Parties II Talinger
ericxsalingerâ:
His eyes danced down to Jazzâs hand and the man had to laugh. âGuess you donât like this shade on me?â A joke, one he couldnât contain but he liked how comfortable she was with helping rid it. He liked how comfortable he is with it. However, now that the anticipation of their first kiss was behind them Ericâs hand encircled her wrist and brought Jazzâs hand down and bent forward to kiss her lips again. âSuppose youâll have to get used to this red on me.â he smiled against her mouth as he kissed once more.Â
Eric, holding her by the wrist still, went to the sofa next to them and brought Jazz to join him. âI donât know why I continue to let them get underneath my skin. Thereâs been time to adjust from the sting of it.â His finger rubbed underneath his lower lip; something he does while in contemplation mode. âBut. Family.â he sighed and looked to her. âTheyâre a part of your world. Until theyâre not.â He didnât want to be such a Debbie Downer or Negative Nellie; unsure why those were with womenâs names but he didnât want to bring this into what they had right now.
Which was peace and quiet. Alone time
âSorry.â He paused and laughed. âI know. Iâm working on it.â he brought a hand up immediately to say he called himself out on it. âDo you want a drink? Something to eat? I can put a movie on.â Was he nervous? Oh boyâŠHe was. He didnât know what to do with himself now that itâs the two of them. Okay, thatâs a flat out lie because he could think of things but he didnât want her to feel like thatâs all thatâs on his mind. Not that heâd be against more kissing and whatever it may lead to. âI have some games, too.â EricâŠcome on! Itâs not like youâve never spent time with a woman before. And sheâs into you, man! âDrinks. Iâll start with that. And I think I have popcorn.â He rubbed his hands along the sides of his thighs and looked at her. âIâll admit. Iâm nervous. Iâm out of practice when it comes to having someone Iâm into over. SoâŠyeah. ThatâsâŠtheâŠ.thing?â
How did he make her feel so vulnerable? She was wearing her war paint, one of her favorite wigs, her nicest dress, shoes so high that she was near Ericâs height, and jewelry that was intended to make her look rich and powerful. She was at her peak glamour form. With any other person, she would have let her lips drip with power. She would have tried to make them chase her just to know the thrill of knowing that she was wanted. She would have allowed them to think that they had her only to know that there were spells between the both of them.
But Eric⊠Eric was Eric.
A heartbeat like a bass drum deep in her chest beat softly but quickly in Jazzâs ears. She felt vulnerable there in front of him. She wanted to lean into his hand and let him take her to whatever worlds he felt like. Did he want to talk to her about his family all night? Sheâd grab a blanket, cover her leg, take a drink, and listen happily. Did he want to read her the work that he had been doing on his book? Did he want to talk about how the stars just kept drifting apart from each other? Did he want her to travel with him at all?
She couldnât bring herself to ask those questions. She just wanted a single moment with him- a fairy tale to hold onto when things got harder.
As his fingers wrapped around her wrist she could feel the soft thud of his own heart in his fingertips against her wrist. Two hearts meeting privately. No asking of questions. Simply physically feeling what it would be like to be close.
She closed her eyes and for a moment allowed herself to fall into that world. Her toes scrunched up a little, her stomach fluttered, and her lips pressed softly against his. Her free hand went to his face where her thumb stroked his face.
She joined him on the couch before shaking her head, âTheyâre your family. Their opinion of you should hurt. We grew up begging for our parents to approve of us, and now your parents arenât giving that approval that you actually deserve. Donât apologize for telling me things. I like listening. I talk too damn much sometimes.â
She gently laughed as she watched him try to explain his nervousness. Carefully, she scooted closer before brushing her lips against his again, âWell, the good news is that... I would consider myself a bit of an expert when it comes to that.â The burn of the shots of vodka she had earlier began to race through her veins as she climbed into his lap. âKiss me, Eric.â She looked into his eyes, and for a moment the façade of confidence fell as she whispered, âMake me feel what itâs like to have a real man hold me.â













