I want You Deeper

From the look on her face, it was immediately clear that Emily had hoped he would ask that very question. “First of all, you can apologize. I think that would go a long way. And maybe then the two of you can address this thing between you.”

Jeremy had been prepared to assure her he was all too willing to apologize. But that last sentence completely derailed him. “What do you mean?”

Emily rolled her eyes. “Come on. Anyone paying any attention at all would see it. When the two of you are in a room together, sparks are flying.

I assume that’s something new unless I just didn’t notice it before.” “No way. Alyssa was always like a little sister to me.”

“Until now.”

He’d painted himself into that corner, he realized. She was like a little sister to him. That was past tense. He could double back and say she still was like a little sister, but he couldn’t even get those words out. It was like the Alyssa he’d known a few years ago wasn’t even the same person.

The sound of the front door to the apartment opening saved him from having to come up with a response. He knew it was only a temporary delay, though. His sister had made it clear she was aware of whatever was flying around between him and Alyssa and would likely find a way to encourage it. Just how she’d make that happen remained to be seen.

“Hi, everyone.”

Jeremy didn’t even have time to think about standing before Emily was on her feet, blazing past him on her way to the kitchen. He turned to see Alyssa entering the apartment, her hands loaded down with shopping bags.

Emily skidded to a halt when she got a glimpse of Alyssa. “What? When did you have time to do all that?”

“I texted you from the store. I thought you might need some things to go with your famous lasagna. I got a salad, some rolls, and, best of all, three kinds of dessert.”

“Three?” Jeremy laughed. “I hope they’re single-sized.”

“Let’s just say we’ll have plenty left over for tomorrow.”Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g

Emily turned to look at him, a knowing smile on her face. “Did you hear that? You’re coming back tomorrow for dessert.”

“Sounds like a plan to me.”

Out of the corner of his eye, he was watching for Alyssa’s reaction. If she’d made a face or sighed or something, he might have to think about not coming around as much. She didn’t. Instead, she rushed right into the kitchen and started unloading items onto the counter.

He helped get everything on the table, then took a seat at one end while Emily sat at the other. Alyssa took one of the two seats on the side of the table facing the wall, and he noticed she chose the seat closest to Emily rather than him. That should be expected. Emily was her roommate and best friend and Jeremy was just…the guy who had stood her up on prom night.

“Tell us about your meeting,” Jeremy blurted as they passed the bowl of salad around.

It was a good move. He could tell that much right away. She perked up and the tension that had lingered in the air around them seemed to lift slightly.

“It was amazing. We spent hours going over everything. She showed me her portfolio and I have pages of notes on her goals. Now I just have to come up with a marketing plan like the one I did for Emily.”

“You should see her marketing plan.” Emily grabbed a roll from the basket and passed it to Alyssa. “It’s so detailed and helpful. I can’t wait.”

Alyssa looked at Jeremy. “A good marketing plan takes the business owner’s goals and breaks them into steps the marketer can take to achieve them. No one can ever guarantee results because we can’t control what happens on the other end. But with hard work and some expertise, good things happen.”

He heard every word she was saying, but they didn’t sink in. Instead, he was wondering why he’d never noticed just how mesmerizing the light brown color of her eyes was. Like smooth caramel. And the way her mouth turned up at the corners a little, even when she wasn’t smiling. Her mouth just naturally seemed stuck in a cheerful position. He wondered if that made it tough for her to express her anger at someone.

The sound of Emily’s fork scraping against her plate pulled him out of his thoughts, making him realize he and Alyssa had been just staring at each other. And in full view of Emily, no less. So much for any plan he might have had to argue with her that, no, there was no attraction whatsoever there.

“I think it’s about time for that dessert. What do you say?”

That came from Alyssa, who had suddenly jumped up and grabbed her plate, heading straight for the kitchen. Jeremy looked at his sister, who, like him, still had half of her serving of lasagna left on her plate.

“Sparks,” Emily mouthed, unable to hold in a hearty laugh at the situation.