Mister Know It All by Amélie S. Duncan

JASMINE

After capes, there is no embarrassment

It took a couple more weeks before I finally got Ford to agree to go to a karaoke bar in the East Village. The Bar didn’t look like much from the outside, a retail shop glass front with dark velvet curtain windows blocking the outside view. However, once inside, it opened up to a mini-theater with rows of multicolored wooden tables and chairs before a stage. The karaoke had already started, and the hall was filled with a guy singing a throaty falsetto of Adele’s “Skyfall” in a sequin-checkered suit.

Ford had led us from the door to the L-shaped bar for drinks, and even in the soft lights, his gorgeous profile was hard to miss, and tonight was no different. He’d gone casual again as he’d done a few times recently when we went out together, dressed in a fitted shirt and painted-on dark denim jeans that showed off his sexy ass.

He leaned close to the bar and ran a hand back through his thick blond hair, flexing his bicep. That was enough to get the blue-haired swim-suited Bettie Page lookalike behind the bar’s attention. In fact, there were quite a few Bettie Page lookalikes around the bar. This Bettie at the bar leaned forward on her tits and purred, “What would you have, gorgeous?”

“A cosmopolitan for her and a sparkling water for me,” Ford ordered in a polite tone.

“Sparkles for the sparkle,” she said. Her eyes shifted between us, then gave him a wink and an air kiss before leaving to make our drinks. She was confident she’d be able to take him from me.

But Ford wrapped his arms around me from the back and squeezed my waist.

“I only have eyes for you,” he said and kissed the top of my head, and I turned in his arms to face him. He didn’t have to reassure me. His attention never strayed. He made me feel like I was the only one in existence, and he captivated me just as much. When our gazes fused, we both forgot about everything else.

“Make your request for songs here,” Bondage Bettie lookalike at the end of the bar called out.

“What are you going to sing?” I said.

“I don’t sing. I agreed to come. That’s enough,” he said with a glint in his eye.

I put my hands on my hips. “Nope. That wasn’t the agreement. You said we go out together, we do things together.”

Ford surprisingly relented and got the Bettie Page to lean over and let him whisper his choice.

He grinned. “It’s a surprise.”

“So is mine then,” I said, then made a secret selection too.

“Probably Rhianna,” he said and touched my face, lifting it higher so I could meet his eyes. He could read my face so well. His gaze bore in, and there was a warmth that made my heart race.

“Maybe,” I whispered.

His hand lingered, spreading to cup the side of my face. “I’m sorry I had to fly away again. I missed you.”

I swallowed and lowered my eyelids, not trusting my voice not to shake, and decided not to speak. I missed Ford when he traveled, though I did appreciate phone calls and text messages. It wasn’t nearly as great as going to sleep and waking up in his arms, though.

Margot’s absence had put a lot of pressure on his art and design team. He’d already taken the lead on most work, but it seemed he’d been doing more work than the rest. So when he took off, he ended up having to do twice as much to keep things running. I’d complained to Graham, but I already knew HR was scouting to expand the team. They just hadn’t found the right person yet.

“Let’s have fun tonight,” Ford said and kissed my lips.

We didn’t talk about my return to Boston for my last semester next month. I’d extended my time to the first week in September and had already preregistered for my final courses. So much had changed in such a short time. What I could have and what I wanted had changed too.

“Come back to me, Jasmine,” Ford said and kissed me again.

“Your water and virgin drink are ready,” Betty Page called to us loudly, breaking the moment. We collected the drinks, and I followed him to take a seat at an empty table.

We sat down with our drinks and listened to a group sing Spice Girls and Proclaimers and a very soulful Joni Mitchell before I heard my name.

“Next up, Jasmine.”

I drank the rest of my cosmo, but I didn’t need the liquid courage. Rarely did I miss a chance to shine if presented with one.

Bouncing on my feet, I did a running hop on the stage and twirled in a circle just as the notes from Natasha Bedingfield’s “Unwritten”started.

Singing wasn’t my strong point, but karaoke was more about lively entertainment, and I had that. The crowd knew the words and sang the hit along with me. During my woeful running man shuffle and twerk, I looked over at Ford. He took pictures but laughed hard enough to hold his side. Of course, I saved my best dance moves for the end. I spin-kicked, jump-kicked, and slid down to the splits.

