by Dakota Hart
“I don’t know, maybe both?” I said, laughing.
“I can’t deal with you girl, you’re too damn lucky!” Marc said.
“Not always.” I said quietly, remembering the look on Kyle’s face the last time I saw him while I waited for the cab to take me here.
Marc was silent for a minute, then said
“I’m so sorry Casey, you deserve so much better than him. I never liked him you know, his chin is too narrow.” Marc shook his head dramatically “It looks disgusting!”
“What! How come you never said this to me?” I shrieked, happy to have someone like Marc back in my life again. It was a welcome change after the drama of New York.
“I didn’t wanna be rude, he was your boyfriend after all.”
“But you don’t mind being rude now?” I said.
Marc shrugged “Cheaters deserve the worst.”
I nodded “True.”
“Oh my god Casey, we should have a girl’s night!” Marc said.
“I’d love that!” I said, then “As long as it doesn’t conflict with my date, obviously.”
“Of course!”
Just then Greta walked past, carrying her little plate of sushi rolls, her head held high. She looked down her nose at Marc and Casey and gave a little haughty sniff as she went past.
“What’s her problem?” Casey asked “Is it me?”
“Girl, no.” Marc said “She’s been like that for ages. Maybe we should get her a vibrator for Christmas?”
Casey had been taking a sip of her coffee when he said this and she nearly spit it out laughing.
“I’ll go half!” she exclaimed, sending Marc into a fit of giggles as well.
Chapter 4: Aiden
Why was I so nervous? I looked out across my sprawling walk-in closet, the clothes strewn everywhere. It was ridiculous, I hadn’t had this much trouble choosing an outfit since my wedding day. I gulped back emotions as that thought flooded my brain for a moment, and quickly dragged myself into the present. I didn’t know what Casey was making me feel but it was new and it was scary. I really didn’t know what to wear for something like that.
I tried on my third casual Armani business suit, strolling into the bedroom to get a look in the natural light coming in through the picture windows. Max was sitting on the bed, his favorite blue mouse toy clutched between his paws.
“What do you think Max, is this the one?” I said, turning from side to side. Max whined and put his tongue out.
“You’re right, it’s too upscale, I need to go casual.” I jogged back into the closet and grabbed a flannel shirt, a trusty black v neck, and jeans. I put them on and walked out to the bedroom, looking at myself in the mirror. Max hopped off the bed and put the slobbery blue mouse down at my feet, looking up at me excitedly. I sighed. Dogs don’t make very good helpers for choosing an outfit.
I picked up the toy and hurdled it down the staircase into the living room, smiling as I watched him careen off after it so fast he almost tripped over his own feet. I turned back around and assessed myself in the mirror. It was a casual look that didn’t acknowledge I had any wealth to speak of and that was okay. I liked just being a regular guy sometimes, and if Casey was as special as she seemed she would like me that way too.
———
A few minutes later I was out in the Range Rover, heading into downtown Portland. After a feverish bout of flirty texts with Casey (which had led to a very enjoyable evening alone last night for me), I had offered to show her around Portland with a food truck tour. The food in Portland is amazing and I love all the different types of small businesses selling food in weird places. Food trucks are a Portland staple and I thought it was the best way to introduce her to the city. She agreed and now here I was, only an hour away from my date and nervous as hell. I didn’t like it, feeling this way. It reminded me too much of her, of the early days of our relationship, when I was giddy and on top of the world. When it felt like anything was possible. I didn’t want to feel that way ever again, not now that I knew it wasn’t true. But something about Casey had me in her grip and wouldn’t let go, so I kept driving.
I parked around the corner from the spot we were supposed to meet and check myself out in the mirror before I got out, meticulously fixing a few hairs. Silly, I know, but I couldn’t help myself. I hopped out of the car and opened the back door for Max to hop out. Yeah, I brought my dog on the date. I needed all the emotional support I could get, and Max was pretty much all I had right now besides my family all the way on the east coast. I put his harness on him and pulled him along the street with me, Max was wagging his tail happily and I knew just how he felt when I saw her.
