Man Candy

by Ingro, Jessica

  “Where’s Rissa?” I asked when Meredith joined me by the hotel entrance.

  “She left first thing this morning. Had her flight changed.”

  “Why would she do that?” I didn’t care that I sounded wounded. Or worried. Or annoyed. I wasn’t sure what Meredith heard in my tone because I was feeling all three by Rissa’s deflection.

  “She said she had to go. She didn’t really explain.” Her eyes searched mine for a moment. “Did you two have a fight last night?”

  “Something like that. I’m going to text her.”

  Meredith looked at her watch and then back to me. “She’s probably in the air now and won’t get it until she lands.”

  “Don’t care.” My fingers hovered over the letters on my screen, but I had no idea what I was going to say to her. Part of me wanted to yell at her for leaving while the other part of me wanted to beg her not to be upset with me for what happened last night.

  “Why don’t you wait? If I know my cousin like I think I do that will be your best bet.”

  I nodded and reluctantly pocketed my phone.

  We stood in silence until the car pulled up to the curb. I helped the driver put everything in the trunk before joining Meredith inside.

  Each minute that ticked on was pure torture, but I survived. And at some point during the day I decided that I’d text her later or maybe the next day. If she wanted to play hard to get, I could too.

  TEN

  I gave a quick rap on Tanner’s door. His truck was parked in the driveway and I could hear music playing, which meant he was home. Thinking maybe he couldn’t hear over the music, I knocked louder. Fed up with waiting, I finally tried the knob.

  A cursory glance in the living room and kitchen showed no signs of life, so I walked through his apartment towards the hallway in search of him. When the music shut off, I opened my mouth to yell his name, but he and Meredith came around the corner from his bedroom murmuring softly to one another.

  The site of the two of them made me stop in my tracks. Tanner was wearing only a pair of jeans partially buttoned while Meredith wore only Tanner’s t-shirt. Her snarled hair gave her that just fucked look.

  Interesting. And not at all what I expected to find when I got there. I attempted to school my face when I realized my mouth was hanging open and my eyebrows shot up into my hairline from the shock of it. “So you two are together again?”

  “Not really,” Tanner mumbled while Meredith shook her head emphatically.

  “Well, all right then. I was afraid I stepped into an alternate universe where you two decided you got along and didn’t drive each other bat shit crazy most of the time.”

  Meredith sat down on the couch, knees to her chest and pulled the t-shirt down over her bare legs. Tanner grabbed her ankles and dragged her across the couch, forcing her onto his lap.

  “Hey, fucker!” she shouted and slapped him, but you could tell her heart wasn’t really in it.

  It always started this way between the two of them, with laughter and making out far more than they should in front of others. Unfortunately it didn’t always stay that way. It was like Rissa said, they were either fucking or fighting. And when it went bad the fighting always won out. It wasn’t like they tried to hide it from anyone.

  I couldn’t help but wonder as I sat across from them what the hell happened to the infamous Lucy after the big weekend Tanner had planned on spending with her.

  “Do you guys think you could act normal for just a little while for me? I don’t feel like watching you two go at it.” My gripe came on the heels of Tanner’s hand snaking up her shirt and caressing what I assumed was her naked ass. Either that or she had a skimpy thong on because from where I sat it was all ass cheek.

  “I’m going to venture a guess from how uptight you are that you aren’t getting any, bro?”

  His words stung because they were dead on. It had been a while since I had gotten laid and my few heated encounters with Rissa the last couple of weeks had left me hot and bothered.

  Stroking my own dick wasn’t nearly as satisfying as you would think.

  My lack of patience wasn’t helping the situation either. I needed something to happen with Rissa and I needed it like yesterday. I’ve never had a woman play so hard to get. For as much of a turn on as it was, I was over the whole thing and ready to move on—together.

  “Want me to hook up you with a friend?” Meredith stopped running her lips over Tanner’s neck long enough to ask me.

  “No,” I grunted.

