Just A Kiss (Lyrics and Love Book 4) Read online

  3

  LEE

  I walk into Joe’s, and it is already a busy place tonight. Ladies' night is usually this way. People are ready for the end of the week, ready to kick off the weekend a day early. I push my way to the bar, flagging down Joe when he looks my way.

  “What can I get you tonight?” he asks, setting a napkin down on the bar in front of me.

  “I’ll take a Blue Moon on tap,” I tell him, handing over a ten-dollar bill. He quickly fills the chilled glass, adding an orange slice to the top. He sets it down, along with my change. I grab the drink, leaving a couple bucks’ tip on the counter for him. Joe’s always been a good guy.

  I turn around looking for anyone I know. Tucker wasn’t sure if he’d make it tonight, daddy duty and all that. I don’t begrudge the guy. His daughter Paisley is his world, as she should be. She’s a firecracker and keeps him on his toes, but he wouldn’t change it for anything. She might have been a surprise, but she’s been the best thing to happen to him.

  I see a few of the other guys from the station all holding down a table along the edge of the dance floor, so I make my way through the crowd and join them.

  “You made it,” Jack, one of the guys on a different shift than I am, says. I shake his hand, slapping him on the back in a bro hug.

  “How’ve you been, man?” I ask genuinely.

  “Eh, hanging in there. Life’s been stressful, but I’ll make it through.”

  “Sorry to hear that. How’s Rachel?”

  He rubs a hand along his neck before blowing out a breath. “She filed for divorce about three months ago,” he tells me.

  “Fuck, sorry about that, man.”

  “Yeah, it was a shock to me, as well,” he says before downing the rest of his beer. “I guess I missed all the signs.”

  “Things getting nasty?” I ask. I’ve heard of way too many horror stories from other guys from the station who’ve gone through divorces.

  “Thankfully, we’re staying pretty friendly. Not having any kids makes things a thousand times easier. At this point, it is just a matter of waiting on the courts to process all the paperwork. We easily split our assets and went our own ways. I just never thought I’d be thirty and divorced.”

  “Welcome back to the single life, man. It isn’t all that bad,” I tell him.

  “If you say so. There’s something about having someone you can count on at home every night.”

  “But is the heartbreak worth it when they decide it isn’t worth the fight?” I question.

  He accepts another beer from the waitress, taking a healthy drink from it before answering me. “I guess that depends. Not every relationship ends as mine did. So, I’d like to think that I’d have still gone after Rachel all those years ago, even knowing the outcome. We had a lot of good times together. We just weren’t meant for forever.”

  “You’re braver than me,” I tell him. “I don’t think I’ll ever settle down.”

  “Never say never,” he says.

  I look over to the dance floor, a few friends from high school catching my eye. One specific person—Allison. Now that’s a woman that could pull me in and wrap me up in her. My mind wanders back all those years to my senior prom, when she was my date. I still think back to that kiss we shared on the dance floor. We didn’t take things any further that night, but I’ve dreamed for ten years what it would be like to get a second chance at another kiss or, even better, a night in my bed.

  “Need a napkin for all that drool?” Jack asks.

  “Fuck off.” I laugh. “I wasn’t drooling.”

  “Could have fooled me.” He smirks. “Why don’t you go over there and ask her to dance?”

  “No, she’s off-limits. Definitely one of the good ones that are looking for a forever kind of man.”

  “The good ones are worth it, man. If I can still believe that, then so can you.”

  I don’t reply; I just take a drink of my beer. I watch as Allison and Lindsay shake their asses to the music, laughing as they have a great time out on the dance floor.

  The song ends and they head for the bar. I follow behind them, pushing my way to the bar next to them. Joe comes over, taking their order before nodding to my empty glass. I hand him my card. “I’ll get these ladies’ drinks this round,” I tell him.

  “Lee.” Lindsay turns to me. “You didn’t have to do that but thank you.”

  “Anytime. Are you ladies having a good time tonight?” I ask.

  “Yes!” Allison calls out. “It was one hell of a week, and this is just what we needed tonight.”

  “Busy days in the ER?” I ask. I could smack myself upside the head at that stupid question.

  “I swear it was a full moon all week. We had the busiest shifts we’ve had in a long-ass time.”

  “I understand completely. We went out on more calls this past week than we usually do.”

  “It was something. I’m just thankful for a few days off.”

  “Me too,” I agree with them. “Do you ladies have a table? You’re welcome to join us over at ours,” I offer up.

  “Thanks, we’ll do that,” Lindsay says. Joe returns with our three drinks and my card. I quickly sign the slip before tucking my card into my wallet and leading the ladies back to our table.

  I make quick introductions when we reach the table. Due to our jobs—the ladies being ER nurses, and all of us guys being EMTs or firefighters—our paths often cross when we’re dropping patients off at the hospital.

  Lindsay falls into a conversation with a few of the guys about someone they brought in the other day, which gives me the perfect opportunity to talk to Allison.

  “How’ve you been?” I ask.

  “Oh, you know, the usual. Work, sleep, laundry, repeat. How about you?”

  “Pretty much the same.”

  “How are your parents doing these days?” she asks.

