“So, tonight’s the night then!” Danny yells as the front door bangs shut behind him.

I walk out of my room to greet him. “I thought you were coming home early to help me get ready!”

He takes his hat off and holds it in his hand as he scans his eyes over me. “Turn around,” he orders.

I obey.

He straightens the collar of my top slightly and tucks my hair behind my ear. “You look stunning,” he tells me, grinning. “You didn’t need my help, after all. And yeah, sorry, got caught up at work, you know.”

I chew at my lip. “Do you really think I look ok?”

“You look great, but…”

“But?”

He looks thoughtful for a moment, and then the twinkle comes back to his eyes. “I thought you’d be wearing your new top?” he asks with mock confusion, “You know the one your Mom liked so much?”

“Shut up,” I tell him sternly.

He moves his face closer to mine and peers at me.

“What?” I ask worriedly.

“What have you done with your eyes? They look amazing.”

“I followed an online tutorial,” I reply, feeling pleased with myself. I wasn’t usually one to wear a great deal of makeup but Jackson was certainly worth the extra effort.

He lifts me up by my hips and swings me around, making me feel even giddier than I already do. “You look like a million dollars, baby girl. Now go get him!” he says setting me down.

“He’s picking me up here, actually.” I glance at my watch.

Danny laughs. “Ah, yes, the convenience of dating your neighbor. I wonder if you’ll make it back here tonight… or you will be busy not sleeping next door.”

“Oi,” I tell him, pointing a warning finger at him, “I’ll be in my own bed, you’ll see. We’re just going to the movies. It’s just going to be a nice chilled date. No naughtiness. No Mom either!”

There’s a knock at the door and I freeze.

“I’ll get it,” he says.

I nervously take a last look in the mirror. My eyes do look nice, I think. I hope. The green brings out the green flecks in my hazel eyes and compliments the pale green silk top I’m wearing. I’ve gone for black jeans and high-heeled knee length boots. He’s so tall I felt I could do with the extra height. I hear them introducing themselves to each other.

I take a deep breath.

“Hey!” he says, smiling as he walks in beside Danny. Next to Danny, who is no lightweight in the looks department, he is an unbelievably gorgeous specimen of a man. I can’t imagine ever getting tired of just gazing at him. To my surprise, he looks a little bit in awe at the sight of me too. He’s looking at me as if I am beautiful. The way men look at Nina. God, how I wish I knew whether it was just the potion or if it’s real.

He comes forward and stops in front of me. He’s freshly shaved, his jawline smooth and perfect. Green eyes twinkling and dimples creasing. And he smells delicious. “You look beautiful,” he whispers.

I think I might faint. “Umm…you don’t look too bad yourself.”

He grins. “Shall we go?”

“Nice to meet you, Jackson,” Danny yells as we leave together. “And have a great night, you guys. I won’t wait up for you, Lolly!”

Ugh. Really? I give him a look as I close the door behind me.

“Lolly?” Jackson teases, as we walk down the steps towards his car.

“It’s an old nickname,” I tell him. “My friend Nina started it and it kind of just stuck. With some people, anyway.”

He laughs. “I think it’s cute. Should I call you that too?”

“If you really want to,” I say, rolling my eyes. “But just don’t introduce me to your parents like that!” My stomach lurches. What the hell did I say that for? “Not that I’m expecting to meet your parents, or anything!” I quickly add.

“Oh, I don’t know, I met your Mom on our first date, so maybe I should get you back,” he replies, grinning at me and…winking.

Oh, my Lord! This man can actually make my knees tremble.

“So, you’re not very keen on Lolly, then? Maybe I’ll have to think of a new nickname for you.”

We’re in a cab heading to the movie theatre and I’m thinking about how much I would love for him to have a nickname for me. “If you want,” I whisper.

He look deep into my eyes and for a while, it feels as if there is no one else in the universe except the two of us ensconced in this warm taxi and hurtling through the stars in space. Then he lifts a finger and touches my bottom lip. “Are you real?” he murmurs, his voice full with wonder.

A cold claw clutches my stomach making me shudder. All this is because of the potion. None of it is real.

“Are you okay?” he asks, a frown beginning to form on his forehead.

I quickly nod and force a smile. “So what are we watching?”

He smiles. “How do you feel about horror movies?” he asks me tentatively.

“I love them!” I lie. I don’t really like slasher movies at all. Give me a romantic comedy any day, but I really don’t care what movie we see. I just want to sit in the darkness with him.

“Great. There’s a new one out. A remake of The Ring. It’s meant to be really scary. You know, the one where the girl crawls out of the TV screen?”

I have no idea, but I just nod and smile, and try not to think about creepy girls crawling out of TVs.

Our seats are at the back of the mostly empty movie theatre and we settle into an empty row with our salty popcorn and huge cups of Mountain Dew. I wonder if he picked the back-row seats on purpose. I sneak a look at him, his profile gives nothing away. I haven’t made out in the back row of the movies in forever. .

