Finger Bang

by Jade C. Jamison

  Kaylee felt the blood drain from her face. No way. No way in hell was she going to do something crazy like that.

  “Oh, my God, yes!” Maddy said, her voice higher in pitch, close to a squeal. Shannon was enthusiastic as well, her head pumping up and down with vigor. The three women then turned to look at Kaylee.

  She was going to have to say something. Damn it. She waved her hands in front of herself. “Oh, no, girls. That’s way out of my comfort zone.”

  Rachel reached across the table, patting Kaylee’s hand. “Exactly why you have to do it.”

  As if the idea of being rubbed to pleasure by a stranger wasn’t rattling her enough, she spied Rachel’s brother out of the corner of her eye approaching their booth. Blaze Donahue was a guy Kaylee had drooled over since the first time she’d laid eyes on him a couple of years earlier when she and her friends had moved in together. Blaze had always seemed like a nice guy but he had a bad boy vibe that scared Kaylee off. Sure, he was hot—shoulder-length brown hair and deep, dark brown eyes that always seemed to have a twinkle in them. He had some facial hair—a dark goatee and mustache that looked damned sexy. He wasn’t super tall but plenty taller than Kaylee, and he seemed to have a nice body under the t-shirts and jeans he frequently wore. But Kaylee had never been the type to throw caution to the wind. She might have fantasized about Blaze on occasion but knew they were in different leagues. Besides, she was much too reserved for a guy like that, even if he did make her legs feel like jelly. Still, it was nice to dream.

  But not now.

  No, definitely not now, while they were in the middle of a bizarre conversation about female—not masturbation, but close…whatever the hell they were talking about. Yeah, Blaze had crappy timing. Still, Kaylee found herself happy to see him like she always was. Blaze, more than any other guy, made her feel tingly all over, and while she knew she’d never have a chance with a guy like him (and wondered if she’d want to), he was easy on the eyes.

  He dragged a chair over to the booth and flipped it so it faced away from the table, sitting backward on it, folding his arms over the back. “Hey, sis,” he said to Rachel and then swept his eyes to take in the other three women. “Ladies.” Kaylee felt a shiver climb her spine when his eyes made contact with hers, even though it was but a brief moment.

  “Sweet brother!” Rachel stood and wrapped her arms around him, kissing him on the cheek before sitting down and picking up her drink again. “Settle something here for me, will you?” Blaze raised his eyebrows. “If you had a chance to have an orgasmic meditation, would you do it?”

  He smiled and said, “Meditation? Who can think when they’re getting their rocks off?”

  Maddy started laughing. “Would you pay a therapist to give you a hand job?”

  “Pay someone good money when I can do it myself? No fuckin’ way.”

  Rachel glowered at her brother. “It’s not just that. It’s more than that. It’s an experience.” Kaylee thought Rachel was changing her tune a little to justify it to her sibling. She’d been all about the O up to that point. “And you’re ruining the moment, dear brother. I’m trying to talk my sweet roommates into making a road trip to Boulder to experience it for ourselves.”

  Blaze started laughing—hard. By the time he caught his breath, Rachel was full-on pissed. Blaze ignored her and said, “Would that make it a gang bang?” He started laughing again, and even Maddy and Shannon joined in. Rachel slammed down her drink and Kaylee sank in her seat. This was not funny, especially when Mr. Dream Guy was joking about something so intimate and embarrassing.

  And Kaylee would never tell the secret that she’d never masturbated.

  It was a long story. She almost had…once, just a couple of years earlier, but she could hear the youth group leader from her church in her head, telling her masturbation was the tool of the devil. She’d believed it back then. Now, she wasn’t so sure, but she just hadn’t gone that far with herself.

  So to talk about fingers around a woman’s clit—her own or a stranger’s—made her uneasy as all get out. Worse, though, was hot Blaze just feet away making light of it. If he so much as looked her in the eye again, she thought she’d die.

  “Look, dickweed, why don’t you go hang with your guy friends? You know, the group of a-holes who happen to think you have a sense of humor.”

  “Aw, c’mon, Rachel, I’m just messing around.” He pushed his hair to the side, the hair that threatened to cover one of his eyes in the sexy way it sometimes did. “You’re serious about this?”