  I can’t help but smile at the mention of my parents. “They’re doing good; Mom retired at the end of last school year. I don’t think it has quite hit her yet that when the summer ends, she’ll not be returning to the school.”

  “Good for her! Is your dad retiring anytime soon?”

  “Not for another few years. Mom’s going to be helping my sister and her husband out with babysitting their new baby.”

  “Aww, when did Alley have a baby?” she asks, and I can tell she genuinely wants to know.

  “About a month ago, a little girl,” I tell her, pulling my cell out to pull up one of the pictures of my sister and niece.

  “Oh, she's so precious! Tell her I said congratulations!”

  “I’ll do that.”

  “So, what else is new with you? Still proclaiming the bachelor life?” she asks.

  “You know it.” I wink at her.

  “Some woman is going to rock your world one of these days, and you’re going to fall head over heels in love with her, and I can’t wait to watch. It’s always the ones that protest the most that fall the hardest.”

  “Nah,” I proclaim. I take another swig from my beer before expanding my reply. “Only if that woman is you,” I tell her.

  “Me?” she questions. “Why me?”

  “Please don’t break my heart and tell me I’m the only one that felt those sparks between us all those years ago at prom? I still compare every kiss to that one,” I tell her honestly.

  “Oh,” she says, and I can tell that I’ve shocked her. “I’ve always figured I was the only one to remember that moment.”

  “Sweetheart, please. That was one of the best nights of my life,” I tell her, stepping into her space. “And given a chance, I’d do it--and hopefully a lot more--all over again. Preferably multiple times.” I smirk, hopefully getting my point across.

  I don’t miss the way her cheeks flush red as her blush creeps up her neck. Seeing her skin change color has my mind running with thoughts of what it looks like when she’s about to come. My cock swells in my jeans, pressing hard against my zipper as it looks to bust out.
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  “Hmmm, I’ll have to remember that,” she finally says, and I can practically hear her thinking.

  Our conversation is interrupted when Lindsay asks Allison a question. I could almost throttle her for butting in at this moment, but I just go with the flow. The ladies end up back out on the dance floor, and I’m left here to nurse my beer and my deflating cock for the rest of the night.

  4

  ALLISON

  Two months later

  I can’t believe summer is over and fall is starting to make its appearance. Don’t get me wrong; I’ll gladly take the slightly cooler days. Give me a chunky sweater and boots weather, and I’m all over it.

  “Are you ready yet?” I call out to Lindsay as she applies her mascara. I enter her bathroom and sit on the closed toilet while waiting for her to finish up.

  “Yep,” she says as she cleans up her makeup.

  “It’s just Joe’s; you don’t have to look perfect,” I remind her, referring to the local bar we’re headed out to tonight. We’re meeting a few other friends there for a drink or two. It’s ladies' night, and it has been one hell of a week at work again.

  “All right, let's go,” Lindsay says before grabbing her debit card and driver's license from her wallet and sliding them into a tiny little wristlet, along with some cash and some Chapstick.

  “I can’t wait to get out on the dance floor and shake our asses off tonight,” I say on the way to the bar; the drive isn’t far from Lindsay’s little house.

  “I know. I need to release some steam, and a drink or two, and some time on the dance floor sounds like the perfect way to unwind,” Lindsay agrees with me.

  “And not having to work tomorrow is the perfect excuse to let loose tonight,” I add as Lindsay pulls into the parking lot. Ladies’ night is sometimes more popular of a night than Friday and Saturday nights can be, and by the looks of how full the parking lot is already, tonight is going to be that way. “The one thing better that I can think of to let off some steam would be some good dick, but I don’t think that’s on either of our horizons tonight.”

  “God, what I wouldn’t do with some good dick,” Lindsay agrees.

  “I mean, I’m sure you could easily find a man or two that’d gladly take you home for a fun night between the sheets,” I tell her, bouncing my eyebrows up and down as she laughs.

  “Not that desperate,” she says. “Yet,” she adds for good measure.

  “Girl, you need to live a little. A good one-night stand might do you good. There’s just something about some no-strings-attached sex that will set you up for a few weeks.”

  “Yeah, I’m still just fine for now. I’ve got a few other BOBs to keep me company on lonely nights,” she says.

  “Girl, tell me about it. Sometimes you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do.”

  We make it inside the bar, looking around for the group of friends we’re supposed to meet here tonight. I see a few of them already at a table. Since we live in a small town, it isn’t like I don’t know just about everyone here, and just like high school, everyone is grouped off. Lindsay and I stop off at the bar; Joe’s working tonight.

  “What can I get you ladies tonight?” he asks, wiping the bar top in front of us off before placing down two cocktail napkins.

  “I’ll take whatever light beer you’ve got on tap,” I tell him.

  “I’ll have a raspberry mojito, please,” Lindsay states.

  “Coming right up,” he says, reaching for a glass to put under the beer tap to fill my beer up first. “You ladies want a tab tonight?” he asks, setting my glass down in front of me.

  “Yep,” I say. “And we’ll be over there.” I point at the table that already has six or so people around it. From this angle, it’s hard to tell if they’re all at one table or if some of them are part of the next table and just chatting with our group.