“How was work today?” I ask him, but the movie is starting.

He leans over and whispers in my ear, “Terrible.” Then he smiles. “But I’m with you now.”

My stomach flutters and when I lean back I realize his arm is around me, so I slant into him instead and pray that he can’t hear my heart which is thumping loud and fast.

It’s soon thumping for a different reason though and when I let out a loud gasp, my hands flying to cover my mouth, he chuckles and pulls me in closer.

“I thought you liked horror movies,” he whispers, smirking at me, but in a kind way.

I like when you whisper like that in my ear, I think to myself, breathing in his musky aftershave. “I do,” I whisper back in protest. “I just didn’t realize this one was going to be so scary.”

“That’s generally the idea,” he replies, still looking amused, and then he takes my hand and puts it on his arm. The girth of his bicep is impressive and his skin is so smooth and taut. “Just squeeze tight if you need to,” he tells me.

“Ok.” I smile, trying to look normal even though my retinas are scarred with the bone-chilling images I’ve just seen. I hope I don’t have nightmares tonight! I adjust my eyes to just below the screen, letting them glaze over, blissfully out of focus, breathing slow and deep.

It’s not until about halfway through and a particularly blood-curdling scream that my eyes flick back to the screen and I witness the gore and horror. My fingers close tightly around Jackson’s beautiful bicep, squeezing, pushing the awful images from my mind. I don’t even realize I’m closing my eyes, until I feel his soft lips meet with mine. I blink them open quickly and then shut again.

He’s kissing me. Oh, yes. That’s better. It feels so good.

I kiss him back, my hand still gripped tight around his bicep. I love the way I can feel his muscles flex slightly with his every tiny movement.

His tongue enters my mouth, or does mine search for his first? I feel myself sinking into a safe haven of pleasure, the screams onscreen no longer bother me as his arms hug me tight.

I feel his hand on my throat, stroking, moving up to my face and then his thumb in my mouth as his kisses follow down my neck. I suck on his thumb, biting it gently and now his other hand is on my breast, squeezing softly, finding the erect mound of my nipple and pinching.

My hands are all over him, feeling his chest, his back, his glorious arms, and I’m clawing at him, needing to feel all him at once, wanting him.

His fingertips snake down my belly and pop open the button on my jeans and—oh god, I want to feel his touch down there. His fingertips brushing against my stomach softly, making me want him more and more.

I glance around quickly at the sound of another scream, brought back to reality momentarily, but there is no-one else around us and getting naughty with Jackson is a million times more preferable than watching the movie.

“Relax,” he whispers, smiling, kissing me, gently and then more urgently, as his hand ventures further down and into my lace panties. His fingertips glide over me and find exactly the right place and I moan into his mouth as he rubs me.

Oh, wow!

His hands push my legs wider, then he lightly brushes against my slit. I widen my legs automatically. I am so wet he growls deep in his throat as his fingers plunges in. His thumb rubs against my clit as his finger moves in and out, all the while his mouth is on mine, our tongues entwined. His breath is heavy, almost panting, and I love how much he desires me. I want it to last forever.

He withdraws his hand, and in my head, I’m screaming No, don’t you dare. I’m so close to climax.

In the darkness, his eyes gleam. “I’m dying for a taste of Appleton pie,” he drawls as he yanks my jeans and panties right down to my knees.

I gasp in shock. Jesus!

Surely, he’s not intending to…

“You’re a bad, bad girl, Miss Appleton,” he whispers wickedly.

Before I know it, his head is in my lap, his tongue straining to reach me. The delicate flicks from the tip of his tongue make me cry out just like one of the poor desperate victims in the movie. I lean back in my chair and pull his beautiful head closer so his tongue can get even deeper as he hungrily licks my pussy. Oh, my God, the licking this man does. Like he can’t get enough. Like I’m the sweetest, most delicious thing, he ever tasted.

I never knew it could be like this. His dedication is astounding. He misses nothing. Every fold, every crease is seen to lovingly, lingeringly. It’s like his tongue is saying, mine, mine, mine. High-octane waves of rapture start flowing through my veins.

He takes my clit between his lips and simultaneously jams two fingers into me. I grind my ass up and down as he begins to finger fuck me furiously. I have to cap my hand over my mouth to muffle the moans as waves of intense pleasure cascade through me. “Holy shit,” I whisper, my hips jerking faster than ever. “Oh, Jackson, I’m gonna…!” I’ve never come so fast in my whole life.

Damn!

I’d stepped into the beginning of a climax that stripped me of all reason, but Jackson just keeps on going and I just keep on coming. The convulsions take a long time to subside. My heart beat races and I pant hard. Thank God, it’s dark in here, and thank God everybody else is too busy paying attention to the movie to notice me coming in the back row.

I stare at the screen blankly as Jackson eagerly laps up the juices that came out of my pussy and flooded his face as if it is the sweetest wine. It feels like the most natural thing in the world to have his tongue licking between my legs.