  “Hell, yes. Don’t you think doing something like this could be better than going to the mall or getting our nails done together?”

  He shrugged. “Maybe.” He glanced around the table again and Kaylee felt relief that their eyes didn’t lock. Well, she’d made sure they didn’t because she’d brought her glass to her mouth, and she was sipping when his eyes got around to her. “But what if your friends aren’t interested?”

  Rachel frowned. “We hadn’t quite gotten around to discussing that.”

  Maddy slammed her glass to the table. “I’m game. Sounds like fun.”

  Rachel smiled and nodded. She probably made that smug hmph noise she often did when she affirmed she was right about something, but Kaylee didn’t hear if she had. Rachel’s expression indicated that smugness, but it was too noisy in the bar to tell. “Shannon?”

  Shannon giggled. “Shit, I’ll try anything once.”

  Oh, hell. Kaylee could feel everyone’s eyes turn to her and she couldn’t get up and leave. Maddy was blocking the way. She couldn’t pretend to not have heard. She had to answer. Oh, God, she wanted to die. She could have blown the women off, but with Blaze there, she was horrified. Rachel said, “Kaylee?”

  Gulping and trying to figure out what to say, she just started talking. “I don’t think so, Rachel.”

  “What do you mean you don’t think so? It’ll be so much fun.”

  Maddy said, “C’mon, Kaylee. The Four Musketeers, right?”

  She shook her head. Blaze said, “Ladies, I don’t think this gang bang thing is for everyone. Can you blame the poor girl?”

  Oh. Girl? He thought of her as a girl? Well, there went those fantasies out the window. Still, she took a deep breath and gathered up as much dignity as she could and said, “Definitely not for me.” She found her tongue. “I’m sorry, but I don’t want to get naked in front of a stranger, and I definitely don’t want to have one touching me…especially that way.”

  Rachel leaned over the table and tipped her glass at Kaylee as though it were a pointer. “I’ll loosen you up before you graduate if it’s the last thing I do.” She sat back up and what little sobriety she’d seemed to possess just seconds ago had disappeared. “In the meantime, Maddy, Shannon? Come with me to the bar to fetch more drinks and we can iron out the details without making our prudish friend blush.”

  Well, too late. As the three women slid out of the booth, Kaylee felt just that—a mad red flush racing up her face, stinging her cheeks. She hoped it wasn’t evident in the bar or maybe she could blame it on drinking, but Rachel had, with her few words, made Kaylee not only feel prudish but embarrassed. And in front of all people…

  Once the women were up, though, Blaze showed no inkling of having registered his sister’s last words. Kaylee began to feel awkward then. What the hell would she say to this super hot guy after a conversation like that? She had decided to ask him how classes were going when he said, “I can’t blame you really. I don’t think I could do that either.” He grinned. “Even though I find the idea intriguing.” Kaylee felt her cheeks redden again, but she smiled before looking down at her glass once more. “Not gonna pay for it, though. Fuck that.”

  Kaylee picked up her glass and sipped what little water was left in it, simply to have something to do. Her alcohol glass was drained as well, both down to ice cubes. She didn’t know what to say so she nodded her head and smiled. She’d always found Blaze’s looks and charm intimidating, so she was feeli
ng more than a little tongue-tied. She didn’t want him to think she was a snooty bitch, though, so she said, “I agree.”

  He rested his chin on his arms on the chair and said, “What’s the part that has you freaking out more? The fact that it would be a stranger or that you’d be paying for it?”

  His question helped her relax a little. It felt like he was taking a practical approach and wanted to discuss the matter as two adults. They weren’t actually talking about orgasms or…fingers and clits, for God’s sake. So she took a deep breath and gave the matter a little thought. It didn’t take long for her to say, “I think it’s that it’s a stranger.” She didn’t know why she felt compelled to continue—especially with Blaze—but she did. “Seriously. It’s hard enough to relax and then you have someone you’ve never met before trying to make you feel good. I can’t imagine.” She smiled and rolled her eyes, hoping she appeared relaxed now, because she was far from it.

  Blaze didn’t intend to help the matter at all. “What if it was you and me?”

