Page 58 of Dating and Other Theories
She usually preferred thick, muscular guys. Lumberjack types. She wasn’t exactly petite herself, and she liked men who looked like they could carry her out of a burning building without throwing out their backs. But maybe she was changing her tune. Starting to appreciate the virtues of tall, lanky men.
Yeah, okay, she needed to stop this. Drooling over him while he slept, like a creepy creeper.
She reached over and nudged his shoulder. “Hey, Sleeping Beauty, wake up.”
His eyes snapped open. “Hmmm?”
She smiled at his adorable sleepy-face. “You fell asleep.”
“Oh.” He sat up and stretched. When his T-shirt rode up this time, Esther made herself look away. “What time is it?”
“Almost midnight.” Jinny was coming over tomorrow morning, and Esther would need to clean up before she got there. If there were too many beer bottles in the trash or dishes sitting out, she might ask who Esther had been entertaining.
“Better take myself off to bed before my chariot turns back into a pumpkin.”
“That’s Cinderella.”
“Whatever.” He got to his feet, shouldered the messenger bag containing his laptop, and extended a hand to Esther. “Walk me out?”
Against her better judgment, she let him pull her off the couch. He held on to her hand, tugging her along with him to the door. When they got there, he stopped and faced her. “Tonight was fun.” He held fast to her hand, rubbing his thumb over her knuckles.
“Yeah. It was.” what she saw in his eyes made her chest feel tight, like she couldn’t get enough air.
A soft smile stole over his face. The way he was looking at her…it was like he wanted something but was afraid to ask. No, not something. Her. He was looking at her like he wanted her.
He leaned closer, and Esther tensed. Flinched, really. Oops.
He halted, his blue eyes locked on hers. Studying her. She couldn’t seem to look away, even when she felt a flush creep up her throat and spread out over her face. His body loomed over hers, as close as they could be without actually touching. Breathing each other’s air. His heat warming the surface of her skin like sunshine.
The silence stretched out between them. She felt like she should say something, but the power of speech had abandoned her.
His hand squeezed hers. Then he bent his head, twisting it to the side, and kissed her cheek. Her eyes fluttered closed as his lips lingered on her skin.
When he straightened, his eyes searched hers again. Evaluating her reaction.
She wondered what he was seeing. Her emotions were a messy, churning stew of relief, disappointment, hope, lust, guilt, and embarrassment. God only knew what that looked like on her face.
A crooked grin spread over his face. “I’ll see you around,” he said, and let himself out.
When Esther got into bed that night, her face was still tingling where his lips had touched her. If she closed her eyes, she could feel the rasp of his beard on her cheek. His breath hot and sultry on her skin.
Sleep was a long time coming.
Chapter Sixteen
Okay, so maybe Esther wanted to sleep with Jonathan. So what? She was a grown woman, in charge of her own libido. Just because she wanted something didn’t mean she was going to do it. It wasn’t like he was irresistible.
Only, he kind of was. Every time she thought about his stupid cute face with his stupid kind eyes and stupid sexy mouth, her insides started to feel all soft and squishy, like she was full of marshmallows. Then she got distracted imagining what it would be like to kiss that mouth. And after that she started imagining doing other things to him—
Nope. Bad idea. Such a bad idea.
In addition to the Jinny of it all, he was a nice guy. Sweet, thoughtful, sensitive. He deserved someone as nice as he was. Someone who could actually care about him.
Esther didn’t do nice, and she didn’t do relationships. She was both unwilling and incapable. If they slept together, she’d only end up hurting him, which she did not want to do. She liked being friends with him. Throwing that away for one night of sex would be stupid. Even if it was very, very good sex—at least the way she imagined it.
Jonathan was off-limits. No matter how hot he was, Esther needed to keep her libido in check.
“Have you ever been measured for a bra?” Jinny asked. The heat wave had broken, so they were down at the pool for the first time in weeks.