  “He has the hots for Rissa.” Tanner gave me a devilish grin knowing his announcement was going to piss me the fuck off.

  Meredith’s head snapped in my direction. Her eyes were bright with excitement as she looked me over impishly. “Wow, Ben. Can’t say I’m surprised what with the way you follow her around like a cute little puppy dog.”

  “I do not,” I began to argue. What man wants to be called a cute little puppy for heaven’s sake? If I was going to be called an animal it should be something badass like a cheetah or a lion. Or better yet a motherfucking werewolf.

  “You do. It’s obvious that you want her. Hey, I even tried to put in a good word for you after I caught you two in the hallway but it didn’t seem to do the trick considering Scott the prick moved into her house yesterday.”

  Her words came out of left field and knocked the air right from my lungs. This had to be a fucking joke. What the hell would she be doing with that idiot again?

  “You’re lying.” Please God tell me she was lying. Because I was going to lose my shit if I finally got a chance with my dream girl and she ended up going back to her sleaze of an ex.

  “Nope sorry. Can’t say I am. She and I had a huge fight about it and now she isn’t speaking to me. Her naiveté pisses me right the fuck off.”

  “Well that makes two of us,” I mumbled under my breath. “She said she wasn’t going to see him again.”

  “Don’t I know it, but I guess the fucker finally left his wife. Showed up on her doorstep Sunday night begging her to take him in. One thing led to another and there you go.” She made a few flippant hand gestures as she spoke and gave me a bored annoyed look. Glad to see I wasn’t the only one having an issue with this.

  “What the fuck is wrong with her?” A picture in my head of the two of them together had me wanting to punch something—repeatedly. The very thought of his hands on her and his mouth on her made me feel violent. And the way I imagined she would look at him when he moved inside her body—the very body that was at my command the other night, not his—made me sick to my stomach.

  “She’s settling. Not sure why either. What I do know is she better not bring him to any family functions. I refuse to act like I like his sorry ass.”

  “Fuck! I never should have listened to you.” I pointed my finger at her angrily.

  “Me? What the fuck did I do?”

  “Watch it, bro,” Tanner warned.

  “Oh please, Tanner. Your brother is harmless,” she told him before addressing me. “Now why are you pissed at me?”

  “You told me to give her some space. If you hadn’t said that, I would have gone right to her house on Sunday. She would have been with me that night when he showed up.”

  “You really think you could have stopped the inevitable? He kept his grip on her even after she ended it with him. And I’m telling you, Ben, she ended it with him at least a dozen times while they were together. It was only a matter of time before she took him back. I was just as surprised as you were about the fact he left his wife. If he hadn’t done that you might have had a chance. A slim one, but it would have been something.”

  “I don’t buy the fact that he left his wife.” I chose to focus on that part of her statement rather than the part about me not standing a chance against Scott.

  “I don’t either. I think maybe she kicked his ass out but I don’t really know for sure.”

  No wonder why Rissa was ignoring my text messages the last three days and didn�
��t answer when I tried calling her earlier that day. I thought maybe it was because she was at work and couldn’t talk. Now I knew it was because she was being a coward and hiding from having to admit to me about her epically stupid decision. If she didn’t think she was doing anything wrong, she wouldn’t have to hide her relationship.

  “Well that sucks.” I sat back in my chair feeling a little deflated. I hadn’t expected things to go down this way.

  “Maybe you should pick some chick up and bang the shit out of her. That always makes me feel better,” Tanner suggested.

  Meredith elbowed him and then shoved his head with her hand. “You do realize I’m sitting right here, asshole.”

  “Hey. I didn’t say I was going to go out and fuck someone this second. I was just giving Ben some advice.”

  “Whatever.” She rolled her eyes. “He has a small point, Ben. If Rissa is off being stubborn with Scott, maybe you should even the playing field. Go out and relieve some tension. Find a pretty girl to blow off steam with.”

