Love on the Red Rocks, page 7
Why did I suddenly feel guilty and defensive? It’s not like Lizzie was a mind reader and knew I’d been fantasizing about Jessie kissing me. And it’s not like I purposefully fantasized. I tried to forget about our almost-kiss, which was increasingly difficult every time I looked at her lips.
“What do you mean?”
“You two getting along?”
“I guess. Yeah, actually she’s not as bad as I thought she’d be.” Lizzie stared at me as we sat at a stoplight. I looked straight ahead, never taking my eyes off the red light, as though it were the most captivating thing in the world.
“Well, I’d rather room with Jessie than Rhonda any day. She’s so gorgeous, I wouldn’t even care if she snored.”
A vision of Jessie and Lizzie making out flashed through my mind. They were sitting on my bed when Jessie tilted her head, leaned forward, and pressed her pouty lips against Lizzie’s mouth. A pang of jealousy ripped through my gut. The thing was, though, I wasn’t sure if I was jealous of Jessie…or Lizzie.
“Malley? What do you think?”
“What?” Had Lizzie just asked me something?
“I said do you think Jessie and Nicole are dating?” I knew where this line of questioning was going.
“Uh…yeah, I’m pretty sure they are.” I was on a roll. Two lies in under five minutes.
“Hmm…how about we grab some coffee and decide what we’d like to do today?”
“Sure,” I said. “How about that bakery we saw driving into town?”
As Lizzie pulled into the parking lot, I saw a yellow motorcycle parked in front. Hopefully someone in Sedona owned a carbon copy of Jessie’s bike. No such luck. When Lizzie and I walked into the super-cute bakery we saw Jessie sitting in a booth sipping a cappuccino and writing in a notebook. Was Sedona so small that I couldn’t even get away from her for one day? Lizzie made a beeline for Jessie before I could suggest we hide at a corner table. Jessie slipped her notebook into her backpack and motioned for us to sit. Lizzie slid into the booth with me beside her.
“Fancy meeting you here, Barnett,” I said. “What are you writing?”
“Nothing important. What are you two up to today?”
“We were thinking about going to Chavez Ranch. There’s a great view of Cathedral Rock from there,” Lizzie said.
“I’ve had enough of Cathedral Rock. Right, Malley?” Jessie grinned as her eyes met mine.
I blushed at the recollection of being wrapped in her arms in the rain, feeling protected and cared for. I’d never smell lavender again, or get caught in a rainstorm, and not think about Jessie. As though reading my mind, her eyes darted downward, a hint of red touching her cheeks.
“Malley?” I turned to Lizzie, who was staring at me. “I said how’s your knee doing? Where’s your mind today?”
“Oh, it’s much better. Thanks.” I stole a quick glance at Jessie, who was studying her clasped hands as though she’d never seen them before.
“What can I get you?” We glanced at a waitress standing by our table. Lizzie and I ordered coffee, which seemed to annoy the waitress, who was probably thinking we wouldn’t leave much of a tip for a small order. After turning, the waitress stopped abruptly and spun around to face Jessie. “I just wanted to say that was a really nice thing you did earlier. Most people wouldn’t bother.”
“It was nothing.” Jessie shrugged.
“It was something, and for that I’m giving you a free refill.” She took Jessie’s cup and walked back to the counter.
“What was that about?” I asked.
Jessie shrugged again, looking embarrassed. “Nothing.” When I raised my eyebrow, Jessie rolled her eyes, knowing I wouldn’t let it go. “There was this homeless guy sitting in a booth counting his pennies for a cup of coffee, so I bought him breakfast. No biggie.”
“That was really nice of you,” Lizzie said.
It was a thoughtful thing to do. Honestly, it probably wouldn’t have crossed my mind to do that. I think most people would have ignored the guy. Maybe she was mushy under that hard cop exterior after all.
While Lizzie and Jessie chatted about Sedona hot spots, I scoped out the bakery. It was a small place but decorated in soothing pastel blues and greens. They served coffee and pastries of every kind. I’d always dreamed of owning a place just like this, a charming boutique where people could sit for hours drinking coffee and partaking of delectable desserts. I even knew what I’d name my place. Fun Buns. That’s what my grandmother used to call our butterscotch cinnamon buns, which would be my signature item.
