I sprawled on his bed to watch him undress. His scent had already crept into the sheets surrounding me with its huskiness. He turned from me and peeled off his shirt, the muscles cleaving down his back, undulating like mini mountains covered with smooth, tanned flesh. This seduction would be no hardship at all. That flesh would taste so sweet to my lips.
He turned around, pulling the end of his belt from the buckle. I gulped, eager to see the delights held in his pants.
“Are you objectifying me?” he asked, his fingers paused on his jeans button. “You are, you are totally objectifying. I’m just a piece of meat you want to see naked.”
I turned over on the bed to rest on my belly.
“I am not. I’m waiting for you to get ready so I can go out drinking, so hurry the fuck up and get those pants off.”
“See, this is your problem. You just see men as a bit of meat attached to a cock. Have you ever got to know a guy, really know him, before screwing him?” His tone had turned from joking to serious.
I didn’t need to have him analyse my life and my decisions. I sat up and swung my feet on the floor.
“We aren’t going to have this discussion,” I said and headed for the door.
Chad grabbed my shoulders.
“Hitting a bit close to home, am I?” he said.
My flesh burnt where he touched me. For a moment, I held my breath, wondering if he’d kiss me. His face sure was close enough and he had that look in his eyes. Maybe, if he kissed me, he’d shut up that annoying talking.
But he just laughed and let me go.
“You’re such a kid, Lucy. It’d be far too easy.”
I didn’t know what he meant by that but I huffed and left the room. Jayne was right, it really was a stupid idea. Chad didn’t deserve the awesomeness of me. There had to be another way to get around the stupid deal without losing out on the trip to Florence. I stomped around, pouring myself a glass of wine. I wanted to text Jayne but was worried she’d be all like “I told you so”.
“Are you ready?” Chad came out of his room, dressed and ready to go.
“I’m not sure I want to go out now.”
I sat on the couch with my back to him.
He sat beside me and reached for the remote control.
“Fine by me. I’m happy sitting on the couch watching TV.”
I couldn’t win. Maybe I should head out to a super cool club. One where he’d not even get in the door because he was so lame. Then I’d be free of Chad while he stood around outside waiting for me. Ha, that would teach Chad a valuable life lesson. And maybe, if I felt like it, I’d continue with my seduction plan when I finally came out of the club.
“Fine, we’ll go out then.” I grabbed my car keys. If Chad wanted to tag along, I’d be the one driving.
***
“What do you mean I can’t come in?”
A burly arm blocked me.
“Sorry, love. No arguing. Just move it along.”
“But you let him in…”
Chad looked back at me. How the hell did he get passed the bouncer and I didn’t? I stamped my foot but, before I could say any more, the bouncer moved me aside to wave the girls behind me inside. He’d be sorry.
I tucked my bag under my arm and marched back to my car. Chad’s footsteps clomped behind me but I didn’t turn around. I didn’t want to see his smug smile or hear any of his smartarse comments. I unlocked the car door and thought about driving off, leaving Chad alone in the car park, but then I remembered my seduction plan. Also, he had a pesky way of catching up to me when I tried to evade him. It’d be less embarrassing just to unlock the door and let him in.
“Where to now?”
“Home,” I said.
“Wow, you give up easily. There must be a hundred nightclubs in this city. I’m sure you’d be able to get into one of them.”
I punched him on the arm. How dare he look down on me like that?
“I don’t feel like going out now. Maybe I just want to go for a drink?”
“Weren’t you meeting your friends? What was that you said earlier about a girls’ night out?”
Oh shit, I’d forgotten about that. I couldn’t very well say I’d lied though.
“I changed my mind,” I said, flicking my hair. “I’m not in the mood for girl talk.”
I ended up driving to a rooftop bar near home. I walked in and ordered a cocktail. Chad ordered a beer.
“Wow,” he said. “This is like being on a date.”
“In what way?”
“Well there’s you and there’s me, alone together with a beautiful view over the city. Stars above us, twinkling in the night sky. Soft music playing in the background. It’s kind of romantic.”