  I pursed my lips and contemplated that. Finding a girl who would measure up to Clarissa felt daunting but what choice did I really have? She made her choice with Scott. Now it was time for me to make mine.

  *****

  Two days later I was driving home from work when my phone rang. I glanced at the caller id on my dashboard and saw it was an unknown caller. Deciding at the last second to find out who it was, I hit the button to answer and said hello.

  “Ben?” a female voice on the other end asked.

  “Yeah. Can I help you?” I flipped the blinker and turned onto the main highway on my way to the gym.

  “I hope so. This is Cassandra. We met at the book signing a while back.”

  “Oh right. Denver,” I responded with the nickname I had started calling her. “What’s up?”

  “I’m in town for a few days and thought I’d see if you wanted to hang out while I’m here.”

  “Yeah sure. I’d love to see you again. What brings you this way?”

  “Meredith and I are working on a project together and it was my turn to fly to her,” she explained.

  Well, this was certainly a pleasant surprise. Cassandra was a pretty girl and I had an easy time talking to her. She was actually interested in me not just what I looked like. I needed someone who could see past the outer shell and get to know the real me.

  “Did Meredith give you my number?” My conversation with Tanner and Meredith a few days ago replayed in my mind, making me skeptical that Meredith had put her up to calling me. She and Tanner had a sick and twisted obsession with getting me laid as was evidenced by the fact they wouldn’t let it go the other night. I had finally gotten sick of listening to them and left.

  “Actually I asked her for it. I hope you don’t mind,” her voice took on a bashful tone that made me smirk. That was exactly what I was hoping to hear.

  “Not at all. I’m free tomorrow night if you are,” I told her.

  “Perfect. I’m staying at the hotel over on Sunset.”

  “Great. I’ll pick you up at seven.”

  “See you then.” She disconnected the call at the same time I parked my car in a spot outside gym and shut it off. Grabbing my bag from the back, I shook my head and grinned. Tomorrow night should be interesting.

  *****

  I picked up Cassandra at the hotel the next night. Earlier in the day I had called her to let her know to dress casual. Any guy could take a girl to a fancy restaurant. I wanted her to experience the greatness of visiting a smaller town as opposed to living in Denver.

  She looked great when she opened her door. She wore skinny jeans, sandals and a shirt that hung off her shoulder, showing the strap of her black bra. It was alluring in a subtle way that really worked for me.

  I drove us to the outskirts of town where there was a miniature golf place. We played our holes while we got to know each other a little better.

  I wanted to crack up whenever she had to try and putt from far away. Her shots were all over the place and random.

  “I take it you don’t play golf?” I asked her as we walked between holes eleven and twelve.

  “Is it that obvious?”

  “A little bit,” I admitted on a chuckle.

  She slapped my stomach with the back of her hand. “You could have at least lied to me. It’s what a gentleman would have done.”

  “I guess I’m not a gentleman then.” I stepped towards her and with my hand on her hip and drew her closer to me. My head dipped and I captured her lips with mine. She tasted like bubble gum and I quickly deepened the kiss to get more of her.

  When I lifted my head from hers, her eyes fluttered open and she smiled wide. “I look forward to finding out how much of scoundrel you are.”

  “Play your cards right and you just might,” I teased. My hands pulled her a little closer, and I gave her a slightly less heated kiss.

  A throat cleared behind us, forcing me to stop my exploration of her mouth.

  “Do you mind if we play through?” a man asked as his wife covered the eyes of their young daughter.

  “Yeah, sorry about that.”

  We stepped aside and let them play through. When they were out of ear shot, Cassandra started laughing. “That was awkward.”

  “Tell me about it. It’s your shot. Let’s see if you can actually make it in the hole this time.”

  She gave me a scowl and slapped my stomach again. “Watch it, Harris. Otherwise your scoundrel won’t be able to play with my kitty cat.”

  I threw my head back and laughed. “Did you seriously just say that?”

  “I did and I meant it.”

