Ages:

Andrea - 28
Jim - 25
Zach - 25
Melinda - 21

It was a typical Friday night, Jim was on call and playing video games with Andrea's latest fling, Zach, while Melinda and Andrea were making sure everything is in order for Jim and Melinda's upcoming wedding in the kitchen.

They were over at Andrea and Melinda's old apartment, which was across the hall from the apartment that had opened up a few months ago. Jim and Melinda had moved across the hall together, finally getting some well-needed space of their own. They still came over for dinner sometimes and Jim could smell something that was absolutely delicious and knowing his fiancee all too well, it's probably Andrea's doing.

"Boys?" Melinda called out, running into the living room. "Want to play a game to pass the time while dinner is in the oven?" Jim turned to look at her from his seat on the couch, smiling as she kissed him from above. "So?"

"We're already playing a game," Jim laughed as she came around to sit on his lap.

"You two have been playing whatever-the-hell-this-stupid-game-is-called for like two hours now," his fiancee sighed and smiled at him. "Andrea suggested playing spin the bottle." He'd paused the game as her arm curled around his neck. "What do you think?"

"Spin the bottle? What are we, twelve?" Zach laughed and tried to unpause the game but Jim paused it again. "Oh come on dude. Don't let her get to you."

"I didn't ask you, Zachary, now did I?" She said, smiling at him as she used his full name. He'd always told them to call him Zach. He hated hearing the full one. "What do you think?" Melinda's breath smelled like granny smith apples with a hint of alcohol, meaning the bottle they'd be using was most likely drunk by her and Andrea. "Come on baby… please?"

Melinda curled into him, showing that she was definitely a little tipsy and tipsy Melinda could be a very fun person. She would go out of her comfort zone a little coaxing after a few drinks.

"Sounds like fun," Jim said and turned the game system off. "Did you have some wine?"

"More like half a bottle of Pinot Grigio," she laughed and then leaned her head on his shoulder as she plopped into space next to him.

She's always told him she hated her laugh, but every time he heard her giggling through her nose, snorting adorably, he fell a little more in love with her.

He kissed her then and she moaned, touching his face.

"You two are gross," Zach muttered and got up to walk into the kitchen. "I'll go get Andrea."

"No way," Melinda sighed as the bottle stopped spinning and landed on Zach.

All she wanted was to have some fun and be able to kiss Jim, but no. She had to get Zach the second go around. The first time had been Andrea and she'd kissed her with an eye roll as the boys hooted and hollered.

"Come on, Melinda! It's just Zach," Andrea urged on, nudging her from the spot beside her by the couch. "It won't mean anything. It's just a game."

"Exactly! It's him," she muttered, crossing her arms as she looked at the blond. He was smug, his eyes lit up and lips puckered. "I'm not doing it. Can I spin again?"

"You say it like it's a bad thing," Zach interjected with a smirk her way. "Melinda, I know you want to kiss me. It's okay - most women do."

"Come on Mel... it's just a little smooch. He's not a bad kisser," Andrea snickered, blushing a little. "Just get it over with."

Melinda eyed Zach and rolled her eyes. "Never in my life," she said.

Around her, Andrea and Zach started chanting kiss and she sat still, feeling uncomfortable as Andrea tried to lean her closer to him.

"Hey, stop it." Jim finally said, loudly. It went silent and everyone turned to him. "She said… she said she doesn't want to kiss Zach. Don't force her."

The blond man turned to Jim with a teasing smirk. "You're just scared she'll kiss me and cancel the wedding, Clancy," the man laughed.

Melinda hated how everyone teased Jim. She hated it because she loved everything about him. His sensitivity, his morals, his respect, his humor. Everything. So, she reached out and move the bottle, making it point to everyone with a spin.

Jim looked at the bottle and then her with a smirk. She only smiled and leaned closer until their lips met in a kiss. Perfect, loving, and simple. She felt her head spin slightly as the oven beeped.

"Dinner's done!" she squealed and tried to stand up and regain my balance momentarily.

