© 1999

"You're my best friend. Do you know that?" Anna said, gliding a finger over the cool granite counter.

"You're my best friend, too." Seth replied, looking up from the avocado he was slicing to smile at the top of Anna's wavy blond head. "He was wrong, Anna. He could've at least pretended to be a man and explained how he felt." Seth shook his head, angry that 'the asshole' hurt his Anna. Dried tears still showed on her beautiful face.

"I guess I didn't give good enough head." Anna straightened to her full height, all of five feet two inches and pressed her hands into the small of her back. She gracefully arched into a stretch, pressing her shoulder blades together and thrusting her small breasts forward.

"C'mon, Anna, you deserve better. At least I think you do. Roddy was a big-ass jerk. Remember last week when we all had dinner at Briars? He asked the waitress for extra neutrons on his salad. What an idiot!" Seth caught his breath as Anna innocently stretched. The ribbed fabric of the white tank top she wore pulled across her pert breasts. He felt himself growing hard as his eyes fell to the hardened points of her nipples straining against her shirt. She wasn't wearing a bra.

"No way! Where was I?" Anna laughed as she snatched a slice of avocado from the cutting board.

Seth playfully smacked her hand, smiling at the sound of her laugh. "You and Megan were in the ladies room. And I swear, that's what he said. Roddy's a couple of cans short of a six- pack, didn't you notice?"

Anna leaned her elbows on the granite-topped island unaware Seth could see down the front of her shirt. Seth concentrated harder on the avocado. The sight of her gentle swell of breasts disappearing into the softness of the T-shirt was having an uncomfortable effect on him. Anna didn't need this right now, she needed his undivided attention. She was hurting. So was he, but in a different way. Now who was being a jerk?

Anna chewed and swallowed the slice of avocado, lost in thought. "Yeah, I guess he was no Einstein but he could do things to me that " Anna stopped mid-sentence and smiled at Seth.

"Oh yeah? Tell me." Seth winked at Anna, his heart skipping a beat.

"I didn't know you were such a chef, Seth. I mean, all this food... it's incredible." Anna picked up a bread stick and dipped it into the creamy mixture in the food processor. She bit off the end of the bread stick and chewed. The look on her face was indecisive and pleasant at the same time. She swallowed and nodded at Seth, a smile in her eyes. "Fabulous. Sun-dried tomatoes, basil and what else?"

"Um..." The question was innocent enough, it was just the way she used the tip of her tongue to lick the flakes of bread stick from her lip. "Um, cream cheese, cilantro and yogurt. Just wait until you see what else I'm cooking for you. Nothing soothes a psyche quite like good food, eh?" He reached for his wine glass and took a generous sip. "Now, don't change the subject. I'll bet any man could make you feel just as good as or better than ol' Roddy the nimrod." He poured raspberry sauce over fresh berries.

Anna nibbled the bread stick as she watched Seth prepare dinner. His hands were large and pliant. He continued chopping and slicing, unaware of her intense perusal. Her Bear, she affectionately named him as kids growing up in the middle-class suburbs of Mobile. He was always so sweet, burly and cuddly. Over the years he gradually changed from her stocky Bear to a tall, athletically built man of unbelievable gentleness. Once she witnessed his animal side as she passed the room at the beach cabin the group of them shared every summer. He was thoroughly fucking his girlfriend, their combined grunts and cries echoing throughout the empty cabin. They thought the cabin was empty. Anna had come back in search of a CD for the beach party. Seth and Gwen were having their own private party and Anna was a little jealous. She was also very turned on by the sight of Seth's firm ass and broad shoulders moving with each thrust into Gwen. She could still see the trickle of sweat on his tanned back.

"Who would have thought my Bear was such a gourmet cook?" Anna teased. There was something undoubtedly special about a man who loves to cook. A man who loves to cook must be so willing to give and to please, the thought nearly made her knees buckle. The same type of man would not feel threatened in any way by being able to prepare a good meal and care for his children. Cradling a baby in his large hands, loving it, sharing... What made her think about children with Seth? He would just be great, that's all, she rationalized. He's comforting me and I'm grateful. What a man. Anna's sigh was audible.

Seth craved her. He watched her mouth taste the sauce he drizzled over the berries. As if in slow motion she touched the membrane of the glaze with a fingertip and brought the treat to her mouth. She moaned. He imagined she moaned in pleasure from what he was doing to her body. She was, in a sense.

"Mmmm...heavenly."

Yes.

He wanted to taste her buttery skin. He dreamed that he would start by licking the soft and silky curves of her long dark lashes and slowly nibble a path to the delicate pink arch of her foot. He would take his time, savoring the saltiness of her skin, the silky feel against his lips and tongue. "Bear. You haven't called me that in a while. And why not?" A tomato wedge flew through the air and landed with a gratifying splat against Anna's upper chest and slid down her shirt between her breasts. "And that's what happens when you keep changing the subject on me." Seth smiled salaciously as Anna dug her hand down her shirt to find the slimy tomato. Her fingers kept slipping from the tomato and as she desperately grabbed for it she tugged the front of her shirt so far down she exposed a perfect pink nipple.

Anna knew what she had done. She wanted him to see her as a woman, more than best friends. She smiled as his cinnamon- colored eyes lifted from her breast and gazed into her eyes. Just in time for her to return the tomato wedge.

"Ha! You know what this means, don't you? War, baby! Now, what was the question?" Anna managed to say as she giggled at Seth's inability to catch the tomato before she launched her half-eaten bread stick at him. Seth batted away the bread stick but not before a shower of crumbs dusted his dark hair.

Seth grabbed a handful of sunflower kernels and stepped closer to Anna. "The question was...what could nimrod do to your body that a real man couldn't do better?" He smirked as she blushed, his tall body menacingly close. Suddenly he grabbed the front of her T-shirt and sprinkled the sunflower kernels over her breasts, adding to the sensation by laying his large hand on her shirt and grinding the tiny kernels gently into her skin. His golden-brown eyes never left her green ones.

Anna gasped as Seth reached for her shirt, his fingers brushing over the sensitive mounds of flesh. She bit her lip and squirmed when he sprinkled the sunflower kernels over them. She moaned softly when his hand lay on top of her already sensitive breasts, knowing he felt her nipples harden. Something in his demeanor changed at that moment. He looked at her with hunger and found the same hunger looking back.

"A better man would kiss me with a feral passion."

Seth stood quite a bit taller than Anna. He raked a hand through his longish black hair, cupping the back of her head with the other, drawing her close. "Feral?" He followed the path the pink tip of her tongue took over her lips, slowly matching it with his own tongue. Slowly he traced around her upturned lips, stopping to place a soft kiss after each revolution. Both of his hands skimmed down her back and settled on Anna's small waist. With a snarl he began to kiss her harder, turning her to lean against the counter top, pressing his body against hers. His kiss deepened, feeling the warmth of her open mouth, tongues dancing, lips searching, whispering, tasting.