Three Words: A Novella Collection (41 page)

“
He could charm the knickers off a nun,” Nicholas says, his
eyes on Joel, who’s making funny quips to other customers on his
way to the loo.

“
I’ve noticed.”

“
You like Joel, huh?” Nicholas says as the toilet door closes
and Joel disappears. His hands have appeared from under the table
and are fiddling with his coaster.

Shit. This is
awkward.

“
Um yeah, he’s cool. But I like you too, Nicholas. I really
do.”

“
The way you like him?”

I know this is
the alcohol talking but I can’t believe he’s being so frank. Men
are not frank. They don’t blurt out their feelings after a couple
of outings. Well, not the guys I know. You’d be lucky to know what
most of them think after a decade.

“
Yes. Definitely, the way I like Joel. I don’t know what it is
but I feel like I’ve got a connection to you both.” My voice is
uncertain. I can’t believe I’m opening up to him. Again. I want to
ask him if he believes in love at first sight but I know he’ll
think I’m crazy or try to explain this as some sort of
chemical-hormonal reaction. Which it’s not. It’s nothing like that.
“I can’t explain it.”

“
And you don’t know who to choose?”

“
I didn’t know there was a choice involved. Is there a
choice?” Are we that deep into this already that I have to
choose?

Nicholas leans
across the table. His face looks more sombre than it did a second
ago. I don’t know how that happened but my eyes are having trouble
focussing so I guess it could be me. I sit still as he takes my
face in his hands. The softness of his palms on my skin triggers
something deep inside me. It’s warm and sensual and it’s spreading
through my body like hot sauce over ice cream. It feels
soooo
good. I lean my cheek into his palm. I close my eyes
and breathe him deeply into my lungs. He smells of beer and lemon
and even though I hate beer it’s wildly erotic.

Suddenly, I am
no longer drunk and neither is Nicholas. When I open my eyes he is
gazing at me like I am the most perfect thing he has ever seen. The
room around us disappears and I swallow in anticipation of what I
hope is about to happen. He leans forward. His lips are almost on
mine. The heat from his mouth is on mine. He’s studying my
eyes.

Kiss me, I
think. Geez, just freakin’ kiss me. I’m dying here.

“
If you’re in the mood for choosing, I think you should choose
me,” he whispers.

“
Why?” I whisper back. As if I need a reason. The reason has
his hands on my face. My heart is pounding, set to explode with
some unexplained feeling I’ve never felt. I don’t understand it. I
can’t understand it.

“
Because.”

And then his
lips are touching mine. His tongue is in my mouth, coaxing me into
submission, giving me every reason I need. The kiss is long and
slow. It’s tantalisingly perfect. It’s promising something I don’t
think I knew existed before now. When we finally pull apart, I am
breathless. Literally breathless. And very confused.

“
I’m back
.
Miss me?
”

Shit.

Joel’s
interruption is so unexpected it makes me leap guiltily from my
seat, bashing my knee into the leg of the table as I do. This, in
turn, knocks over the remains of the margarita. I stare helplessly
at the broken glass and the margarita dripping over my knees while
Nicholas scrambles for napkins to wipe up the mess. His hands are
shaking. He’s flustered too, like we’ve done something wrong. It’s
so weird, as if we’ve cheated on Joel. I don’t know why I feel this
way. We’re not in a relationship and I
did
meet Nicholas
first. Yet, I still feel awful, like such a bitch.

“
So, what’ve you two been up to?” Joel asks, as he flops into
his chair, oblivious to the chaos around him. “We’ve reached the
throwing drinks stage, have we? I didn’t think we’d had that
much.”

I open my
mouth to answer but the room has begun to spin. It’s hot; I can’t
focus on Joel’s face, I can’t make my lips say what they want to
say. My ears are ringing and I can feel myself losing
consciousness. Nicholas — or is it Joel — is calling my name. Then
the most embarrassing moment occurs. I fall to the floor in a
rather unladylike faint.

