Finger Bang

by Jade C. Jamison

  He was surprised when she called back less than an hour later. Surprised…but satisfied. He could tell from the sound of her voice that she was trying to act casual, but she was nervous too. That made him feel edgy, because he wondered if she was anxious because she knew what was coming and planned to turn him down. God, he hoped not. That would mean they were over before they could even start.

  Again, though, it wouldn’t hurt so bad…and at least he’d had a chance, something he hadn’t thought he’d ever have a week earlier.

  “Hi, Blaze. I got your message. What’s up?”

  Yeah, her tone of voice was promising. “You were feeling weirded out yesterday, right?”

  He thought he could hear her sigh with relief. “Yeah, you could tell?”

  He’d been hoping that was all that was going on, not that she’d regretted trying him on for size. He wasn’t going to say that, though. “I figured. So…since we’ve already, uh, broken the ice, you wanna go out on a real date?”

  She was quiet and he could sense hesitation. Fuck. That wasn’t good. But then she said, “Yeah, sure. What did you have in mind?”

  He tried to let go of the tension in his body as he became more aware of it. Maybe this was a bigger deal to him than he’d admitted to himself. “Dinner?” That was already more than he could afford, but Sam was right. Kaylee needed to know she was special.

  “Okay. When were you thinking?”

  “Tomorrow night?”

  “Yeah, that would be great.”

  Huge sigh of relief—silent sigh. “Seven okay?”

  “Sure.”

  All right, so that was done. Now he had to run a list of restaurants past Sam and see which ones would pass muster but still go easy on the damn bank account. Life would be so much easier once he graduated, but he didn’t want to wait to take Kaylee out till then. He felt like this was his one shot…so he had to make it count.

  * * *

  Maddy and Shannon wanted to go out dancing and were giving Kaylee grief about going out on a date. They kept pestering her about who it was, and when they saw the dress she wore—form-fitting but not slutty, ending slightly above the knee, a pretty pink—they asked who the special guy was and how she’d flown under the radar as having someone interested for so long.

  Well, there was no way in hell she was going to tell them that she and Blaze had already done the dirty deed, but they would see his face when he picked her up. Then they’d be pissed at her for not telling them up front. She couldn’t keep it secret. And, for all she knew, this would be the only time. Maybe the two of them would get familiar and decide they didn’t like each other.

  For her part, she couldn’t see that happening. Blaze had always intrigued her. He had a way about him that made him different from a lot of other guys. He had some bad ass shell around him, but he seemed to be quite sensitive and perceptive, and she liked that. She figured that was what had attracted her from the beginning.

  Maddy and Shannon were getting ready, planning to leave an hour or so after Kaylee did, so she joined them upstairs while they were in and out of the bathroom, throwing on makeup and trying clothes on. Maddy held up a tight black dress to her frame and said, “Will this work?”

  Kaylee scrunched up her nose and shook her head. “No. You need color. Color makes your eyes pop.”

  “Pop?” Her friend laughed and threw the dress on the bed.

  “Yeah,” Kaylee said, nodding. “So…I’m going to tell you who my date is with tonight, but you have to swear not to tell.”

  Shannon screamed. “Wait!” She ran into the room from the bathroom. She was wearing a teal bra and matching thong. Kaylee was used to seeing her friends in underwear, but the thong was a first. She tried not to giggle. Shannon heaved out a breath. “Okay, go.”

  “Swear.”

  Maddy rolled her eyes and Shannon said, “I swear.”

  “Wait a second,” Maddy said and stopped rifling through the clothes in her closet. “Oh, my God. Oh, my fucking God. I know who it is.”

  “No way.” Shannon started giggling and jumping, but Kaylee felt the blood drain from her face. If Maddy knew, then probably Rachel knew.

  “Yeah. I couldn’t figure out why she was being so secretive. And then I figured it out.”

  Shannon said, “Is it Steve?”

  Kaylee laughed. “Oh, God, no.” Steve was her last ex, and there was no way she’d ever date the guy again. Ever.

