“I’ll talk to you soon,” Aidan said as he stepped backward out her front door.
“Wait!”
“Yeah?”
“About the nudes?”
She almost melted at the smile that flashed across his lips. “Right, the nudes. What’s on your mind?”
“Well we need Nude Rules right?”
“Rules are good. What are you thinking?”
“Well, I wouldn’t want one of my girls at the bakery to accidentally see your dangle, so maybe we don’t send nudes during office hours.”
“Yeah. We should keep my dangle between us. And I definitely don’t want Matt to see any part of you.”
“Oh yeah, no. He might be one of our best customers, but he’s not that good.” They both laughed and Shae knew she was dangerously close to asking him to come back inside. “Okay. You have to go.”
“I’m leaving. Goodnight.” He turned quickly and walked down the hall to the elevator.
“You can send me nudes tonight if you want.” Shae called after him. He just laughed.
✶
Shae couldn’t sleep. She lay in bed, playing out her night with Aidan over and over in her mind. She’d really gone on a date with IT Aidan and the date was good. The kissing was great. Still, she felt like she’d made a huge ass out of herself. She reached for her phone again and opened her group chat with the girls. She knew they were waiting on an update. Meegan and Keira were talking about a Twilight Zone reboot that was in the works. Shae didn’t feel bad interrupting.
Hi. I’m back
Meegan: How did it go?
Keira: OMG yeah what happened?
He asked me what I wanted in a relationship
and I said someone that I can send nudes to.
WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?
Meegan: UM NOTHING! That’s amazing.
Keira: What did he say?
Oh he was on board, but for like a nudes exchange
Which is all fine and good, but what the
hell kind of first date move is that?
I give him twenty-four hours before he decides
I’m a complete weirdo and ghosts me.
Joanna: He’s not going to ghost you.
Just relax. What else happened?
We went to Target and got decorations and
then he helped me set up my tree.
Keira: That’s so cute.
Meeghan: Did you let him smash?
Shae wanted to answer, but she couldn’t seem to get over whatever was eating at her. Instead of replying to Meeghan, she pulled up her text conversation with Aidan. She could feel herself really blowing it now, saying way too much or just enough, the exact right thing to turn Aidan off forever. Holy shit, dating was the worst.
Was the nudes thing weird?
Just as she was about to switch back to her conversation with the girls, the little text bubble popped up in the bottom left of her screen.
Not at all. I was shocked.
In a good way, not weirded out.
Do you want me to break the ice?
You really want to send me nudes,
don’t you?
Shae, listen.
Every man lives for the moment when
a beautiful woman says she wants awkwardly
framed, poorly lit pictures of his junk
sent to her phone.
Shae laughed to herself and immediately started typing back.
No! Send artsy nudes! I want quality
photographs I can brag to my friends about,
but of course not show them.
Of course.
I thought you were going to sleep.
I tried to, but I’m wide awake.
You’re thinking about the nudes.
I’m going to put you out of your misery.
Shae stared at her phone a full minute and those three little dots still hadn’t popped on Aidan’s side of their text conversation. She clicked back over to her group chat with the girls.
Omg I think he’s sending me
a dick pic right now.
Meegan: Sweet lord. Please show us.
I can’t!
That’s like privacy violation #1
Meegan: Okay well tell us what his
junk looks like in graphic detail.
And then show us anyway.
Joanna: Don’t show us!
Keira: Yeah please don’t. I’m good. LOL
Before Shae could respond, a picture message popped up at the top of her screen. The little square on the right hand side was so tiny. Still, the sight of lightly tanned skinned covered in freckles was unmistakable. Shae was pretty sure her heart stopped.
Omg he sent pics! I can’t do this.
I cannot do this.
Keira: Can’t do what? What’s wrong?
I DON’T KNOW! I’M FREAKING OUT!
Joanna: Take a deep breath.
Keira: Do you want me to come over?
No. You don’t need to witness
my freak out firsthand.
Meegan: Also she’s about to jerk
off to hot ginger nudes.
Keira: Alright! Stop.
I’m okay, just give me one sec.
That was a lie. Shae was used to being honest and sometimes too straightforward, but it rarely led to things she actually wanted, especially from guys she actually wanted to sleep with. So no, she was not okay. Shae was overwhelmed, if it was possible to be overwhelmed by a good thing. Yeah, she was definitely overwhelmed, but not too overwhelmed to look at the pictures.
Okay I’m going to take
fifteen minutes to carefully
analyze these pictures.
I’ll be back.
Shae saw Meegan typing, but she didn’t stick around for her next colorful comment. Instead she took a deep breath, then clicked out of her group chat. The red little notifications bubble above her text message icon taunted her. There were four texts now. Four texts from Aidan containing pictures of what she was convinced was a rocking bod. She let out the deep breath and pulled another one in.