When I rouse,
some time later, I appear to have attracted the attention of a few
people. Okay. That’s not entirely true. The whole restaurant and
bar are crowded round me, including a person who looks like a chef,
a woman I don’t know who is taking my pulse and Nicholas and Joel
who are kneeling on my other side. My head is thumping and the
voices sound muffled and unintelligible.

“
What happened?” I ask.

“
You fainted.”

“
Must have been the heat and the alcohol. You went a bit weak
at the knees, that’s all.”

“
Twice in one day,” Joel says. “I always knew chicks found me
irresistible but this is ridiculous.”

I flash him an
unamused smile. “In your dreams.”

“
So you’re okay?”

“
Yep. The fainting thing happens a lot in my family. We have
low blood pressure. Guess I jumped up too quickly.” Which sounds
sort of blasé, judging by the ruckus I appear to have caused. I
close my eyes and cover them with my hand. This is
soooo
embarrassing. I wish they’d go away or be struck by a sudden bout
of amnesia at the least. I wish I could turn back time for a few
minutes and not fall on the floor. No, I wish the ground would
swallow me alive. I mean, who faints at nothing? Me, I guess. I am
such a girl.

Tentatively, I
pull myself to a sitting position. The room has stopped spinning
and I no longer feel like I’m on a merry-go-round so that’s
good.

“
Take it easy,” the woman says, as she gives me a matronly pat
on the shoulder. “You might be concussed.”

“
Did I bump my head?”

“
No, but—”

“
I’m fine. It’s nothing to worry about. Honestly.”

“
At least let me listen to your heart. I’m a trained first
aider.” She whips a medical kit from out of her handbag — I’m not
going there as to the weirdness of that — and proceeds to pop a
stethoscope onto my chest. “Sounds like everything’s back to
normal,” she informs me.

“
Thank you,” I say.

“
You be careful getting home.”

“
I will.”

“
And you should see your doctor about the blood pressure. They
can give you medication for that.”

“
Yes. Of course.”

By this time,
seeing that I am not dying and therefore not overly interesting,
the crowd have gone back to their evening entertainment. But
Nicholas and Joel, who have been at my side the whole time, are
watching me anxiously.

“
Can we walk you home, Sadie? I don’t like to think of you
wobbling your way along the beach alone,” Joel says, his eyes
intently scrutinizing my face. He puts a hand under my elbow and
helps me to my feet. I’m thankful for his help, yet the only thing
I can think of is the fact that I want to sleep with him. A lot.
Right now. Obviously, I’m fuzzier from the fainting episode than I
realised. I mean, he’s annoying. Really annoying. Even when he’s
being nice.

And I just
kissed Nicholas who’s incredibly sweet and lovely.

But Joel’s
cute, too.

What the hell
is up with me?

“
Um, yeah.” I gaze into his eyes there’s a hint of something,
something I know I shouldn’t be seeing.

While Nicholas
waits to pay the bill — again — Joel and I begin a slow start
along the beach path towards my place. I’m shaky on my legs but I
feel okay. Shocked and embarrassed mostly, not ill. I can’t believe
I fainted. Joel must think I’m some ditzy girl who has no
resilience at all and I’m not like that.

“
How do you feel?” Joel asks, as we walk.

“
Okay. Fine. Embarrassed.”

“
There’s nothing to be embarrassed about—”

He wasn’t the
one laying on the floor.

“—
I’m not a fan of roller coasters if that’s any consolation.
Last time I went on one I spewed all over the chick I was with and
a few of the people in the carriage behind us. The woman in had
chuck in her hair.” He gives that killer smile and my knees go weak
all over again.

Aww
.
That’s sweet, I think. Well, not sweet that he’s a wuss about rides
but sweet that he’s trying to lessen my pain by telling me about
his own.

“
I bet you were popular.”

“
About as popular as a priest in a synagogue. The girl dumped
me when we got off the ride.”

“
How could any girl be angry with you?”

“
It’s got me beat. I mean, look at me. Irresistible, or
what?”

God, if he
only knew. Though I think he does.

