by Emma Roberts
My phone jingled, as it had been obnoxiously doing all night, notifying me that I had a missed call if I remembered the tone correctly. I determined that I would deal with it after I got out of the shower and grabbed a big, fluffy towel and washcloth before slipping into my tiny bathroom. As corny as it sounded, I had something of a song in my heart that morning – I’d forgotten what effect a good fuck could have on you.
Turning the water as hot as I could stand, I rinsed off thoroughly, praying that I didn’t get a UTI or something worse. The guy hadn’t seemed too dangerous, but a prick didn’t usually look you in the eye and scream that he’s got the clap. He had been such a nice one, though… wait, wait, no. I wasn’t going to waste all morning touching myself in the shower.
Maybe a little touch….
No, shit. I had that missed phone call to deal with, and if I allowed myself a little indulgence, I likely wouldn’t come out of the shower until I was a literal prune. Grumbling a bit, I made short work of cleaning myself properly. I took a moment to maintain my womanly ‘upkeep’ as it were — well, more than a moment, really. When you were a woman with any sense of decency, shaving took what felt an eternity of contorting into odd positions to reach every piece of yourself.
My body was sore after the night I’d had, but a woman had duties to take care of. My body ached by the time I got out of the shower, but I felt vaguely refreshed at least. I slipped on my pink bathrobe and rummaged through my discarded clothes for my phone before realizing it was still in my bag from the night before. The notification light blinked almost tauntingly at me as I ripped it out of my purse, seeing who had called.
Well, the call from Tiffany was no surprise. No message, but again, that wasn’t any sort of surprise. She avoided leaving messages like the plague, which made it exceedingly for her to arrange parent-teacher conferences when it came that time of year. No matter. I’d call her once I’d had my morning coffee. I was about to place my phone back in my purse when the notification tone jingled again. Had I missed something? Tiffany was pretty much the only one who kept touch with me on a regular basis. Maybe the handsome stranger had gotten my number?
Frantically fumbling with my phone, a pit of dread settled in my stomach when I realized that I recognized the phone number. It wasn’t a pleasant sort of recognition; it was the sort of grim realization that felt like finding out that the light at the end of your metaphorical tunnel was just a train on its way to plow you down.
Fucking Chad.
There was nothing saying I necessarily had to call him back. He’d left a message, and while I had my doubts that I actually wanted to hear what he had to say, I decided to bite the bullet and press play on my voicemail app. I listened for several moments to what was essentially Chad groveling and apologizing, explaining that he had seen the error of his ways. My heart gave a tentative leap at the words, but the key word there was tentative. This wasn’t the first time Chad had pulled such a stunt. Every so often, when his girlfriend broke up with him, he would ring me up for a good time.
Granted, he generally wasn’t so apologetic when he called. The normal cry for attention was a simple, ‘hey u down 2 fukk?’ via text message. In spite of everything Chad had put me through, I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt — though I was fully aware he didn’t deserve it. Swallowing the lump forming in my throat, I sent him a text telling him to meet me at our usual cafe downtown. If he fucked up, this was his last chance. I couldn’t deal with the push and pull any longer.
I hoped being in the public of the cafe would keep things from getting too out of hand, at least. I’d made the mistake of inviting him to my apartment one time… believe me, that was never going to happen again. I had cleaned the wine stains out of my carpet and curtains for what had felt like months. Nothing like a man scorned, especially a drunken man scorned.
As I got dressed, my thoughts lingered with the stranger I’d shared the night before with. I knew I should be spending my time trying to find out more about him instead of crawling back to my dirt bag ex. A part of me still loved Chad, as loathe as I was to admit it. Some stupid part of my brain was convinced he would see the error of his ways and realize what he had lost when he’d lost me.
That part of my brain nearly exploded when I parked in front of the cafe and saw Chad lingering outside, near our usual table. It’s where we had shared our first date, and a series of anniversary lunches after that. My heart hammered against my ribcage, and it was all I could do to keep from screaming as I touched up my makeup. He seemed oblivious to my presence, his attention focused on his cell phone as usual. God, he was as handsome as he’d always been.
Getting out of the car, I felt like a deer in the headlights when I eased my door shut and his head shot up to look me over. He smiled crookedly, that smile I had fallen head over heels with what seemed a dozen times now. Flattening my dress, I approached him with a coy smile, taking a seat at our table. He sat across from me, steepling his fingers on top of the table and seeming to consider his words. This was a marked change of pace. Maybe he really had seen the error of his ways; maybe we truly were meant to be together. I’d always known he was my prince, my happily ever after—
“I’ve really missed that pussy, girl.”
