Jewel Ann - Idle Bloom

“So wine it is.” I grin while grabbing two glasses from the cabinet. “Do you live alone?”

Vivian laughs. “Why? Are you planning on stalking me and sexually assaulting me?”

Okay, so I think I’ll hold off on the spanking. I probably wouldn’t do it right anyway. “A little paranoid?”

“My roommate, Alex, her parents own the condo. They’re rich, I guess. Anyway, her boyfriend and my friend Kai are good friends so they introduced us when I needed to move to Cambridge. Alex is rarely there, so she was thrilled to have a roommate to look after things and one who needed a job. Maggie, her aunt, owns The Green Pot and needed some help running the nursery since she’s been battling cancer off and on for years. Alex’s parents agreed to keep the condo instead of having her move into student housing with the agreement that she’d work part-time for Maggie. So I get a job and cheap rent, and Alex helps out occasionally at the nursery, but mostly she makes her spending money off my rent payments. It’s a win-win.”

I hand her a glass of wine and motion to the couch. “Alex’s parents are okay with this arrangement?”

She sips her wine. “They don’t know. I make myself scarce when they come to visit.”

“And you’re okay with deceiving people you don’t even know?”

She waves her hand in the air dismissively as she swallows. “I know them. I come to ‘visit’ every time they’re in town. They love me, of course, because I’m such a good influence on Alex.”

“So why not just tell them the truth?”

Vivian tucks her legs underneath her. “They want Alex to stay busy with school and work so she doesn’t get distracted by guys.”

I shake my head. “It’s quite the con you two have going.”

“You don’t know half of it.” She takes another sip of her wine, and another, and another.

I anticipate having her naked within the hour. Reaching over, I fill her glass back up before it’s even halfway down.

God! What the hell is wrong with my brain?

“So why did you need to move to Cambridge?” I ask.

She giggles and I adjust myself because I’m already imagining her glazed over eyes calling to me. “My parents think I’m getting my business degree from Harvard.” She giggles some more.

My dick has officially taken a backseat to this conversation. As much as I want to avoid too much personal detail, her comment has my naturally curious mind turning its cogs. “Why do they think that?”

“Because I got accepted.”

There’s no way I could have seen this coming. Vivian doesn’t just surprise me, she knocks me on my ass leaving me speechless with everything she says and does. “To Harvard?”

“Yes, Oliver, to Harvard. Don’t look so surprised.”

I set my drink on the coffee table and adjust my body to face her. “Let me get this straight. You were accepted to Harvard. Your parents think you’re attending Harvard. You moved to Cambridge so they would believe you’re going to Harvard, but you’re not going to Harvard?”

She massages her temples with her thumb and middle finger then drags her fingers across her forehead “Yep, I’ve had way too much to drink.” She laughs. “So I’m not sure I caught all of your questions or statements or whatever, but … yes, yes, yes … and yes.” Full lips curl into a large and oh-so-proud smile like she just aced some big test.

“I don’t understand.”

“Oh, Oli-ver, you don’t have to understand everything.” She leans her head back and closes her eyes. “I need to pee.”

“The bathroom is upstairs, first door on the right.”

She doesn’t move.

“Do I need to carry you upstairs?”

She opens her eyes and grins, swinging her feet to the floor. “Nope, I just wanted to see if you’d offer. After the cobbler hoarding incident I wondered if you were much of a gentleman.”

She stands with a slight sway. I grab her waist and bright eyes sparkle with hidden wonder as she fixes them on mine, pressing the palm of her hand to my cheek. Every indecent thought I had about her vanishes leaving a murky residue on my conscience.

“You’re alarmingly handsome. Do you know that?” she whispers, feathering her thumb along my lips.

I close my eyes willing myself to hold still, to resist the urge to cup her hand, taste her thumb, pull her closer—so close there’s no space for the rest of the world between us.

She’s gone, but my breath remains hostage in my chest. Opening my eyes, I release it. Okay, maybe I need something more than her body.

Vivian

The stairs prove to be more challenging than I expected. I’m not sure how much I’ve had to drink. Not much, at least I don’t think so. Oliver kept refilling my glass before I ever finished the previous refill. First door on the left . I ram into the solid wood door as I make a clumsy attempt to turn the knob and push it open. It’s locked, as in seriously locked. It seems a bit odd to have a bathroom door with a dead bolt. I look right. Ah ha! Yeah, he might have said right not left.

A tingling numbness prickles my skin, including my ass, as I sit on the toilet. I like Oliver. He’s so handsome, especially tonight with that copper-blond hair doing its own thing and a day’s worth of sexy stubble along his strong jaw. I had to touch it and those lips … so kissable. For a moment I forgot that our relationship can’t go there. Alcohol does that to me. I should just show him what lies beneath and get it over with, but the problem is I like the way he looks at me. Giving myself to the possibility of someone looking at me, all of me, with nothing but desire is the most amazing feeling until I’m stolen from the moment back to reality––my reality. If Kai, my best friend and the person who loves me unconditionally, can’t see past it, then no man ever will.

Exiting the bathroom I stop and study the door across the hall. It’s not like all the other doors and something about it is off.

“Everything okay?” I startle at the sound of his voice. He’s halfway up the stairs.

“Uh, yeah, I’m just … out of it.”

He waits for me then follows behind.

“I should go.” I focus on each step to mask my jelly-like legs.

Oliver hands me my knitting bag. “I’ll walk you home.”

“It’s just across the street.”

“Yes, but you’ve had more than your limit of alcohol and that’s my fault, so now I’m obligated to make sure you make it home without incident.”

I step past the threshold forgetting that there is about a three inch drop to the stoop, just enough to make me look tipsier than I already do.

“Watch it. See, the trip across the street could prove to be more difficult than you think.” He laughs, grabbing my hand, this time interlacing our fingers. I wish it were a longer walk, but it’s not and I have to release his hand to get my key.

He waits for me to unlock my door. “Goodnight, my lightweight neighbor.” He smiles while brushing my hair behind my ear on one side.

I want his kiss right now more than doughnuts, coffee, or his mom’s incredible cobbler. My mouth works on its own accord. I wrap my hand around his wrist lingering behind my ear. Pulling it toward my cheek I whisper, “You could kiss me. Just tonight … just once.”

He smiles and mimicking my moves from earlier, brushing his thumb along my lips and shaking his head. “No, I don’t think I can kiss you, just tonight , just once …” his touch fades as he steps back “…sweet dreams.”

My gaze clings to the subtle curves of his tall frame as he drifts across the street with long, smooth strides. Okay, maybe I need something more than an emotional connection.