I let a slow smile spread across my face and leaned in closer to him.
“I’ll have to remember this place for when I’m on a real date,” he said.
I sat back and raised my glass to my mouth, letting the sweet liquid wet my lips.
“So, tell me about yourself…”
Chad frowned.
“You don’t need to know about me. This game isn’t about me.”
Game? Is that what he thought this was? It was my life. He couldn’t just act like it was some stupid game that he had to win. With a big, fat money prize at the end. The more I thought about it, the less likely I was to enjoy seducing him. He was a jerk. I took a big gulp of my drink to swallow down the words I wanted to say, and smiled.
“Surely it takes a special kind of guy to want to take on a job like this. You must have a pretty interesting story.” I looked up at him through my lashes, giving him my high voltage sex look. This guy talked like he was invincible but it’d take nerves of steel to resist that look.
I ran my finger slowly around the edge of my glass without breaking eye contact with him. It wouldn’t be long until he’d be cracking an awkward boner in his pants. I’d be lucky to get out of the bar with my panties intact. He gulped in that way that meant he wanted me. I would conquer the Chad and all my problems would be over. And get some hot sex in the bargain. If I licked my lip, would that be too obvious?
“We should get out of here,” he said.
Touchdown. I had him right where I wanted him.
I tried to finish my drink but he grabbed my hand and pulled me after him. He was just so hot for me that he couldn’t wait.
As we waited for the elevator, I moved in closer to him, letting him know he could kiss me if he wanted. He didn’t look at me though, he just focussed on the numbers counting up. Maybe he was one of those guys who don’t like public displays of affection. I could work with that even while the pressing ache of my pussy grew stronger.
I leaned my body against his, to enjoy the sensation of his skin but the lift door opened and he stepped inside making me stumble like an idiot.
As the elevator descended, I waited for him to make his move. He’d dropped my hand. Maybe he was scared that once he started, he’d not be able to control himself.
Weak.
Surely we could have a snog now and manage the five minute trip home? Or we could do it in the car, then at home. He still didn’t look at me. I looked away too but could sense the heat of him beside me. My body got hotter too and my skin tingled. I leaned against the mirrored side, my back arching, yearning for him to touch me. Just a caress or a brushing of lips…
We got home without him saying a word. Still no touch, still no kiss. I lingered on the doorstep, waiting for him, the ache for him now flooding my body. I’m not sure why he took so long to come in from the car.
He walked straight passed me as though he didn’t even notice. Not touching me, not even a casual brushing of his hip against mine. Why’d he been in such a hurry to get alone then? I followed him to his room but he shut the door in my face. Was that some weird guy thing? Like, he had some kind of secret he didn’t want me to know about? I’d seen a fair bit of him when he’d been changing to go out though and I’d not noticed anything wrong.
Per
haps he had erectile dysfunction or some kind of disease?
I waited on the sofa. He’d be out in a minute. Whatever he was doing couldn’t compare to hot sex with me. I picked up a cushion and hugged it to myself. I put another under my head as a pillow. My eyes felt heavy and I closed them just for a minute. He’d wake me up when he came out of his room anyway.
CHAPTER EIGHT
“He’s gay. He’s totally gay. That has to be it. Why else would he run off to his room leaving me all hot and bothered on the sofa?”
Tristan gave me a slow, deliberate once over. “He’s not gay.”
“Your radar must be broken because that man knocked back the hottest item in town. To go to bed alone. No straight man would do that. No straight man thinks ‘free pussy, nah, I think I’ll pass’.”
Jayne snorted.
“Except it’s not free pussy, is it? It’s pussy that’s going to cost him a pretty bundle.”
Yeah, she was right. I had to admit it. My foolproof plan had not been so foolproof.
“So what do I do?”
Jayne and Tristan exchanged a look, both shaking their heads.
“Hurry up, he’s coming back to the table. We need to sort this out quick sticks.”