His expression was still some half-hearted attempt at being charming. The words were like a blow to the gut, and I exhaled sharply as it felt like the wind was literally knocked out of me. He tilted his head curiously, reaching out to touch my hand. I was too startled to immediately draw away, so he managed to get a grip on me. He was fortunate that I wasn’t quite prepared to cause a scene.
“Such a way with words, as always,” I said calmly, trying to pull my hand out of his grip. He only tightened his hold, yanking my hand toward his lips and kissing the back of my knuckles. I grimaced, torn between delight and disgust. God, the mixed signals were going to make me lose my goddamn mind at this rate.
“Don’t be like that, baby girl. You know I miss the rest of you too. There was just always something about riding that thing bareback, if you catch my drift,” he said, his voice a touch too loud for comfort. I could hear the snickering of the patrons at the other outdoor table and could feel their stares. I was nothing short of humiliated, and the worst part was that I had walked myself right into his trap. I should have known better.
“God, Chad. You never change, do you? I actually thought you wanted to apologize,” I hissed, yanking my hand away and rising from my seat. His expression shifted to slightly chagrined, and he rose to trail after me as I made my way to my car.
“I do want to apologize, baby! I didn’t realize how good I had it. Having kids ain’t everything, and broken or not, you were great for a roll in the hay. I’ve really learned to prioritize, you know.”
I paused, turning to look at him in clear disbelief. Before I could stop him, he smacked my ass firmly, as if trying to show the world I belonged to him. Heat flared in the tips of my ears, and as much as I wanted to be the bigger person and simply walk away from the situation, it simply wasn’t going to play out that way.
Wheeling around, the palm of my hand collided with his cheek with more of a thump than a satisfying smack. I could tell it was still painful, but I didn’t enjoy it quite as much as I might have otherwise. He staggered back, disbelief in his gaze, as if he hadn’t just humiliated me in front of half of the city.
“You know what, Chad? Go fuck yourself. I’m so tired of this song and dance, thinking you’ll change… people like you never change. Do me a favor and lose my number, you shit stain,” I shouted, the idea of not making a scene flying clear out of the window.
“Well, fuck you too, bitch. Good luck finding a good man with that kind of an attitude! Like anyone would want you! I bet you haven’t even gotten fucked since we were last together,” he shouted after me, and I swear, something inside of me simply snapped. There was no stopping it.
“Last night, I got fucked better than you could ever dream to achieve. You think you’re God’s
gift to woman? Ha! I faked it every time!”
The words were out before I could take them back, and Chad looked more than faintly taken aback by my statement. A group of women at the cafe cheered, and I heard a few “You go girl”s before turning my back on the man I’d loved and hustling back to my car.
In the past, I might have been brokenhearted. Not now. Not ever again. I was determined.
I would know what it was like to be truly loved.
CHAPTER EIGHT
David
The days following should have gone as usual. It wasn’t as if the night I’d shared with the strange woman was any different than any other one night stand… at least, that’s what I tried to tell myself. I couldn’t ignore the feeling that sleeping with that repressed goddess of a woman was nothing short of transcendent. I almost regretted not leaving her my number, or even telling her my name, but that was against my personal policy. I couldn’t give her the idea that she had a chance of a relationship with me.
Regardless of how perfect those lips had looked wrapped around my cock.
Thoughts of her were becoming too much to stand — to the point that I couldn’t even focus on my job. Even worse, I couldn’t focus on any of my other fuckbuddies. It had to be achingly obvious that I had mentally checked out. I had a reputation to maintain, however, and if I couldn’t get my act together soon, I would have to take serious action.
As a matter of fact, perhaps serious action was just what I needed. Especially when serious action consisted of hitting the Bahamas for a nice, exotic vacation. It was one of my yearly allowances, taking a trip to the sunny beaches of the Caribbean. The beautiful women there were always a treat compared the usual women I flounced around with in the States. They threw themselves at me just like any other women, but it was like… getting a sip of a screwdriver after a month of drinking plain orange juice. It was exceptional.
I expected this trip to be nothing short of perfect, just what I needed to get that beautiful and captivating woman out of my mind. The woman, for what short time we spent together, had awakened a beast inside of me — a beast that craved her more than I’d ever wanted anything. It would have been easy to find her, sweep her into my arms and make her my own. Fuck her properly every night and treat her like the goddess she was….
What bothered me the most was just how appealing that thought was. I’d never been the type to get attached to the women I spent my nights with. They were just a means to an end, essentially. Once I’d spent my load, I didn’t need them anymore — I certainly didn’t spend days thinking about and pining over them. In spite of how I may have entertained the thought from time to time, I just wasn’t cut out for a relationship. There were too many beautiful women to limit myself to only one, no matter how enchanting she may have been.
