Hold Onto the Stars by Tracy Broemmer
Chapter 14
The dress surprised him.CJ’s long, lean legs bare under the dress poleaxed him.
“Too much?” she asked quietly.
It wasn’t. Too much. It wasn’t over-the-top fancy. Not a cocktail dress. Nothing churchy. Just a sweet, fun summer dress that made everything in his body hurt. She might have turned him down at first. She might have given in and kissed him a couple of times this week. But the dress seemed to send a message. Something along the lines of I want to do this.
Her enthusiasm for their date made him so happy, it kind of hurt his heart. It had been so long since he’d been this attracted to anyone, and those long legs and that sweet smile were only half of what he liked about her. Peyton wasn’t a believer in love at first sight or fate, but something about CJ made him want to rethink his views.
“Peyton?”
Her thick, butterscotch voice yanked him from his thoughts. Yanked his eyes from her legs and back up to meet hers. For a moment, he was blank, lost in her eyes and thinking about kissing her again. When she dragged her teeth over her plump bottom lip, he couldn’t help but watch.
“You look beautiful,” he said truthfully.
“Less manly,” she countered.
“There’s nothing manly about that body.” His voice was gruff with barely controlled lust. “And you rock cargo pants like nobody’s business.”
CJ’s laugh chased a million jolts of electricity over his skin. His jeans were worn and faded, which generally meant comfortable. But the fly was suddenly uncomfortably tight.
“I should have brought you flowers,” he mumbled.
“Oh my God.” She rolled her eyes and laughed again. “No. I’m not a flower kind of girl.”
“Why’s that?”
“Guys don’t bring me flowers.”
“Their mistake.” He shrugged and tipped his head. “Doesn’t mean you’re not a flower kind of girl.”
Eyes locked with his, she arched her brows slightly, as if she was taken aback by his comment.
“Are you ready?”
“Yeah.” She nodded and linked her fingers with his when he reached for her hand.
At the passenger door, Peyton stopped and leaned in to kiss her cheek. She eyed him silently as he helped her up into her seat.
“Still thinking The Rox?” he asked her when he climbed into the driver’s side.
“Not a lot to choose from here,” she reminded him. “Farm Barn. Gino’s is good.” She shot him a grin and shrugged.
“Does Gino’s have anything besides pizza on the menu?”
“A few pasta dishes. And a basic burger.”
“Which do you want?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“You choose.”
CJ turned her attention to her window. “There’ll be less of a crowd at Gino’s right now.”
“Are you still worried about what people are going to say?”
She whipped her head around and looked at him with wide eyes.
“No. I just thought it would be easier to have a conversation at Gino’s. But if you prefer The Rox, it’s fine. Just remember if we shoot a game of pool, I’m likely to hand you your ass.”
“If you think I’m gonna watch every guy in the joint stare at your ass in that short dress while you shoot pool, you’re crazy.”
She gaped at him for a moment as if she was stunned by his comment. Peyton held the eye contact as long as he could, but he finally looked back at the road.
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?” She twisted a bit sideways and tucked her left leg under her right. Peyton eyed the smooth expanse of sun-kissed skin and swallowed hard.
“I shouldn’t have said that.”
“What?”
“I don’t own you, and it was a crude remark,” he said quietly. “But that dress doesn’t cover a lot. Just saying.”
“Peyton?”
He glanced at her.
“Guys around here don’t say that kind of thing to me.” She quirked an eyebrow at him and then gave in with a big grin.
“I find that hard to believe, Crosby Jean Everhart.”
“I dated when I was younger,” she told him. “Now, it’s kind of like catch and release in a small pond, ya know?”
“You saying you’re going out with me because I’m different? Something new?”
She laughed softly. “Probably because you’re a Sox fan, and that fascinates me.”
Peyton nodded his head side to side and flashed her a smile. “I’ll take what I can get.”
“And because of the way you looked at me the first time we saw each other.”
Her words wrapped around his heart and squeezed so hard, all the blood in his body crashed south to his cock.
“At Bender’s,” he said quietly. “When we were watching the game.”
She nodded.
“And you let your best friend go out with me.”
“She texted me while we were sitting there. Told me Leslie wanted to set her up. She asked my advice.”
“And you said yes?”
CJ nodded. “I had no idea she was talking about the smokin’ hot Sox fan sitting at the bar beside me,” she reminded him.
“I talked to Violet,” he told her now.
She nodded. “I know. Is that really what you wanna say after I said you’re smokin’ hot?”
He grinned. “If you felt that way before, why did you try to push me at Violet once we officially met?”
“Because you guys would be perfect together,” she said simply.
“And why can’t we be perfect together?”
