Beautiful Mistakes

"You didn't make a move on me," she reasoned.

"Trust me, I wanted to," he stated.

Despite her best intentions, she blushed and felt a little flattered. "Oh.”

He placed the disc back into the case and held it out to her.

Julie told herself to take the movie, smile politely, and leave the house as fast as she could without being obvious.

But she didn't take it. She just looked up into his brown eyes, something she knew she shouldn't do. There was something there, something that compelled her to stay when she knew she needed to leave.

"I'm sorry," she said very quietly.

He frowned a little. "For what?"

"For this," she said, leaning forward and tilting her head to the side, placing just a soft, passionless kiss on the corner of his mouth.

"Don't tease me," he said lowly, grabbing her around the waist and drawing her up against his body.

Julie felt her heart leap in her chest and her blood race through her veins, leaving a trail of wicked sensation in her lower regions as he pulled her body even closer to his and slanted his mouth over hers, giving her a more passionate, heated kiss that made her toes curl and her fingers clamp around his shoulders, holding him where he was.

"I…should go," she managed when the kiss ended, her face an inch from his, her lips a breath away from his.

"Back to butcher boy?" he asked, not moving, lingering close.

"No, just away from this," she answered honestly.

He smiled, and it made her heart sink in a funny way. "What is 'this'?"

She considered for a split second, then she quoted him. "Lust. Longing. Attraction."

"That's not what you said when Griet did it."'

"But I'm not going to go sleep with my distraction," she said, then realized what she said. "I mean… not that…he's my distraction."

But Matt just smiled, backing away, and attempted to restore some of the playfulness of earlier. "Fine, leave me."

"I'm not leaving you," she said, not liking to hear it worded that way.

Like clockwork, her cell phone started ringing and her cell phone read "Jack."

"Butcher boy calls," he said, glancing at her phone.

Julie looked with unconcealed dread at her cell phone, but she didn't answer it, just forced herself to take a step back from Matt.

"I will see you tomorrow," she said, looking around for her messenger bag, finally finding it and slipping the DVD into it. "So…good night, and I really hope that this doesn't make things awkward between us."

He shook his head. "It won't."

Her phone chimed, alerting her to a new voicemail.

Julie managed a half smile and walked to the door, even getting her hand on the doorknob before she came to a stop. Pausing, she stared at her hand on the knob for approximately two seconds, then she turned around.

"Oh, what the hell?" she said, dropping her messenger bag in the floor and closing the distance between herself and Matt, wrapping her arms around him and kissing him as passionately as he had kissed her.

Matt pulled her close and walked her backward toward the couch, never letting her go as he eased her back on the sofa and started unbuttoning her shirt at the same time.

"Matt," she said, tilting her head back as his hand crept inside her shirt, inside her bra and cupped her breast in his warm hand.