Chad sat down, handing out our coffees and my shoes. He’d taken them to the counter with him. Chad-logic was that I could not run away if I didn’t have shoes and he wasn’t going to be our fetch-and-carry drink boy unless I handed them over. Since it saved me the effort of going to the counter myself, I agreed to his stupid condition.
We all went silent. The pressure of not being able to talk about something put a halt to anything we could think of to say. I picked at my nails and Jayne checked her phone. Tristan just checked out the boys at the counter.
“Don’t let me interrupt your conversation,” said Chad. “Just get back to talking about how Lucy can cheat her grandmother out of her money and still screw around.”
“Maybe we could talk about why you’d want to work for an evil, controlling bitch,” said Jayne without looking up from her phone. “Seems a bit strange to me. Do you have dark secrets, Chad? Gambling debts? A drug addiction? Or is it just to buy a big, powerful car.”
I looked up from fastening my shoe to see Jayne’s grin flash with various shades of evil.
“I have my reasons,” he said.
“Chad doesn’t like to talk about it,” I told her. “It’s a bit of a touchy subject with him.”
Jayne sighed. “Are you an outlaw on the run? Can’t get a real job because you don’t want to leave a paper trail? Is Chad even your real name?”
Chad narrowed his eyes.
“I have my reasons,” he repeated, in a tone that suggested it would be very unwise to ask again. He obviously didn’t know Jayne because it took more than a tone of voice to dissuade her once she got her teeth into something.
Then it was time for us to go to class. At least I could leave Chad at the door and talk to Jayne in peace. We had our pottery class. I hated it but Jayne loved it because she was great at making things. Me, not so much. I could think of designs in my head and I could draw them fine but, once I tried to put those designs into clay form, they went all wonky and weird. I only took the class because I needed a three dimensional medium subject for my course load. And Jayne had talked me into it. I was doomed to fail though and bring down my grade point average. And it took me all week to get that clay out from under my nails.
Having Chad pacing the hallway didn’t help either.
“He’s looming out there. Looming. When are you going to give this up?”
“I’m not.”
Jayne pounded her clay down onto the bench.
“Lucy, it’s getting ridiculous. You can’t win so don’t put yourself through the bother.”
“Why does everyone say that? Maybe I can win. It’s not like I need sex… well, I guess I don’t. I’ve never tried to live without it. But really, it’s only for a short period and then I’m free to do what I want. It’s not like it’s forever.”
Jayne laughed. She laughed a lot. She laughed and punched her clay block.
“You can stop laughing now.”
“You have to admit it’s pretty funny. Hey, you can’t be serious, are you?”
“Maybe I am. Maybe I’ll prove everyone wrong.”
I hadn’t meant to say that but as I said it, I realised it was true. I was sick of people laughing at me and thinking I couldn’t go without sex even for a while. There was more to me than just being a party girl. It might be good to focus on my studies without the distraction. Jayne was my friend. She should support me instead of laughing.
“Why even try? Seriously. You don’t need to do this.”
I didn’t answer but I thought about that. Maybe I did need to. Not for my grandmother and not to win the deal but to prove to myself I could. It’d be character building. Like dieting or quitting smoking.
“I still don’t see why he rejected me. I’m hot and it’s not like he’s getting it anywhere else since he’s with me all day every day. But if he can do it, then I can. The Chad will not win.”
He continued pacing outside the pottery studio like a big ox. I didn’t even like muscular men, not like him. He was far too full of himself and he had that stupid grin like he knew better. Everything about Chad annoyed me. Every little thing. He’d tidied up my bathroom and had moved my cosmetics around so I’d not been able to find my favourite eyeliner and he’d filled the fridge full of vegetables and meat. Sure, he’d let me share his dinner – and he really could cook – but it was still overly presumptuous of him.
I figured I’d be too busy for the last month or so of semester, trying to get everything ready for assessment, so I only needed to be strong until then. It really wasn’t that long. Then, once I had the money in my hand, I’d go on a spree. An Italian spree with hot Italian guys. That would be worth waiting for. I bet those Italian guys wouldn’t be all rejecting like stupid Chad.
