“Can I see you this week?”
“Plan on it.” Emma gave her a quick kiss on the lips and sped outthe door before she changed her mind. The way she was feeling right now, thatcould easily happen with just one more kiss.
* * *
Dex closed the door and leaned against it, trying to regain herfooting. Emma had left her in the same state she had the night before—a hot,steaming puddle of desire. It wasn’t an entirely new experience for her. She’dfelt something similar before, but that was a long time ago when she’d firstmet Grace. She’d never felt like this since or with anyone else, and was trulyafraid to run with it. The outcome with Grace had been painful, plus Emma hadbalked. She’d left in the middle of something that was definitely going tohappen if Panda hadn’t interrupted them.
What if Emma didn’t have the same feelings? What if she ended upin the same “friends” place with Emma that she had with Grace? She took in adeep breath and blew it out slowly. There was one big difference between thetwo. Grace had neverkissed her like that. She could still feel the kiss vibrating through her, withthe sensation now settled uncomfortably between her legs. Wow!
The whole day had gone so perfectly. No complaints about thelength of the walk from the parking lot to the festival. No off-the-cuffremarks about the lack of taco variety, or how they should always have adifferent type of food at any festival. Grace would’ve insisted on having aburger or something totally different than tacos, and Dex would’ve had to huntdown something for her.
The festival had been so much more enjoyable with Emma than it hadever been with Grace. Come to think of it, Emma hadn’t asked Dex to do onesingle thing for her. She hadn’t expected anything of Dex, and she’d evenshared her tacos with her. The kiss they’d shared, right there sitting on theconcrete, had been spectacular. She’d been so wrapped up in Emma, Dex hadalmost forgotten they were in public, surrounded by hundreds of people. Thethought of it made Dex’s knees go weak again. Emma was breathing life into hersuffocating heart.
The comfortable easiness between them had been there from thebeginning. Emma had even let Dex drive her car on the way home. She was sodifferent from Grace, who always insisted on driving and was a constantbackseat driver when she didn’t. Total control freak. Emma was relaxed and letDex make the choices all day, and Dex liked it. The whole day had been so muchmore fun without the pressure of someone scrutinizing her actions as well asthe event.
When she’d stared into Emma’s silvery blue eyes, she’d beenmesmerized by the way the light scattered in them. Dex had also thought she’dseen a glimmer of want. Yes, that was definitely what it was. Emma had sloweddown for some reason, and that meant Dex needed to be patient. Had she beenthrough a recent breakup? Was it a surprise? Was it heart-destroyinglyhorrible? The thought of someone hurting Emma made her heart squeeze. Sheneeded more details. Maybe she should get more background on her from Grace…ormaybe she shouldn’t.
Chapter Twelve
Emma sat at her desk gazing out her office window at thecity. Today seemed like the longest day in history. She had another date withDex tonight, and time was literally crawling slower than a snail going up onthe down escalator. Dex had sent her a text early this morning before she’deven gotten out of bed. The soft ting of the chime had gently pulled her fromher sleepy haze into the surprisingly vivid dream she seemed to be living. Shehadn’t gotten much sleep after leaving Dex last night and had kinda hoped she’dhad the same problem. It was ridiculous how giddy she’d felt when she read themessage.
Doyou know the ceiling fan above my bed rotates sixty-eight times per minute?
No,but I found out the Home Shopping Network has great deals on jewelry during thewee hours of the morning.
That’sthe best news I’ve heard all year. Can I see you tonight?
Ithink that would be wise or I may be making five small monthly payments for therest of my life.
Dinner,my place @ 6?
CanI bring something?
Justyou.
The tingle buzzed through her again as she thought about the textexchange that went on until they’d both, reluctantly, had to get up and dress.She would’ve never made it to work on time if she’d spent the night with Dexlast night. She brought out the best of Emma, and she liked giving it to her.
Her boring weekend had quickly morphed into a wonderful whirlwindof fun and adventure. The sparkle of Dex’s green eyes burned vividly in hermemory. She’d have to remember to thank Brent for the introduction. She hadn’tseen him yet today. In fact, she hadn’t looked up from her desk all morning.The advertising copy she’d scheduled to work on at home yesterday had to bedone early this morning instead. She’d arrived at the office after eight thismorning, and it had been past midnight when she’d gotten home from Dex’s houselast night. She smiled. Yesterday was well worth the punishment this morning.
Brent poked his head into her office. “You have time for lunch?”
“Yes. I’m starving.” She’d been so focused, she hadn’t hadanything but coffee this morning. Food would’ve put her into a coma.
“Downstairs okay?” Brent asked.
“Perfect.”
He motioned her in front of him as they headed to the elevator.“So the party was good, eh?”
“It was okay.”
“What? I saw you with Dex. You two were having a great time.”
“She’s nice, not pretentious like most of the woman I meet.”Totally different from the rest of Grace’s friends.
“Thanks for the cigars, by the way.”
Emma chuckled. “I bet Grace was happy with those.”
“You don’t want to hear exactly what she said, do you?”
“Actually I do.”
“Something to the effect of, ‘What the fuck? It wasn’t a bachelorparty.’” His voice rose as he mimicked Grace.
Emma laughed loudly. “Awesome. I wish I’d been there.”
“Troublemaker.”
“You love me anyway.”
He winked and moved her in front of him in line. They