She was standing on a street corner looking around anxiously, a big camera slung over her shoulder. She wore a big hat, tight fitting jeans, and a little crop top, showing off all her assets and making me think back to our flirty texts. I felt my dick stirring in my pants at that thought.
She turned around and flashed me a huge grin and a little electric current went through me, making my heart skip a beat. This was definitely getting dangerous.
“Hey!” I said, walking up to her. She went in for a hug and I felt tingles all over at her touch.
“Hey yourself!” she said, grinning boldly “And who’s this beautiful angel?” she said, immediately crouching down to Max’s level and burying her hands in his fur. Max loved her immediately and a little bit of my nervousness melted away. Watching this mesmerizing creature cuddling my dog was just too much, my heart was pounding.
“This is Max, he insisted on meeting you too.” I said, groaning internally at how cheesy I was being.
“Well hi there Maxy, you’re just a beautiful pup aren’t you?” she said, smiling with delight as Max nuzzled into her. He started licking her face and she laughed, “Awww you’re such a sweet boy!”
She stood up “How’s your day been?” she asked.
“Great” I said, feeling the awkwardness set in “Take any good photos?” I pointed at her camera and started walking towards the food trucks.
“Yeah, I think so.” she said modestly “But you know, street photography isn’t really what I do.” she looked at me and raised her eyebrows meaningfully.
I laughed “Right, I forgot. What you really do is take nudes, and you want to take some of me?”
“If you’re up for it!” she chirped “Also, it doesn’t have to be nude, just shirtless. Although, if you want to be nude, my followers would love that.”
I laughed again “Fair enough, well I think I could do shirtless but I’m not sure I’m ready for the full monty.”
She clapped her hands “Oh my god, I love that movie!”
I looked at her, surprised. “Me too, actually. I haven’t met anyone who’s seen it for a while though, it’s pretty old.”
She nodded “Yeah, I just love British movies, and TV too. I don’t know, I feel like their sense of humor is just so different, I love it.”
“Wow, me too!” I said, surprised. I didn’t usually meet people like this, especially not such gorgeous ones. “Do you like Outlander?”
“Oh my god, YES!” she exuded, turning to me and flashing that devilish grin again “Have you read the books? They’re even better.”
“I haven’t, but I can’t imagine they could compete with the beautiful visuals of the Scottish highlands. It’s the only show I’ve seen that really captures what it’s like to be in Scotland.” I said.
“Wait, you’ve been to Scotland?” she said, eyes wide “I’m so jealous!”
“Yeah, a few times. I actually went there for my -” I stopped short before I said honeymoon, and suddenly the moment was gone, my heart flooded with sadness and memory. I shook myself out of it but decided to move on
“Let’s grab some food, what do you want? Italian? Nona’s is one of the best!” I said, pointing to a food truck near us. “If you don’t, there’s also Thai, Mexican - best burritos in the city over there at Chico Rico, Sushi, Armenian - you gotta try the Georgi
an Cheese Bread, it’s nuts.”
I paused for breath and looked at her, she was smiling radiantly at me, watching me ramble on about food trucks.
“Anyway, uh, there’s a lot of great options.” I finished lamely.
“Okay well, let’s try at least three of them!” Casey said, full of exuberance. She was so full of life and joy, I wished I could be like that again. I hadn’t been full of life in a long time.
Chapter 5: Casey
Before me on the benches was the remains of five different delicious food truck offerings. Half a burrito, the crust of a delicious pizza, an empty carton that once contained the perfect sushi rolls, a few thai noodles on a paper plate and the matcha, pomegranate & chai ice cream sundae I was sharing with Aiden. I grabbed another spoonful of the delicious pomegranate ice cream and rolled it around on my tongue, taking a moment to stare at Aiden’s gorgeous face while I savored the perfect food. Portland was turning out pretty fabulous already, maybe Kyle cheating on me was the best thing that had ever happened to me.
