Sidecar Crush

She gasped and stiffened but within a heartbeat, she relaxed, her body softening against me. I moved my lips, capturing more of hers. Our heads tilted and the desperation in my kiss melted into a mix of sweetness and passion. Of gentle softness and heart-racing intensity.

There was something happening around us—voices, feet shuffling. But I didn’t pay them any mind. Now that I’d started kissing her, there was no way I was going to stop. I didn’t care who saw or how much the town talked. This was my moment—our moment. I’d waited so long for this.

19

LEAH MAE

J ameson Bodine was kissing me.

No, not just kissing me. Melting me. Making my knees weak and my legs tremble. I couldn’t think. Could barely breathe. And just when I thought it couldn’t get any better—that this moment had come to the brink of perfection—he parted my lips with his tongue and took the kiss deeper.

The caress of his velvety tongue felt like magic, and sparks danced across my skin. I had no idea what was happening around me. It was as if nothing had existed before this—before Jameson’s mind-numbing kiss.

I wound my arms around his shoulders and pressed myself against him. Kissed him back with everything I had.

Gradually, he took the kiss from deep to shallow. The slow dance of our tongues became light kisses against soft lips. His fingers caressed my cheek and his strong arm held me tight.

Our mouths separated, but we stayed close, our noses brushing together.

“I thought you were gone,” he said, his voice quiet.

“I came back.”

He surged in, kissing me again, and my hat fell off behind me.

“Leah Mae, I don’t know what happened or why you’re back,” he said, caressing my cheek again. “But I have something very important that I need to talk to you about.”

“What the hell, Bodine?” a voice called from the street. “Move your damn truck.”

Jameson cracked a smile and called over his shoulder, “Hold on a second.” He turned back to me and ran his thumb across my lips, his touch making me tremble. “Will you come with me?”

I tried to say yes, but my voice wouldn’t come, so I just nodded.

He clasped my hand in his and led me to his truck. It was parked in the middle of the street, still running, the driver’s side door wide open. Vaguely, I was aware of people on the street watching us. But it was hard to think. Jameson had just kissed the hell out of me and my head was spinning.

We got in his truck and he drove the short distance to the beach. It had been raining off and on all day, and clouds still hung low in the sky. The lake looked deserted.

Jameson parked and turned off the engine. He shifted so he was facing me. “God, Leah Mae, I have something to say, but all I want to do right now is kiss you again.”

I practically launched myself at him, and he pulled me onto his lap. Our mouths tangled, wet and insistent. He ran his hands through my hair while his tongue swept past my lips.

With my legs straddling his lap, my dress had hiked up, but—ever the gentleman—Jameson kept his hands in my hair. Kissed me deep and slow. He felt eager, but unhurried. Like every kiss was meant to be enjoyed. Savored.

Rain pattered against the window, a soft serenade. His hands caressed my back and I shifted in his lap. My body was on fire for him, a longing taking hold deep inside. My nipples brushed against his chest, tingling against the thin fabric of my bra. I wanted his hands all over me—his hot skin against mine. I wanted him to forget his gentlemanly manners and rip my clothes off, right here.

He touched my face again, gently, and pulled back so he could look me in the eyes.

“Oh, darlin’,” he said, his voice breathy and low. “I have wanted to kiss you for so damn long.”

“Me too,” I breathed.

His mouth hooked in a grin. I loved it when he smiled.

“I thought you’d be long gone by now,” he said.

“I know,” I said. “I was supposed to be on a plane.”

“What happened?”

“I woke up this morning and I asked myself what I was doing—why I wanted this. I’ve been so focused on where I’m going next, I forgot to ask why I wanted to go there in the first place. I’ve been chasing the dream of a child who didn’t know better—who didn’t know what that dream really looked like. And it’s crazy, because I don’t have a backup plan. I don’t know what I’m going to do with my life.”