“I was hoping you would say that.” I smiled. “I’ll be here waiting.”
With a sweet smile, she turned and headed for her bedroom. In a matter of minutes, Kaci returned wearing her comfortable clothes, and while she looked amazing in the dress she had on earlier, the sight of her standing there in shorts and a tank top nearly knocked me off my damn feet. With a playful tone in her voice, she asked, “Is this better?”
“Come here.”
She hesitated for a moment, and then sauntered over to me. As soon as she was within reach, I placed my hands on her hips and pulled her to me, kissing those luscious lips just long enough to leave her wanting more. Kaci brought the tips of her fingers to her mouth as she asked, “Umm … what was that for?”
“Consider it payback for looking so damn good.” I gave her a playful wink, then asked, “Now what?”
“I don’t know. I thought we were here to get our groove on, but apparently I’m too inebriated for that.” She continued in her sassy little voice, “So, what would you like to do now, Mr. Michaels? It’s your call.”
“Why don’t we start by sitting down, and then we can go from there?”
We both wandered over to the couch and did just that. As I settled in next to her, the lights flickered, and thunder shook the window panes. Seemingly unaware of the storm that was raging outside, she asked, “So, do you make a habit of putting off all the women you go home with, or am I just special?”
“Actually, I don’t make a habit of going home with women. Like you, I’m too busy to mess around.”
I could tell she didn’t believe me when she asked, “Seriously?”
“Seriously. You might think I’ve got women knocking down my door, but it’s really not like that. I’m always on the go. When I’m not working out, practicing, or playing a game, I’m working on my classes. Hell, I can’t even remember the last time I got laid.”
“Oh.”
“I hope you’re not disappointed, but I’m no Casanova.”
“I’m not disappointed. Surprised, yes. Disappointed, no.” She smiled. “Wait. You’re taking classes? Like college classes?”
“Yeah. I’m doing what I can online. Eventually, I’ll get to the point where I can’t get by with that, but at least for now it’s been working out.”
Her tone completely changed. “That’s really awesome, Tucker. Most guys wouldn’t go to all the trouble of doing both.”
“It was important to my mother that I get my degree.”
“Sounds like a smart lady.”
“She was.” I smiled.
“Was?”
“She died a few years back.”
“Oh, Tucker. I’m so sorry,” she replied with sadness in her voice.
“Thanks, I still miss her.”
“I bet you do.”
“Things happen.” I sighed. “What about your folks?”
“They’re both still around. My dad’s in the military, so he’s gone a lot. Mom works all these crazy hours, so I try to help out with Kaden when I can.”
“Kaden seems like a great kid.”
She practically beamed as she replied, “He’s okay as far as brothers go.”
“You got off pretty easy with him. I, on the other hand, didn’t get so lucky.”
“Oh, come on. They both seem like great guys. I would think it would be fun growing up with them.”
I ran my fingers through my hair and grumbled, “If you like getting your ass kicked on a daily basis, then yeah, it was great.”
“You mean to tell me that Tucker Michaels was bullied as a child?”
“Hell, yeah. They tormented me in every way imaginable. There was one night when I was around eight years old and Colton tricked me into going up to the attic. I hated it up there, especially when it was dark. Just thinking about it freaked me out. I can’t remember how he convinced me but once he did, he pulled up the drop-ladder and locked me up there for hours. I was scared out of my damn mind … screaming and crying. And those two imbeciles just sat back and laughed about the whole damn thing.”
“That sounds awful! I can’t imagine how terrified you must’ve been.”
“I’m just getting started,” I scoffed. “Seth had a thing for catching snakes. He always knew which ones were poisonous and which ones weren’t. I never could tell the difference and really didn’t care. I hate the damn things.”
“I hate them, too. I’m terrified of them.”
“Well, don’t let Seth hear that. He has a knack for putting them in your bed or throwing them in the shower with you.”
“You’re kidding!”
“Nope. He did it all the time, so trust me, you got off lucky with Kaden.”
“I guess you’re right.” She giggled.
“What about you? What was it like for you as a kid.”
“Well, I was scared of everything, especially storms,” she told me as she turned and looked at the window.
Lightning danced in the sky and the wind howled through the trees as the rain poured down. While we continued to watch the storm, she told me about being an only child until she was thirteen and what a shock it was to find out that her mother was pregnant. From her stories about Kaden, it was clear that she loved the kid from the start, and as she continued to talk, one topic rolled into the next. Before I knew it, she was nestled in the crook of my arm and her voice was becoming softer with each word she spoke. It was late, and she was getting tired, so I lowered my mouth to her ear and whispered, “I think I better go.”
She quickly turned and looked at me, “Do you have to?”
“No. I don’t guess so, but you’re tired. Don’t you think you should get some rest?”
It had been hours since we’d gotten to her apartment, so I knew it wasn’t the alcohol talking when she asked, “Can you stay? I really don’t want you to go.”
“Is this because of the storm?”
She smiled. “Maybe. Or maybe it’s because I’m enjoying your company.”
“Who could say no to that?”
Kaci
Leave it to me to be the only girl in the history of the world to have a one-night stand that didn’t actually include sex. This potential hook-up had all the necessary components: a chance encounter, an intense physical attraction, and an invitation to take things to the next step. Then, there was plenty of kissing and snuggling and he even ended up in my bed, but there was no sex—at least not when I’d expected. Instead, we spent the night talking, and after some convincing, I managed to get Tucker to lay down with me in my bed. I hadn’t lied when I told him I was scared of storms, but that wasn’t the real reason I wanted him to stay. I’d actually enjoyed getting to know him, and I wasn’t ready for our night together to end.
Wearing only his white t-shirt and boxers, he crawled in the bed beside me, and once he was settled, I curled up next to him. As we laid there in the dark, I whispered, “I think I was wrong about you.”
“How so?”
“When we first met, I thought you were an ass.”
He chuckled. “Well, I didn’t give you much reason to think otherwise.”
“I don’t know. I gave you a hard time from the start. I was being hypercritical, and without even knowing you, I judged you by your good looks and made the wrong assumptions.”