PAST IMPERFECT by Alison G. Bailey Teaser

 

 

 

Past Imperfect by Alison G. Bailey

Copyright by Alison G. Bailey

(unedited and subject to change prior to publication)

 

Brad

 Mabry and I were in my office working late on the Peterson case. We were sitting on the floor between the sofa and coffee table eating the take out we had ordered. My sleeves were rolled up and her hair was piled up on top of her head. My tie and her shoes were off.  We had only met a month ago, but being with her was so natural as if we had been like this for years. She was telling me about law school while she spread the containers of food out in front of us. I could watch her talk all day.

            “…I had a 4.0 GPA and since I interned every summer during school, when I told Mr. Dukes I was coming back to Charleston he told me about his college buddy, your dad, put in a good word for me, and here I am.”

            “That was the best decision my dad ever made,” I said grabbing a set of chopsticks.  I glanced up at her and saw a light pink blush speckle her cheeks. “You’re really good, Mabry.” She shrugged her shoulders dismissively.  I playfully poke her with one end of my chopsticks causing her to look at me. “Hey, I mean it. You’re better than most of the junior associates here.”

            “Thank you,” she said, giving me a shy smile.

            “Aaaand…?”

            Her beautiful azure blue eyes looked up and off to the side as she sucked in her lower lip for a second before darting back to me. “Thank you very much?”

            Shaking my head I said, “You’re supposed to say, ‘Thank you very much Brad. That means so much coming from someone as brilliant and gorgeous as you are’.”

            “Sorry, I need practice. I’m not real good at ass kissing.”

            “Well, I’d be more than happy to let you practice on my ass.” I threw a smirk and a wink at her. A breath caught in her throat as she darted her eyes away and began nervously rummaging through the takeout bag. I loved tipping her off balance. She was so cute that way. 

            She huffed, blowing her bangs up and off her forehead. “They didn’t include any forks,”  she said, slightly annoyed.

            Swallowing a piece of my sesame chicken, I said, “Use the chopsticks.”

            Scrunching up her eyebrows she looked at the two sticks as if a person would need to be a rocket scientist to figure out how to use them. She tentatively picked them up and peeled the paper away they were wrapped in. I continued to eat while watching out the corner of my eye as she tried to position the chopsticks correctly between her fingers and attempt to pick up a piece of chicken. I felt her eyes on me, watching as I popped another piece in my mouth and then picked up rice and vegetables with ease.  She attempted using the prehistoric eating tools a couple of more times without success. She was stubborn. She was determined to master them herself.

            Unable to keep the smile off my face and the laughter out of my voice, I turned to her and asked, “Mabry, you’ve never used chopsticks before, have you?”

            She narrowed her eyes at me. “Smart ass.”

            “I’m a smart ass with a belly full of Chinese,” I said patting my stomach. “It was delicious too. Gimme.” I extended my hand flexing my figures for her to hand over the chopsticks. She looked back and forth between my hand and the sticks before finally handing them over.  “Turn around.”

            “Turn around?” she asked confused.

            “Yes, so your back is to me.”

            “What are you going to do?”

            “I’m going to show you how to feed yourself.  Just trust me and turn around.”

            She did as I said and I moved in closer to her. I took the chopsticks and positioned them while keeping her hand covered with mine, guiding its movement.  I felt a wisp of her hair tickle my cheek. As we picked up a small piece of food, I inhaled quietly. God, she smelled incredible. Like vanilla and ginger. The ginger could have been from the food, but mixed with Mabry it was the best smell I had ever experienced. My eyes began to close while I breathed in a little more of her. I caught an unobstructed view of the top of her breasts and my hand went slack. I felt Mabry jerk around and yelp.

            “Ugh, I think a snow pea went down my bra,” she said snapping me out of my daze.

            “What?”

            “Snow pea, bra.”

            “I’m sorry. Let me help you.” Grabbing for a napkin brought our lips within an inch of each other’s. My gaze alternated between her eyes and lips. Her breasts were noticeably moving up and down as her breathing increased.

            “Brad…,” she whispered.

            “Mabry…” My voice was low.

            “This is a bad idea.”

            “It’s a very bad idea.” I swallowed hard.

            “I’m not in a serious relationshipy place right now.”

            “Me either.” My skin was burning up and I felt light headed being this close to her. Her lips were within reach, plump, and already slightly open.

            “And office hooks-ups never end well.” Her voice was breathy and sultry.

            “So, I‘ll quit.” I grinned.

            “Yeah, you’ll quit your father’s firm.”

            “So you’ll quit.”

            Giggling she said, “Not gonna happen big boy. It’s just that…”

            “Mabry, you’re going to have to stop talking, because I gotta get in there.”

            I leaned in, sucking gently on her tasty bottom lip before my tongue headed in to meet hers. My hand came up and cupped the side of her face, running my thumb across her cheek. She made a soft gentle moan that caused me to deepen the kiss.  I ran my hand down her arm as her fingers slid through my hair. Grabbing her hips I dragged her onto my lap, I kept one hand on her hip as the other traveled across her thigh, over her hip, and up her back. Mabry had my head in a vice grip, pulling me as far as possible into her mouth. There was a desperation in our kiss, neither of us wanting to break away.  I had never been this connected with anyone, this right with anyone.

            We pulled back slightly and rested our foreheads against each other’s, our lips staying connected. “Wow,” Mabry gasped.

            “That was amazing. Better than I had dreamed about.”

            “You’ve dreamed about me?”

            “Since the first time I saw you, sweetness.”

            “Brad…”

            I grabbed her bottom lip with mine, stopping her from continuing. “Mabry, you talk too much. Don’t stop this.”