LITMIR.BIZ

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and again.

      She’d had girlfriends who’d dated their male buddies, only for it to end in disaster. And then not only was the relationship over, but the friendship was, as well. Deanna could easily explore more with Eric…but at what cost?

      The desserts came, which they ate while enjoying Trey’s music. He finished a particularly poignant song about love and loss to huge applause, after which he bowed and thanked everyone for listening. “I’ve got CDs for sale,” he added. “Only ten dollars. If you’re interested, come on up.”

      Lifting her clutch purse off of the table, Deanna stood. “Ten dollars is a steal. I’m going to get one.”

      She noticed others were approaching Trey, also eager to buy his CD. As she waited, she pulled two twenties out of her wallet. And when it was her turn to step up to Trey, she said, “I’ll take two.”

      He began to scrawl his signature on the first case with a silver Sharpie. “You enjoyed the show?”

      “Oh, no doubt,” Deanna told him. “You were amazing.” As a musician, she knew how nice it was to receive feedback. “Definitely very talented.”

      “Thanks,” he said, beaming. “That means a lot, coming from someone like you.”

      “Someone like me?”

      He gave her a knowing look. “I know who you are,” he said. “And yeah, to hear that you enjoyed my music just made my night.”

      He passed her the signed CDs, and she saw that on the top one he had written Ms. Hart, it’s a pleasure!! Which only confirmed that he knew exactly who she was.

      “Thank you,” Deanna told him. Then she gave him the money.

      “No problem,” Trey said, accepting the bills and heartily shaking her hand. Then he noticed that she’d given him two twenties and said, “You gave me too much.”

      He offered her back a twenty, but Deanna waved a dismissive hand. “That’s a steal for the entertainment you provided.”

      And she was suddenly struck with an idea. For the past few years, she thought that to continue her career meant releasing another album. But that wasn’t necessarily true. She could just as easily have a fulfilling career singing at small venues and clubs. Performing in a more intimate setting, like she had at the charity auction her sister had hosted last month.

      “Hopefully I’ll see you here again,” she told Trey.

      “Every Tuesday night, six-thirty.”

      Deanna felt the hand creep around her waist then, and tingles of pleasure shot through her side. She looked to her right, into Eric’s handsome face. And her heart began to thud hard. Good Lord, Eric’s hand felt good on her body.

      His fingers splayed over her hip, and a slow breath oozed out of Deanna. She missed a man touching her like this, she realized.

      Eric offered his free hand to Trey. “Great show.”

      Trey pumped his hand. “Thanks, man.”

      “I’ve settled the bill,” Eric told her as he led her a few steps away.

      “Oh, thank you.” She passed him one of Trey’s CDs. “And this is for you.”

      Eric eyed the CD. “Great, thanks.”

      His hand stayed on her waist as he led her to the restaurant’s exit. Deanna felt warring emotions inside of her. On one hand, she wanted to throw caution to the wind and tell Eric that she wanted to go back to his place with him. She was certain that he would be an excellent lover.

      But on the other hand, she couldn’t stop thinking about the fact that this was Eric, Marvin’s older brother. A friend she had always been able to count on.

      A friend she didn’t want to lose again.

      They said goodbye to the hostess and then headed to the door. Eric released her as he pushed the door open and held it for Deanna to pass.

      Deanna felt a little chill as she stepped outside and the night air enveloped her, and she rubbed her arms.

      “Here.” Eric slipped off his blazer and put it around Deanna’s shoulders.

      “Thanks,” she said.

      “I bet you forgot how cool it can get here, living in sunny California.”

      “California has its share of cold days,” Deanna told him. “I really enjoyed the dinner. It was nice to get out,” she added.

      “No problem. Thank you for joining me.”

      She began to shrug out of his jacket. “I’ll be fine getting to my car. It’s just around the corner.”

      Eric placed a hand on her shoulder, stopping her from removing the jacket. “You can return it tomorrow.”

      “Oh. Okay.”

      Though there was no need for him to continue touching her, he didn’t remove his hand. Deanna stared up at him, feeling her internal temperature rise.

      And then he did something she didn’t expect. He lowered his hand to her waist, then put his other hand on the other side of her waist.

      Deanna didn’t need the jacket to keep warm. Not at all…

      “I never forgot about you,” Eric said in a low, throaty voice.

      Dusk had turned to dark since they’d arrived for dinner, and the streetlights provided the only illumination as they stood on the sidewalk. But Deanna wouldn’t have needed that to see the heat swirling in Eric’s eyes.

      “I…” She didn’t know what to say. This moment was surreal. Certainly one she’d never expected to experience. Not after she had run from Cleveland and left everyone and everything here in the rearview mirror.

      “But truly,” Eric went on, “this is what I thought about. Wondered about. Wished I’d gotten the chance to do.”

      “Hmm?” Deanna asked, not understanding.

      But a moment later, Eric’s comment became crystal clear when he placed a finger beneath her chin, tilted her head upward to his, brought his mouth down onto hers and kissed her.

      * * *

      He kissed me.

      It was all Deanna could think about later as she lay in bed, wondering what exactly had happened.

      One minute, she had been going out for dinner with an old friend to catch up on all that had happened in his life over the years. The next, he had been revealing that he’d always been attracted to her.

      And then he had laid one on her.

      Deanna felt warmth as she thought about it. Her toes actually wiggled. Oh, boy—did Eric ever know how to kiss a woman….

      Right there on the sidewalk, as his mouth had come down on hers, she was lost. His velvety smooth lips had made the sweetest contact with hers, and Deanna had sighed with pleasure.

      The kiss had been full of fire, eliciting passion while respectfully not crossing the line. He had left her bedazzled while kissing her without using his tongue. Instead, his lips had skillfully and teasingly played over hers. And when he had softly suckled her bottom lip, Deanna had thought she would go mad with lust.

      That’s what she was feeling now as she lay on her bed. Lust.

      It had been a long time since she had slept with a man. She and Brian had gone to bed only a few times, and she hadn’t felt a smidgen of the fire and passion in his bed as she had tonight while kissing Eric on the street.

      Before Brian, it had been a good year since her last relationship. And she hadn’t really missed the sex.

      But now…

      Deanna rolled onto her back and closed her eyes. Closed her eyes and replayed the kiss with Eric in her mind.

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