AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She has one small mole on her back. I’ve seen it. I could find it in the dark. It’s barely still on her back. That mole is staring me in the face just to the left of the top of the zipper. Watching her like this, I feel exactly like I did the first moment I saw her. I have to touch her, and I have to touch her now.
As I give my name to the host, I slide my hand into the small of her back. “Just wait until we get home,” I whisper in her ear.
She looks straight ahead with a taunting smile. “With our new rules, you might not have to.”
Jesus.
I know what I’m going to need to put out the flames. It’s time to let her taste the drink I’ve named after her. I hold her chair out, as a proper gentleman would, for her to sit. My thoughts are anything but proper. I choose to sit at her right against the window. The tables in the corner are a bit farther apart and my cover, so to speak, won’t be blown.
“Let me order for you on the first round.”
“All right. This should be interesting.” Within a couple of intense silent minutes spent staring at each other, mentally going over my options for later, our drinks arrive. “Okay, Patrón and two cherries?” She laughs. “Clue me in.”
I slide one two-shot tumbler her way. “It was a whim. I’d just gone to find you after you ran away into the night, and Wes wanted to buy me a victory cocktail.”
“First, I didn’t run, I walked. Second, it wasn’t running away, I was going home. And third, I should have known it had to do with him.”
“The Patrón may be him, but the cherries were all you. I could still taste your lips. After I found out your name, the only way I could keep that for myself is to add two cherries. I’ll never eat a cherry again without it reminding me of you.” For the first time ever between us, she blushes. “That was beautiful.”
“What was?” she asks.
“Never mind. I’ll keep it to myself.”
The restaurant is less than half full. I’m not used to being up here this late in the season, so it is nice to have something a little more intimate. We inhale every course straight through to dessert. The conversation never slows. We talk about everything from school, music, dance, work, art, and more about our philosophies on life.
As the check comes, Dylan is doing a little stretch of her neck. Her eyes are lowered, and her long lashes greet me in a wave. The power she has over me is back. I don’t care where we are or who may see us. I reach for the delicate curve of her chin, tilting it to look at me. “I…” I pause. “You’re perfect.” I rise a little from my seat to taste the same cherry, but now mixed with chocolate and all things inherently Dylan.
“Let’s get out of here. I’m feeling things I won’t be able to stop and don’t want to. Thank you for dinner… and that kiss. I won’t need the jacket for the ride home.”
My hand explores every curve of her leg beneath the hem of her dress on the short distance home. The less than five miles, in time, however, seems like an eternity. Dylan stands between the keypad and me at the front door. She kisses my neck with her hands at my waist, as I try in vain to enter the six damn numbers.
We stumble in the door laughing. Once the outside world is closed out, our laughter fades and I can finally react. I weave our hands together, tucking her right arm behind her back as I rest her against the door. My right hand cups gently over her throat as I press against her before tasting her lips once more. Usually, she tries to weave away. This time she leans into it, giving in to my lead. Our bodies gently grind together against the paneled door. Each soft moan from her or groan from me bounces from floor to ceiling in the foyer.
“Hey, Eli! I saw the bike in the garage and saw the ‘Stang was gone. I wondered when you’d be back. How was the ride?” A female voice begins softly in the kitchen but soon mixes with the music we’re making in what we thought was an empty house. “Um, hi” are the last two words I hear before I feel Dylan freeze inside my touch. To my left, out of the shadow of the kitchen, stands Hayley.
“Shit, Hayles. What are you doing here?”
“I needed a quiet night to work with the monitors in Dad’s office. Um, clearly I’m interrupting.”
“Eli? Do you want me to go or…?” Dylan asks.
“No! No. Stay.” I take a breath before I address my sister. “You are and aren’t interrupting. Hayley, I think you two know each other. This is Dylan Cooper. Call sign Viper.”
“Hey, Hayley.”
“Viper? LiketheViper?”
“Yes, Hayley. Now that this cat is out of the bag, it has to go back in the bag and stay with you. We don’t want this public knowledge,” I tell her.
“Jesus, why not! Oh my God, Dylan. I wanted to thank you weeks ago. Now I can for real. I can’t tell you how happy you make him. He’s not so fucking sad and down on himself. You gave me my brother back. You guys do you in whatever way youwant. I’m cool with everything as long as my Eli stays. If he gets hurt again though, it will be a whole different story.”
“Whoa, Tiger, back down!” I grumble. “This one doesn’t scare easy, but damn.” Dylan slowly goes from not knowing quite what to say to a giggle fit. I kiss the back of her hand to break her laughter. “What’s so funny?”
She responds. “I didn’t believe you when you said how you two were together. It’s fabulous. If I had a brother and I walked in on him like that, I don’t think I’d be as cool about it.”
“I’ll pay him back for it one day,” Hayley says.
“Um shit, no! Just no.” I walk away into the great room.