I suddenly felt a gut punch when I remember finding them, the pain, the embarrassment. Okay, maybe not the best thing. I realized I had to move on though, and keep my mind on the sexy man licking his spoon right in front of me. What was he talking about?
“So basically, that’s the difference between pour over and cold brew, they’re honestly not similar at all, they’re just both trendy ways to make coffee right now.” he said, biting his lip in a way that sent shivers up my spine. He was so perfect looking, it was nearly impossible to concentrate on a conversation about coffee brewing. But he was really passionate about it, so I nodded and said
“Wow! I had no idea, that’s really cool.” It probably was pretty interesting, and I might have been genuine if I’d heard about it from someone less attractive, but I was mostly thinking about what it would feel like to suck on his nipples.
“Well, it’s kind of my nerdy hobby anyway.” he said, and he looked shy again, so surprising for someone who looked like him.
“I think it’s cool” I asserted, wondering what made him so different from other guys I had met. “So, are you gonna show me the full monty or what?” I asked, holding up my camera and waving it at him.
“Here?” he said, laughing, and scooting closer to me on the bench. He leaned in to me, his dark hair falling into his eyes and making him look like a sexy action star. He looked into my eyes, holding my gaze for a little too long, making my heart beat faster and pussy start to ache.
“I think we might want somewhere more private for that.” he said, his voice dropping to a husky whisper. I took a sharp breath in, feeling — at the sound of him.
I nodded, my heart beating fast “Yeah, maybe we can make an appointment to shoot later this week?” I moved closer so our legs were touching, and put my hand on his knee.
His eyes never left mine, when he picked up my hand from the table and held it up to his face. He gently kissed the palm and said “Whatever you want.”
I breathed deeply, feeling the heat rushing to my face as he did that, the feel of his soft lips on my skin was like lightning.
I pulled my hand up and ran it through his tousled hair, while stairing into his dark eyes. The movement was all the invitation Aiden needed and he leaned in, kissing me deeply.
The kiss was explosive, his hands on my head, buried in my hair, sending electric currents through my body. It was like a magnetic energy kissing him, I’d never experienced anything like it. I wanted every part of him inside me, his tongue in my mouth, his manhood in my folds, his heart intertwined with mine. I felt fireworks shoot through me when we kissed, and I know he did too. I could feel him trembling as he kissed me deeply, our tongues pushing back and forth and our eyes closed.
After a minute I heard a beeping sound and Max started pawing at my leg. We broke apart and Aiden realized it was his phone making the beeping. I looked at Max and said
“Did you have to do that?” But after a moment of looking at his big dog eyes I melted immediately and took the crust of the pizza and handed it to the sweet boy, scratching him behind the ears while Aiden looked at his phone.
He looked increasingly more alarmed as he texted furiously and totally ignored the outside world. I rested my hands in Max’s fur and took a moment to admire Aiden’s sexy body while I waited for him to finish texting. He was tall but not too tall, maybe 6’2, and had unkempt dark hair that was mussed in a way that made it look like he just had sex. He was muscular, especially his upper arms which looked like they could pick me up. I really wanted his strong arms to pick me up and take me to a bed right then.
He looked up, his face distraught
“I’m so sorry, something came up, I have to go.” he said, quickly standing up and grabbing Max’s leash.
“Oh, is everything okay?”
“Yeah, it’s just like, a work emergency.” he said.
I was disappointed. How serious was a work emergency for a barista? I wondered if this was a blow off.
“Oh cool, no problem.” I said, looking away.
“Hey, I had a great time though, how is Thursday for the photoshoot? Maybe we can have dinner at my place after?” He said warmly, taking my hand.
I looked up at him, smiling. Okay, maybe we are still on track after all.