“Malley? Earth to Malley.” Malley. That’s me. I looked at Lizzie as she laughed. “Daydreaming, were you?”
“Sorry, I guess I was.”
“You’re not fantasizing about opening a bakery again, are you?” Lizzie asked.
“No…well, maybe. I was just looking around the place.”
“You want to open a bakery?” Jessie asked.
“Malley has a great job. And it’s stable. She’d be crazy to give that up,” Lizzie said.
“But if it’s her dream then―”
“Dreams don’t pay the rent, and California isn’t cheap, as we all know. Besides, businesses are closing down all around us.”
“Still, though, she should give it some consideration. At least check out the possibility.”
I looked back and forth from Jessie to Lizzie as they talked about me like I wasn’t even there.
“Malley can bake, that’s for sure, but owning a business is a whole other deal,” Lizzie said.
“She can’t live in fear.” Jessie tapped on her chest three times as she said, “She should follow her heart.”
It’s a good thing they were acting as though I were invisible, because I’m sure my mouth was wide open. That was exactly what the disappearing Indian had told me by the Kachina Woman right before he tapped on my chest three times.
Chapter Eight
A Kiss is Just a Kiss
I had Clarissa cornered. She was sitting behind her desk in her office, and I was standing in front of the door so she couldn’t escape unless she crawled out the window.
“Clarissa, this has been such a wonderful vacation so far.” Buttering her up was the way to go. “Everything’s so well organized. But I do have one request.”
“Of course. Just name it.”
“Lizzie and I want to room together. While I totally support your ingenious idea of mixing people up, pairing Jessie and me isn’t going so well.”
Clarissa’s smile faded. “You and Jessie aren’t getting along?”
“It’s not that we don’t get along. It’s more that Lizzie and I wanted to spend some quality time together.”
“Oh. Well, I wouldn’t want to force anything on you.” Clarissa looked terribly disappointed, which made me feel like crap.
“It would be better all the way around, I think, if we switched rooms.” I flashed my most genuine smile. “Like now. As in by tonight.”
“I see. Well, does Jessie know?”
“Yeah, and she’ll probably be happy to get rid of me.”
“I hate to hear that, but if this is what you want, just give me some time to talk to Rhonda to see if she objects to switching, and I’ll let you know.”
Rhonda. Damn. I forgot about her. The last thing she’d probably want to do was leave Lizzie’s side. Still, though, things were finally looking up.
❖
Jessie eyed my suitcase as I packed. “What are you doing?”
“I talked to Clarissa about switching rooms, and she didn’t throw a fit like you claimed she would. She’s discussing it with Rhonda right now.” I felt a little sad about leaving, surprised that I had enjoyed spending time with Jessie. But I had to get my plan with Lizzie back on track, and being close to Jessie wasn’t part of that plan. I certainly didn’t want to risk any more almost-kisses.
“Oh.” Jessie looked like she’d just lost her puppy.
“It’s nothing against you. Really.” I placed my hand on her arm.
“So, you’re still going through with your plan?” Her eyes were a dark, cold teal.
“Of course. Why wouldn’t I?”
“You and Lizzie don’t seem to…fit.”
“What are you talking about? We’re best friends. How much better can we fit?”
“That’s what I mean. You’re friends.” Jessie paced back and forth, her body tense.
“That’s the whole point of this trip, Barnett. I plan to be more than just friends. What’s your problem?” I wasn’t sure where Jessie’s agitation was coming from.
“I don’t have a problem. I just…I think you’re making a mistake. Like you warned me about hooking up with Nicole.”
“Oh my God, you’re not seriously comparing Lizzie to Nicole, are you? That’s ludicrous.” I wasn’t sure what we were arguing about, but that statement seemed to enrage Jessie all the more.
“So you wouldn’t have a problem with me hooking up with Nicole?”
“No…yes…I mean, what? I don’t care what you do.” That was perhaps a little white lie, because the thought of Nicole and Jessie together made me ill.
Searing pain shot through my fingers. I hadn’t been paying attention to what I was doing and had inadvertently smashed my fingers in my suitcase. What a klutz.
