Real Men Knit(71)
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“So, what was up with the new little That’s So Raven and the broke-down Blair Underwood?”
Kerry was back at the shop. She had picked up some oxtails, rice and cabbage from the local Jamaican take-out place. She and Jesse had just finished dinner and were now knitting on the living room couch upstairs in the residence.
She was tired after the busy day with the kids and walking back and forth to the community center. So a quiet evening making stitches was pretty much all that was on her mind right now. She guessed Jesse had other plans.
“Huh?” Kerry asked, slightly annoyed to be pulled from her project. It wasn’t complicated, but of course he was talking to her right when she was on a row that required counting. She put her finger in place and made a mental note of where she was while searching for a stitch marker in the bag next to her.
“You know, the little girl with the cute braids but so much chatter and her daaaad.” He said in a long, exaggerated way, suddenly sounding like a tween girl. Kerry would have laughed if he wasn’t being so frustratingly immature.
She put her knitting down. They had at least had a decent afternoon and were settling in for a nice evening, and here he came with the stupid. “Her daaaad.” Oh hell, she was doing it. How was it Jesse could so easily bring out the brat in her? She sighed. “Could you be more immature? You’re talking about a student of mine and Gabriel, her father. He’s also,” she said, frowning and picking up her knitting again, “shadowing Linda at the center. The story is that he may be the center’s new director.”
Jesse paused in his knitting. “So your boss.”
She put her knitting down again.
“My director.”
Jesse frowned. “Now, how is that different from your boss?”
Kerry’s eyes shifted left to right. “Well, it isn’t, but it’s also not confirmed, so this conversation is useless.”
“How is it useless?” he asked. “The guy is influential, not to mention clearly interested in you.”
Kerry sucked in a breath, and Jesse quickly held up his hand. “Whatever, but he’s been shadowing your director, and interested or not he’s keeping some sort of eye on you.”
“Maybe he’s keeping an eye on Val.”
“That’s practically the same thing, you two are so close. The fact remains that he was here today along with his little Raven Baxter, who could not stop going on about the program and how much of an inspiration you are.”
Kerry felt her face start to heat up. “I wouldn’t go that far, and her name is Imara, not Raven. You sound like a child.” She went back to knitting her hat.
She watched Jesse pick up his knitting. He’d finished three hats already, and she had some catching up to do. She started to knit faster.
“You’re right. That was childish. And you sure have a way of winning over your bosses,” she heard him mumble.
The nerve. Kerry looked over at him, ready to hand him a new one, then stilled. Did he say bosses? She took in his picture-perfect profile as he seemingly concentrated on the task before him, slipping the yarn in and out of the neat little holes to create the pretty little ribbed hat that would keep some lucky kid warm this winter. He should have been at ease, but his jaw was locked tight, his full lips just as tight. It was quiet in the house; well, semiquiet. The TV was on with the baseball game playing. But clearly neither of them was focused on it. Lucas was back on duty, and for the first time it registered with Kerry that they were once again truly alone.
She put her needles down and eased closer to his side, placing her hands over his.
Jesse looked over at her. “What are you doing? You should be knitting. We need as many of these as possible if we’re going to make a decent display.”
She gently pushed his knitting aside, taking it from his hands, hiking up her long gauzy skirt as she slid one knee over the top of his waist, straddling him. The feeling of his jean shorts against her inner thighs as her skirt came up was rough and welcome as she moved over him.
Jesse put his hands to her shoulders, though, as she came forward to kiss him. “What are you doing? We have work to do.”
“What did you mean I have a way with winning over my bosses?” she answered. “I thought you weren’t my boss.”
“What are you going on about, Kerry? This is not the time for playing around.”
She kissed his ear, then looked him in the eye. “Who’s playing? I want to get this straight. When I called you boss, you said that you weren’t my boss and not to call you that. Now you’re saying I sure have a way of winning over my bosses.” She leaned in and kissed his jaw. “Which is it?”
“Which is what?”
“Are you my boss or not?”
“What does it matter?” He looked her in the eye. “For the record, I’m not, and who says you’re winning me over?”
Kerry looked down between them and shifted her hips, rubbing against his already hard erection. “Something says I am.”
He let out a groan before pulling her in closer. This was delicious. Jesse pulled her in closer still, no longer resisting but grabbing her with both hands by her ass cheeks and bringing her as close to him as possible. Their lips came together with an intense pressure and he kissed her like he’d been as hungry for her as she’d been for him these past two days.