The crowd was on their feet cheering and holding up the table candles like I was a rock star. Without a doubt, I rocked.

I swaggered off the stage, and Ford stood up.

I jumped into his arms, and he kissed my lips hard.

“You’re a lot more flexible than you’ve shown me so far.”

“I’ve got to keep you guessing, Mr. Lingren. Hatha Yoga-crazed parents.”

“Bless your parents.”

“You watched me, and sex is the only thing that came to mind?”

“You’re also adorably insane, Jasmine. I loved it.”

“I thought you’d be embarrassed,” I said. “Where are your warnings of memes?”

“After capes, there is no embarrassment,” he said and kissed me.

I’d also been scared of filming tourists, but tonight I didn’t care. I marked the moment, I lived my life the way I wanted to, and it made me feel free. Happy.

After my epic performance, a woman took the stage and slaughtered Rhianna’s “Only Girl,” but I couldn’t help but remember dancing to her music with Ford that first night. How easy things were even then when we were together. How I got off on how he watched me. I didn’t know what I wanted back then, but he’d been right: a selfish summer fling would’ve left me feeling alone, maybe even bitter. What I’d had instead was a handsome man who adored me just as I am.

“Our next singer tonight is Ford.”

Ford stood, and the Bettie let out a catcall. “Oh, yes. Ford. Please bring your fine ass to the stage.”

He took the microphone, and my heart hammered against my ribs. Ford didn’t sing in the car or shower. I hadn’t heard him sing at all yet, so I was on the edge of my seat as “All of Me”by John Legend began to play, and Ford started singing to me. An ambitious song to pull off, but Ford’s tenor was pitch-perfect. I always loved this song. It was a song about true love and acceptance.

“All your perfect imperfections . . .”

My eyes filled, and my vision went blurry. My hand shook as I touched my trembling lips. I never heard love before, but my heart felt it in his song as he sang to me. How Ford saw all of me and didn’t try to change me.

My heart cracked open, and I knew I was in love with him. I had been afraid of love or to even say what I felt because I feared he wouldn’t love me back. But I couldn’t stop my heart. I loved Ford, all of him. His fussy, nerdy, and bossy side. His sex god and tender side. All of them held me all night and whispered his dreams and carried mine.

Love happened fast. Love happened.

He came back and cupped my face, wiping my tears with his thumbs. He took my lips, and I kissed him back.

“Can we go?” I wanted sex, but what I wanted more was to be alone with him.

“Not yet. We still have a song,” Ford said.

“We?” I asked.

“Ford and Jasmine come back on the stage.”

The first notes of “Love Is All Around” By Wet Wet Wet started playing.

My eyes watered. “I can’t sing this.”

“You can,” Ford said. “You love this song. I saw it on the list of your favorite songs on your blog.”

Ford started singing. “I feel it in my fingers . . .”

My eyes watered. “I can’t sing this . . .”

I looked at him, and his eyes shone. “I love you, Jasmine.”

“Ford, right now?” I sobbed.

He wrapped me up in his arms and let me bury my face in his chest while he sang the rest of the song to me. I felt his love surround me. He showed me.

I feel your love, Ford. I love you.

Ford tucked me into his side and walked me off the stage and out of the bar.

“I want to watch you touch me, petal.”

We returned to Ford’s house and went straight to his bed.

My hands hungrily explored his muscles that felt like smooth stone underhand. His cock was long with a thick girth. His strong thigh and legs had soft, light hair. Even his feet looked good. There wasn’t a part of him that didn’t turn me on.

His scent, a combination of his cologne and natural masculine sweat.

For the most part, he laid back and watched my reaction to my discoveries, though he interrupted a few times by putting his hand between my thighs.

“No fair. I’m not done,” I whined. And then moaned when I became caught up in the feel of his hands as he fingered me.

Honestly, I had been taking my time, memorizing him and this surreal time and space I’d fallen into with him, an extraordinary man who made my heart pound and flutter at the same time.

Ford took my wrists and lifted them above my head, then straddled me. Pinning me on my back, he said, “Stay on your back.”

“But I want to watch you.”