“Holy shit!” I screamed. Collapsing on my bed, I cradled my hand. “Damn, that hurt.”
“Let me see.” Jessie grabbed for my hand, but I pulled away.
“This is all your fault, you know.”
“Just give me your hand.” Jessie laid my hand in her palm and examined my throbbing fingers, which were already swollen and turning blue. She immediately went into the kitchen, returning quickly with ice wrapped in a towel. “This is going to be cold, but you need to get the swelling down.” Jessie sat on the bed next to me, carefully wrapping my hand in the towel.
“Christ, I can’t believe I did that.” Intensity from the pain made me nauseous and brought tears to my eyes. “I’m such an idiot.”
“You’re not an idiot. Does it hurt?”
“Hell yeah.” The ice quickly numbed my fingers, which helped with the sting.
“I’m…sorry,” Jessie said. She studied the print on my bedspread, avoiding eye contact.
“It wasn’t your fault. I wasn’t paying attention to what I was doing.”
“That’s not what I meant. You know, sorry for grilling you about Lizzie.”
“It’s okay,” I said, although I was clueless about why she’d seemed so agitated. “Sorry you’re always having to take care of me. I’m really not accident-prone.”
“Lucky for you I’ve had lots of first-aid training.” Jessie smiled as the tension between us seemingly disappeared. “How’s it feeling now?”
“The ice pretty much numbed everything, so better. But I bet it’ll be hurting like a son of a bitch after it thaws out.”
Jessie placed her palm over my wrapped hand and closed her eyes. “Do you know what Reiki is?”
“Ray…what?”
“Reiki. It’s a form of healing that works with the life-force energy.” Jessie opened her eyes and looked completely serious.
“Life-force energy?” I was cynical but didn’t want to hurt her feelings by scoffing at something seemingly important to her.
“All I do is direct healing energy to the injured area. It’s harmless. May I?” Jessie motioned toward my hand.
“Sure. Go for it.” Sounded weird but couldn’t hurt, I figured, and I did trust Jessie.
She closed her eyes, covering my hand with her palm. Her body relaxed as she took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. Jessie asked that I close my eyes as well and release any tension in my body. Within minutes I felt warmth emanating from her hand, quickly melting the ice. Every now and then I’d take peeks at Jessie. I’d always thought Jessie was beautiful, but in that moment she looked stunning. She practically glowed. We stayed in that position about five minutes before she opened her eyes, taking another deep breath. Jessie looked at me, her eyes a sparkling, clear green.
“Your hand felt warm,” I said. “Where’d you learn how to do that?”
“My dad is a Reiki Master and he initiated me.” Master. Initiated. It all sounded too airy-fairy for me. Carefully, I unwrapped the towel. My fingers were blue but weren’t hurting nearly as much. I didn’t care if that was because of the ice or the Reiki. I was just glad the pain had subsided.
“It feels better. I don’t have to call you Master now, do I?” I smiled.
“I’ll settle for Superwoman.” Jessie put her hand on my arm. It still felt warm.
Shivers went down my spine as she lightly stroked my skin with her thumb. We stared at each other, neither one of us wanting to turn away. Jessie’s eyes dropped to my lips. Was she thinking about our almost-kiss, as I was? I had the answer to my question when Jessie leaned forward, pressing her lips against mine in the hottest kiss I’d ever experienced.
It was tender at first, with light pressure. She nibbled on my lower lip and kissed the sides of my mouth. We parted for a moment, with eyes still closed, then pressed our lips together again. Harder and more urgent this time. The warmth of Jessie’s mouth sent electricity coursing through me. We moaned in unison when the tip of her tongue touched mine. Damn, could this woman kiss. The sensation of Jessie’s lips, the taste of her, my arousal when she ran her tongue underneath the inside of my top lip sent my head spinning.
In retrospect, I should have pulled away. I mean, what gave her the right to sit there and kiss me like that? But I wasn’t exactly thinking straight at the time. The only thought in my mind was how soft her lips felt.
