Straddling the Edge (11 page)

“I had a great time today. How about you?” he asks, sneaking glances at me, but mostly keeping his eyes on the road.

“I did. They’re really fun to be around.” I chuckle, and he raises a brow. “I’m sorry. I can’t help laughing. I never thought I’d ever be civil with them much less hang out for a barbecue. It’s going to take some time before I don’t shake my head at the thought.”

“Everything was cool tonight, right?”

I nod, squeezing his hand. “It was perfect. You know what else is funny?”

“What’s that?”

“Mel and Shelly with babies. They didn’t have one drink. I never thought I’d see that happen
either.” I smile. “Motherhood looks really good on them. All four of them seem to beam with pride. It was like they were glowing. And those babies. They are so cute. I love Noah’s cheeks.”

“He’s a little
chubber, isn’t he?”

“Yes. You just want to squeeze him and snuggle up to him and kiss him.” I cross my hands over my chest, holding myself tight.

“Well, since we didn’t bring the babies home with us and we don’t have any of our own yet, I say you squeeze, snuggle, and kiss me.” He takes my hand again and this time, he brings it to his lips and kisses my knuckles. I could just melt in a puddle of lust right here in the passenger seat of his car.

It’s not lost on me that he said
yet
.

Is he actually thinking about having babies with me?

The thought makes me smile on the inside and out. This is all so new to me. Talking to a man who really wants to talk to me, listen to me, and feels comfortable enough to share my innermost insecurities. And falling in love … so quickly. This is more than new. It’s unreal. I don’t know whether to step on the brakes and take it slow or to pull up my big girl panties and enjoy the ride.

Dean wiggles my hand. “What are you thinking over there?” I glance at him and he winks, a slight smile pulling up on the left corner of his mouth.

I hold up our connected hands. “This. Us.”

“We’re almost to your house. Why don’t we talk about it when we get there?”

I raise a brow at him. “A little presumptuous, don’t you think? How do you know I want to invite you in?”

“Not presumptuous, just confident.” He smile
s. How can I resist that sexy as hell grin? The one that makes me want to yank off my shorts and undies and crawl across the console and straddle his hard body right here. “Should I not be?”

He parks outside my complex, leaving the engine running.

I unleash my fingers from his and reach up to caress the scruff along his jawline. “Honey, you’re sexier than any man ever should be and you’re kinder than any man I’ve ever met. You have damn well earned the right to be confident.”

“But have I earned the right to be confident with you?” The low growl of his masculine voice rattles my body as he softly cradles my hand in his and brushes a gentle kiss to my palm.

“Why don’t you come inside and see?”

On our way up the pathway, I turn to him to ask, “I was thinking maybe we could just make some popcorn and watch a movie. Maybe have some ice cream later. I’m still stuffed from Ty’s giant-sized burgers. I doubt I could eat a full meal.”

He tosses his arm over my shoulder and hauls me closer to him, pressing a kiss on the top of my head. “Sounds perfect.”

“That was easy. I hope we can agree on a movie.” I bump my hip into his and we both laugh softly.

“I doubt that …” He doesn’t finish his sentence, and I know why. My feet have stopped moving and so have his.

I take a second to collect my thoughts and then take a step forward. Dean holds tight onto my hand and keeps me from moving further. I turn back to him and whisper, “It’s okay, I’ll take care of this. If I need you, I know you’re here for me.”

With his eyes focused on me, he squeezes my hand, rubbing his thumb back and forth over mine. “You got that right.”

I give him a weak smile and turn back to our visitor, stepping away from Dean. “You don’t belong here, Chase Marino. Please leave.”

He holds a bundle of red roses in his hand. I can see he’s trying to hold back
his anger which comes as a huge relief based on his previous behavior. His nostrils flare, his stare is pure hatred, and his cheeks quiver over his clenched teeth. He advances toward me and I can feel Dean’s presence close in. Chase pushes the roses into my chest, almost throwing them at me, and says, “I don’t care what you think you have with this guy. It’s not over between us,” practically spitting the words in my face.

