Free Loving David by Gina Hummer Page A

pulled away and bent down to look at her face.
    “I think we’re done in here.” he said, his voice whisper-soft.
    “Agreed.”
    David turned the radio off and flipped the switch to the kitchen lights. David grabbed her hand, and she tried to keep her grip light, afraid of scaring him off by squeezing too hard. They arrived at the cabin, and as Charlotte reached into her pocket for the key, David stopped her.
    “What? What’s wrong?”
    David stayed one porch step below Charlotte so they were eye-to-eye. Fireflies buzzed around David’s head like a halo, and the lights from the moon cast a warm glow across his chiseled face.
    “Charlotte,” David whispered, his finger trailing up her arm, sending a tingle up her spine. She gulped.
    “Yes?
    “May I kiss you?” he asked, the words tumbling out like coins dropping into a slot.
    Charlotte blinked, certain she hadn’t heard that right. Why would he want to kiss her? He was gorgeous, one of the most beautiful creatures of this or any world. Not to mention she was almost fourteen years older than he was and looked nothing like those magnificent blonde gazelles she often saw glued to his arm in magazines. She wasn’t a great beauty, and she’d always been proud of her age. Now they were both staring her in the face like the drop on a 500-foot- high roller coaster. Suddenly she felt like an awkward, gangly teenager scared and unsure of herself. God, she hated feeling this way.
    “Charlotte,” David repeated.
    “Why?” she asked.
    David recoiled. “What do you mean ‘why’?”
    “Why do you want to kiss me?” she asked.
    “Why wouldn’t I want to kiss you?” he laughed, puzzled. “You’re a beautiful, amazing woman, and I’m dying to know what it feels like to kiss you.” He pulled her by the elbows closer to him. “I’ll ask you again. May I kiss you?”
    Charlotte took a deep breath, her teeth trembling. “Yes. Kiss me.”
    David slid his hands around Charlotte’s face and held them there for what seemed like a lifetime. He began to move toward her, but Charlotte was impatient. She leaned in and took his lips in hers. Their tongues swirled around each other in sexy, dreamy circles. Much like their dance in the kitchen, David slowed Charlotte’s movements to match his own, as he teased her with long languid kisses and more sensual nibbles. Charlotte’s insides were like runny chocolate oozing out of her toes. She’d forgotten what it was like to feel this way. Had she ever felt this way? David pulled back, his lips shining in the moonlight. Fumbling for the doorknob, Charlotte flung the door open, and David gave her a gentle push inside, planting yet more soft kisses across her lips. They kept the lights out.
    “Drink?” he asked.
    Charlotte swallowed, various and sordid thoughts bouncing around her head like rogue pin balls. “I don’t know. I’m trying to keep my head on straight,” she murmured.
    David took her hand and traced the lines of her palm with her fingertips. “Drink or not, my head’s a little potty as well.”
    “Your head’s what?”
    “Ah, potty, potty ----like loopy, out of sorts.” He cupped her face in his hands again. “God, I love kissing you,” he said as he drew her into another soulful kiss. Finally he planted a kiss on her forehead and smiled. Charlotte felt her knees buckle, and as she looked into those perfect emerald eyes she dissolved into goo. She pulled away from him, her breath ragged.
    “I need a minute,” Charlotte said as she sat down on the couch, her whole body a mass of Jell-O. David joined her.
    He reached out and rubbed her shoulder, the gesture sending another shock through Charlotte. “Why don’t you turn in and sleep on it, Charlotte? I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable about anything. Your friendship is too important to me.”
    “You kiss all your friends like that?”
    “The ones I want to keep.”
    “You have referred to me as your ‘friend’ quite a bit these past few days.