It’s time to sample teasers from a wide range of talented authors. A little something we like to call the Mid Week Tease, hosted by the fabulous Sandra Bunino. If you missed my tease last week (and you probably did, because like the genius I sometimes am, I forgot to sign up for last week’s tease) you’ll find that Melanie and Raine…ahem…made a connection. It’s now the morning after that delicious feeling of complete and utter ecstasy and Mel is still getting to know this new side of Raine.
<=====Excerpt of Making the First Move=====>
Saturday morning I awake alone, tangled in the sheet. I roll over and look at the clock. It’s ten-thirty. Sitting up, I look around for evidence of my night with Raine. I need confirmation that it wasn’t an exceedingly vivid fantasy. Raine’s clothes are no longer on the floor where he’d tossed them last night, but I smell food and hear pots clanging.
Slipping from under the covers, I hurry into the bathroom, grateful I won’t be forced to do an awkward sheet shimmy.
The mirror reveals what Raine must have seen this morning. Hair smashed flat on one side, crust in the corners of my eyes—and is that dried drool? I shudder.
Standing under the steaming hot water in the shower, I lather my hair, replaying the night before. Finally I emerge from the bathroom in my bathrobe—teeth brushed, body scrubbed, hair washed and pulled into a neat, low bun.
I follow the tantalizing aroma of breakfast. Raine stands at the stove barefoot in jeans and an undershirt. He turns toward the sound of my footsteps. His eyes light up and he breaks into a grin that flexes every muscle in his face. The last time someone was this glad to see me, I had to take him for a walk and give him doggy treats.
“Morning, sleepyhead.” He leans in to kiss me then quickly returns his attention to the skillet. “Hungry?”
“You cuddle. You spend the night. You make breakfast.” I shake my head. “Are you for real? ’Cause I’ve seen this in Lifetime movies. It doesn’t end well.”
When he looks away quickly, I’m afraid I’ve offended him. But then the right side of his mouth turns up in a half smile.
“Consider yourself the beneficiary of two decades of trial and error,” he says. “Or maybe this is all part of my evil plan.” He raises his eyebrows up and down manically.
“So there is an evil plan. Well, that’s a relief.” I smile. “But I shouldn’t be surprised. There’s a lot more to you than you let on.” I gently trace the sword tattoo on his right arm with my fingertips.
Raine offers a quick smile before he focuses on his cooking again. He slides a spatula underneath the omelet he’s cooking and gently flips it. “Like I said, things were crazy for a few years. My mother likes to call it my ‘Tattoo Period.’”
“Looks like you were quite the badass.” I touch the faded blue head of a large phoenix across his back. “Exactly how many tattoos do you have?”
“Four. One on each arm. One on my chest. One on my back. It only looks like more because of their size.” He picks up a strip of bacon and offers it to me. I take a bite. “That’s practically a choir boy by NBA standards.”
“True.” I nibble on the bacon. “Still, there must be a helluva story behind every one of those.”
“There is.” A hint of perturbance flashes behind stormy gray eyes. “But that’s a conversation for another day.” The corner of his mouth lifts in a subdued smile as he hands me another piece of bacon.
“Okay,” I concede, taking a seat behind the breakfast bar. “I’m absolutely starving and everything smells and tastes delicious. I have to admit, I’m pretty impressed.”
“Don’t be. It’s the only meal in my repertoire.” His shoulders relax and he smiles. “Got any plans this weekend?”
At least a hundred things I should be doing come to mind. There are plans to make and five years of my life to pack. “Nothing really.”
“I thought we could hang out this weekend.”
“Sounds nice. What did you have in mind?”
“How about a picnic in the park this afternoon?”
“A picnic? I haven’t been on one since I was a kid.”
My dad loved picnics. We would each make our own sandwiches. Mom would make one of her homemade apple pies. We’d play bocce ball. I haven’t thought about those family picnics for years.
I can see and hear my dad so clearly. His broad smile. The glint in his eyes. His contagious laugh. I miss him. But I’m taken off guard by how much I miss the other faces around that picnic blanket—my mother, my sister and Jamie.
“You alright?” Raine sets breakfast in front of me.
“I’m fine. Just thinking about…a picnic.” I smile. “I’d love to go.”
“Great. Now, try this.” He feeds me the spinach omelet he’s been making.
“Delish.” I take the fork from him, stab another forkful and shove it into my mouth.
He pours me a glass of orange juice.
“What else is on the agenda this weekend?” I ask between bites of omelet.
Raine stands behind me and wraps his arms around my waist. “Let’s just say omelets and orange juice aren’t the only O I plan to give you this weekend.” He laughs when I drop my fork. “I have a few errands to run this morning and I need to go home and change first,” he continues.
“Would it be easier if I just got dressed and went with you?” I ask, hoping for a chance to see his place.
“No,” he says quickly. “I mean, it won’t take me long. I’ll be back in a couple of hours. When I get back maybe I can show you a few more of my…hidden talents.”
Clearing my throat, I try to smile demurely. “I think that can be arranged.” I take a sip of orange juice.
“Then it’s a date.” Raine turns my chair around and kisses me long and hard. A kiss that melts me like a pudding pop dropped on a sizzling summer sidewalk.
I squeeze my eyes shut and remind myself not to get used to this. In a few days I’ll be back in Cleveland for a visit. Less than a month from now my fling with Raine will be nothing more than a pleasant memory.
So why am I missing him from the moment the door clicks shut?
<=====END OF EXCERPT=====>
Hmm…seems like things are going to be a bit more complicated than Mel had hoped. Next time we’ll see what happens after she returns from her quick trip home, where she reunites with her family and best friend/sister, Jamie Charles, of Love Me Not. But now it’s time to see what everyone else is offering this week. I’ll see you at the next stop.
Happy teasing!