  We reach the table and find our friends, Becky, her husband Todd, Rob, David, and his girlfriend, Trisha. At the table next to them are some other guys, Tucker and Lee, along with a couple of other guys I recognize as firefighters that work with Tucker and Lee. Working in the ER, we see the paramedics and firefighters regularly.

  “You made it!” Becky calls out, hopping off the barstool she was perched on to give Lindsay and me hugs.

  “Of course!” Lindsay calls out over the music already playing. “Wouldn’t miss ladies’ night for anything.” I say my hellos around the group before making my way over to Lee and Tucker’s table. Lee and I have been flirting for months, it feels. I don’t think that I would turn him down if he asked me back to his place tonight. The anticipation of something more with him has been buzzing in my blood, and I just don’t think I have it in me to tell him no any longer.

  “Hey,” I greet the guys. I set my beer down on their table and try to act as naturally as possible.

  “Evening,” Tucker greets, his deep voice would make most women’s panties wet, but it just doesn’t do it for me.

  “Lee,” I say, his name coming out almost like a moan.

  “Evening, Allison,” he greets, before taking a pull from his beer. “How’s it going tonight?” he asks once he’s swallowed the beer. I admit, I watched the way his Adam’s apple bobbed as he did so. It's amazing what can look sexy on a man when all you want to do is strip him naked and suck his cock, before riding it until you’re both so far gone, you can’t see anything but the stars behind your eyelids.

  He clears his throat, and I realize I didn’t catch anything he said. The smirk on his lips tells me that he knows exactly where my mind just was. On that note, I turn to the table with all my girls and call out, “Are you ready to shake your asses?” The opening chords of “Champagne Night” by Lady A come on, and we all head for the dance floor and start dancing.

  As we dance the night away, I constantly feel like I’ve got a set of eyes on me. I look around, spotting Lee still at the table with Tucker. His eyes are solely on me tonight, which makes me want to drive him crazy. I roll my body against Lindsay’s to the beat of the music, and can tell—even from across the bar—that my movements affect him. I watch as he, not so discretely, reaches down and adjusts himself. What I wouldn’t do to be that beer bottle in his hands. The one that he keeps bringing to his lips with each pull he takes from it.

  We dance for what feels like forever before the DJ changes things up and slows them down. I head for the bar, needing some water before I order another beer. While I’m waiting for Joe, I turn and lean against the bar top, which allows me to look out over the dance floor. I notice that Tucker has finally manned up and is out dancing with Lindsay. I’ve been pretty sure that he’s been holding back an attraction to her since we were in high school, but nothing ever came of it. I think they’d be perfect for each other.

  “Didn’t want to stick it out on the dance floor?” Lee asks from where he’s found space next to me. I was so engrossed in watching my best friend out on the dance floor that I missed him approaching the bar.

  “Uh, no,” I tell him. “I’m not into the slow shit.”

  “Is that so?” He smirks, and I walked myself right into that innuendo.

  “That’s right, I like it fast-paced, rough, and to keep me going all night long,” I boldly tell him as I turn to face him. He steps into my personal space, our faces only an inch or so apart. Our breaths mingle as we both stand here facing one another, waiting on the other to make a move.

  He brings his hand up, trailing a fingertip from my cheek, down my neck, and into my exposed cleavage. “Come home with me,” he states more than asks.

  I can practically hear my resolve snap. I don’t know if it is the alcohol—although I haven’t had much yet tonight—or the building sexual tension that has been developing between Lee and me, especially the last few months, but I take a leap of faith—or stupidity. I guess tomorrow morning will decide. “Okay,” I agree.

  “Really?” he questions. I guess he really was used to me always turning him down; it almost makes tonight all that
more special.

  5

  LEE

  I’m still a little flabbergasted that Allison said yes when I asked her to come home with me. She’s always turned me down in the past. I’ve almost felt like this back and forth flirting with each other has become a game between us. One that never ends with either of us getting anywhere further than a little more sexually frustrated.

  “Really?” I question. I need to make sure she’s making a clear decision.

  “Stop overthinking it and take me home, Lee,” she commands, and I like it when she’s a little feisty.

  We walk back over to the table, and I toss a couple of twenties down to help cover my beer and the tip.

  “I’m ready to call it a night; how about you?” Lindsay asks Allison. All the girls met us back at the table as we approached.

  “I think I’m going to go home with Lee. Are you good to get yourself home?” Allison asks, chewing on her bottom lip as she hangs onto my side. My arm is firmly around her waist, a bit possessively. I want every guy in this place to know that she’s going home with me.

  “I’m good, be safe, and call me if you need anything,” Lindsay tells Allison.

  “I’m good,” she assures Lindsay. “Text me to let me know when you make it home.”

  “Yes, Mom.” Allison rolls her eyes at Lindsay, laughing as she does. I love seeing the easy camaraderie between these two women. They were as thick as thieves back in high school, and it doesn’t look like they’ve lost that at all.

  “Don’t give me no sass, young lady,” Allison retorts back. “Are you good to drive?” she asks, all joking aside.