  Maddy got closer. “It’s Blaze, isn’t it?”

  “Yeah.” Kaylee was shocked. “Did he tell you?”

  “No. Why would he?”

  Kaylee shrugged, still feeling off guard. “I don’t know.”

  “I figured it out because you want us to keep a secret…from Rachel, I’m assuming, although I don’t know why. She’s too focused on her own shit to care what her brother does. And, besides, it’s pretty obvious you guys have liked each other for a while.”

  “What? Are you serious?”

  Shannon said, “Not to me.”

  “Well, I’m an observer. I guess that’s part of being a sociology major. I can read people.”

  Kaylee jumped in. “And I don’t care what you say. Don’t say anything to Rachel. If nothing winds up happening with him and me, I don’t want to get her panties in a bunch for nothing.”

  Maddy raised her eyebrows but then looked at Shannon pointedly. “Not a word.”

  Shannon’s eyebrows shot up her forehead too, and she waved her hands in front of herself just under her chin. “No way. I won’t say anything, either.” She looked at Kaylee. “Secret’s safe with me.”

  Maddy’s grin turned up on one side. “So he finally asked, eh?”

  Oh, God…she almost wished she could tell them the whole story. But no way. So she just said, “Yeah.”

  Shannon lowered her voice. “Swear you won’t say anything, but I’ve always thought he has a cute ass.”

  Maddy agreed, nodding her head. “Totally. You lucky girl. He has nice lips too. You’ll have to let us know if he’s a good kisser.” She winked at Kaylee, as if that would be their little secret from Rachel.

  Kaylee nodded but she already knew the answer to that. He definitely was an awesome kisser.

  Chapter Ten

  THEY’D HAD TO wait a few minutes, but it wasn’t long before they were seated in the restaurant. Blaze was starting to think bringing her here was a bad idea, but Sam had assured him that he couldn’t go wrong with Italian food, because “everyone loves Italian.” Yeah, well, the place reeked of garlic. Ordinarily, he wouldn’t care, but he didn’t know what sort of things would be a turn off for Kaylee. When he’d asked how she felt about Italian food, she said she liked it. He hoped she wasn’t just saying it.

  Once they started looking through the menu, he asked if anything looked good to her. “Oh, gosh. Everything.” He nodded. That was good. Maybe she did like Italian and it had been a safe choice.

  “Uh, we can get wine if you want. I don’t think I’ll get any, but—”

  “Oh, no, I’m good.” She looked up from her menu, and Blaze noticed that she had playfully pursed her lips. “I don’t think I’ll be drinking wine for a while. I think it made me a little too relaxed.” Her eyes darted back to the menu as though she couldn’t believe she’d said that.

  He smiled. Just that little bit of flirtation from Kaylee told him a few things. First, that she had warm memories about their time together…and that was good, because he planned to give her a whole lot more. Second, and he wasn’t sure about this, but that maybe she wanted a second chance with him, and she didn’t want wine fuzzying her brain. He hoped she wanted to experience him clearly and in full color…because he wanted to give that to her.

  They’d hardly talked on the way to the restaurant, instead listening to music on the radio, which helped drown out the uncomfortable silence, but he wanted that to change. He wanted dinner tonight to be a chance for them to get to know each other, because he was sure they both had their own preconceived
notions about one another. Well, he knew he had his ideas about Kaylee, but he wanted to get to know the real woman behind the cool shield she wore. He knew she was in there somewhere, because he’d been playing with her the other night.

  The smile was still on his lips as he returned his eyes to the menu. He said, “Nothing wrong with relaxed. I think I like you that way.” He looked at her again. Yeah, she was definitely blushing, and her eyes darted back to the menu when his made contact with hers.

  She cleared her throat and asked, “Have you ever eaten here before?”

  Oh…okay. So she wasn’t ready to be teased. She was apparently still feeling weird about their encounter. He could go easy on her for a while. “Nope. My roommate Sam recommended it.” He looked back down at the menu, even though he wasn’t reading it. “You’ve met Sam, haven’t you?”