Slowly Jessie lowered me back onto the bed, pressing her body against mine, never breaking the kiss. My hands had a mind of their own. I ran my fingers through her hair, satisfying a long-time curiosity of what her shiny, healthy locks would feel like. It was silky and smooth, just as I’d imagined. I caressed her back and lower to her buttocks, pressing her into me.
Desperately wanting to feel the touch of her skin, I slipped my fingers under her shirt. Jessie moaned into my mouth from the contact. She was so sexy. I could have kissed her forever. And I would have if she hadn’t quickly pulled away.
Hovering over me, she stared at me in shock. “Malley,” she said breathlessly. “I’m…I’m so sorry. I don’t know what happened. It just…I’m sorry. It was a mistake.”
A mistake. Yes, of course. A mistake. What else could it be?
“I don’t know what I was thinking.” Jessie sat up, putting space between us. “Lizzie won’t ever find out about this. I promise.”
Lizzie. Right. The woman I love.
I quickly sat up, careful not to touch any part of Jessie in the process. I stared at her, not sure what to say, still processing what had just happened. We’d kissed. And not only that, but I liked it. A lot. My eyes darted to Jessie’s lips, red and swollen from our mini make-out session. I wanted to brush her lips with my fingertips. I wanted to wrap my hand around her neck and pull her into another searing kiss. With that thought, I bolted off the bed.
“I’m going to get some fresh air.” I ran out of the cabin as far away from Jessie as I could get.
Ending up at the pond, I circled the water over and over, mentally chatting with the koi, who opened their mouths wide as if yawning. What in the world had just happened? I kissed Jessie. Or she kissed me. Either way…it was Jessie, for Christ’s sake. I hadn’t even kissed Lizzie yet. Heat rose within me as I relived the moment. Our bodies intertwined, the feel of her smooth skin on my fingertips, her warm, wet tongue. After just one kiss, I was more than ready to rip her clothes off.
What was wrong with me? I attributed my carnal response to a dating dry spell. Yes, that was it. I just hadn’t kissed a woman in a while and had forgotten how hot it could be, although it had never been that hot. Jessie’s words rang in my ears. “It was a mistake…a mistake…” and one she obviously regretted.
She was the one who kissed me. She made the first move. How dare she do that? Everyone knows you can’t kiss someone passionately, lay them back in the bed, and then say it was a mistake.
“You know what I’m going to do?” I asked the koi. “I’m going to tell Lizzie how I feel about her right now. No more pussyfooting around. It’s time to put this plan into action!” And before I knew it, I was banging on Lizzie’s cabin door.
Chapter Nine
Get Lizzie
“All right, all right, I’m coming.” Lizzie swung the screen door open. “Malley? Why are you panting and sweating?”
I really should have caught my breath before knocking. Sprinting all the way from the pond wasn’t such a good idea.
“I…I need to talk to you.” Stepping into the cabin, I saw Rhonda sprawled out on the bed watching a soccer game. She completely ignored my silent plea for her to leave but instead turned up the volume on the TV. “Let’s go outside.”
We walked to a picnic table under a shade tree. Lizzie sat on top of the table and put her feet on the bench. Even though I was pacing back and forth, surprisingly I wasn’t nervous. Now that it was actually happening, I felt relieved to get it over with. I paced because I wasn’t sure how to begin. Lizzie was quiet as her eyes followed me back and forth.
“Lizzie.”
“Yes?”
“Lizzie.” I took a deep breath and faced her head-on. “I have something important to say. But what’s most important to me is our friendship, so if what I say turns you off in any way, I don’t want it to come between us, okay?”
“Malley, you’re not making any sense. And you’re kinda freaking me out right now.”
Okay, not off to a great start.
“Listen, I’ll just come right out and say it, but don’t feel bad if you turn me down. I would understand.” Okay, maybe I was a little nervous after all. “Lizzie, I think we’re really great together. You’re my best friend. I love spending time with you and being with you. You’re absolutely beautiful and someone I would be honored to be with. I just…would you ever consider dating me? I’ve wanted to ask you for so long now, but you were with Heather. So, you know, would you want to? Date me, I mean?” I paused, but then remembered an important addendum. “And I don’t mean in a rebound, transitional girlfriend way either. I mean, in a real together way.”
