Wow. Jeremy Dumas can kiss.
Kim's brain responded instinctively to the feelings that had overcome her. All other thought shut down. Dazed, the most she could do was just stare up at him when the kiss ended. Then she blinked and reality returned. Embarrassment followed.
"Sorry." Jerry spoke first. "That sort of just. . . happened. I hope I didn't offend you."
"No. Not offended," Kim murmured still mildly stunned. She couldn't ever remember reacting so strongly to a kiss. And with the way she'd kissed him back. . . She lifted a hand to her lips -- they still tingled.
Wow.
Lifting her hand to her mouth maybe hadn't been a good idea. But then again maybe it had. He looked like he wanted to kiss her again. She would have been lying if she said she didn't want him to. But instead, he blinked, and climbed out of the truck.
"What are you doing?" Confusion reigned in the brain.
"I'm walking you to your car."
"Trying to get rid of me are you?" she asked, jokingly. But inside she worried. Was she getting mixed signals. How could he kiss her like that, look at her like that and then pull away?
Jerry looked across at her. "I'm single handedly trying to keep chivalry alive." The words were said jokingly, but Kim didn't miss the deeper meaning in his eyes. He was honoring her by putting a bit of distance between them.
She smiled her appreciation, before climbing out of the truck to meet him.
Jerry twined his fingers with hers and walked with her the few steps to her car. She turned and leaned against it.
"Thanks for everything today."
"You're welcome. It was my pleasure. Really." He smiled, and she couldn't help but to respond. They smiled at one another for several moments, then she broke the silence.
"I should get home." She had an early meeting the next day and a pile of reports to review that night before she made it to bed. Despite how much she enjoyed Jerry's company, it was time to call it in.
His smile turned wry. And then she did something that she probably shouldn't have. She pulled him down to her and she kissed him again. The second was as explosive as the first.
When they parted, Jerry wrapped his arms about her, warming her with his strength. And surrounding her with such a feeling of comfort that she found that she didn't want to let go. The back ground thumping of his heart, however, told her that he was far from calm. But that, too, was comforting in its own way. It let her know that he was as affected as she was.
"Dinner tomorrow?" he murmured into her hair. "Please don't say no."
"I won't. Say no." Though she couldn't see his face, she could feel his smile.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
"I take it the game went well?"
Jerry looked up from his computer at his brother's voice. Joshua half leaned into the office, a mischievous smile on his face.
"We lost," Jerry confessed, saving his document. Not that he'd gotten much work done anyway. He had been far too busy thinking about the events of the night before, and worrying about how things would work out during the evening to come. The suspense was killing him.
"You lost?" Josh looked intrigued. "If that's your lost look, please share the winners look." He moved into the office and settled into one of the cloth backed chairs. His smirk suggested that he knew that something else had happened. Unsurprising since Josh probably knew him better than anyone alive.
Jerry wasn't about to start keeping secrets now. He looked across at his brother, his heart quickening even as he said the words. "I kissed her."
"Whoa." Josh leaned forward. "Did she kiss you back?"
"Oh, yeah." Jerry's answer was emphatic. If he closed his eyes he could still feel her lips on his. "Twice, actually. She agreed to go out for dinner tonight."
Joshua sobered and studied him for several moments. "Where are you taking her?"
"Your old stomping grounds." Jerry's own smile faded in response to his brother's. "Should be nice." He waited a beat. "What's the look for?"
"Five days ago you didn't know her name. Last night you're making out after the soccer game."
"It's not like that," Jerry insisted. "It really feels like I've known her much longer than that. If you count the time since we actually met at the hospital, it's been ten days."
Josh cocked an eye at him. "Well that's a whole lot longer."
"Hey, you weren't warning me off back when we talked Saturday. What's changed since then, or didn't you think I'd ever see again?" He felt himself getting defensive, and he wasn't sure why. Everyone always rode him about his love life.
"To be honest, Jerry, I didn't. Look at it from my stand point. You've had a lot of relationships that were pretty intense in the beginning. Our talk Saturday wasn't the same as all the others. Just. . . take it slow."
Jerry sighed. "Joshua, this is different. I know I haven't known her for very long, but there's just . . . there's something. . . "
"I know," Josh saved him from having to find a way to finish the sentence. "I know. I'm glad you found her. I just want you to be careful. Big brother's intuition. I've a feeling you could really be hurt this time."
"I'll try to be careful," Jerry said, his good humor returning. "If all else fails, I'll call in Joan." His smile broadened as he thought of the housekeeper/nanny that he'd known all of his life.
"Speaking of Joan, how's her sister doing?"
"She's much better. She called last night, in fact. It's making her crazy that she missed the birth and hasn't had a chance to see the baby. But she'll be heading back in another week or so."
"You did tell her that she's more than due for a vacation?"
"Yeah, but you know how she is. She doesn’t listen. Besides, she's more family than employee. We all miss her."
"Someday when I have children of my own, we might have to fight over dear Joan."
Josh looked off in mock seriousness. "The day my brother settles down. . . I'm not sure that's a concept I can fathom. At least not before you turn every hair on my head gray."