Page 21 of Coming Home
“We got cut off at the step show. I was telling you that things didn’t work out with Melissa because I think she knew there was always someone else in the back of my mind.”
“This person who was at the back of your mind . . .”
“You.” I say it so there’s no confusion, and her breath hitches. She lifts her eyes to meet mine and the air smolders with memory and possibility. “When I kissed you, I knew things hadn’t ended with Randy, but I did hope for a beginning with you somehow.”
“We were both so buzzed, I wasn’t sure if you forgot.” Her brief laugh echoes in the corridor. “Hell, sometimes I wasn’t sure if it even happened.”
“Oh it happened.” I reach out to lift her chin, my thumb brushing the velvety skin of her cheek. “Believe it or not, I’ve replayed that kiss more than once over the years.”
I step closer, dipping to catch her eyes. A swallow ripples under the smooth skin of her throat and her breath quickens, betraying how this moment is affecting her. I hope the way it’s affecting me.
“I actually wondered if it was as good as I remembered, or if I’d just built it up to be one of the best kisses of my life,” I say.
“And?” She delivers the word on a husky whisper.
“And.” I step closer. So close she has to tip her head back to hold my gaze. “There’s only one way to find out.”
I palm the curve of her waist, checking her expression for anything less than desire. Less than welcome. With a short intake of breath, she holds my stare and reaches up to cup my jaw. I turn my head, kissing her palm as a prelude. A taste of what’s to come.
Slowly, I lower my head until mere centimeters separate our lips. Our breaths mingle and she lifts, closing the space between us, melding her mouth to mine, opening under mine. The first brush of our tongues sends lightning down my spine, and she shudders against me in response. My hand tightens at her waist and I draw her closer until the curves I’ve been watching all day are pressed into me, fit perfectly to me. She feels as good as she looks, and my hand wanders up to follow the elegant line of her back. If there was an ember left from our first kiss, as soon as our lips touch it ignites. It burns, drawing a groan from me and something that sounds like a whimper from Niomi. The kiss turns ravenous, our heads twisting to deepen it. Our hands roaming almost frantically over one another. I reach up and hold her face between my hands, taking and taking from the sweet heat of her mouth. She gives it to me, gripping my neck and pulling me even closer.
“Niomi!” Janelle’s voice reaches around the corner before she does. “You still back here?”
Niomi pulls away and stares up at me wide-eyed. Her mouth is soft and damp and kiss-swollen. I slump against the wall, my breath coming hard and fast and choppy like I’ve been running. Her breasts heave with her own breaths, swift and shallow.
“Girl, you ready?” Janelle asks, rounding the corner. “We supposed to be meeting . . . oh!”
She swings a surprised glance between the two of us. We’re no longer flush, but my hand still rests at Niomi’s waist, as if even subconsciously, after all these years I’m not ready to let her go again.
“Um,” Janelle says. “Carmella and a few of the other girls are hanging at the hotel tonight. We had talked about going back to their room, but if you can’t?—”
“No, it’s fine.” Niomi smooths the front of her dress with one hand and her hair with the other. “I’ll be right there. Just give me a sec.”
Janelle smirks knowingly before turning to retrace her steps back to the table.
“I . . .I know we have a lot to discuss.” Niomi draws a line down my chest with her index finger. “I mean if you want to continue this . . .conversation.”
“I do. We should.”
“Agreed, but let’s get through all the activity tomorrow and maybe check in after everything is over? I have a really early start and I’ll be working to capture shots. Plus it’s Celine’s big day and I know you want to be there for her, to focus on her.”
“I have to, yes. There’s a lot of ground I need to regain with that kid.”
“I sensed that.”
“You did?”
She takes my hand, squeezes and looks up at me with what feels like sympathy. “Just a vibe and her comment about you being home more.”
“So you did hear that. I came this weekend to be present for her in a way I haven’t always been because my job was such a priority. Sometimes she hasn’t felt like she was the most important thing to me.”
“And this weekend she should.” She gives my hand one more squeeze before releasing it completely. “So you go rest and be ready first thing in the morning at the parade to cheer her on. I’m gonna catch up with these chicks for a little bit, but then I’m going to bed because tomorrow is not all play for me.”
“So you’re working all day?”
“All day, yes.” She steps closer, tips up to whisper in my ear. “But not all night. After the game I’m free.”
On instinct, I palm her waist again, drawing in a deep breath of her fresh scent. “Celine has already told me she won’t have much time for me til Sunday, so after the game, I’ll be free, too.”
