“Hi, can we get a Stella and a Long Island?” she asked the female bartender. Shayler passed her a wad of cash.
“We’re not seeing The Last Samurai, huh?”
Shayler exhaled in short spurts. “Don’t think so.”
When the bartender brought them drinks, Shayler grabbed for it and chugged. Whatever David was doing to her was obviously a very, very bad thing. She’d completely lost her mojo. Three months ago, after a moment like that, she’d have been in the bathroom with David, her body banging against the stall door as he nailed into her.
The liquor did little to cool her down as her daydream heated her back up. Shayler wouldn’t even take his shirt or pants off. If they were having sex right now, she’d need it fast and hard and rough. Eyeing him, she wondered if he did rough. She licked her lips as he gripped his glass and took a small sip.
Her drink was doing its job and making her head fuzzy. Her body felt looser, less strung out. Thank God. These were feelings she was used to, feelings she could deal with.
“Have you ever had a girlfriend?” she asked David when he was in the middle of drinking.
He coughed and banged a fist on his chest. “What?”
“A girlfriend.”
“Yes.”
“Who?”
“Uh, her name was Rachel. We went out my freshman to junior year.”
“Two years? You had one girlfriend and it was for two years?”
“Is that a problem?”
“More like a waste.”
He chuckled. “Gee, thanks.”
“Why’d you break up?”
“Just went our separate ways.”
“Sorry.”
“I’m over it.”
She bent her head, trying to avoid his studying gaze. “But you had sex?”
His lips twitched. “Yes, we had sex.”
“And she was your first?”
“No.” He shook his head. “My first was in high school.”
“She wasn’t your girlfriend?”
“Not officially. She was one of my friends, and we hung out a lot in her basement on the weekends. Eventually, it led to, you know…”
“Intercourse.” Shayler sighed.
“What about you?”
“I’ve never done it in a basement.”
David grinned and finished his beer, flagging down the bartender to ask for a water. He looked at her expectantly, and she ordered the same.
“No, I meant boyfriends.”
She scrunched her nose. “Nope.”
“You’ve never had a boyfriend?”
“Eh, other than the guys who assume they are, no.”
“And you’ve never wanted one?”
“Haven’t we been through this? I don’t see a reason for it. If I want sex, I have sex. I don’t need some guy who thinks he’s my keeper and tells me what to do and monopolizes my time. I like freedom and choices and fun.”
“Not all boyfriends are like that.”
“All the ones I’ve met are.”
“Okay, what about your first time?”
“Ooh. It was freshman year of high school, first few weeks of school. I’d been hanging out with this kid Matt all summer because he played baseball at the park by my house, and when school started he asked me to play with him sometime.” Shayler grinned. “So I did.”
“On a baseball field?”
“Better than a basement.”
David smiled. “True.”
“Was it good?”
“My first time?” David asked.
Shayler nodded.
“No. It was terrible. Took about two minutes, and then she asked me to leave because she was gonna get dinner with some idiot from our Calculus class.”
“Nuh-uh.”
“Yeah.”
“That’s why you don’t do casual,” she said. “Let me guess, sex with your next girlfriend was good, and you figured it was because you were emotionally connected or some shit.”
“I know it’s because we were emotionally connected.”
Shayler rolled her eyes. “Dumb. I’ve had sex and never been attached, and it’s always been fine.”
“Fine?”
“Gets the job done.”
“That’s all you want, to get the job done?”
“Why? Are you saying you could do more?” she teased.
It was supposed to be a joke, but he met her gaze and she couldn’t look away. So much for cooling down. The air turned shallow and suffocating as he pinned her with an intensity she hadn’t thought possible. Her stomach plummeted like she was in a free fall, and she wished she could yank his mouth to hers. She paused. Why couldn’t she do that?
But David beat her to it, snaking a hand around her neck as he tugged her toward him. She gasped, the sound lost in his mouth the second his lips claimed hers. His mouth moved firmly against hers, fighting to make her give up control. She did. He tasted good, like alcohol and mint and David. Pure David. Her tongue swept his bottom lip, and she grabbed his collar to get as close to him as possible.
It wasn’t enough, her body felt empty, wanted him on top of her. Inside her. David stroked her face, his tongue dancing with hers. She shivered, but it felt like the room was a thousand degrees. He kissed her harder and dropped his hands to her arms.
Shayler broke away, sucking in a breath. David did the same, his lips still grazing hers. She licked the inside of his mouth one more time, because she needed to. She needed to taste all of him. Her hands twisted further into his collar, and he had to stand before he toppled over from her sudden, desperate pull.
“Don’t mean to break you apart, but you should consider taking this outside,” Clay said, tapping the bar twice before jogging to the other side.
Shayler searched David’s eyes, looking for his typical apprehension. But he was staring at her hungrily, and Shayler was more than ready to be eaten. She stood up, hanging onto him for support as he led them to the exit.
Electricity crackled between them, but they didn’t stop walking until they got to his car. Shayler was ready to pull the door open and ask where they were going when David spun her around so that she was flush against his Prius. She’d never appreciated the car as much as she did in that moment.
