Ten Below ZeroTen Below Zero(29)

Everett was pouring a drink into a glass. Jasmine was sitting on the counter a few feet from him, swinging her long tanned legs back and forth. She laughed again at something Everett said.

A second later, I was in the kitchen, interrupting their cozy chat.

Jasmine eyed me with humored malice. I braced myself.

“Is this the guy?” she asked, not bothering to lower her voice. She was closer to Everett than she was to me, so she might as well have yelled the question.

“What do you mean?”

“That date you went on?”

Everett turned to look at me. “Was that a date?”

“No.” My answer came quickly.

Everett leaned against the counter, so now both Everett and Jasmine were facing me.

“Well, the first time wasn’t a date. But what about the second time? Or the third time? Or the fourth time?” he asked each question between sips, as if giving each one contemplation.

Jasmine’s eyes were so big, they looked like they’d fall right out of her face. “Four dates? How long have you known him, Parker?”

“Not even a week yet,” Everett said, glancing at Jasmine. “And tomorrow, she’s coming with me on a road trip.”

I closed my eyes and clenched my fists. Damn, Everett. When I opened them, Jasmine was looking at me questioningly. “Is this a joke?”

“No.” All I could manage was one-word answers, apparently.

Jasmine looked at me for a minute. I could practically see the gears in her head rotating. She pursed her lips and turned to Everett. “Really? You’re taking her?”

Everett had been sipping his drink until she asked that. He pulled the drink from his lips and his eyebrows drew together. “I am,” he confirmed.

Jasmine narrowed her eyes. “You don’t know her all that well. She’s kind of a wet blanket.”

Rage burned in my fists. What was wrong with me? I never let Jasmine get to me, ever. I usually brushed her shenanigans off. But what she said to Everett bothered me more than I cared to admit.

Everett set his glass on the counter and pushed away, putting distance from Jasmine, closing the distance to me. He was facing me now, on the opposite side of the kitchen, with his back to Jasmine. I watched his eyes roam over me. “She’s not.”

“What?” Jasmine asked, already forgetting what she’d just said.

“Parker isn’t a wet blanket.” Everett said, staring at me. “She’s much more than that.” He stepped closer. I gripped the counter behind me. “She’s got a bunch of layers,” he continued, advancing. I doubted Jasmine was even listening anymore, probably succumbing to her inebriation judging by the way she swayed on the counter.

“So, in fact, you’re the wet blanket. For only seeing the superficial. “ The words were said to her, but they were meant for me to hear. Everett was so close now that I couldn’t see beyond him. And I didn’t care to. He had a small smile on his face. He took the final step that pushed his hips against mine, pinning me to the counter at my back. And then he cupped my jaw in his hands and covered my mouth with his.

This time, he kissed me with affection. I felt it in the way his lips brushed my lips first, getting me used to the feel, to the pressure. And then he pushed softly against my top lip with his tongue. My mouth opened and my eyes closed and then his arms wrapped tightly around me, crushing me to him. I gasped in his mouth and gripped tightly to his waist through his shirt. His lips and tongue were moving a devastatingly slow pace against my lips, savoring me. Kissing me with emotion. My heart beat a passionate beat, echoing the beat I felt from his own.

“Parker?”

Everett slowly stopped kissing me. He didn’t pull back immediately at the intrusion. Instead, he took his time leveling off the kiss, ending it with one chaste lips-to-lips kiss.

When he backed away, I couldn’t move my eyes from him. He looked at me sadly before looking away, grabbing his drink and taking a large pull.

“Parker?” the voice asked again. Dazed, I turned my head to the right, finding Carly standing at the threshold to the kitchen, a bottle of wine in hand. And then I looked at Jasmine again.

“Are you drinking this early?” I asked.

Carly frowned. “Jasmine ran into an ex. She’s self-medicating.” Jasmine had one hundred exes. I tried not to roll my eyes. Carly shook her head.

“Who’s that?” she asked as if Everett wasn’t even in the same room still.

Everett rubbed his lips together. “I’m Everett.” He nodded at Carly, but turned his brooding eyes back to me.

“Uh, hi,” Carly replied. She walked into the kitchen, a look of confusion clearly evident on her face. She reached into the drawer next to me and grabbed the bottle opener. She placed it on top of the bottle and began screwing into the cork. Awkward silence hung in the air amongst us before I finally said, “Goodnight Carly,” and walked out of the kitchen.

Thankfully Everett was close behind me. I opened the door to my bedroom and after Everett had followed me in, I closed it and leaned against it.

“Your roommates are nosey,” Everett commented, sitting back on the bed. He reached into the suitcase again.

“You would know,” I said, snatching a bra from his hands.

Everett shrugged. “It’s underwear. More specifically, it’s your underwear. I’m intrigued.”