He tapped the brakes at a four-way stop. She looked away when he glanced at her.
“I’m not—” From the corner of his eye, Peyton saw her lick her lips and then blow out a sigh. “I’m not a ‘perfect together’ kind of girl.”
“Maybe not yet.” He glanced at her as he eased the SUV into a parking space across the street from Gino’s. “The night’s still young.”
Peyton held his breath, wondering if he had gone too far. He didn’t want to push, but her insistence that he would be better off with Violet bothered him. He had eyes and brains and a heart, and he wanted CJ. Surely, that had to mean something to her, didn’t it?
That laugh again. Peyton had to control himself not to shiver with pleasure as she peeked at him and tipped her head back with laughter.
“Do they serve wine here?” He glanced across the street at the awning over the glass door and looked back at CJ, who nodded. “Anything good?”
“I know as much about wine as I do Sox statistics, Peyton.” She shrugged. “They have a red. And a white.”
He flinched. “’Kay. Two things.”
“Yeah?” She leaned toward him the slightest bit and lowered her eyes to his lips.
“Three things,” he corrected himself. “One.” Unable to wait any longer, he lifted his hand and cupped her face. “I’ve been dying to do this.” She met his kiss with parted lips, her breath warm and minty over his face. The kiss was soft and sweet as CJ slid her tongue over his lip to touch his.
“What else?”
“Skipping the wine.” He nuzzled her cheek with his nose and tapped soft kisses in a trail to her ear. “And we’re going to do a road trip.”
“A road trip?” She sounded curious. When he drew back to look at her, she watched him with a slight frown. “Little soon to meet your family, isn’t it?”
“I was thinking wine country.”
“That’s not a road trip, Peyton,” she argued softly. “That’s a boarding pass.”
“Do you like wine?”
She kissed him again, peppering the corner of his lips and his cheek with her soft, fluttery lips.
“Not a lot.”
“Not yet.”
She laughed softly and shook her head. “You’re making me want to skip dinner.”
“Talking about wine?”
“Kissing me like this.”
“At the moment, you’re kissing me,” he reminded her.
“What if kissing Violet is better than me?”
“Crosby.” He smoothed his thumb over her cheekbone. “When you put your mouth on mine, all I want is to consume you. Heart and soul.”
To prove his point, he kissed her again. No more soft and sweet. This time, his tongue plundered her mouth, reaching, dancing with hers until they were both gasping for air.
“We should go in.” She cleared her throat. “I gave up making out in cars when I was nineteen.”
Peyton ducked his head, but not before he met her eyes and flashed her a grin. “Gimme a minute.” He squirmed in his seat, embarrassed by his erection.
She tipped her head and quirked an eyebrow at him. “Want me to say something dull? Something totally not sexy? Like I could recite the Sox starting lineup,” she offered.
“Stop talking.” He laughed and gave in to adjust his cock, now straining against his fly. “Your voice is sex and honey.”
“Sounds sticky.”
“Not helping.”
“’Kay. Changed my mind.” She opened her door. Peyton tried to swallow around his thick tongue as she stretched first one and then the other long leg out of the vehicle. The hem of her dress rode high on her thighs as she hopped out of the SUV. “You are gonna have to feed me.”
He hadn’t known what to expect, but the first thing he noticed when they entered Gino’s was the mouthwatering aroma of garlic.
“Is Gino Italian? Is there really a Gino? Or is it an old married couple named Don and Barb, who just happen to make delicious food?”
CJ laughed at him over her shoulder, but she waved at a woman across the room and then turned her attention to the hostess, who appeared to be just a bit older than one of his students. Peyton eyed the girl warily, wondering when he’d gotten old. Obviously, the girl was old enough to have a job, but she was the picture of wide-eyed innocence.
When she snatched two menus from the stack, CJ reached for his hand. Marveling at her lack of self-consciousness, Peyton linked his fingers with hers and followed her to the booth the girl indicated.
“What’s wrong?” CJ asked when they were alone. “You’re frowning.”
“She looks twelve,” he announced. “I’m trying to figure out when I got old.”
“Amen.” She opened a menu, barely glanced at it, and then put it down.
“You’re not old,” he argued. “What’s good?”
“We’ve established that I’m older than you. The pasta is all good. Depends on what kind of sauce you like.”
“Do you ever feel like time’s running out? Is the lasagna good?”
“Delicious, and what the heck does that mean? Die another day, man.”
Their eyes met over the table, and they launched into a hearty laugh.
“Just that most people our age are married. With mortgages and soccer vans and families.”
CJ’s eyebrows jumped at his comment, but their waitress approached to get their orders, and Peyton was left to wonder what she was thinking.