  Had she heard him right? And why the hell was her heart thudding in her chest? She had a hard time sucking in a breath, but when she was able to, she asked, “What do you mean?” Her voice was so low, she was surprised he could hear it.

  “If I was the therapist.” He sat up and used the index and middle fingers of both his hands to air quote his last word. “You know…my sister, Maddy, and Shannon go to Boulder to have some stranger finger bang them, but what if someone you knew took care of you here?”

  Her jaw didn’t drop to the table but she had lost all words. She just wished she could figure out if Blaze was yanking her chain or making her the offer of a lifetime.

  Chapter Two

  IF BLAZE WASN’T mistaken, he’d seen a glimmer of interest in Kaylee’s eyes. Goddamn. He never would have guessed she would have even given him the time of day. He’d thought she was cute—hell, hot—from the first time he’d laid eyes on her a couple of years earlier when he’d helped his sister move into the house the four women rented, but he’d gotten zero interested vibes.

  This was the first time he thought he might have a chance.

  Don’t blow it, man.

  He was smooth with most women, but he never put the moves on someone he wasn’t sure was interested. Most times, he maintained a cool confidence because he could see it in their eyes. Kaylee’s eyes had never lit up for him before. She’d kept him in the friend zone and he’d never been a guy to wander into territory where he wasn’t welcome.

  Now, though…he would take a chance. The glimmer in her eyes was gone almost as quickly as it had appeared, but he’d seen it. That was when he figured Kaylee was one of those women who, for whatever reason, held her cards close to her chest. This sweet little gal didn’t have anything to hide, did she? What he’d learned from Rachel over the years assured him she didn’t. Kaylee dated, sure, but not as much as her roommates, and she was pretty focused on work and studies. He also remembered Rachel saying something about Kaylee coming from a fairly conservative family, unlike theirs. Their mother was open and free, and he knew that attitude sometimes stressed out those who hugged the uptight side.

  Uptight? Yeah, in all fairness, those were the vibes he’d always gotten from Kaylee. Now, though…

  Kaylee acted as if her mouth was like the desert. She picked up her glass (again) and let an ice cube fall on her tongue. She sucked it for a second. Then she set the glass down and swallowed (a drop if she was lucky), and it looked like she wanted to do anything but look Blaze in the eyes. She did, though. “You’re kidding, right?”

  No, he’d seen that sparkle, and he wasn’t going to let her off the hook. “Completely serious.”

  “Uh…okay, so you’re not a stranger, but we barely know each other. That’s not much better, is it?”

  “What do you mean we barely know each other? I’ve been hanging around your place for the past two years when I visit Rachel. You telling me you tuned it all out?” Oh, God, he hoped he wasn’t overplaying his hand. If he’d misread that cue, he was currently making a complete ass of himself.

  He was sure Kaylee was blushing…and that was a good sign. “Yes. I mean no. I mean—oh, crap. I mean we don’t know each other well enough for—that.”

  Maybe not. Blaze raised his eyebrows and he knew he had an amused look on his face. He couldn’t help it. Knowing Kaylee might be interested was the best news he’d had in a while. “Only one way to find out.”

  Kaylee actually gasped and then giggled. “No way. Your sister would never let me live it down.”

  “You give a shit what my sister thinks?”

  Kaylee shrugged. “Sometimes.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I consider her a good friend.”

  Blaze nodded. “Yeah, but friends love each other unconditionally, don’t they?”

  “Well, yeah…but you don’t know what it’s like to be a woman.”

  “What’s that got to do with anything?”

  Kaylee scrunched up her face before she said, “We, uh, tend to be judgmental sometimes, even with people we care about.”

  They were quiet for a bit and Blaze felt a little bad for Kaylee as she lifted her empty glass once more, disappointed that there was still nothing but ice inside and no waiter in sight. Blaze said, “The offer stands. Trust me—you’re gonna be regretting it when your roomies come home satisfied and content, and you’re feeling sexually frustrated.”

  Kaylee laughed, another great sign. He had expected her to glare at him for suggesting it again or ignore him at the very least. “I think I’m going to have to pass, but thanks for thinking of me.”