  “Well then I better be on my best behavior because my scoundrel loves a nice pussy.”

  She rolled her eyes and called me an ass.

  “You didn’t like what I did there?”

  She shook her head and set her ball down. When she whacked it with way too much force, it sailed past the hole and bounced off the back wall, coming back towards where it started. It finally landed about halfway down the line. “Just play your turn,” she bitched but I could see the humor in her eyes.

  “Yes, ma’am.” I was surprised at how well I was enjoying myself. Her rapport and sarcasm reminded me of Rissa a few times, but I put that out of my head. Cassandra was a cool ass chick, and I was looking forward to seeing what the rest of the night held.

  After I finished kicking her ass in mini-golf, we went to the place next door and ordered ice cream cones.

  At one point while I was watching her lick the cone with expert flicks of her tongue, Cassandra admitted to liking the atmosphere in New York whenever she came to visit, and I admitted to never being to Denver before.

  “There’s a signing in Denver in a couple of months. You should go with Meredith,” she subtly suggested.

  “Depends on whether or not there’s a huge party I’ll have to shake my ass at,” I partially jested. “Besides I think Tanner and Mer have been spending more time together. He’ll probably be all over traveling with her.”

  I still didn’t understand what was going on between them. It would seem they were reunited but at the same time they weren’t. It was a puzzle I couldn’t quite figure out how to put together.

  “No ass shaking required,” she assured me. “Keep it in mind. I had fun with you tonight.”

  I groaned when she opened her mouth wide and sucked the top of her ice cream into her mouth. She glanced up with a raised eyebrow and a saucy grin.

  “You done torturing me?” I asked her with a grin of my own.

  “I’m not so sure.” She did one last lick that ended with a curl in the tip of her tongue before it retreated into her mouth. Good lord she was killing me.

  She got up and threw away the rest of her cone before coming back to stand in front of me with her hands in her back pockets. “So what’s next?”

  “Whatever you want.” I stood and took her hand as we walked back to the car.

  Stopping in the open door of t
he Jeep, she pressed against me. “Let’s go back to my hotel and see what trouble your scoundrel can get into.”

  “You sure?” I ran the backs of my fingers along her cheek and down her jawline.

  “Yeah. I like you, Ben. I know you don’t expect anything from me which I appreciate.”

  “Okay. If you’re sure.”

  “I’m sure. You don’t have to keep asking.” She climbed up in the Jeep, ending the conversation.

  The drive to her hotel passed by quickly, and before I knew it, we were up in her room, making out like teenagers on her bed. It started off slow but the heat quickly built between us.

  Naked and sheathed in a condom, Cassandra climbed on top and took me inside her with one quick movement. She was hot and tight, making me yearn for more.

  I sat up and forced her onto her back. With her legs over my shoulders, I thrust into her hard enough to make the headboard slap against the wall. Cassandra’s breath jolted and her boobs bounced with each thrust. Leaning on my fists at either side of her head, I swallowed her cries as she came around me. Driving into her a few more times, I let go and came with a grunt.

  Breathing heavily, I pulled out and rolled off of her. After tossing the condom in a garbage can by the bed, I joined Cassandra, who had crawled under the sheets. I absently glided my fingers over her thigh as I got lost in thought.

  The sex between us was good—great even—but for as attracted to Cassandra as I was, there was something missing. A passion that I hadn’t known I was absent in my relationships until Clarissa came into my life.

  At some point, Cassandra noticed I had zoned out. She turned on her side and propped her head in her hands. “You care about her don’t you?”

  Not following her, I asked, “What are you talking about?”

  “Meredith’s cousin Rissa.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” My heart raced a little when she mentioned Rissa. I didn’t know where she was going with this and the last thing I wanted to do was discuss Rissa while I was still naked in bed with her.

  Until that point, Cassandra had seemed like a down ass chick. Was this the portion of the evening where she went all fatal attraction on my ass over a perceived threat from Rissa?