Jamie Pope - Kissed By Christmas

He’d stopped because he was growing too aroused, far too quickly. She was still suffering from a concussion and as much as he wanted her he knew that he couldn’t take things any further that night.

And then she’d asked him to be her friend. It was like someone had thrown cold water on him. She had every right to ask him that. He could see things going too quickly with her. The kind of attraction he had for her was dangerous. He barely knew her, but he knew she wasn’t the kind of woman to jump into bed with a man. She was alone in this city and still recovering from a bad breakup.

It would be foolish to jump into something with him.

They stopped in front of her door and he watched her as she opened it and stepped inside. She turned to face him. “Good night, Asa.”

“Good night.”

“And thank you.” She reached to hug him, pressing that sweet, curvy body against his once again. “For everything.”

He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her back, holding her tightly against him. He would be her friend, but he knew he would kiss her again, too. He wouldn’t be able not to. There was no way to prevent it if she was anywhere near him.

* * *

There was a knock at Hallie’s door just before 6:00 p.m. that next evening. It was her second day off work and she was feeling only slightly better. Her body was still stiff and sore, although the constant heavy throbbing in her head had lessened and her dizziness had mostly subsided. She’d thought she was nearly back to normal when she left Asa’s last night and that she would be ready to go back to work again. The pain had been completely gone when she woke up on his chest last evening. There was no dizziness at all, maybe just some headiness. His kiss had kept her floating all night. It had her thinking of him and his soft, firm lips when she went to bed. It had her dreaming of him on top of her, beside her, his hands roaming all over her, his breath tickling her skin. But she hadn’t slept as well in her bed as she had when she was curled up against him. It had been one time, for a few hours, but as she lay in her bed alone, she felt like something was missing, like he was missing.

Her heart sped up as she walked to the door. It was probably him, coming to see how she was.

She opened the door to find a woman there. She was short, Hispanic, very pretty with long black hair that had a dramatic gray stripe running down the center of it. She was dressed in some kind of a uniform and holding two large paper bags. “Ms. Roberts?” There was a touch of an accent in her voice.

“Yes.”

“My name is Rosa Nieves. I’m Charlie’s mother.”

“Oh, hello. It’s nice to meet you. I spoke with your husband during conference week.”

“Yes. Charlie told me that you had fallen in front of the school and hit your head. He’s been worried. All the kids are worried about you.”

“They’re sweet. The doctor wants me to stay home for at least a week. Hopefully, I’ll be cleared to go back to work by Monday.”

“We hope so, too. My son never used to tell me anything, but he told me about you and I figured you must be special. He likes your class. He told me you taught him about the Nuyorican movement and he’s become very interested in that playwright Miguel Piñero. He’s talking about going to college to study writing. He’s never talked about going to college before. I don’t know how we’ll pay for it, but we’ll find a way.”

“Charlie is incredibly bright. I have a list of scholarships that he’s eligible for. We’ll figure it out. He’ll have the life you hoped he would.”

“Thank you. That’s why I’m here. To thank you. The school gave me your address so I could deliver this. I work around the corner in an office building and I swear I’ll never come back here to bother you. But I wanted to do this. Me and a couple of parents from the school made you enough food to last you a week. Some of the dishes are still hot. I made you coquito cupcakes and there is some breakfast stuff, as well as some lunch meat. Some of the kids wrote you letters, too.”

“Oh.” Hallie was breathless. Her vision had gone blurry. “This was so kind of you. Thank you. That doesn’t feel like a big enough word but I really don’t know what else to say.”

“Don’t cry, honey. Just get better and get back to school. Those kids need you.” She placed the bags on the floor inside the door, just as Asa walked up. He was wearing his uniform.

“What’s the matter? Why are you crying, Hallie?”

“The parents at my school are very kind. Thank you, Mrs. Nieves.”

“You’re welcome. Just get some rest. I’m glad you have someone here to take care of you.”

“But...”

Mrs. Nieves walked away before Hallie could clarify things. Asa was standing there, looking extremely handsome and slightly concerned. “You’re sure you’re okay?”

“I am. Come inside. My students had their parents send me a care package.”

“Is that what smells good?”

She nodded. “Can you grab the bags? My head feels like it’s going to explode when I bend over.”

“Yeah, of course.” But instead of turning away he took a step toward her and placed his hand on her cheek. “How are you feeling?” he asked her, studying her face closely. Part of her wanted to close her eyes and savor the feeling of his touch on her skin, but a bigger part of her wanted to remove his hand from her face and push her body closer to his.

But she did neither. She just looked into his concerned dark eyes. “I’m feeling better.” She was, really. Better now than she had been feeling all day. There was something about Asa... She couldn’t put her finger on it, but there was something about him that made her feel like she was having an out-of-body experience.

“Good. I’ve been thinking about you all day.” His thumb briefly stroked along her cheek, and Hallie swallowed hard as tingles ran down her spine. How could one simple touch be so affecting? “My mother called and asked about you. I promised her I would see how you were.” He took a step backward and stripped off his jacket, revealing his powerful arms and chest. As he turned to pick up the bags, she saw how his muscles worked beneath his uniform shirt. She wanted to fan herself. She wasn’t used to being around a man with Asa’s kind of body. Her ex was much, much different.

“Your mother is very kind to ask about me. I thought you weren’t working today.” She hadn’t meant to say that. But thoughts of him had been on her mind all day, wondering if and when he might show up at her door.

She had told him that she just wanted to be friends but her thoughts about him today hadn’t been exactly friendly.

“I got asked to switch shifts.” He unloaded the bag on the counter. There was fried chicken, beef patties, a rice dish, and some homemade macaroni-and-cheese among the staples that the parents included. “I now see why you were crying. This food looks amazing.”

“Stay with me and have some.” She paused. Asa might have kissed her last night, but that didn’t mean he didn’t have plans with someone else tonight. He was a beautiful man. She would be surprised if he didn’t have some woman waiting in the wings. “That is, if you want to, or don’t have any other plans.”

“I don’t.” He looked through her cabinets, pulling out plates and glasses. “If you think you’re getting rid of me after I smelled this food, you’re crazy.”

A little bit of pleasure flowed through her. “How was work today? Did you run into any other slip-and-fall victims?”

He grinned. “One this week is enough.” He piled the plates high with food and motioned for her to go sit on her couch. “Go sit, I’ll bring your food over.”

“I can carry a plate.” She reached to take one from him.