“Okay,” she said out loud. “This is no big deal. You’ve seen a naked man before. You’ve seen hot naked men before. None this hot in real life, but you’re an adult. You can handle this. Okay. Dear Santa, give me the strength I need.” Shae pressed her thumb to the little green icon, then moved over Aidan’s name at the top of her message list. She was wrong. She wasn’t ready and holy shit, it was a big deal. In the first two pictures, Aidan had snapped two selfies in the mirror, from his chest down to the dark red curls just below a perfectly defined V of muscle at the top of his equally muscular thighs. The bright lights of his bathroom showed off every muscle, every freckle.
He still had his dark frame glasses on, which made Shae wonder how strong his prescription was for a second before she moved on to the next picture. Aidan had moved things to his bed. He had held his phone somewhere down around his thigh and captured a picture that featured both his face and his erection grasped in his other hand. The last photo was similar but from a slightly different angle.
Shae’s body was now hot all over. This time it wasn’t from nerves. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been this turned on. Her head felt tight and tingly, and her pussy was starting to throb. Shae swallowed the drool pooling in her mouth. As she was turning her head to analyze every inch of his cock, Aidan sent another text.
I’m open to constructive criticism.
Can’t change the equipment,
but please let me know if I can step up
the lighting and composition.
A burst of laughter slipped out of Shae, releasing some of the lustful tension that was building in her chest. Criticism? How could she criticize perfection? Thank Santa, Frosty and Rudolph that she was already lying down, because otherwise she would have fainted. Swiping through the pictures, she wasn’t sure she hadn’t bumped her head. Aidan’s body was...there were no words.
Sorry. I need a minute.
; She added the emoji with sweat dripping off its forehead and hit send. Then she went back to the last picture. Shae had seen big cocks before—the internet was busting with them—but she never seen a cock this thick around. Aidan’s hands weren’t small and his penis looked large in his fingers. Shae’s pussy throbbed at the thought of what it would feel like to have that thing filling her from the inside. She had to respond, but she didn’t know what to say. She clicked back over to her group chat. Erica and Sarah had jumped back in.
Okay. He definitely sent nudes
and they are definitely impressive.
What do I do?
Meegan: Go over there and mount up.
Keira: No. Don’t do that. Unless you want to.
Erica: I say if you wanna get with him tonight,
go for it. Just make sure expectations are clear.
I don’t know what I want to do!
Zero expectations here.
Okay, so she did want to sleep with him. It was too soon though. Definitely too soon and she still had those antiquated notions buried deep in her head that if she gave away the custard for free, the farmer would never come back to the market or some shit. She knew it wasn’t true. But truth and reason didn’t stop her from panicking. This was definitely a bad idea.
Another text from Aidan popped up.
Too much?
Shit he’s texting me.
Let me talk to him.
I’ll report back.
Keira: Don’t do anything you’re
not comfortable with!
Shae sent a heart emoji to the group that was mostly meant just for her lovely, caring cousin who would absolutely come right over to talk her off the ledge. Her fingers were more interested in typing to Aidan though. She went back over to their conversation.
I’m thinking. This is a lot to process.
What are you thinking about?
What I want to do next?
Hmmm. What are the options you’re weighing?
Shae tried to think of something cute and clever, but her brain and her thumbs just wouldn’t cooperate. The truth came tumbling out.
Option 1: Send equally impressive pictures back.
If I can match your expert lighting situation.
Option 2: Ask you if you want me to come over,
like right now.
I’m fine with either option,
but now I do feel bad because
I know you have to get up early for work.
What’s the best option that involves you
getting the best night’s sleep?
Shae felt herself grinning like an idiot. How could a guy be this cute and sweet while sexting?
Well a good orgasm does
usually put me to sleep.
But by the time I got over there…
Right. We’d be blowing your
full night of sleep plan
to smithereens.
How do you feel about FaceTime?
You can see me. I can see you.
Not exactly sex, but the next best thing.
It seems like a reasonable Option 3.
If it will help you sleep, that is.
Give me a few minutes.
Shae didn’t wait for him to respond. She tossed her phone on her bed, then jumped up and ran into her bathroom. There was no shame in her bonnet game, but she needed to sleep with Aidan at least once in real life before she exposed him to the world of Black women’s night time protective style routines. She unwrapped her hair as quickly she could, fluffing it along its natural part before she dug up her best fuck-me lip gloss.
She gave herself one last look in the mirror and realized that should do the trick. As soon as she changed out of her t-shirt and sweats. She ran back into her room and dug up this lacy nightgown she’d splurged on after her she’d moved out of her parents’ house in Baldwin Hills and into her own place. She’d worn it for more than five minutes exactly no times.