We’ve stopped
walking at this stage. I don’t know why but we’re facing each other
and gazing into each other’s eyes as the moonlight shines on the
water. It’s like a cheesy seduction scene but it isn’t cheesy at
all.

Joel steps
closer. He runs his tongue over his lips. “I’m glad you’re okay.”
His voice is little more than a whisper. A deep, gravelly whisper
that sends shivers of desire running down my spine. “I wouldn’t
like to see you hurt. I don’t think I could carry you all the way
home.”

“
Hey!”

“
Joke, Sadie.”

“
Not funny. No wonder you can’t keep a girlfriend if that’s
the way you speak.”

“
Who says I want one? I’m pretty happy with the term
‘confirmed bachelor’. I’m into bedding not wedding.”

“
I think you’re lying. Under that sarcastic exterior is a big
softie who wants to be loved.”

“
I think you should stop talking so much so I can kiss
you.”

His arms move
to envelope me and then, before I know what’s hit me, he’s backed
me against a tree and is kissing me like I’ve never been kissed
before. The kiss is long and deep and passionate, so much so that I
don’t even notice the rough bark of the trunk digging into my back.
His kiss makes my blood race through my veins. My skin is on fire,
aching for him to touch me, like a burning need, a craving I can’t
squash.

Joel leans his
body into mine. I feel the rapid rise and fall of his ribs pressing
into my chest and the heat in his hands as they skitter around my
sides and squeeze my bum, pushing me closer to his crotch. I feel
his erection growing between us and I want it. I want it in me. I
want to wrap my legs around his waist and let him in.

After a
minute, Joel’s lips unlock from mine. He moves his hands, placing
them on the trunk on either side of my head. He’s struggling to
breathe and I know the kiss has affected him as much as it has me.
I lower my forehead to his chest, my hands clutch at his t-shirt as
his chin comes to rest on the crown of my head. I feel the touch of
his lips in my hair.

“
Don’t stop.” I whimper. “Please don’t stop.”

“
I have to.”

I look up,
searching his face. “Why? You can’t kiss me like that and stop.
It’s not fair. If I did that you’d say I was a cock tease.” I sound
like a whiny teenager but I can’t help it. He’s given me a taste
and I’m addicted. I can’t exist without his kiss.

“
You’re a child, Sadie.”

“
Er, I’m twenty-one. Not exactly a child.”

“
I’m too old for you. You should be hanging around with kids
your own age.”

“
You’re not exactly a grandpa. What are you, like,
thirty?”

“
Twenty-nine. Nick’s thirty.”

“
Time to stop behaving like children then.” I kiss his jaw,
his earlobe. My lips trail over his throat, sucking and nipping at
his skin. Standing on my tiptoes, I pull his face to mine, kissing
him hard. I weave my fingers into his hair and lock them behind his
neck, feeling a low vibration of approval as I do. I push my
breasts against him, feeling them swell as his hands slide from the
tree to my ribs. I push my crotch against him, rubbing. He groans
with pleasure before lifting my chin and taking possession of my
mouth again. I want him. I want him so much.

Then he pulls
away. “Jesus, Sadie.”

“
What?” My lungs are gasping for air. His air.

“
Stop. If you don’t I’m going to fuck you, right here against
the tree. Now.”

And that would
be such a bad thing? Right about now, I’m thinking, no.

“
Then do it.” I kiss him again. I thrust myself wantonly
against him.

Joel clasps my
hands firmly to my side. “I mean it. I won’t be able to control
myself if you keep that up.”

“
I don’t want you to. Kiss me. Kiss me again.”

He shakes his
head in dismay. “Oh, fuck it,” he groans, before shoving his tongue
down my throat again. Clinging to him, I wrap my legs around his
body. I can feel his toned muscles beneath my thighs and I want to
be below him. I want to feel all of him.

And at that
precise moment, Nicholas comes jogging along the path, causing Joel
to practically drop me in the sand. Talk about hurtle me into
reality.

“
So. I guess you’re over your fainting episode?”

Nicholas’ face
is like thunder. His eyes are stormy with anger and his fists are
clenching in and out as if he wants to punch something. I hope it’s
only the tree.