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Sterling closed his eyes, reveling in the feeling of her fingertips brushing over his scalp, massaging and lightly scratching with her fingernails.
“I don’t want to jinx it, but Sterling—what are we doing?”
He kissed her softly once more, letting his lips linger on hers, drinking her in. “We’re kissing. It’s where two people—”
She cut him off with a giggle that bubbled out of her chest and got him laughing as well. Sterling slid his head next to hers, pulling her into his arms. His hands moved up and down her back. He kissed her neck, just below her ear and she gasped. “Sterling!” He kissed her neck again, closer to her jaw and her fingers tightened in his hair. She slapped at his shoulder, like she was tapping out of an MMA fight. “Too fast!”
Sterling could hear the warning in her voice and he pulled away, grinning as he met her eyes. They looked dazed and cloudy. “Too slow, too fast. You’re a hard woman to please,” he said, teasing.
Reese rolled her eyes, but she was smiling too. “You’re impossible.”
“Now I’m impossible?”
Laughing, she dropped her head onto his chest and put her hands on his waist, pulling him closer. “Sterling, we should probably talk.”
He kissed the top of her head. “I’m up for a talk. I am also open to other suggestions of activities involving lips.”
Reese turned her head, resting her cheek on his chest. He could feel every place where her body made contact with his. She fit in his arms like he was made to hold her. He loved the smell of her and the feel of her hands as they moved around to circle his back. He brushed a hand over her hair, loving how soft it felt under his palm like soft silk.
“I’ve been wanting to do that for days,” he said.
“Kiss me?”
He chuckled. “That too. I meant touch your hair. I’ve been wanting to feel it under my fingertips since I first touched it in Atlanta.”
“Has anyone ever told you that you’re a little strange?”
“Never. I am completely normal in every way normal is possible.”
“Mm-hm,” she murmured against his chest, then sighed. “I do think we should talk, but is it bad that I’m afraid it will break the spell?”
Sterling pulled back just slightly so he could see her face. He couldn’t keep his hands still, as though he had used up all his self-control and now it was completely gone. Hooking a finger through the belt loop of her shorts, he cupped his other hand over her cheek. Reese covered his hand with her own, leaning into his touch with a sigh.
“Do you think this is something that we could break that easily? By talking about it?” Sterling asked, studying her expression.
Her eyes widened. “No, I didn’t mean it like that! Well, maybe a part of me fears that. This is just so sudden. I’ve known you for like two weeks. A week. Ten days? Not long.”
Sterling couldn’t help smirking. “I thought you’d been planning our wedding for years.”
She punched his chest, then spread her palm open and left it there. “I can feel your heart.”
“You’re giving it quite the workout today.”
“That goes both ways,” Reese said. She squinted, as though just realizing they were standing on the balcony in full sun. “Can we go inside? This is lovely, but I think I’m beginning to burn. And sweat.”
“Oh, and you’re trying to blame that on the sun, not the company?” Sterling said.
She punched at him again and he grabbed her hand, leading her inside where they sat on a couch, leaving the balcony doors open and the breeze blowing in. Reese angled her body, tucking her legs under her. Sterling sat as close as he could, kissing her knuckles before smiling at her again.
Reese gestured her free hand between them. “So at the risk of sounding desperate: what is happening here?”
He traced his hand over hers while he thought about this answer. Sterling should have felt concerned by his sudden attachment to this woman. He should have cared that he was making a fool of himself with his words and actions and his inability to hide how he felt. Normally, he was so reserved with romantic feelings. The last long-ish term girlfriend—if three months counts as long term—had broken up with him not because of his crazy schedule, but because she said he was emotionally unavailable.
What was happening between him and Reese felt risky and for once, Sterling simply didn’t care. It was also exhilarating. And maybe he was being naïve, but this felt solid and real. Reese was someone special. She had somehow climbed right over his high walls and curled up next to his heart. He didn’t want her to leave.
Reese was worth the risk. But could he say those words out loud? Would flipping to the complete opposite side of the emotional availability spectrum send Reese running? Was it too soon for serious declarations? He certainly felt them on the tip of his tongue.
Her mouth turned down and her gaze darted away. “Maybe nothing is happening here and I’m just presuming. If so, I’m going to feel like the biggest idiot ever and I might disappear into my room and not come back out until we leave.”
