“You think he won’t believe you?” Lenny pulled the end of his shirt out from his belt and wiped at her tears, mascara and all, leaving black streaks on the khaki material.
Heidi shrugged, looking and feeling miserable. “Why should he believe me? It’s my word against hers. And this is Andrea Paxton we’re talking about.”
“You’ve changed on the outside, but you’re the same old Heidi.” Lenny shook his head slowly as he pulled her close again. He smelled like pretzels and beer and aftershave, which wasn’t an unpleasant combination, but was so far from the smells of the man she was longing for she suddenly found it more pain than comfort to be in his arms.
“I know.” Heidi bent her head, closing her eyes. “I’m pathetic.”
“No, you’re not.” Lenny lifted her chin, cupping her tear-stained face in his hands. “You’re bright and beautiful and sweet…”
She met his gaze, surprised into silence by his words, but even more so by the look in his eyes. She knew that look. She hadn’t seen it often in her life, but enough to recognize it.
“Why do you think I called you?” Lenny asked, his gaze moving down to her mouth, pausing there, and she found it suddenly hard to breathe.
“I don’t know…” she lied. She did know, now, even if she hadn’t before.
“Don’t do this thing with Kaiser,” he pleaded, his thumbs stroking her cheeks.
“What thing?”
“This thing.” His mouth captured hers in one easy motion, so quickly she didn’t have time to protest, although somehow she had felt it coming. He didn’t just smell like pretzels and beer, he tasted like it, too. The kiss was soft but not tentative, his mouth beginning to explore hers. The sensation was enjoyable, but…
“Lenny…” She broke free, gasping for breath, but his hands were moving in her hair, down her back, tugging her shirt up and seeking the skin at her waist. His mouth moved over her jaw, her neck, her ear, back to her mouth, and she let him kiss her again. It had been a long time since a man had kissed her, and she found herself gauging her own response like some curious scientist.
Kaiser had never kissed her. She had wanted it, longed for it, dreamed about it, but his mouth had never touched hers. She found herself thinking about Kaiser’s mouth, his perpetual frown. How many times had she imagined their first kiss?
“Oh, Heidi…” Lenny moaned against her lips, and she realized she’d been fervently responding, lost in her fantasy. He had her half pulled into his lap, and she could feel him, hard, against her hip. “God, you feel so good.”
“Lenny, wait…” She pushed herself away, still trembling, retreating to the opposite end of the sofa. He sat, looking stunned, pained, and she swallowed past the lump in her throat. “I can’t…we can’t do this.”
“Is it me?” he asked.
She shook her head, insisting, “No!”
“I see.” He gave a little nod and offered her a sad smile. “So you’re going to give me the, ‘It’s not you, it’s me’ speech?”
“No…” She smiled in spite of herself. “It’s not me either.”
“Kaiser.” He spat the word out as if it tasted bad. “The bastard.”
“He isn’t,” she replied. “You don’t know him.”
“And you do?”
She did. She didn’t know how it was possible to be so connected to someone so quickly, but she did. “I can’t explain it.”
“Wanna try?”
“I can’t.” She shrugged helplessly.
“All right, come here.” He held his arms out again and she hesitated before he said, “Just friends, I promise.”
She settled against him again, but it was different. Something had changed. Things had shifted, a door had been opened that couldn’t be closed again. It was more than painful to her now, it was awkward.
“You still feel good,” he said with a shaky sigh, his mouth too close to her ear.
“I’m sorry.”
He groaned. “Quit apologizing.”
“I’m—” She went to say it again, reflexively, and yelped in surprise when his hand came down on her denim-clad behind.
“Will you listen to that, then?” Lenny chuckled and she flushed, ashamed at how her body responded to the slap. Her bottom stung, but for the first time since they’d started, she felt a sudden throbbing between her thighs.
“I mean it!’ He went on, insistent. “Stand up for yourself. Say something. Do something. Go in there tomorrow, guns blazing, and tell him the truth.”