  “Yeah, I think I did at one of Rachel’s parties.”

  “Probably.” He looked up at her again. She was a beautiful girl, but she seemed so unaware of it. In fact, she seemed more self-conscious about herself than anything else. Add to that that she sometimes came off as aloof, and it was a wonder Blaze had even tried with her. He had a feeling about her, though, and it was stronger than ever…that underneath that shell of ice was a hot sex goddess just waiting to come out. “Do you know what you want to get?”

  She shrugged. “I guess I’ll be boring and get the spaghetti. That sounds pretty good.”

  “Yeah, me too.” She nodded. Well, that had been easy, especially since their dishes came with breadsticks and salad. “Did you want a meatball?” She shook her head, and then their waiter appeared almost immediately, as though he’d sensed that they were hungry and ready to order.

  Soon, though, the waiter was gone again and they were left alone. It could have been awkward, but it wasn’t, because Blaze had a genuine interest in Kaylee and he wanted to know more about her. Talking about herself might make her less tense. So, while the waiter was fetching their drinks and salads, Blaze asked, “What are you majoring in, Kaylee? History?” That was the subject he thought he’d remembered as her passion.

  “No. Anthropology.”

  “Oh. Wonder why I thought history.”

  “That’s my minor.”

  He nodded. “So what can you do with an anthropology major?”

  “There are all kinds of things I can do, but I love museums, and I sometimes dream about being an archaeologist. With an anthropology degree, I can do either…or both.”

  Interesting, but not surprising that Kaylee would want to do something like that. She seemed the type who wouldn’t mind being away from the whole of civilization so that she could study ones gone by. It wasn’t that she seemed to dislike people but that she wasn’t comfortable around them. Well, in the past. Blaze got the feeling he could draw a more sociable Kaylee out. She’d been so open, so honest, so free with him the other night—that was the Kaylee he wanted to nurture. That was a woman he could fall in love with.

  What the fuck was going on in his head? Had he lost his mind?

  No, he knew it was because he’d known her for so long and had admired her from afar—well, not that far, but he hadn’t been able to get too close. He’d only had the opportunity to know her as his sister’s friend, and he wanted to get to know her so much better.

  “What would you do in a museum?”

  “I could be a curator, a director—pretty much anything I wanted. It has to be an advanced degree, though. A bachelor’s degree won’t cut it.”

  The waiter came back by their table to deliver drinks, salads, and a basket of breadsticks. After he’d left, Blaze watched Kaylee take the napkin and lay it in her lap, and he followed suit. He had almost been staring at her, and that would definitely make her uneasy. Come on, man. They’d already been through what should have been the most awkward part of any relationship, so why the hell was this feeling so stilted?

  He held the basket up to Kaylee, and she took out a breadstick. “Thanks.” She balanced it on the side of her salad bowl and asked, “What’s your major? Are you doing anything with music?”

  Oh, that earned her points. That she’d identified a passion won her huge points…not that she needed any with him. “You’d think…but no.”

  “Why not?”

  He smiled. “Don’t get me wrong. I love music, but I never took any kind of lessons. I can’t play shit, unless it’s a CD. If it has to be tuned, forget it. But I love and appreciate music, yeah.”

  She grinned. “Yeah, I knew that. You still DJ’ing?”

  “Yeah.”

  “So what’s your major then?”

  “Environmental Studies, focusing on sustainability.” Okay, so this was the part in the date where he found out if he was truly compatible with a girl or not. He’d ended many a relationship before it had started at this stage of the game, because there were some women who just didn’t get where he was coming from. No, he wasn’t a nut who’d lose it if a woman tossed an aluminum can in the trash instead of recycling it, but if she had no respect for what he wanted to do with his life, that was it. It was all over.

  “What all do you study?”