His eyes filled with lust, and I shuddered as he caressed my bare mound. “I like the waxing, but I also liked your hair. We’ll get her to leave a small strip next time.”

“You care about that? That’s a bit obsessive.”

“I care about all of you,” he said and kissed the top of my mound. I shuddered and raised my head to look at him. He met my eye with a joyous smile that seeped into my heart. “Every part of you is mine and precious.”

My chin trembled, and I lay back. He claimed me as his own, and he thought of me as precious. A deep longing inside me burst. Will anyone ever treat me as good as Ford treats me? See me as good as he does? I didn’t want to leave him.

“Jasmine, what’s wrong? Please tell me.” He moved me so that we were facing each other.

“I don’t want to leave. I want to stay or come back, not just for work. I want us to see each other.”

Ford smiled broadly, and my heart flipped over. “I want that too, more than anything else.”

“But how will it work when I want to see you every day?” I said, my voice cracking.

His blue eyes shimmered, and he hugged me to him. “We’ll make it work, petal. I want you with me too. We’ll make time.”

“I’m different in college than I am here. I’m a moody mess when it comes to crunch time.”

“I’m not perfect either when I have deadlines.”

“But you’re perfect for me, Ford.”

Ford kissed and cuddled me. He pushed his way into my heart and made a home.

After a while, he placed me on the bed and sat up. “I have something for you.”

He went into the side table and pulled out a rectangular Tiffany box, and cleared his throat. “It’s a charm bracelet. Something you can look at when you’re away that I hope will make you think of me.”

“I don’t think there is a minute of the day that you’re not in my thoughts, Ford.” My eyes filled with tears as he fastened the bracelet to my wrist and kissed my fast pulse. Three charms, evenly spaced. A small camera. Is that the Star Trek insignia? And . . . oh God, I was going to cry. It was an apple with a diamond heart inside it. “It’s beautiful.”

“So are you. You charmed me,” he said and kissed my lips and dabbed my eyes.

“Tears again,” I said, dipping my head.

“Yes,” he said. “Tears for me. You can do anything with me.”

It was like he could hear my deepest longings for someone who wants that emotional connection with me. Who wanted me to remember him and every minute we shared.

“I need to be inside you now,” he groaned and placed me on my back. His hands had already mastered how to touch me right. He was the first man ever to care to find out.

I ran my tongue over my mouth. A pleasurable ache had me opening for him, wanting and needing him just as much now.

Ford’s lips were tender against mine. He squeezed and kissed my breasts, his hands sliding over my thighs and buttocks possessively, and I felt the caress seep down to my soul. He held my deepest, most intimate desires.

My moans were soft and just for him. In his arms, he was all mine, and I was his.

He kissed and licked down my stomach and moved between my thighs again. His hands squeezed my buttocks as his tongue thrust inside me, and his moans joined my own. He took pleasure in making me quiver, making me cry out his name over and over again.

Oh yes, please, Ford.My body trembled on edge, and Ford teased me, changing his touch to light caresses, drawing my pleasure, circling my pussy with the tip of his tongue. My body tightened almost to pain. I lifted my hips and held his head as he closed on my clit. The orgasm burned through me in an intense wave of ecstasy. I cried out. I was still spasming when he slid his cock inside me.

He had my legs on his strong shoulders, and his face was hardened in strength and beauty.

Every inch sent shocks of ecstasy coursing through my body. He hovered above me, and our gazes locked as he thrust. He moved in and out, and we luxuriated in the friction. The sensation was exquisite.

“I need to feel you every damn minute, Jasmine. I never get enough of you.”

The rhythmic strokes of his cock brought me close. I felt my body stiffening and tightening once more. He swiveled his hips as he ground his cock in deeper than he ever had before, and I screamed.

“Take all of me, fuck,” he groaned. “You feel so good.”

His hips rolled and stirred.

“Oh, Ford,” I called out as I came, shaking, moaning his name, my internal walls squeezing around him.

“Oh fuck, Jasmine.” His hands gripped my legs as he shuddered, his cock pulsating as he came. I peered up at him through heavy lids.

“You’re tired, petal.”

He stretched over me, and I wrapped my legs around him, our hearts beating wild against each other, our bodies molded together as one.