“Pity about not seeing any of the city, though. I’ve heard it’s a great place to visit.”
He kissed her just below her ear where her shoulder met her neck. “Chicago’s fine, but visiting all the hot spots on you was more fun.”
She groaned. “I really do need to finish packing. Although heaven knows I’d have liked at least another day.”
“Well, maybe the next time we get an itch to scratch each other in person, we should make it a longer stay.”
Jenna turned around in his arms. “Spring break.”
His gaze caught on her damp bottom lip. “What about it?” he murmured, taking a little taste.
Laughing, she drew back. “I get a week off at the end of March.”
“I doubt I could take off a whole week, but...” Goddamn it. He was starting to get hard. Hell, not now. He had no self-control when it came to her.
“Maybe I could come to Oklahoma.”
“Sure.” It seemed she was waiting for him to say something else, but he couldn’t remember what they’d been talking about. He glanced at his watch. Even a quickie would be pushing it.
“I know you would be busy and I’m not suggesting I’d stay with you. I’m sure there are hotels in the area. I wouldn’t even have brought it up except you mentioned it a few weeks ago—”
He felt like shit. She was flustered all because he’d been too interested in his dick and not listening to her. “Jenna.”
“I hear there’s a very interesting place called the National Severe Storms Laboratory. I understand they give tours all the time, so I wouldn’t be bothering you to show me around.”
She was rambling and looking nervous and it was his fault.
“I’d have so much great stuff to teach the kids when school started again.”
“Jenna, stop.” He hated that she was avoiding his eyes. “Look at me,” he said, and waited until she did. “Do you honestly think I’d let you stay anywhere else but with me?”
“Honestly?”
He nodded and tugged her closer.
“I don’t know.” She bit her lip. “This thing we have—I mean I know we’re just friends. That part’s perfectly clear but it’s still kind of...”
“Hey...the reason I hesitated was because I hadn’t been listening at first. I was too busy thinking about a quickie. I’m sorry.”
She gave him one of his favorite smiles. “Seriously?”
He nodded, making sure to meet her gaze. She needed to know he wasn’t messing with her.
“So I guess this makes us friends with benefits.” She winced. “I never dreamed my name and that phrase could exist in the same sentence.”
“Okay, then, let’s say we’re good friends who happen to like sex with each other.”
She nodded. “Who like it very, very much. Except on Skype.”
“Yeah,” he said, cringing. “No, we won’t do that again.”
Jenna laughed.
“Spring break sounds good,” he said. “We’ll talk more about it later. Right now, we have a shuttle to catch.”
“Kiss me first?”
He shook his head. “If I kiss you now,” he said, bending his head until his lips brushed hers, “we’ll miss our flights for sure.”
Jenna sighed. “Yes, the real world awaits.”
He caught the hint of sadness in her eyes. Was he being a selfish prick? Jenna needed to start dating, find a man like Payton, but someone whom she could trust to be faithful. A man who could fit in to her nine-to-five life and always be there for her.
Rick wasn’t that guy. She knew that as well as he did, but sometimes the truth got lost somewhere between the head and the heart. And yeah, he obviously was a selfish prick because he doubted he was capable of letting her go yet.
15
OMG, SHE WAS really doing this.
Jenna followed the crowd, hoping they’d lead her to baggage claim. She was so excited about seeing Rick that she’d forgotten to watch for the signs. They’d talked about her trip to Oklahoma ever since Chicago. She could see how a lot of travel could seriously affect a romantic relationship, but with Rick, everything was simply a matter of mastering expectations.
A perfect example was the fact that she had no problem with Rick having to work three days out of her six-day visit. Because of the active weather season, that was all he could manage. She had a hefty workload herself, and they’d have their nights together. In his town house, which she was incredibly excited to see in real life instead of over her laptop.
Her fellow travelers began to splinter off and she forced herself to stay focused until she spotted the baggage claim sign.
“Jenna!”
She heard his voice, but she couldn’t see Rick at first. And then there he was, dodging in and out of the crowd to get to her, and the butterflies in her stomach kicked in again.