“Sounds perfect, text you later?” I said, entwining my fingers with his for a moment. He looked down at my hand and squeezed it tightly for a second before letting go.
“Absolutely.” he said. Then he pulled Max away from me, turned and jogged off across the park. I admired his hard, tight butt as he walked away, showcased perfectly by his jeans. I definitely knew what I would be thinking about when I got my vibrator out tonight.
Chapter 6: Aiden
It was Thursday morning and I was feeling nauseous. Thinking about Casey was starting to consume me, eat up all my time, and scare the shit out of me. Yesterday, at a meeting I stopped paying attention for an entire proposal because I was thinking about the sound of her laughter, and the feeling of her delicate hand in mine that day at the food trucks.
The partners hadn’t been very happy with me, I smoothed it over but I didn’t know how much longer I could keep it up. I also wasn’t sure I wanted to. Every time I would feel my heart leap thinking about Casey I would remember her and it would fall back down again, defeated. After what had happened to my heart, it was a battered and bruised thing that I didn’t think could open up again. In fact, I was trying my hardest to make sure it didn’t.
In an effort to sort all this out before the photoshoot date tonight I decided to call my sister, Lucy. Lucy is a few years younger than me, she just graduated from a liberal arts college in Vermont where she studied sustainable farming, and she’s currently living at home with my dad in New Hampshire.
She’s also the only person I know who will always tell me the truth.
After a few rings she answers, sounding breathless
“Hellloooo” she said cheerily.
“Hey” I said, probably more dramatically than I intended “Sorry, did I catch you at a bad time?”
“What’s wrong?” she said, pivoting instantly to what a lovingly refer to as her “sister-bear mode”. Like a mama bear, but instead it’s my little sister. She’ll defend me or my brothers with the ferocity of a bear.
“Whoa, calm down sister-bear” I said, affectionately. “I’m just a little confused about someone and I wanted your opinion.”
“Don’t tell me to calm down when you’re the one who called me all out of sorts!” she scolded “So, what’s her name?”
“How do you know it’s a her?” I asked.
“Because you sound more upset than when Cindy Miller turned you down for prom.”
“I told you never to bring that up.” I said.
“Yeah yeah, so what’s her name?” Lucy asked.
“Casey.” I said, reluctantly “I just don’t know what to do, she makes me feel…I don’t know, like a pack of wild wolves are tearing me up in
side.”
“Damn, you never were one to play things down.” she laughed “No butterflies in my stomach for you.”
“No.” I said, dourly “This is serious, Lucy. I’m all torn up, I don’t know what to say or do. I just met her last week, we went on a date, I’m seeing her tonight. I’m not sure I should. Should I cancel?”
“What!” she shrieked “First of all, I should tell you off for not texting me the minute you met a girl that made you feel like this. Second of all, if you cancel I will come out there and personally drag you over to this girl’s house. You deserve this Aiden, I’m so happy for you.”
“Thanks, I guess, I don’t know.” I said.
“Stop feeling guilty for something you can’t do anything about and go out with a beautiful girl! She is beautiful, I assume?”
“Oh man, you have no idea.” I said dreamily.
“Good, send me a photo.” she said, matter of fact “Dad is calling me from the yard, he wants me to teach him how to use his drone. I can’t believe you bought him that for Christmas.”
“I can’t believe he’s only using it now!” I said, laughing.
“Yeah, you know how he is. He has the patience of an ox, that one. Are you gonna be okay?”
“I will be, thanks.” I said, not sure I meant it. “Go help dad, I’ll talk to you later.”
“Okay, love you! Bye!” she said, then hung up.
———
A few hours later I was opening up the main warehouse on a Sunday, checking around the empty space to make sure it was all clean and tidy before Casey arrived. I had taken my sister’s advice and decided to go through with this, even though I still felt nauseous. I had stopped at Whole Foods on the way over to buy food for our dinner date later tonight and grabbed a snack, thinking it would settle my stomach. But the wolves just wouldn’t let me go.