She was a little tipsy from the cheap alcohol Andrea brought, but not that tipsy. Not the tipsy Melinda that Jim adored. She quickly pulled on oven-mitts and reached inside the oven for the glass pan. Jim had come in after her, seeking something to drink, and came up to his fiancee, who was bent down over to grab the pan from the oven. He'd lost every train of thought as her ass strained against the leggings.

"You made this?" Jim asked with a teasing lilt to his voice, as he moved around me, his feet on either side of her, so close that as she closed the over, her stomach pressed hard against the handle of the oven and her toes curled in her socks, as his hands skimmed over her bare shoulders.

"I did," she whispered back and by the time the words left her mouth, his lips were touching her neck. It's like a jolt of electricity and her hand clenched involuntarily around the oven hand. Her gasp made him pull back, although his hands still grasped her hips as she placed the pan on the stove-top proudly. "Aren't you proud? It smells so good, right?"

"You made it? Is that so?" He laughed as she took off the oven mitt and tossed it on the counter too. He wrapped his arms more snugly around her waist, kissing up the length of her neck. "All by yourself?" He whispered, nibbling on her ear then while he squeezed her waist so tightly that his fingers began to tingle. "I am proud of you."

"Thank you," she tapped his hands on her waist and he let go as she went to find a spatula. "Not all by myself. I did have some help, but it's a recipe I found."

"So just because I'm dead doesn't mean I get any credit?" The older Spanish woman, who previously owned this apartment, said appearing next to her. She'd been meaning to cross her over since she moved into the apartment, but she hadn't had the time. And Melinda enjoyed making meals with her, even if she never gave her the credit she deserved. "Ugh. Figures."

"Why don't I believe you?" He smiled, smirking at her.

"Well, I got a teensy bit of ghostly help," she whispered, shrugging.

She watched him swallow as she turned toward him and the roll of his Adam's apple above his soft white t-shirt turned her on. And for a moment she pictured him without the shirt. He's got a hint of a tan from the last few times he'd gone running without a shirt.

"Jim," she breathed as he stepped closer to her.

"Can I kiss you again?" He asked.

If she wasn't thinking about running her hands over his naked chest, she might have said no just to spite him, but she nodded and he closed the distance between them in two steps. His arms reached her first and they slipped around her back, his large hands pressing into her until she was flush against him and she was certain he could feel her heart beating out of her chest.

For a moment they stood like that, his head tilted down close enough to kiss her, his lips slightly parted so she felt his breath ghosting over hers. He smelled like pine. It was a good smell, a reassuring smell. His face was relaxed and though his eyes are closed, she could tell he was waiting for some sign. She murmured his name and his lips find hers.

They closed over her lower lip, pulling, gently working her mouth open. She sucked on his lip until he slanted his mouth against hers. At the stroke of his tongue, she made an embarrassing sound, which she didn't have time to regret because he was already drowning her sound out with one of his own. She felt it rumble through his chest and in her mouth as much as she heard it, and she gripped his arms to keep her feet from sinking right down into the hardwood floor below.

Another sweep of his tongue and she chased after him, her heart skipping and thrumming against her ribs as she desperately breathed through her nose so she didn't faint. The lightheadedness had to be oxygen deprivation. It had to be. A curse and a crash from the living room make her jerk free of his arms and Jim groaned angrily, his empty hands fisting in the air.

She'd laugh at his frustration, which was sort of sweetly amusing, but she was ready to yell at them herself. She didn't know where they were going with that kiss, but it felt good. It felt so real, and no one was watching.

"I guess we should…I should..." She stuttered, her cheeks blushing at him. "Figure out what's going on out there."

"Yes, we should," he nodded before sidestepping and walking toward the living room.

It would seem that Zach had knocked over the coffee table in trying to scramble off the floor, but despite the upturned state of the room, he appeared more interested in Melinda than the damage he'd caused, while she righted the table. Jim stood behind her, his arms crossed over his chest, and still looking irritated. He couldn't bring himself to help Zach up quite yet.

"I interrupt you two?" Zach asked with a cough.

She straightened and looked at Jim back to Zach. She could feel her cheeks heat, and she wondered if it's written all over her face if her lips were swollen or… "You always do," she muttered and turned, grabbing his hand. "I think we're just gonna take a plate and bring it back to our place. Give you two some alone time. I know I want some."