He grabbed her waist and nipped at her lower lip before pulling it firmly into his mouth. She melted into him, savoring the feeling of being totally consumed by David. Kissing him was nothing like she’d dreamt about. It was hotter, more thrilling. It was everything.
David moved his mouth to her neck and softly kissed a trail to her collar bone. She arched her back, pressing against him, pleased that she could feel how hard he was. Shayler moaned for more as she clawed at his back, her leg hiking up so she could hook it around his waist.
“Damnit, Shayler,” he muttered, and she groaned again due to the raspy timber of his voice.
Worth it. Her sex hiatus had been worth it for this. She wiggled against him, and he let out a growl. Shayler pushed harder until he held her up, allowing her to wrap both of her legs around him.
Shayler wondered if he cared that they were in public, lit up by the moonlight and stars. She didn’t. She couldn’t stop. Pulling him back to her mouth, David scraped his nails down her thigh. So he did have a rough side. Shayler threw her head back as his hand made its way to her inner thigh. He worked a finger under her panties, circling her clit lightly, suddenly delicate with his touch.
“More, please,” she begged in his ear.
He laughed, and she swore she could’ve come right then and there. While he kept a hand on her thigh to balance her, he used the other to tease her entrance. Shayler gasped, almost to the brink of crying from frustration and need.
She whispered his name as he pushed inside her, curling his fingers so they tempted the right spot. Shayler shut her eyes and saw fireworks. The man was a god. She panted, so close. Moaning, she rode his hand like she wished she was riding his dick.
He kissed her neck, right under her ear, and Shayler unra
veled, coming undone in more ways than one. She rested her head on his shoulder as he took his fingers out slowly. Her eyes opened, and David was there, smiling at her like she’d passed another test.
“Fuck,” she said, her voice shaking as much as her legs.
“Pretty much,” he agreed.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Shayler slid down the car, her feet hitting the floor and jostling some sense into her brain. She gaped at David, head tilted. Had the man who’d turned her down multiple times just given her a mind-blowing orgasm in a parking lot with nothing but his fingers? Had she somehow been thrown back into ninth grade, when hand jobs were cool?
She smoothed out her dress and cursed.
“Wha—”
“Wet,” she explained. “We need a bathroom. To clean up. Do you know any? Places, I mean.” Her head spun and her body cried out for a nap.
David rubbed his chin. “Uh, there’s a McDonald’s down that street.”
“Lead the way,” she said, clinging to his arm.
He intertwined his fingers with hers as they set on their short journey to the golden arches. With each step, Shayler reminded herself that’d been nothing more than quick, animalistic foreplay. But, as they passed the club and made a sharp right, David’s hand grew tighter and he drew her closer to his side. And she’d have been a fucking idiot not to admit that she liked it. A lot.
After a short walk—that felt hours long thanks to Shayler’s weak legs—they made it. David held the door open for her as she jogged to the bathroom. It smelled like disinfectant and old tampons, but even that couldn’t put a damper on her spirit.
Okay, technically, she hadn’t broken her dry spell. There’d been no penetration by penis. But she’d orgasmed hard enough to make up for that. As she cleaned herself, her body shivered with pleasure and happiness. Pure happiness that hadn’t come from the bottom of a bottle or forcing Ansley to watch High School Musical with her and Rebecca. Weird.
She walked out of the bathroom and turned her head. David wasn’t in the hall. She peered around the corner, avoiding the chips in the tile floor so she wouldn’t trip and fall flat on her face.
He sat in one of the old, plastic booths, two large fries and Frappes on the table in front of him. Shayler fell into the seat across from him and glanced at the food.
“Thought you might be hungry,” he explained.
“You were afraid I’d make you go back to the club, huh?”
David reached for a fry and took a bite. “Yeah. That too.”
“So … that was weird,” she said, taking a sip of the frozen coffee, grateful that the cold leaked into her stomach and rid her of the warmth that made her think she was sick.
“You’re not going to be shy about this, are you?”
“Nope.” Shayler licked the ketchup off the end of a fry. “I mean, it was good. Really good. Definitely the best fingering I’ve ever had. But I don’t understand.”
David cringed, probably thanks to her crassness. “It was overdue.”
“You mean you wanted to have sex with me this entire time?”
“I’m a guy, Shayler. And you’re … you.”
“Yes, I’m … easy.”
“No, that’s not… I shouldn’t have…” He shook his head. “I didn’t mean that as an insult. But I still don’t want to, to—”
“Have casual sex?” She crossed her arms. “It seemed pretty casual back in the parking lot.”
He held her gaze, and her body ached again. “It’s obvious I like you, Shayler. It’s not casual to me. Not anymore.”
Shayler reached for her drink and sucked down as much as her mouth could hold. It was a relief when she was hit with a sudden brain freeze. The pain gave her an extra minute to form a reply.
David liked her. Her stomach gurgled, threatening to reject the four fries she’d eaten. But she also shivered and felt her pulse quicken. She exhaled loudly.
“You know how I feel about this stuff.”
The corners of his mouth tipped down slightly, and Shayler’s heart lurched. “Okay.”
“I’m sorry.”
