Lead On (Complete)

~ Chapter 8 ~

Rose parked her car at the store and took a moment to compose herself. On the way over, her thoughts had been on that man yet again, and she was starting to hate it. And she knew that she needed to get herself together because once she pulled up to the house, everyone would be at her car, wanting to talk. She shook her head and climbed out of the car and headed into the store. Rose walked down the aisles, letting her eyes wander over stuff but not grabbing anything.

"Can I help you find anything?" Rose lifted her head up and looked at the older woman who had asked the question. She looked over the woman's vest and noticed she was a worker in the store.

"No, thank you. I'm just taking my time to clear some unwanted thoughts."

"Man trouble, hon?"

"Something of the sort." The older woman waved her hand.

"I've been with my husband, Wilbur, for 41 years, and after all this time, he still gives me headaches."

"Men will do that. You don't live in town, do you?"

"No, the other side of the big ol' lake. The store needed help and called the store I work at in my town. But the locations are exactly the same, so I can help anyone."

"Thank you. I just need some beer and I'll be on my way."

"Don't let men get to you dear, they aren't worth the time." With that parting advice, the woman walked away and Rose was left alone again with her thoughts. But she was also thinking about what that woman said. She was right after all; men just weren't worth the time of day. And so what if Jeff was back? Rose spent more than enough time thinking about him when he left; had filled her life with tons of 'what ifs' and she didn't need to spend any more time on him. With that, she grabbed the beer and quickly paid, determined to enjoy the night and ignore Jeff at all costs.

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Of course, two hours later, as she sat the edge of the pool, her feet in the water, a beer in her hand and Jimmy's wife at her side, she quickly noticed how hard it was to keep her thoughts off of Jeff. Not when Anna made it a point to keep telling Rose that Jeff kept looking at her. Really, she couldn't figure out why he was either.

"Anna?" Both women looked over their shoulders as Jimmy called out and Anna got up.

"Excuse me Rose, let me see what my husband wants." Rose nodded as she took a swig of her beer.

"May I sit?" Rose turned to her left, eyeing Jeff as he motioned to sit next to her.

"Help yourself."

"Thanks. You look amazing; but then, again, I was always a sucker for you in shorts." Rose sat her beer bottle down and looked at him.

"I suppose that was always a weakness for you, huh?"

"You have some great looking legs. I remember the first time I saw you in shorts. It was the third day of the school year, you were late getting into class and you had on those boy cut daisy dukes and some low tops. Man, my mouth watered as I saw nothing but legs. I think that was the day I was determined to ask you out actually."

"You got brave because you saw my legs?"

"It was the thoughts that followed that made me brave." Rose licked her lips but smiled as she watched Jeff, this actually being news to her.

"Oh, please don't keep me in suspense here; what were those thoughts?"

"After I saw those beautiful limbs of yours, I thought about sinking myself between them, or them being wrapped around my waist as I had you against a wall. I thought about laying you in the grass by the lake and running my hands up and down them. And then I thought about other boys in school touching and caressing those pretty and sexy things and said nope. I needed to make this gorgeous thing my girlfriend and let everyone know that she would remain mine." Rose threw her head back and laughed. In all their years, she had never pegged Jeff to be the jealous type, but he was telling her that it was jealous what if thoughts that pushed him to even ask her out and it was just too rich.

"Wow, I'm glad I didn't know about it then," she said as she wiped her eyes, "I probably would have told you no after hearing that."

"You think I would have let you walk away?" She tilted her head as she looked at this man and slowly shook her head. No, she honestly felt that he would have kept trying and then would have made sure no one else would dated her. And now, years later, she still believed that about him. And truthfully, she didn't know how she felt about that.

"What are you talking about over here?" Rose turned her head and groaned. Joanne, another long time friend from high school, popped up right behind them.

"Oh, you know high school."

"Oh, those were some fun days." She wiggled her way between Rose and Jeff, making Rose scoot over. It seemed like the teenage crush Joanne had, like everyone else on Jeff, hadn't gone away.

"They were. I was explaining to Rose why I fell so hard for her and why I had no eyes for anyone else." Rose had to turn her head away to avoid the laugh that wanted to escape from her over the look of annoyance that came from Joanne's face.

"Yes, well, that's all in the past now and I'm sure you have eyes for others." Jeff lifted his eyes up and looked at Rose over Joanne's head.

"Actually, Joanne, no I don't. Will you excuse us?" Jeff got up and held his hand out for Rose, who took it and he lifted her up and walked her away. "Damn, that woman has always annoyed me. And she has always been pushy."

"You don't think she would have changed, did you?"

"Nope, I know she wouldn't have." Rose nodded and kicked at the dirt on the ground, trying to gather her thoughts. "What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking about everything you said, and how true it is."

"Which part?"

"Still having eyes for me."

"It's very true Rose that has never changed." He stepped up to her and cupped her cheek, his touch sending shivers down her spine. "Do you know how badly I want to kiss you?" She licked her lips and then swallowed hard.

"What's stopping you?" Those were the words he needed to hear as he pulled her closer and his lips softly pressed against hers.