A to Z Challenge: M is for MAYBE

For the A-to-Z April Blogging Challenge, I’m writing a story, aiming for 1000 words a day (every day except Sundays). Continuing today with part 12 of a story about the character Codie Snow.

If you’re new to this series of posts, you might want to start here:

• A is for ACCEPTING the Challenge
• C is for CODIE

Pete paused, his face inches from hers, and she felt herself holding her breath and involuntarily moving her lips closer to his. As if in slow motion, their lips finally connected and she closed her eyes, allowing herself to enjoy the sensation. She still couldn’t catch her breath as his mouth touched hers softly, but he kissed her as if he had all the time in the world. She felt explosions going off in her head as all thought vanished to be replaced by pure emotion and need, and it all ended way too soon. She could feel him pulling away before she forced her eyelids to lift. “Need to get you all cleaned up before we get back on the road.”

At last, she was able to pull air into her lungs. “Yeah.”

He pointed toward a hallway and said, “The bathroom’s down that way. Towels are in the closet next to the door.” For a second, it all felt surreal. Codie wondered if they’d just kissed. She took another deep breath and nodded, heading in the direction he’d indicated. “I’m going to make something to eat too. I only have an hour for lunch. A sandwich okay with you or would you rather have something else?”

Codie paused in the hallway and turned, still feeling a little disoriented. “I’m not really hungry, Pete.” Doubt began flooding her brain. “Maybe I should just go home since I don’t have anything to wear.”

He chuckled. “I have stuff you can wear. Don’t worry about it. And if it doesn’t fit okay, we can swing by your place for a few minutes while I’m doing my thing.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah. Go get cleaned up.”

Codie grabbed a towel and washcloth from the hall closet before stepping into Pete’s bathroom. She’d never been here before because, after they’d dated in high school, they’d maintained a casual friendship but nothing deep or intense. Maybe that was about to change, because Pete wasn’t nearly the macho overbearing jock she thought she’d remembered from their school days.

He was a pretty nice guy.

Oh, and hot. Very hot. How the hell had she forgotten that?

Well, she knew. Because they hadn’t spent a lot of time together in the past ten years, she hadn’t watched his transformation. He had changed. She was certain of that. And while she knew a good many cops in her town were egotistical, power-hungry jerks, being a cop had done a lot of good for Pete. He seemed humbler somehow…as if he’d taken the law enforcement mission to heart—that he was personally protecting everyone in their town. And she’d already seen tonight that he could be formidable, downright scary to the people he was trying to protect the rest of the citizens from. All that was wrapped in a package that was…lickable. Yes, lickable. Codie couldn’t get her mind off tasting more of Pete…but it looked like maybe that wasn’t an option.

After all, they were only halfway through his shift, which meant they were also only halfway through the ride-along.

Codie made her way around his bathroom and began peeling off her clothing that had become sticky. Yes, definitely Sprite or some other lemon-lime sugary soda. She could smell it now. Her mind began racing through the night’s events. In a short time, she’d watched Pete handle a domestic violence issue where the woman appeared to be the perpetrator, had seen a dead body, and had watched a meth lab blow up.

Yeah, he was a hell of a guy. He was kind of (no, more than kind of) overshadowing her hotshot lawyer sometimes boyfriend. Pete was definitely making her question why she’d spent so much time trying to work things out with Slade when it probably should have been evident to her that the guy didn’t want a relationship. After all, that was part of why they didn’t live together. Slade hadn’t wanted to commit. He’d given a million reasons why, but she knew he wasn’t ready, and she’d accepted it years ago.

But maybe they weren’t right for each other. She was definitely questioning it now that she was in Pete’s orbit.

She got in the shower, deciding to rinse out her hair too. Even though the woman hadn’t doused her head, her hair had gotten wet too, and she thought it might be better to wash it all off. Just in case. She rolled the bar of yellow soap in her hands, realizing that this very bar had touched Pete’s skin recently…and then Codie, a girl not at all shy, felt her cheeks grow warm nonetheless. Pete was the guy she’d lost her virginity to and they’d stayed together through high school. Hell, Codie couldn’t even remember why their relationship had ended all those years ago now. But maybe—

She nearly jumped when she heard Pete’s voice pulling her out of her musings. “I’m setting some clothes on the counter here—a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt. I hope they work.”

Yeah, no underwear. That would be fun. “Thanks, Pete,” she said, wondering if she should invite him in and then thinking the better of it.

“Sure you don’t want something to eat?”

“I’m good. Thanks.”

When she finally turned off the water a minute later, she peeked out of the shower first, pulling the curtain back. Even though she’d been thinking about Pete in less-than-innocent ways, she didn’t know that she was ready to just appear naked in front of him. But he’d left the room, so she dried off fast and hung up the towel before putting on the clothes he’d offered her.

The shirt, while big, fit fine, but the sweatpants wouldn’t stay put. They were too big. As silly as it sounded, maybe he had a belt she could wear. She piled her clothes and shoes next to the wall and out of the way, deciding to ask Pete for a plastic bag to carry them in until she got home. She stepped out of the bathroom and into Pete’s quiet and dark house. He hadn’t turned on the light in the living room but light spilled out of the kitchen, leading her to him. He was standing across the room, leaning against the counter, sipping at a glass of water. “Feel better?”

“Lots,” she said, but she showed him that she was holding up the sweatpants with one hand. “Except these are too big. Do you have a belt or something?”

That look—what did it mean? He crossed the room, close to her again. “I actually have a better idea.” And as he consumed her in a toe-curling kiss, she wondered if her fingernails digging into his neck were too aggressive or if that was exactly what he’d had in mind…

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