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.I laughed and swatted his firm butt. Well, get out of my way so I can cook for my man.He pulled out a chair, sat down and watched me crack four eggs. Sunny side up? Sure, however you like them. Perfect, I like a guy who s not picky about food.Soon we were sitting across from each other, in my little kitchen, feeling very homey.It felt goodto have Jesse with me like this.Jesse had worked up quite an appetite and it didn t take him more thana couple of minutes to finish his food.He pushed his plate away and steepled his fingers under hischin. By the way, Niki.I was going to ask you last night but got a little& sidetracked. He winked. You know your friend I met at the bonfire, Jenna? She s a journalist, right? Yeah.Well, sort of.She works at the L.A.Times.She s not really a journalist yet.Why? Ifinished and placed my knife and fork neatly on the plate. You know Kenny s bar isn t doing too well financially.You ve been in there lately.You ve seenhow empty it is.I feel like I m letting Kenny down.He s wrapped up with his cancer treatments, andChase and I are in charge, and the damn place is going downhill.I m just brainstorming ways to boostbusiness.I don t know shit about marketing but maybe Jenna could get us a good deal on a newspaperad.Promote the place a little. I doubt it.The L.A.Times is expensive and I m not sure how much exposure it would bring.Abetter idea would be if we could have them do an article about Rookies.That would be freepromotion. A story about a sports bar? There are hundreds of bars like that in L.A. None of them have a hot, super star, Motocross rider serving drinks behind the bar.Besides. Itapped my finger on the table top for emphasis. There s a real story here about you and Kenny - thebone marrow transplant and everything.You re a true to life hero, Jesse.The thought popped into my mind and made me feel happy.Jesse was the real thing, almost toogood to be true.He made my heart race.I couldn t believe he was mine.I couldn t believe my lifewas& I glanced down at the yolk stain on the plate, well, sunny side up, like the eggs this morning.Ihad been blindsided by my own issues, so caught up in my own defenses, I d nearly lost out on thebest thing to ever happen in my life.I searched his dark blue eyes, waiting for his reaction to my idea. I don t know about that. He laughed and leaned back in his chair. I m no freaking hero, butI m glad you think so. Will you do it?He pursed his lips, tilted his head and gave me a sidelong glance. Sure, why not.As long as theemphasis is on the bar and not me.I jumped up and leaned across the table and planted a big wet kiss on his lips. Thank you, baby.I walked over and tipped my plate into the sink. I can t promise anything about the focus of theirpiece.They ll write whatever is the best story for their readers.But as far as the bar is concerned, it sbetter than nothing. Alright, cool.Can you set it up& call Jenna? I will, baby.I will do anything for you. I batted my lashes theatrically, with my fingers lacedunder my chin like a Southern Belle.He rose from the table, handing me his plate and played along. Anything? Hmm& I can think ofsomething.A wicked smile grew across his face as he walked towards me.I laughed, picked up the dishtowel and threw it at him. Down boy, I teased.He leaned to the side and easily dodged my poor aim, letting the towel fallto the floor. You said anything.I braced myself like I was ready to run, but I was joshing.I had no intention of running fromJesse, ever again.He stepped closer and I let him catch me in his strong arms.Circling them aroundme, he pulled me close to the firm, tight muscles of his chest.He dipped his head down to me, grazingthe outer edge of my ear lightly, playfully, with his nose, his hot breath fanning me all the way downmy neck.I felt the wetness of his mouth as he tugged my earlobe with his teeth.My body melted intohis firm frame and a hot shudder coursed through me.As my lips parted for his kiss I murmured,  Idid, didn t I?He crushed his mouth against mine.Tingles of anticipation reared up again, for the second timethat morning, and it surprised me.He filled my whole being with wanting.I didn t think I could everget enough of Jesse Morrison.Chapter 9Jesse Hey, Jesse, can I talk with you for a second? A faint knock came from the other side of thebedroom door. Sure& Pops. I said in a sarcastic voice. Come on in.It s your house. I tossed my Motocrossmagazine across the room and it landed neatly on the table.Kenny pushed the door open. Jesus, how long are you going to torment me about this Dadthing? Just long enough for you to tell me the truth. I told you everything I goddamn know.What else do you want to hear? Maybe the real reason why you left us, after Dad died.And don t give me that bullshit aboutMom demanding you leave.That doesn t fly with me.I know she had feelings for you. I don t know what else to say, Jesse, his voice rose in pitch and he exhaled. Ask her yourself.I m sure she had her reasons. He rubbed the back of his neck and held onto the door knob with theother hand.From the expression on his face I could see Kenny had a bug up his ass; there wassomething else on his mind and he wasn t in the mood to listen to my whiny rant.The sad look on hisface made me check my attitude with him and I kicked up and sat on the edge of the bed. Whatever& anyway, what is it? I sighed, leaned my elbows on my knees, and rubbed my facewith my hands. I was going over last week s accounts and the income from sales at the bar is down more thanfifty percent.What the hell are you and Chase doing? Sitting around with your thumbs up your asses? You make it sound like it s our fault.We re trying hard to attract customers.I ve never owned abusiness.I don t know what the hell to do and you re not there to help&  The tension was getting toall of us lately, causing us to snap at each other.I was under pressure to help Kenny, Chase was afraidhe d lose his job and Kenny was  well - fucked.It felt like I had the weight of the world on my shoulders, but before I could speak again, Kennycut me off. You re not the one who has cancer, puking the living shit out of yourself every day. Hewas turning beet red and I thought he might stroke-out on the floor at any minute.I stood up and took a step toward Kenny, in case he passed out or something.Shit, I didn t knowmuch about what his cancer treatment did, but it sure made him sick. Hey, Kenny, you want to sit down? I peered into his face.He was breathing hard but in a coupleseconds his breaths slowed to normal. Sorry to snap at you, we are all on edge here, these days.Let sslow down and take it easy. He nodded. Come on, you need some water? Let s go to the kitchen.Icould use a drink, but I ll settle for water.Kenny managed a meek smile at my bad joke and we moved our conversation to the kitchen So what exactly are you talking about? What are you doing to attract customers? Well, it so happens that maybe, we can get an article about Rookies in the L.A.Times.Thatshould attract some customers. Forgive me if I don t pat you on the back, but how d you manage that? He looked at me like Iwas full of shit. It was Niki s idea.She knows someone who works for the newspaper and dropped a hint or two.I m waiting to hear back, from the journalist assigned to the article, with a time and a place for theinterview. Place? Won t the interview be at the bar? I hope so.That s what I suggested.But they want the focus of the article to be on me, themotocross champ who came from New York to help out his ailing uncle and help save his bar fromclosing.Kind of a sappy, pathetic story if you ask me. My mouth inched into a crooked smile.Kenny snorted a laugh. That is pathetic [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]