tiny cut on her lower lip. “You bit your lip. I thought I tasted blood.” He kissed the small wound.
She smiled lazily, wrapping her hands around his neck. “I can't be held responsible for anything that happens when you make love to me. Sometimes I feel like it's not even me. I'm outside my body, looking down at one lucky, lucky woman.”
“Oh, it's you, all right.” He clutched her to him. “What you said, about me taking you to another place? I feel that, too, Joss. Something incredible—indescribable—happens when we're together. I can't explain it, but I know I love it.” It might have been the intensity of their coupling, or one of another thousand feelings that raced through him, but he found himself murmuring, “I love you .”
Joss smiled, reached for his face and lowered it to hers. “I love you, too, Jake. And I'd love to stay here and talk about it all night, but I just realized I'm starving!”
He chuckled. “Such a romantic. Come on.” They each threw on one of his robes and wandered to the kitchen, raiding the refrigerator for sustenance. Over cold chicken and greasy fried wontons, they talked nonstop. “First girlfriend?” she asked, nibbling a wing.
“Donna Martin, third grade. She had braces. I thought they were so cool.”
“Oh my God!” Joss laughed. “First serious girlfriend, you know. Time and place.”
“Oh, the first time I did it ? Lord. That would have been after the Jackson Heights football game. We won, and I was pumped.”
“You played? What position?”
“Are we still talking sex here?”
She swatted his arm, and they chuckled. “Okay,” he continued. “I played quarterback for two years.”
“Did you play in college?”
“Nah, I knew what I wanted to do. College football required a commitment I wasn't prepared to invest. It was fun in high school, though.”
“So back to the Jackson Heights game. You won, and—?”
“And Marcy Sharvis was the head cheerleader. She had this short little skirt, a really tight sweater, and these pom poms…”
“Oh my God!” She squealed. “Did she keep her uniform on?”
“Part of it, I shoved the skirt up. But we had to lose the sweater, you know. It's a guy thing. We used the pom poms for a pillow in the back seat of my Chevy, so her head was surrounded by these blue and white wispy puffs. I can still remember how she looked, lying there. Course, she wasn't there for very long. It was my first time and all.”
Joss broke into peals of laughter, holding her stomach.
He grinned. “Fortunately for you, I've developed self-control over the years.”
“Thank God!” She managed to get out, still laughing.
“Okay, you next. First time, who and where.”
She gulped some water and wiped tears from her eyes. “Damn, you crack me up. I don't have nearly as funny of a story to tell. Mark Williams, in college. We went out, he got me drunk, drove me to a secluded spot. He had a small car, so he threw a blanket out on the ground. That's about all I can remember, except how much it hurt. I cried , he was pissed because he didn't come, and he drove me home. I never saw him again.”
Jake's face tightened. “Did you call anyone? Report him?”
She shrugged. “For what? He didn't rape me. I thought it seemed like a good idea at the time, but apparently he didn't have the finesse to pull it off. There wasn't much good about it, but it was mutual.”
“That sucks, babe. I hate that story. Tell me a better one.”
“I'm not giving you a list of the guys I've been with. There aren't that many, but it feels a little weird, Jake.”
“You started this line of questioning. The last one, then. Who was your last boyfriend, and why did you break up?”
“That's easy. I can do that. Fred Deane, a guy from the restaurant where I worked. Great big hulking black guy. You'd have thought a man with such God-given gifts might have known how to use his assets a little better. He was pathetic!”
They laughed again. Jake was
She smiled lazily, wrapping her hands around his neck. “I can't be held responsible for anything that happens when you make love to me. Sometimes I feel like it's not even me. I'm outside my body, looking down at one lucky, lucky woman.”
“Oh, it's you, all right.” He clutched her to him. “What you said, about me taking you to another place? I feel that, too, Joss. Something incredible—indescribable—happens when we're together. I can't explain it, but I know I love it.” It might have been the intensity of their coupling, or one of another thousand feelings that raced through him, but he found himself murmuring, “I love you .”
Joss smiled, reached for his face and lowered it to hers. “I love you, too, Jake. And I'd love to stay here and talk about it all night, but I just realized I'm starving!”
He chuckled. “Such a romantic. Come on.” They each threw on one of his robes and wandered to the kitchen, raiding the refrigerator for sustenance. Over cold chicken and greasy fried wontons, they talked nonstop. “First girlfriend?” she asked, nibbling a wing.
“Donna Martin, third grade. She had braces. I thought they were so cool.”
“Oh my God!” Joss laughed. “First serious girlfriend, you know. Time and place.”
“Oh, the first time I did it ? Lord. That would have been after the Jackson Heights football game. We won, and I was pumped.”
“You played? What position?”
“Are we still talking sex here?”
She swatted his arm, and they chuckled. “Okay,” he continued. “I played quarterback for two years.”
“Did you play in college?”
“Nah, I knew what I wanted to do. College football required a commitment I wasn't prepared to invest. It was fun in high school, though.”
“So back to the Jackson Heights game. You won, and—?”
“And Marcy Sharvis was the head cheerleader. She had this short little skirt, a really tight sweater, and these pom poms…”
“Oh my God!” She squealed. “Did she keep her uniform on?”
“Part of it, I shoved the skirt up. But we had to lose the sweater, you know. It's a guy thing. We used the pom poms for a pillow in the back seat of my Chevy, so her head was surrounded by these blue and white wispy puffs. I can still remember how she looked, lying there. Course, she wasn't there for very long. It was my first time and all.”
Joss broke into peals of laughter, holding her stomach.
He grinned. “Fortunately for you, I've developed self-control over the years.”
“Thank God!” She managed to get out, still laughing.
“Okay, you next. First time, who and where.”
She gulped some water and wiped tears from her eyes. “Damn, you crack me up. I don't have nearly as funny of a story to tell. Mark Williams, in college. We went out, he got me drunk, drove me to a secluded spot. He had a small car, so he threw a blanket out on the ground. That's about all I can remember, except how much it hurt. I cried , he was pissed because he didn't come, and he drove me home. I never saw him again.”
Jake's face tightened. “Did you call anyone? Report him?”
She shrugged. “For what? He didn't rape me. I thought it seemed like a good idea at the time, but apparently he didn't have the finesse to pull it off. There wasn't much good about it, but it was mutual.”
“That sucks, babe. I hate that story. Tell me a better one.”
“I'm not giving you a list of the guys I've been with. There aren't that many, but it feels a little weird, Jake.”
“You started this line of questioning. The last one, then. Who was your last boyfriend, and why did you break up?”
“That's easy. I can do that. Fred Deane, a guy from the restaurant where I worked. Great big hulking black guy. You'd have thought a man with such God-given gifts might have known how to use his assets a little better. He was pathetic!”
They laughed again. Jake was
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