Four Keeps

When he nips at my lower lip, I go wet under my grass skirt.

With reluctance, and after another parting kiss, I back away. It would be so easy to get carried away with him.

“How would you score that one?” Blake prompts.

I’d give it an I need a cold shower, is what I want to say. “Nine,” I say, before quickly changing it to “Nine and a half.”

“Ooh, she liked that one. Okay, let’s see how the next one rates.”

Marcus is next. I’d know the minty fresh taste of him anywhere, and kissing him feels like a familiar comfort. I score him an eight and a half and hope he’s not hurt.

A little further down the line I encounter the unmistakable 90 proof breath of Johnny. I could get drunk from our brief kiss. I graciously give him a six for his score. I know he can kiss better, but he’s in no shape for it right now.

Quickly moving on, I step over to the next man and immediately sense a presence, as if there’s an energy coming off of his body and surrounding me. As I lean in, I smell a familiar clean scent and get a memory flash of our hips pressed together in a dance.

Xavier. I wish I could see his gorgeous face, but maybe things will be more exciting like this. Feeling my way, I wrap one hand around the back of his neck and use the other to locate his mouth before I bring my lips to his.

Soft skin with a warm pressure, a tentative touch that quickly grows more sure of itself. It starts out with me kissing him, but he soon takes over, guiding and deepening our kiss and making me feel things that can only lead to trouble.

Is it because I know he’s all wrong for me that the kiss is so much more exciting than the others? Are fireworks going off because I’m getting my bad boy fix, this time from a sober man?

No, objectively, Xavier is a great kisser. Anyone would be turned on by this kiss.

After a sly little swipe of his tongue along my bottom lip and one final too-short kiss, Xavier pulls back, ending our connection. He definitely leaves me wanting more.

“Your score for that contestant?” Blake Barrows’ voice startles me. My whole world had narrowed down to the connection between Xavier and myself. I forgot where I was in time and space.

I swallow, hoping my voice will come out steady. “I’d have to give that one a ten.”

“Whoa, a ten! We have a new leader. Let’s see if our last two men can top that.”

I kiss the remaining men, but I have to admit that my mind and body are somewhere else. When I’m allowed to take my blindfold off, I immediately look for the man in the third-from-last position.

It’s Xavier, not that I really had any doubts. He’s licking his lips and I have to look away because I’m sure my eyes are filled with lust.

“Xavier, congratulations! You’ve won some one-on-one time with the lovely Olivia.”

Every cell in my body hopes that we can go to the loveseat and pick up where we left off with the kiss, but Xavier has a request for the producers.

“I’d like to take Olivia for a walk. Would that be okay?”

A producer argues that they already have cameras set up for the scene, but after a little back and forth, Xavier gets them to agree.

He takes my hand as we start off, and it occurs to me that I would follow him anywhere. I need to rein in my libido, because I know this man is not right for me, and I shouldn’t let him distract me from other better-suited matches, no matter how much I enjoy the distraction.

I probably shouldn’t have rated his kiss so high, but I had to be honest.

“I loved your mango drink,” I say as we start to walk toward the edge of the property. There are camera people both ahead of us and to the side, but it’s surprisingly easy to ignore them as I follow Xavier’s lead.

“You didn’t drink much of it.” He doesn’t sound accusatory, just like he’s making an observation.

“I had to taste ten drinks. I didn’t want to get drunk. Some of the drinks were really strong.”

“You don’t like to get drunk?”

“There’s a time and a place for it.”

“You like to stay in control.” Xavier squeezes my hand and gives me a probing look.

“Sometimes,” I say, drawing the word out. I have a feeling I’d really enjoy losing all control with him.

I should have insisted that Natalie let me send him home, because I don’t seem to be able to resist the temptation that is Xavier.

“I’m having a hard time figuring you out,” he says, taking me by surprise.

“Really? Why?”

As we approach a line of trees, Xavier steers us to the left. “I get a strange vibe from you. I know you have a lot of guys here, and maybe it gets confusing, but sometimes you seem interested, and other times you hold back.”