to let a man kiss you and appreciate the wonderful that is you."

She smiled to herself and hugged her best friend in her mind. Before she could reply the phone rang and Nic's face filled the screen. She hadn't talked to him since the last show so she answered. "Hi you!"

"Hi yourself. Matt text me tonight and do you know what he said?"

Claire laughed, shaking her head. "I can only imagine. Enlighten me."

"Well there was something about a date and a Samoan and a hotel," he said with a smile evident in his voice.

"Well you have all of the components right, well almost," she laughed. "Only there was no date, it was a simple dinner and a walk around Downtown Disney area. I grabbed a hotel for the night because I didn't want to make that long ass drive home just to come back in the morning for work."

"You should really just find yourself an apartment. However, aside from that, if you're doing dinners, well, maybe you might grab dinner with me one day."

She paused and wondered for a minute if he was serious or just being Nic. "Well if I recall we just had dinner this week. After Raw was it?"

He laughed and she knew he had only been kidding. "Of course we did. Get some rest Claire. I'll talk to you soon."

Saying goodbye, Claire sent a text to Matt saying goodnight before laying her phone on the bedside table and turning the light out. Lying there in the dark she let her mind wander to thoughts of Stephen. She was feeling a bit like she should just move on, even though the break up was fresh. What was a date here and there, a kiss? As long as it didn't get serious what was the harm. She'd heard rumors that Stephen had already found someone he was interested in. Maybe that was why he left, because there was someone else. It all came back to the fact that even though the relationship was recently ended, in reality the relationship had long been dead. Feelings had ended long enough ago that she really was okay with the newly single life.

Picking up the cell phone from where she had lay it she sent Joe a text. "So, I really wanted to thank you again for tonight. It was wonderful, from beginning to end. We should maybe do it again sometime."