“Is everything okay?” Brandon asked, making Sasha realize she must have been frowning.
“No, I’m good. I just forgot that my friend Casey invited me to her New Year’s party at her house.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to keep you.”
“You didn’t. I wanted to be here.”
She saw his visible sigh of relief. “But if there’s someplace you need to be,” Brandon said, “I can get you a taxi and head back to the hotel.”
Sasha placed her hands on her hips. “Weren’t you the one who said you wanted to spend the night with me?”
Her heart turned over when he grinned slyly. “I did.”
“Well, then the night isn’t over. If you’re ready to ditch this place, we can head out. We’ll have to take the subway because getting a taxi on New Year’s Eve will be impossible.”
“Let’s go.”
After settling the bill, they bundled back up and walked a short distance to the nearest subway stop. Sasha smiled when Brandon paused to slide a couple of singles out of his wallet and slip them into the jar of a homeless man, who sat in a corner of the subway station.
“That was very kind of you. Most New Yorkers would walk right past him without even looking, me included.”
“It’s no sweat,” Brandon said as he took care of paying the subway fare. “Those who have, give. If you don’t, there’s nothing to be ashamed of.”
As they took the escalator down to the platform, they heard reggae and soca music. When they arrived, they spotted a trio of men with a guitar and steel drums. A small crowd had gathered around the performers, and Brandon pulled Sasha toward it.
“We don’t have time,” Sasha said, but Brandon wouldn’t hear of it and, with Sasha’s hand still in his, he moved them even closer to the crowd. Once there, the music was so infectious that several folks began dancing and winding. Brandon slid his hands around Sasha’s waist and said, “Dance with me.”
Every feminist bone in her body despaired at his commanding tone and of submitting, but she revolted and instantly stepped into his embrace. She allowed Brandon to lead her into the fray and didn’t resist when he guided her into an easy winding rhythm.
In fact, she loved it and lost herself in the moment.
Brandon had waited a lifetime to have Sasha in his arms. It felt good. Right. Like they were meant to be. Predestined.
The evening couldn’t have been more perfect. It was like old times again, laughing and talking about everything and anything. Except this time, the underlying tension that had always existed between them had been brought to the forefront. Brandon wasn’t hiding anymore behind the friend card. He was making his feelings known. He knew she wanted him too. Wanted more than just friendship, and tonight – was it possible that over a decade later, he could finally have his heart’s desire?
As they danced, Brandon knew indeed it was. Perhaps that’s why, when Sasha was mere inches away from his face, their lungs breathing the same sexually charged air, his face naturally leaned in for a gossamer-light kiss. Gone was any awkwardness he might have had. Instead, he reveled in the tender brush of lips on lips.
The kiss seemed to stun Sasha as much it did Brandon. She lifted her palm to his stubble-roughened cheek, but she didn’t stop him. So Brandon went in for the kill and, parting her lips, he slid his tongue inside to tangle with hers. He kissed her with passion and with purpose that made the past between them irrelevant. Her body heat warmed him up against the chill of the New York subway and erased from his mind any thought of where he was.
Sasha lifted her hands and circled them around his neck while her breasts pressed against his chest, melding her to him. Brandon heard a thick noise in his throat as she kissed him back. His hands encircled the small of her back, moving it upward and downward. They probably would have gone on and on kissing in those few blissful moments if the crowd hadn’t begun applauding, jolting them out of oblivion.
They pulled away and stared at one another as if they’d never seen each other before. Sasha looked as startled as Brandon by the ferocious intensity of their hot kisses – kisses that had been nearly twelve years in the making. The crowd’s chanting and cheering grew louder, which embarrassed Sasha, and she rushed away from Brandon down the platform.
Brandon stared after her for several beats before one man yelled, “Go get her, tiger!” At that moment, he realized that Sasha was running away from him not to him. Brandon’s adrenaline surged, and quickly, he dashed toward Sasha, catching her within seconds.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
She stopped walking, and he nearly ran into the back of her. She spun around to face him. “A-are you okay?” she asked back. “After that – that last kiss?” Is he regretting it? she anxiously wondered.
Sasha seemed to have enjoyed that kiss as much as Brandon had. He’d felt when her nipples had tightened into buds against his chest. “No, I’m not,” he answered honestly. “But I don’t regret what just happened.”
A hand flew to her mouth, and she touched her lips. “It was ...”
Sasha’s speechlessness cheered Brandon. They’d both surrendered to the moment, and it had felt good. He moved toward her, and he was thankful when she didn’t retreat. “It was inevitable and quite frankly a long time coming. I’ve always wanted to kiss you, Sasha. And if you expect me to apologize, I won’t. I’m done hiding what’s been in front of our faces for years. So let’s just enjoy the night and see where it goes.”
“Okay, let’s do that.”
Sasha stood across from Brandon on the train to Brooklyn, but she couldn’t seem to make her lungs work the way they were supposed to. She felt dizzy all over again, like she had after that last kiss. Surely Brandon must feel as wrecked and torn inside out as she did. But, in her opinion, he looked entirely too calm.
Brandon had kissed her like he was a dying man and she alone could quench his thirst. He’d kissed her and she’d kissed him back, hungrily. Hotly. She should be appalled at how she’d behaved in public, but the moment had carried her away. Then when it turned to sexually charged, she’d been overwhelmed.
It had been intense.
Unstoppable.
Undeniable.
Now that she’d gotten a taste of Brandon, it unfurled a long-hidden need in her and Sasha felt a low ache in her belly. The pull of attraction had always been there, and now she felt powerless to resist it. She glanced sideways and found Brandon’s eyes on her.
Is he thinking about that last kiss too?
She trembled from head to toe when she recognized raw desire reflecting back in those dark brown eyes, a decadent mix of cocoa and coffee.