Before I can say anything, Chase is marching out of the complex without a look back.

“Give me a second,” I tell Dean, holding up my index finger. I walk to my neighbor’s door and knock softly. I can hear the shuffle of slippers on the hardwood floors get closer. “Hi, Mrs. Wilson. I just got these and you know I have a knack for killing flowers and plants
, so I thought you might like them.”

The little white-haired lady’s eyes widen. “Oh, I couldn’t. Those are too beautiful, dear. They must be special to you.”

I hold them out to her. “No. As a matter of fact, they’re not. So please, take them. I insist.”

She opens the door wider and holds out her shaky hands to receive the roses. “Thank you, sweetie. Stop by tomorrow and I’ll have a plate of cookies ready for you.” Her bright eyes and smile melt my heart. I knew she’d love the roses. A lot more than I did anyway, which
isn’t difficult because I wouldn’t mind shredding them to mulch.

“That
was really nice of you, Summer,” Dean says, reaching his arm out to me.

I step into his embrace and grin as I curve my arm around his waist and rub softly up and down his taut side. “No sense in letting them go to wast
e, Mrs. Wilson doesn’t get many visitors so I know that made her day.”

“You’re something else,” he says, brushing his lips against my temple.

When we’re finally inside, I toss my purse on the kitchen counter and open a cupboard to search for popcorn. While I unwrap the package, Dean makes himself at home, opening up the refrigerator and taking out two beers. He twists the cap off one and sets it on the counter in front of me. I drop the popcorn and pick up the bottle, bring it to my lips and suck down two big gulps.

After a deep sigh, I lean back against the c
ounter and gaze up at Dean, wondering what comes next. “Thank you. That hit the spot.” Another sigh escapes. “I guess we should talk about that.”

He holds up his hands as if to surrender. “Only if you want to.”

I grab for the Jiffy Pop and shake it, the kernels rattling in the tin container. “Let’s make this first. We can kick off our shoes, take a load off on the sofa, and munch while we chat.”

Dean smiles and I’m relieved. If I were him and had to deal with my crazy stalker of an ex-boyfriend, I’d take off faster than Iron Man. Who wants to deal with that kind of drama? I sure don’t, yet Chase keeps popping up at the most inopportune times.

Dean’s facial expression hasn’t changed, he still looks happy. Amused even. “Sounds like a plan. But …” He pauses.

“But what?” Uh oh. Maybe he is sick of the drama.

“But what the heck is that? I thought you said we were microwaving popcorn.”

I glance down at the wire handle I’m holding and the aluminum pan filled with popcorn kernels and covered with foil. “This?” He nods. “I didn’t say anything about microwaving. You’ve never made popcorn over the stove?”

“Nope.”

“Oh my. You must have had a deprived childhood,” I joke, and we both chuckle. “I love shaking the popcorn over the flame. My dad and I used to make it this way when I was little. Whenever I feel like having a little bit of fun, I break out the old-fashioned stuff.”
I turn on the flame. “Here, you try it.” I hand Dean the pan. “It’s not going to cook itself from way over there,” I tease him, with a hand on my hip.

He laughs with a shake of his head. “Okay. Just tell me what to do.”

I place my hand over his, holding the pan of kernels over the heat. “Now, you have to shake it.” He shakes it a little. “But you can’t stop.” I put my hand back over his and set the pace.

“Is this your way of trying to get closer to me? Like a guy helping a girl with her golf swing or something?” Shake. Shake. Shake. “Is t
his your grand plan to touch me?”

“You got me. How did you know?”

Dean pulls me in front of him and wraps his free hand around my waist. The popcorn starts to pop, the foil beginning to inflate. “Wow. That is fun.” I look back over my shoulder and catch his silly smile. He looks even younger than usual with that boyish grin. My heart squeezes just thinking about it. Not only am I stressed about falling for this man so quickly, I’m also stressed about looking like I’m robbing the cradle. I think about what Mel said about Zac Efron and decide I should just get over it already. He’s already proved he’s more man than I can probably handle.

