Chapter 45

Jesse

Jesse could feel her stomach tying itself in knots and her heart threatening to pound out of her chest as the movie began to play. It looked to be an artsy sort of film, the kind that would win awards at obscure festivals. Not that she cared very much. Her attention was not so much on the screen but locked on the man seated beside her.

Jesse vaguely noted that he seemed too far away and too close at the same time. All at once, she wanted to scoot closer and run frantically from the room. She glanced up at his face. His green eyes reflected the characters and scenery moving around on the television, but it looked as though he was gazing into space more than paying attention to the plot unfolding in front of him.

She wondered if he was going through the same things that she was.

Jesse forced herself to pay attention to what was going on, but she had already missed some vital piece of information. This situation was becoming entirely too frustrating for her, and she barely managed to conceal a huff of aggravation.

Jesse allowed her eyes to wander elsewhere, and they ended up landing on the coffee table in front of them lined with food and drinks. Her eyes immediately wandered to a bottle of wine near Hal’s end.

She felt a little bit of anxiety at the idea of asking him to pour her a glass, but she knew that if she was going to make it through the rest of the night, she needed to loosen up a little at least.

So, she worked up her courage, took a deep breath, and resolved to speak to him.

“Hal?” she asked, her voice sounding soft and weak in her own ears.

“Yeah?” Hal immediately turned to face her, a small frown creasing his brow.

“Would you mind if I had some wine?” Jesse said, glancing over to the bottle on the other end of the table. Hal glanced over at it, blinking for a moment.

“Of course,” he said, giving her a smile as he moved to retrieve the bottle. He reached into his pocket and withdrew a pocket knife, and she watched as he flipped out the corkscrew extension, then began to methodically wind it down into the cork of the wine bottle.

Soon, the bottle was open, and Hal reached under the table and withdrew two glasses and poured them each a healthy portion of the deep red liquid.

“Here you go,” Hal offered her a glass.

Jesse swirled the liquid for a moment, watching the way it sloshed inside of the glass. She finally took the first sip, and she could already feel the alcohol going to work to relax her body. She released a soft sigh and saw Hal raise his brow from beside her. Jesse glanced over at him, and she felt a flutter in her stomach at the curious expression on his face as he watched her.

Jesse offered him a small smile, and steeling her nerves, she moved closer to him on the couch. Much closer. So close, in fact, that their thighs were pressed against one another. Jesse then settled back into the couch so that she was leaning more against his torso than the back of the couch.

Jesse’s heart fluttered as Hal brought his arm about her shoulders to pull her tighter against him. Her eyes flicked up to his face, and she saw a small smile there.

Jesse could feel her skin tingling and goosebumps spreading all along her body as they were in such close contact. She allowed her hand to rest on his knee, and with her other hand she raised her glass and took a long drink of the wine. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Hal do the same.

For a while, they remained that way, looking at the screen. Jesse had no way to know if Hal was paying any attention to the movie, but she certainly wasn’t. All she could think about was the closeness of their bodies and the memory of the last time they had been in such close proximity to one another.

Jesse bit her lip before taking another long draught of her wine, this time draining the glass. Beside her, Hal glanced over at her and raised an eyebrow. Jesse blushed.

“Sorry,” she said weakly. “Thirsty.”

Hal looked at her for a moment, the corner of his lip raising in a small smirk.

“Another?” he offered, holding his free hand out to take her glass.

“Please,” Jesse replied.

Jesse moved to hand Hal the glass, and as she did so, she felt her fingertips brush against his hand. She released a soft gasp at the contact and immediately blushed as Hal’s eyes snapped to her face. Jesse dropped her hand into her lap and averted her eyes to the bottle of wine.

She watched as Hal easily refilled her glass, and she was careful to avoid touching him as he returned it to her. She wasted no time in taking another long drink.

“If you want to get wasted,” Hal said, his eyes passing across her face, “I have some harder stuff in the cabinet …”

Jesse laughed nervously and took yet another drink of the wine.

“No, no,” she shook her head, clutching the glass in both hands to keep it from displaying the way she was shaking.

She took a breath to steady herself and looked up at Hal.

“Sorry,” she said, her voice near a whisper. “I just … I feel so … distracted …”

Jesse spoke, and as words trailed out of her mouth, she found her eyes wandering over Hal’s torso and finally landing on his face. He looked down at her patiently, a soft smile on his lips.

“Hey,” Hal said softly. He leaned closer to her and took the wine glass from her hand, setting it on the coffee table along with his own. “I feel distracted too …”

Jesse felt herself begin to tremble as Hal looked down at her, his green eyes flickering with soft emotion. He raised his hand, and Jesse followed it with her eyes as he moved to cup her face. She exhaled softly as his fingertips brushed her cheekbone, and his thumb traced along her bottom lip.

Jesse squirmed on the couch a little as her body began to react to his touch. She felt hopelessly excited and felt warmth pooling low in her stomach, as well as a wetness between her legs. She gently squeezed her thighs together, hoping to ease some of the pressure she felt in her core.

Jesse bit her lip, and she saw Hal’s eyes darken and watched as his throat bobbed. Slowly, she moved her hand to rest on his thigh and gently traced it up and down, edging closer and closer to his crotch. Jesse felt his hand shift so that he was cupping the back of her neck, and he buried his fingers in the hair at the nape of her neck.

Jesse whimpered a little as he tilted her head back by her hair to look up at him. Her body responded instantaneously, a jolt of hot desire shooting through her. She gripped his wrist in one hand, and with the other she buried her fingers in his shirt.

Hal looked over her body, and she could see his eyes lingering on her chest. Jesse had chosen to wear a simple, soft blue dress that was comfortable and fit her nicely, showing off the assets of her body. That included revealing a modest amount of cleavage that Hal was clearly enjoying. She had also opted to go without a bra, and she was certain he could see the outline of her hardening nipples against the thin material of the dress.

Jesse was more thankful than ever that she had made the decision to wear panties. She had briefly entertained the idea of going without but had ended up going with them. Now, she was grateful, for if she had gone without, she may well have been soaking through her dress and ruining Hal’s couch with her wetness.

Hal’s eyes slowly moved back up to her face, and they remained there for what felt like an eternity.

Jesse breathed heavily as Hal’s eyes burned into her, and she vaguely wondered what on earth he was thinking.