Champagne Toast (6 page)

“
Care.  Is that short for Carrie?
”
I ask.  She nods in response. 
“
Well, Carrie and Tess, it
’
s very nice to meet you,
”
I grin,
“
and yes, Tess, I am, in fact, single.
”

“
And looking?
”
Tess persists.  Kate shoots me an icy cold stare from a few feet away.  She
’
s pissed and I like it.  Time to really push her out of her comfort zone.

“
Absolutely,
”
I grin, refilling their beer glasses.  I glance up to see Kate with her hands on her hips, her lips pressed together in a thin, intense line.  A laugh starts to rise up from my throat
,
but I hold it back.

“
Well, my friend, here, is single as well,
”
Tess continues.  Neither of these girls seems to notice that my attention is focused elsewhere.

“
Is that right?
”
I ask, turning my body in Carrie
’
s direction in order to give her my full attention.  She nods in response to my question, her cheeks quickly turning red once again.  She clears her throat, opens her mouth to speak, but says nothing. 
“
Well, Care, I
’
m working the rest of the evening.
But maybe you could give me your number and I could call you sometime?
”
I ask, leaning forward. 

Am I being fair to the blonde?  Nope.  Am I a terrible guy?  Sometimes.  But, right now, all I care about is pissing off the brunette who is shooting daggers at me with her eyes.  Carrie jots down her phone number on a napkin, hands it to me and smiles warmly.  Suddenly, I feel terrible for using this girl.  Maybe I really should call her.

“
We should be going,
”
Carrie says, staring awkwardly behind my shoulder.
“
Call me, Evan
.” 
She and Tess slink out of the bar.  I grab their beer glasses and turn to find Kate standing just a few feet behind me.  She
’
s fuming and I love it.

“
Can I help you with something?
”
I ask innocently.

“
What the hell was that?
” s
he demands, crossing her arms in front of her.

“
Um, you mean the blonde?
”
She nods, her eyes wide. 
“
Well, I was just taking her number.  She was cute,
”
I respond calmly.

“
You
’
re not supposed to date customers.  You know that,
”
she snaps.  Shit, she
’
s right. 

“
Somehow, I don
’
t think that
’
s why you
’
re pissed, Kate,
”
I say, walking past her.  I can tell she
’
s about to erupt
,
and I don
’
t want to be near customers when it happens.  She follows me and I lead us to the back room.  Luckily
,
the bar is slow and there are plenty of people working tonight, so we won
’t be missed. 
I close the door behind us.  Kate
’
s breathing is ragged as if she
’
s just run a race.

“
Why are you so pissed off, Kate?  So I forgot about the policy.  So what?
It
’
s not a big deal
.”
I egg her on. 

“
Throw the number away,
”
she snaps.

“
I don
’
t think I need to do that.  When I take her out, I
’
ll just ask her not to come here anymore.  Vince won
’
t have to know,
”
I reply.  I
’
m purposely being snide with her.

“
Throw it away!
” s
he yells, getting close to my face.

“
Why?
Tell me why you care so much,
”
I say, widening my eyes and glaring into hers.  My breathing begins to pick up as I feel the electric charge building between us.  I
’
ve never been so turned on in my entire life.

“
I don
’
t,
”
she says, looking away from me.

“
All right, then,
”
I say, putting the napkin in my pocket,
“
discussion
’
s over, I guess
.” 
I shrug.

“
Ev,
”
she says, looking back at me once again, her eyes glistening, her voice pleading.

“
Talk to me, Kate. For real, no more games.  No more bullshit.  C
’
mon
. . . ”
I say softly, reaching for her hand. She squeezes it tight and stares at the floor.

“
Don
’
t make me say it,
”
she says, shaking her head.

“
Say
what
?
”
I ask, almost begging.

“
I don
’
t want you seeing that girl,
”
she admits, looking up at me once again, her eyes pleading with me to let her off the hook.

“
Why not?
”
  I ask, stepping closer to her, closing the gap between us.

“
C
’mon, Ev, you know why,” she groans
.

“
I want to hear you say it,
”
I say, pushing her hair from her eyes.  She sighs and I can
’
t hold back any longer.  I stroke her cheek with my hand and lean in to kiss her soft lips. I half expect her to push me back, but I can
’
t stop myself right now. I have to do it. I have to kiss her.  I
need
to kiss her.
  Kate returns my kiss with soft, feathery kisses of her own and then parts her lips, inviting me in.  Playfully, I tug on her bottom lip with my teeth
,
and Kate moans softly into my mouth.  I pour my satisfaction into a smile as she peers into my eyes.