To think when he’d told her he would meet her at the airport, she’d told him not to be ridiculous. He had work, and she knew how to get a taxi. But he’d insisted, and now she was ridiculously glad.
When his smile mirrored her own, she revised her theory about long distances being a problem. Reunion s were awesome.
“Hi.” She barely got the word out before he kissed her right in front of the luggage carousel, ignoring the crowd and holding her as if he feared she’d turn around and leave.
People anxious to get their luggage forced them to move. Jenna saw her own suitcase tumble down onto the carousel, but she didn’t have a chance to grab it. Rick had pulled her into a semiprivate kiosk area near the car rentals and swept her into another kiss the moment he could. A kiss that quite possibly could set a record. She refused to let go, and Rick hadn’t given up his claim, either.
Would it always be like this? Wanting to climb inside him, to live and breathe this second for an eternity?
A strategic bump against her hip told her he was a little too excited to be in public, and she wondered if her carry-on bag was big enough to hide it for the walk to the car.
Rick eventually leaned back to catch his breath. She hadn’t even finished panting when he dived back in, pulling her tightly against him.
“Excuse me.”
The voice did not belong to Rick. She knew this because she was kissing him back with equal enthusiasm.
Parting reluctantly, she discovered a nice-looking older gentleman wearing a suit with a badge over his breast pocket.
“If you two wouldn’t mind holding off until you’re out of the building. Perhaps somewhere outside of the parking lot, it would be greatly appreciated.”
Could have been worse. Could have been the police.
As it was, the minute they were in the clear, their eyes met. They both burst out laughing. The hysterical kind, where it was impossible to stop even though her stomach ached and her eye makeup had to be streaming down her cheeks. “Okay, we have to stop,” she said.
“Fine.” Rick held up his hands. “I’m completely over it.”
“Good,” she said, but then she looked at him when he looked at her, and they had to go through the entire business again. Luckily, he managed to catch her bag before it made another trip around the carousel.
The long haul out to the parking lot finally cured them, which was good because she hadn’t stopped by the bathroom on their way out. God only knew what she looked like. Thankfully, they turned down the final row.
Rick’s Jeep was a rugged beast of a Wrangler, a Rubicon, which was interesting. Aside from being an actual river in northern Italy, crossing the Rubicon meant passing the point of no return. If she climbed aboard, would she be irrevocably committed to this odd yet wonderful relationship? She wouldn’t mind that a bit.
Rick opened the passenger door. “What’s that smile for?”
“Just wondering why this is called a Rubicon.” She said the last word in her lowest and most dramatic voice.
“It’s one tough son of a bitch,” he said, just before he hurried around to the driver’s seat. “I’ve crossed some wicked rivers in this Jeep. So I guess the designers wanted it to represent breaking boundaries and going where no four-wheel drive has gone before. Although, they probably just used the name because it sounded butch.”
She was still chuckling as he paid the parking fee, but instead of leaving the lot, he pulled out of the line and parked near a fence.
“You hungry?” he asked. “Jet-lagged? That’s almost a six-hour flight.”
“I’m fine, actually.”
“Would you mind if we went by my office first before we go to my place? Not for too long, I promise.”
“No. I’d love it.”
“Good, because I have a conference call I’ll have to take, but more importantly I want to show you off.”
“Oh, great way to not make me nervous.”
“No! They’ll love you. I didn’t mean—I meant to say show you around—”
She put her finger on his lips. “I’m teasing. As long as I can have you to myself tonight, I’m in,” she said.
He leaned over to kiss her again, and when he looked into her eyes as if he’d never seen anything more wonderful, her butterflies had butterflies.
* * *
ONCE AGAIN, JENNA was amazingly impressed with Rick. The building where he worked was beautiful, designed not just as a laboratory that specialized in studying severe weather, but as an educational facility open to visitors of all ages. She desperately wanted to bring her whole school here, including the teachers. But mostly the kids. They’d love it.