And that was with his shorts on.

When the shaking is complete, Dean grabs our beers and I gather some napkins and the bowl of popcorn, and we make our way toward the love seat.

“Movie or talk?” I ask him.

He tosses a piece of popcorn into his mouth and smiles. “I’d rather talk if you don’t mind.”

“Not at all. Let’s talk.” I rest my back against the armrest of the sofa so I’m facing Dean, and sit with the bowl in my lap. He pulls my legs across his and casually runs one hand up and down my calf while
eating with the other. “I just have no idea where to start. I know you have something on your mind. But honestly, being with you makes me forget about everything else. Anyone else.”

“Are you sure about that?” For the first time, I see concern in Dean’s eyes. And I hate Chase for making him doubt me. “Chase brought you some really nice red roses and even I could see the hurt on his face when he saw us together. That didn’t bother you?”

After taking a sip of my beer, I reach for Dean’s hand which happens to be in the popcorn, and we both laugh. “Still trying to come up with ways to touch me, huh? First, the cooking and now the whole reach for the popcorn at the same time trick.”

I snort at his joke. “I don’t need an excuse to touch you. Do I?”

“Answer my question first,” he says.

I think back to what he asked. Did seeing Chase bother me? Yes. It bothered me. But not in the way he thinks. “Chase bringing me roses just tells me even more of what I already knew. We don’t belong together. Never hav
e. So seeing him did bother me, but only because he doesn’t belong here. He has no reason to come to my house. I didn’t invite him and I never will. Honestly, he has no effect on me at all anymore.”

Dean lowers his
gaze for a second and then glances up with those smoldering eyes. “You sure?”

“Absolutely.” He grasps my hand and lifts it to his lips again. The feel of his soft
mouth against my palm will never get old. “How about you? Did it bother you? You guys have known each other since high school. Weren’t you friends back then?”

His grip on my hand tightens as he tenses up. A hardened expression flashes over Dean’s face and then it’s gone as quickly as it came. With a long exhale, he finally says, “I knew him but we weren’t friends.”

“Oh.” Something tells me there’s more to it than that, but I’m really tired of talking about Chase. “Well, I want you to know that I really have no interest in him. If he’d listen to me, he’d understand that too and stop showing up here. I know I have no right to ask this, but can you please be patient with me until he gets the hint. My heart would break if I lost you because my ex is a jackass.”

T
hen, he does that thing again … softly brushing his lips against my palm, this time lingering for a breath before trailing his mouth along the inside of my wrist. My body reacts to his gentle touch with a shudder. “You don’t have to worry about losing me, Summer. I’m not going anywhere.”

The bluest eyes I’ve ever seen stare up at me, glazed over with desire causing my heart to beat out of my chest and all my senses to catch fire. Dean takes the popcorn from my lap, places it on the coffee table,
and then pulls me closer to him. Eyes still locked to mine, he pushes my wild hair from my face, curves his hand around the back of my neck, and smiles. That wicked sexy grin drives me mad and I have to clinch my thighs together to hold back the sudden pulses of heat beating down on my core.

“Will you kiss me already?” The suspense is killing me and after what happened in the spa, I’m not so sure that he even needs to touch me to set me off. The look in his eyes and the feel of his fingers on my neck is enough to make me wet without even starting anything
else.

He dips his head and captures my mouth with his. The fierce glide of his lips across mine isn’t like the sweet kisses we’ve shared before. This is
pure passion. All hot, messy, and rushed like we can’t get enough of each other. I nip at his top lip, tracing my tongue along the edge until his mouth opens and he invites me in. Our tongues tangle together, sliding past each other, tasting each other.

I slide my right hand up his muscular arm, across his chest, and then cup his prickly jaw in my palm, loving the texture of his five o’clock shadow on my hand where he just finished sprinkling soft kisses.