“Don’t look now,” Jayne whispered, “but Rebecca is flirting with Chad.”
Of course, whenever someone says, “don’t look now” the first thing you are going to do is look. How can you not look?
Stupid Rebecca stood in the hallway acting like Chad was the only man alive. She had her tits pressed so far forward, it’s a wonder she didn’t topple over, and she gazed up at him with her ugly cow eyes. Why on earth that would make me feel like I’d been punched in the stomach was beyond me. Maybe the ugliness of Rebecca made the food congeal in my belly.
“She should stay away from Chad. He’s my bodyguard.”
Jayne just raised her eyebrow in a really smug and annoying way.
“I don’t care if she talks to him…”
But I stupidly did care. Why would he smile at her and laugh at some stupid shit she said when he rejected me?
“Jayne, Lucy, are you concentrating on your work?” Mrs Zim hovered over us. Where had she come from? I tried to cover my clay design so she’d not be able to see that I’d done literally no work all class but she didn’t even notice. When I followed her gaze, it went out the door and settled on Chad. She straightened her dress and stood up taller. Shitola, even my teacher had a thing for him.
Mrs Zim walked to the doorway.
“Rebecca, shouldn’t you be in class?”
Ha, take that Rebecca. She slinked off even though really it wasn’t anything to do with Mrs Zim and we didn’t even have to attend class. Well, I guess you did if you wanted to pass but it wasn’t compulsory. Still, Mrs Zim always acted like we were high school students and needed to be controlled. That’s why we had to call her Mrs Zim and not by her first name.
I did grin though. No more flirting for Chad.
“Why were you talking to Rebecca Forsythe?” I asked him when I got out of class.
“That girl with the long hair? She wanted to know where I got my tattoos. She’s thinking of getting one herself.”
Yeah, sure. As if Rebecca Forsythe would ever get a tattoo.
She was so prim and sanctimonious. She just wanted an excuse to talk to Chad. What kind of idiot was he for falling for that?
Chad walked with us to my car.
“Hey Chad, we are hitting up the art supply stores. Don’t you think that’ll be kinda boring for you?” Jayne couldn’t resist.
“Don’t judge me,” he replied with a laconic grin. “I might love art for all you know. Anyway, I’m not paid to be entertained. It’s just a side benefit of the job sometimes.”
Jayne and I looked at each other, both unsure if he was laughing at us or not.
“Hey, at least we have a pack horse to carry our stuff around,” I told her.
CHAPTER NINE
The drive home from work had become one of my favourite parts of the day. Mainly because it was the No Chad part. Work didn’t count because I was so damn busy that I couldn’t actually enjoy my Chad-free time. In the car, I could turn up the stereo super loud and sing along. I started taking the long route home to maximise my alone time.
Of course, I could’ve just skipped off and gone somewhere while he wasn’t watching me but if I did that he’d probably start following me to work and hanging around. The boutique where I worked was so small and cluttered that it definitely did not need a big, hulking Chad taking up space. And I’d probably get the sack with him there watching over me.
At home, he pretty much went into his room and left me on my own but there was always that feeling of him being there. Even if I didn’t see him for hours at a time, I knew he was in the other room and I’d wonder what he was doing. If I cooked dinner or watched TV, I’d wonder what he thought about that. Whether he was judging me or approving of me. It drove me mad. None of my other housemates had had that effect on me. I guess knowing that he reported on me to my grandmother made me more self-conscious. That didn’t explain the increased pulse rate and the fluttering sensations when he was around though. That was because he just made me so damn mad though. They were totally signs of being mad and nothing more than that.
Maybe it was because I’d had the stereo on so loud that I didn’t notice the car wasn’t exactly going so well. Not that any early warning signs would’ve helped me avoid spluttering to a complete stop in the middle of the road.
Hands Off! The 100 Day Agreement Page 5