  Rachel and crew arrived back at the booth, and Blaze could have kicked himself for not making more progress before that. Not much he could do about it now, but he’d planted a seed. That much he knew. And he’d learned that Kaylee wasn’t as off limits as he’d previously suspected, so their exchange had been fruitful. “All right, girlfriend,” Rachel said—way too loud for normal chatter but perfectly acceptable for a drunk in a loud bar, “you’re off the hook. Our awesome roommate friends convinced me to go easy on you. We’ll go ourselves and have a great time, but you have to promise me something.” Blaze saw Kaylee raise her eyebrows, but she wore her frosty demeanor like a wool coat, and his sister was too blitzed to realize she wasn’t going to get anywhere with her friend. “If we have a great time—wait, no. If we have the time of our lives and discover that OM is a revelation, like it’s freedom, you know, where we can feel uninhibited, able to let loose the sexual goddesses inside ourselves without the shackles of convention and accepted practices, would you consider going with us a second time?” Blaze nodded internally. Okay, maybe his sister wasn’t so dumb. She wasn’t making Kaylee feel like she was ordering her; instead, Rachel was making her an offer, knowing there was a better chance of getting a positive response that way; at the very least, Kaylee would give her disingenuous agreement.

  And that was what she did—a polite halfhearted assent. “Yes, I will think about it.”

  Rachel squealed. “That’s all I ask.” She took a gulp of her new drink, settling back into her seat. She started rattling on about her plans, and Blaze gathered she wanted to go the following week. His sister was normally sensible, but sometimes she got a crazy idea that she had to see through to fruition. Apparently, this was one of those ideas that had taken hold. He was relieved for Kaylee that his sister had quit tormenting the girl, but now he had some ideas about her…some naughty ideas that he wouldn’t be able to let go of until he’d given Miss Kaylee Baker an honest shot.

  * * *

  Tuesday afternoon, Kaylee breathed a sigh of relief. Rachel had had some crazy, off-the-wall ideas in the past, but this one took the cake. Kaylee hadn’t expected her friend to be enamored of the idea once the hangover had released its grip, but Rachel was even more rabid about going to Boulder by Saturday night than she had been Friday. Fortunately, she’d stopped bugging Kaylee about it, but she started put
ting her plans in motion. One of Rachel’s high school friends attended school at CU-Boulder, so she was going to let Rachel, Maddy, and Shannon crash on her tiny bedroom floor the night before. The next morning, Kaylee’s three roommates were going to be meditated to orgasm by complete strangers.

  Now that Kaylee was no longer a target for being dragged into the OM experience, she found the idea amusing.

  Except that Rachel asked Kaylee to call her in sick Wednesday morning. Rachel worked at a coffee shop near campus every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday morning, and instead of asking for the day off, she wanted Kaylee to call in and say her friend was sick. When Kaylee asked why Rachel didn’t just ask for the day off when she’d gone to work Sunday, Rachel said it was too late. The schedule had already been made, and no one would willingly cover her shift.

  So Kaylee continued paying the price for Rachel’s crazy ideas. That was nothing new.

  Still, she was going to enjoy having a house free of noisy women. Yes, she loved her three friends, but breaks were always nice. She typically spent most of her time sealed off in her bedroom so she could concentrate on studying. It was next to impossible in the community areas of the house she and her roommates rented. Over the years, Kaylee had learned to use music as a white noise to drown out everything that was going on in her home around her. If she wasn’t on her computer where there were hours and hours of songs saved, she would listen to music on her iPod, the little musical factory she’d had since she was a teen. She had ear buds too for when the music alone wasn’t enough.

  Tonight, she’d be able to relax and study without struggle. First, she ate a microwaved burrito for dinner so she’d have maximum study time. Then she sat in the living room, a glass of water on the end table and her feet propped up on the coffee table, her back leaning against the couch, and she cracked open the giant book of historical Shakespeare plays for her Shakespeare class. She’d already read Henry V twice but she wanted to be sure she felt comfortable with the Henry plays, because they were going to have an exam on Monday. Her professor’s tests were always short answer or short essay, so she couldn’t bullshit her way through, either. She had to know her stuff.