Shae slipped it on and it actually fit better than when she’d first tried it. No panties felt like a safe go-to move. She flopped back down on her bed and grabbed her phone, pressing the video chat icon under Aidan’s profile before she could talk herself out of it. Aidan picked up right away. Shae had literally just seen pictures of him completely naked. Seeing his face and the upper part of his bare chest on her phone should not have come as such a shock. Still, just looking at him reclining against his pillows had sent a fresh wave of heat all over her.
“Can you see me?” she asked. Her bedside lamp was on, but it was really dim.
“Yeah, I can see you just fine.”
“Or would it be better if I took this out to my living room and turned the Christmas lights back on?” Shae teased, but as soon as she made the suggestion it was clear Aidan was thinking it over.
“I mean, that wouldn’t be the worst idea. I’ve never had holiday themed phone sex before.”
“Okay. You’re coming with me.” Shae hopped off her bed and went back out to her dark living room. It took her a second to find the plug to the lights, but the moment the tree lit up, she knew she’d made a good choice. She grabbed her throw blanket and flopped down on the couch.
“Hi.”
“Hey.”
“Your voice sounds deeper,” she said. She could see herself smiling like a dope in the small rectangle on her screen.
“Does it?”
“Yeah. It’s kinda hot.”
“I’ll work on making it completely hot.”
“No, it’s working,” Shae said and then she actually giggled. Her heart was pounding so fast. “You should have just stayed over.”
“Next time, all you have to do is ask.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” She let out a deep breath and tried to focus. “So. We were going to work on getting me to sleep. The fun way.”
“Yeah. I don’t want to ruin your day tomorrow. I know it’s important to get a good night’s sleep.”
“It’s very true. Even with coffee, I can be an unpleasant kind of cranky.”
“We should get to it then. You have to tell me what you like.”
Ignoring the lump that started to wedge itself in her throat, Shae slid her hand between her legs. She was pretty damn wet. “Why don’t you tell me what you would do to me right now if you were here and we can do some team building work from there.”
Aidan let out a burst of laughter. “Team building, huh? Well I would definitely start by kissing you again. Are you wearing one of those nighty things?”
“Oh yeah. You want to see?”
“Yeah, I do.” Shae shivered at the way his voice seemed to drop even more. She could get used to dealing with aroused Aidan. She crossed the room and set up her phone on the kitchen counter, then stepped back a bit.
“How’s that?”
“Fuck, Shae. I definitely should have stayed.” Hearing Aidan curse sent another odd thrill right between her legs. They definitely needed to have sex soon. It had been too long.
“I don’t wear stuff like this very often.” The last time she’d rocked any fancy lingerie it had been her wedding night, but that memory had no place in this conversation.
“I like it,” Aidan said as she picked up her phone again and walked back to the couch. “Is that the only one you have?”
“Yeah. I guess I should buy a couple more. Now that I’m doing sexy stuff like sending nudes and cybersexing.”
“Shae.” The tone of Aidan’s voice wiped the doofy smile right off Shae’s face. His voice meant business.
“Yeah?”
“You’ve seen me and now I want to see you. I want to watch you touch yourself.”
“Okay.” Shae rigged up a little stack of her coffee table books and leaned her phone against it. When she was sure Aidan was getting a good view, she spread her legs and then spread her lips.
4
Dear Santa, There’s no need to panic...
Aidan couldn’t stop thinking about Shae. He’d woken up the next morning after their li
ttle video chat run-in and he was still naked. They hadn’t slept together, but watching Shae fuck herself on his phone screen was definitely the next best thing. He’d been thinking with his dick when he sent her those naked pictures of himself. He could freely admit that. After the kisses they shared, he was kicking himself for not at least staying long enough to fuck Shae to sleep.
He wanted to be a gentleman and respect her space and her time, and her need for sleep. She was running her own business and Aidan didn’t think it would be too safe to be groggy around hot ovens and other kitchen equipment. None of that stopped him from fantasizing about Shae on his drive home. He was half hard by the time he walked into his apartment and dead set on jerking off the moment he got in bed.
Even though Shae had asked for dick pics, Aidan knew she’d been half joking. It was a bit of arrogance on his part, actually sending the pictures. He knew what he was working with and maybe if Shae had gotten a peek of what he had to offer, she’d… He didn’t know what a glimpse of his dick would make Shae want. He just hoped she’d want more of him.
What he got was a hell of a show. Anyone could see that Shae had an amazing body. Those curves were fucking killer and the little bit he’d gotten to touch when they kissed on her couch made him want to explore every inch of her body. Seeing her fingers pump in and out of her wet pussy had been something else. Something so fucking hot he’d nutted twice before he finally went to sleep just playing the image of it and the sounds Shae made over and over again in his head. All of it was much better than any naked picture he could have gotten from her in return.
WRAPPED: A FIT Adjacent Christmas Novella (The Fit Trilogy Book 4) Page 4