  Internally, he felt some relief. He tried to appear nonchalant, but Kaylee had just scored. She hadn’t shot him down. Of course, that was just the first hurdle. The next one would be the true test. “Bottom line—it’s figuring out a way that all the people on this planet can continue to sustain ourselves. How can we live here without using up all the resources, and how can we responsibly manage the planet? We’ve been abusing the earth for far too long, and so my focus will be figuring out how we can recover from the damage we’ve done. How can we teach others to realize it’s a group effort? I really want to focus on conservation…and so, even though it means more student loans, I’m probably gonna have to go for a master’s.”

  Kaylee smiled at him. What a lovely smile it was. Pretty white teeth framed by soft, full lips. “Me too. I’m looking at another two years after I get my BA.”

  “Yep. You’re a junior, right?” She nodded. “Just like Rachel. This is my senior year, but I’ll be starting on my grad degree this summer.”

  “That’s pretty cool, Blaze.” Holy shit. He was pretty sure that was one of the first times she’d said his name voluntarily. It sounded nice, and he thought he was going to turn into a big dope. Instead, he speared a lettuce leaf and tried to stay cool. “My mom and dad were kind of into recycling—when it was convenient or didn’t cost anything—but they didn’t go out of their way to do it. Since I came to school, though, I’ve read so much about climate change that I feel pretty strongly about being environmentally responsible.”

  Jesus. She had no idea how many points she was continuing to score with him. It would have been great if she’d said global warming but to call it climate change? Shit. She was a keeper for sure. “We’re gonna be doing a celebration thing next month for Earth Day. You wanna hang with me for that?”

  She agreed without hesitation. And their conversation continued throughout the evening. A couple of hours had passed, and they didn’t realize it until the restaurant got quieter and a little emptier. Blaze was glad the waiter didn’t boot them out, and he made sure to give the guy a really good tip. What was the coolest part of the evening was that he and Kaylee had a chance to realize how compatible they were—at least in their choice of majors. They both wanted to do something focusing on the planet—she was more engaged in the past while he was concerned about its future.

  Part of him was disappointed when they had to leave, but the restaurant would be closing soon, and they’d been there close to three hours. They had had a rich, enjoyable conversation, and he realized this girl was one of the sweetest women he’d ever known.

  When they got to her place, he wasn’t going to just kiss her on the cheek and tell her good night, though. He felt like maybe they’d moved from friends with the awkward beginning of a more serious relationship to something more. So he had no problem pulling her into a kiss…and another�
�and another. They moved from warm to hot and steamy in a matter of minutes, and he wanted to feel himself inside her once more.

  Again, though, Kaylee was the kind of girl he felt like he needed to be delicate with. Yeah, he’d had girlfriends in the past who had loved when he felt the need to be rude and crude, but he knew that kind of thing would turn a woman like Kaylee off. He just knew it. So, as he held her close in an embrace and he felt her fingers clench around the back of his shirt, he kissed the side of her neck, hoping to arouse her even more. He brought his lips up to her ear and whispered, “I want to make love to you, Kaylee.” He heard a little giggle escape her mouth. That was good. She was having fun. She didn’t answer him, though, so he said, “Well, what do you think?”

  Her fists released his shirt and she brought her hands to his chest. “That’s not a good idea.”

  He felt confused and pulled back to look in her eyes. He could see them good enough, thanks to the porch light. “Why not?”

  She smiled. “I don’t want you to think I’m a big slut.”

  He sucked in a deep breath. She was kidding, right? Just a few nights ago, they’d had some incredible sex. It wasn’t just that they’d seen each other naked or engaged in a little foreplay. It had been full-blown amazing sex. Maybe if he’d just finger banged her, sure, but they’d gone beyond that. This conversation shouldn’t even be happening. So he couldn’t help but laugh. “What?”

  “I said I don’t want you thinking I’m just a big slut.”

  This was crazy. He was beyond rational thought. “Uh…I’m pretty sure if I was going to think that, I already would. I mean, after Tuesday night—”

  “You jackass.” She glared and pushed against his chest. “Good night.” She turned around and opened the screen door.