Jilted Jock - Rebecca Jenshak Page 0,67
do anything.
“Ten times in five years?”
“Don’t ask.”
She slid out of the booth to go check on her other tables. “The more comfortable someone is, the easier it is to accept change. You want your girl to move across the country, help her conquer New York first.”
As I sat at the table by myself drinking coffee and staring out the window to the people coming and going about their day, I thought about Flo’s advice. One thing that stuck out above it all is that I should have been helping her all along. I’d been so focused on proving myself to her that I didn’t think about what she needed. For starters, I knew she needed to know she was capable on her own.
When she got home from work, I met her at the door of her apartment. “It’s a bit of a mess so I need you to have an open mind.”
She looked past me with a nervous smile, but I sidestepped to block her view. I took her hands and walked backward.
“If you hate it, we’ll take all of it back.”
She pushed past me and stopped short at the kitchen. The shocked expression on her face slowly turned to excitement. “Oh my God. Did you buy out the kitchen supply section of the store?”
Yes, yes, I did.
“It’s just a few things to get you started.” I picked up one of the items that I hadn’t found a place for in her kitchen. “This is a microplane. The lady at the store said it’s faster and easier than a regular grater.”
Adele picked up the top book on a stack of recipe books I’d also purchased.
“Those are just for ideas. They have a class twice a week at the store or the owner said she’d come here to help.”
She walked through her small kitchen looking at all the items, touching them lightly like she was browsing in a store. She hadn’t said a thing and I was starting to get nervous that I’d screwed up. Too over the top, too overbearing, too presumptuous.
“Too much?”
She turned, tears in her eyes, and nodded. Ah, shit, I’d made her cry?
“I’ll take it all back. I’m—”
She cut off my apology with her lips. Her tears ran into my mouth salty and sweet. “You are absolutely incapable of small gestures, aren’t you?” She looked into my eyes and the happiness I saw there gave me hope that she didn’t mind my brand of over the top. Good. I didn’t plan to stop anytime soon.
“Big and hard. It’s the only way I know how to love.”
Her eyes widened.
Aaaand now I was dropping the l word, but fuck, I did. “I love you, Adele. I know I’m probably breaking all sorts of relationship rules and scaring the shit out of you in the process, but I’ve never felt like this before so I’m just winging it.”
“What about…” She shook her head and I read the question without her saying it. What about Cindy? Or any other girl I’d claimed to have loved.
“I loved her and maybe I would have even been happy if we’d gotten married, but I’m so glad we didn’t. You’re pieces of me I didn’t know I was missing. You’re my new favorite ice cream flavor that I just discovered and want to have for every meal. Loving you makes the feelings I had for anyone else seem like something else entirely.”
Her tears started up again and I kissed each one. She wrapped her arms around my neck, and I lifted her up and sat her on the counter. I fit my body between her legs, not breaking the kiss, deepening it. I tasted her, nipped at her bottom lip all while getting her out of her coat so I could touch more of her skin.
The high neck blouse and long skirt she wore teased me in ways I wouldn’t have thought possible. Her conservative clothes just made me that more eager to rip them off her. A present just for me. Her long hair hung over her shoulders and I brushed it behind her back and then twisted one hand through the thick strands.
I pulled gently at first and then harder when she moaned into my mouth and arched her back. Her reaction surprised me. I’d been so worried about being gentle with her, but my girl was all but telling me she wanted more.
“You’ll let me know if you want me to be gentler?” I asked, momentarily loosening my grip in her hair.
“Yes.”
“Promise?”
“I’m