“You have nothing to be sorry about.” He grabbed her hand and squeezed. “Nothing.”
She squirmed as butterflies fluttered around in her stomach. Fucking insects. She was ready to light them up with a blow torch and laugh at their ashes. “I knew where you stood, and I definitely didn’t push you off.”
“It’s fine, Shayler. It doesn’t change anything.”
His words made her pulse slow until she had to remind herself to breathe. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she’d actually been scared he’d leave. She’d been scared that she wasn’t enough for him, and he’d take off. What the hell?
“Friends?”
She didn’t hesitate. “Yes.”
He took the shot glass of ketchup and dipped a fry in it. Shayler watched him as she drank her coffee, unable to look away. David was sweet and caring and smart, and she should’ve hated him. But his reassurance that they were still friends made something that felt an awful lot like hope take flight in her chest.
“So … what’s new?”
Shayler giggled. “Smooth.”
“I didn’t want things to be awkward again.”
“I don’t think it was awkward because of us, I think it was—”
“Tension,” he finished for her.
“Yeah.” She bit her lip thinking about the high she’d just ridden. And his hands.
David cleared his throat, and she glanced at him. He was re-rolling his shirt sleeves, focused on each individual fold until they were perfectly symmetrical. Shayler was about to ask him if he had a hot date later he was prepping for, when he beat her to the subject change.
“Oh, have you declared a major yet?”
“Nope.”
“Any ideas?”
She shrugged as the door in front of her was pushed open and a group of four walked in. “Not really.”
“What do you like to do?”
“We’ve been over this. I like having fun.”
“Okay, well, have you thought about being a party planner?”
Shayler stuck her tongue out. “No. Planning? Not my specialty.”
“There’s nothing that you enjoy? Other than having fun.”
Shayler stared at the group as they collected their sodas and sat in a booth on the other side of the restaurant. The skinniest guy was left at the counter to wait for their food. “People watching, I guess”
David grinned. “Okay. What about it?”
“What do I like about it?”
He nodded.
“I…” She pointed at their table. “Like, with them, I like looking at them. Not in a creepy way, but I like figuring out their deal.”
“What’s their deal then?”
“The blonde who’s all over the bulky dude? They’re just friends. She likes him, but he’s not interested. The brunette chick, she’s there to be wing woman, but she’s got a crush on the skinny guy at the counter. And he likes her back, but they’re too shy to say anything.”
“You got all that from sitting here?”
“Yeah. Ooh, and the blonde and brunette are friends, but not really. I’m guessing the blonde resents her for being naturally cute, you know, she’s got no makeup on when the blonde has more than a MAC counter. And the whole thing is ridiculous because they should both hate the bulky asshole because he doesn’t give a single fuck about either of them.”
“Explain,” he demanded.
Shayler nodded to the blonde with the long, straight hair. “She’s got her body totally pointed away from her friend, and she’s peering up at the asshole while stroking his arm. Seduction 101. But he’s not looking at her, he’s glancing at her friend’s boobs and looking over here when I turn to you. Brunette chick keeps pushing her hair behind her ear when we stare at their table, like now, but then she looks at lanky up there.” Shayler gestured to the boy who was balancing a tray. “And he keeps staring at her and mess
ing with his nose. They’ve been strung into this non-date thing, and they’re super nervous because they think they’re only here to be wingman and wingwoman.”
“Wow.” David sat back.
“You think I’m wrong?” Shayler eyed the table, but she’d definitely nailed it. The brunette giggled about something lanky had said, and the asshole continued to leer at her.
“No, but I think this might be your talent.”
She scoffed. “People watching isn’t a talent. It’s an art.”
“Cashier. Tell me about him.”
Shayler craned her neck to look at the acne-covered boy staring at the machine in front of him. His fingers were hitting the counter but not sporadically. The beat was rhythmic, like he was thinking of a certain tempo or song.
“New guy. Maybe training. Also, musician, and, this is just a guess, freshman. He’s too wide-eyed to be a jaded senior.”
David stood and took long strides to the counter. Shayler stared at him. What was he doing? He approached the cashier, his voice low and gruff as they talked. Then he walked back and slid into his seat like he’d never left.
“What the hell?”
“He plays bass in a new band he formed with a couple other freshmen from his dorm. It’s his third day, he’s working to buy a better guitar.”
“Ew. Did you just ask him his life story? Freak.” She tossed a fry at him.
“I’m not joking. I think this might be it.”
Shayler rolled her eyes and flicked her hair over her shoulder. “Who’s gonna pay me to stare at strangers for a living?”
“No. Not specifically that. Your observational skills. I thought you were doing well in Intro to Crim because of me, but I think you’re just good at it.”
She shrugged. “Eh. It’s like any other science class. Facts and figures. Rights and wrongs. Experiments, control groups, examples…”
“You’re good at science?”
“I told you at our last study session that I got an A in Organic Chemistry.”
“You also said you copied some kid.”
“I copied his notes. It wasn’t that tough to figure out, once I went over the homework and stuff.”
David stared at her like he’d just gotten to the end of Sixth Sense and finally realized Bruce Willis had been dead all along.
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