“
I want you,
”
she admits, her voice soft, almost innocent.  It surprises me. I didn
’
t know she could sound like that. 
“
I can
’
t stand seeing you with someone else,
”
she continues, clutching my cheeks with her hands.

“
I get it,
”
I nod. 
“
I
’
ve lived it for weeks,
”
I say with obvious resentment in my voice.  Kate looks like I
’
ve slapped her across the face.
She pulls her hands away and is silent for
what feels like several minutes.

“
I should get back to work,
”
she says dismissively.

“
Fine,
”
I snap,
“
whatever.
”

“
What the hell?
”
She turns, glaring at me.

“
What?
”
I yell.
“
Do you seriously not get it?
”

“
Get
what
?
”
she screams, throwing her arms up in the air.

“
You
have
me, Kate.  I
’
m
yours,
”
I yell, pulling at my hair in utter frustration.
“
Make a fucking decision for God
’
s sake.
”

Kate storms towards me and pushes me against the wall.  She crushes me with her lips as I grab her ass and
lift
her into my arms, turning our bodies to press her against the door.  Her tongue strokes mine in such a delicious way
,
and I
’
m instantly hard.  I can
’
t get enough of her.  I suck the soft skin of her neck and she sighs, whispering my name,
“
Ev
.” 
Just hearing that pushes me further.
Instinctively, I pull at the ties of her apron, yanking it off of her and exploring her back with my fingers.  Her skin is soft and silky, just as I
’
d imagined it.  Again, she says my name and for a moment I panic. 
Please don
’
t stop this.
I grasp her hair in my hands and pull back slightly.  She gasps and looks me dead in the eyes.

“
Come home with me,
”
she says,
“
please
.” 
Desire pulses through my veins.

“
What about your boyfriend?  You have to choose
,”
I say, fighting for breath.

“
I
’
ll end it, I promise.  I
’
ll call him, text him, whatever you want.  Just come home with me
.” 
She whispers,
“
You
’
re the one I want.
”

Grabbing her cheeks forcefully, I press my lips to hers once again.
Immediately she opens her mouth and deepens the kiss.  Her tongue strokes mine desperately, like she wouldn
’
t be able to stop if she wanted to.
Her fingers run forcefully through my hair as I stroke her back, kneading her muscles with the pads of my fingers.  Kissing Kate is like nothing I
’
ve ever experienced.  And as much as I want to think I
’
m the good guy, as much as I
’
ve proclaimed that sleeping with an attached girl isn
’
t my style, I
’
m not walking away.  I can
’
t.
I have her now. She
’
s
mine
.
And I
’
m not going anywhere.

Kate

January 19, 2008

The room is dim, aside from the small Tiffany lamp glowing from my nightstand.  My grandmother gave me that lamp, and even though it really wasn
’
t my style at all, I couldn
’
t let go of it.  It has become a constant in my life.  No matter where I live, I always bring Nana
’
s lamp.  Nana was the one person who
“
got me
”
, who understood my personality.  We were so much alike, and it was so nice having her there to talk to when my parents didn
’
t make the effort.  But, she passed away two years ago, and I miss her every single day.

Evan lets out a yawn and begins to thread his fingers through his gorgeous, chocolate brown hair.  He gives me his signature smirk before dragging his fingers up and down my arm.  He knows it tickles me and he loves to see my reaction.  He loves breaking down my barriers, even when I fight him tooth and nail.

  Lying here, facing one another, I feel so at peace, so at home.  I feel as if I can tell him everything about myself, and in return, I want to know everything there is to know about this man I love.  Slowly, I caress his lips with my fingertips.  He quickly takes my index finger into his mouth and bites down softly, just enough to tease me.  A shiver runs down my spine as I begin to realize just how much
Evan
means to me. He is digging his way into my very soul.  It
’
s terrifying, but I can
’
t get enough.  Not nearly enough.

“
Tell me about your childhood, Evan,
”
I say softly, gazing into his deep eyes.  Hoping he won
’
t find the question silly.  We
’
ve been dating for about three weeks now, still very much in the honeymoon phase.  Shortly after that intense kiss in the back room of Molly
’
s, I ended things with Shawn
, and immediately,
Evan and I were a couple.