“Davie…”
The familiar sing-song voice interrupted my thoughts, and I grudgingly turned my attention to the current bane of my existence — Angel. She couldn’t seem to get it through her head that I simply wasn’t interested in her — no, not even for a quick fuck. Not anymore. She was too clingy and a constant reminder of why one should never mix work and pleasure.
“Yes, Angel? Can you make it quick? I’m only checking a few files before I head out,” I said sourly, all too eager to board the plane that would take me to the sunny beaches I so longed for.
“I was just curious as to whether you’d like a bit of company on your trip… after all, you must get terribly lonely. I can’t imagine going on vacation all alone; I’d get so lonely,” she crooned, draping herself over my shoulder and meeting my gaze. Her voice grated on me like nails on a chalkboard, but she seemed to misinterpret the shudder that went through my body. “We could have so much fun together. I asked the managers if I could take the time off, and they agreed, so—”
Wait.
“You asked the managers if you could go on vacation with me?! Are you serious? Are you being serious right now, Angel?” I demanded, looming over her with barely restrained rage. This woman was more of an idiot than I had even begun to comprehend — which was saying a lot.
“Well, yeah. They wanted to know why we would need the time off together, so I told them about our relationship…” she trailed off, seeming to notice the fury in my gaze. She had the nerve to pout, as if that would soothe my anger, and reached out to touch my cheek. “Oh, don’t be mad. They would have found out eventually, wouldn’t they?” she pressed. It was all I could do to keep from simply grabbing and shaking the ignorant young woman.
“First and foremost, we’re not in a relationship. There is nothing between us, besides a couple of quick fucks, but that’s all they were, Angel. I don’t want to be in a relationship with you. I can barely stand to look at you right now. Do you realize how unprofessional I’m going to seem to the higher-ups? Next thing I know, you’ll be telling me that you told the boss how hard I rammed you in my office last week,” I said with a bitter scowl, crossing my arms over my chest. Her expression faltered, and my heart dropped into my stomach.
“Well, the staff manager is a notorious gossip, and she knew anyway! So I just thought… I just thought I’d fill in the blanks for her, is all. Let everyone know that you’re mine. You should be happy. I did all of the hard work for you.”
Yes, I definitely needed this vacation — more than I had even realized. I would have a talk with the managers before catching my flight, but for the time being, I would settle for getting away from this prattling bitch.
“I need to speak to the higher-ups,” I said firmly, trying to edge away from her.
“You won’t have to worry about the boss,” she said dismissively, keeping her hand on my hip as we moved. I opted to ignore the sour feeling in my gut, allowing her to enjoy herself for the time being. I wasn’t exactly thrilled over the idea of crushing her feelings, but I wasn’t particularly devastated either.
“Since when have I ever needed to worry about the boss? I just wanted to check in before catching my flight.”
She blanched, tapping her fingertips together.
“I’m just saying it might be wise to give it some… time, is all,” she murmured quietly, her head down. Narrowing my eyes, I gripped her firmly by the shoulders, forcing her to look me in the eye.
“Angel…” I gritted out, and she threw her hands up in an attempt to placate me.
“I’m sure they won’t do anything as extreme as firing you, but… uhm… I got chewed out. Just a tiny bit,” she explained weakly. I rolled my eyes, decidedly finished with the conversation. I turned my back on her, taking long strides to the manager’s office. Stopping just short of the room, I decided to hell with it; I could deal with the situation when I got back from my trip. I had a plane to catch and some worries to drink (and fuck) away. I paid little mind to Angel as she lagged behind me in the hall.
“So, I guess I’m not coming, then?”
I outright laughed at her audacity, shaking my head in disbelief.
“No, Angel. I don’t think so,” I chuckled, waving sayonara as I made my way out of the building. My car, my baby, was waiting for me as always, parked in my reserved spot. I frowned as I noticed a slight smudge on the hood, licking my thumb and rubbing at it for a moment. That seemed to do the trick well enough. I cast a lingering glance at the fertility clinic, wondering if it would be worthwhile to return. From the implications Angel had made, I would likely be in some sort of trouble for my somewhat unprofessional behavior. I wasn’t terribly frightened by the prospect, but it did dampen my interest in returning.
It was of little consequence at this point, though. It was something to think over when I wasn’t heading out for a relaxing vacation.
The ride back to my home was a short one, and I’d packed before going to tie up loose ends at work. It was just a matter of tossing my luggage in my car and heading out to the airport. First class or bust, baby. I was, admittedly, a bit anxious as I allowed my mind to wander back to the night I’d shared with… Goddamn, I really wish I had got
ten her name. It was driving me insane, even as I tried to push her out of my mind.
I struggled to think of ways to make her seem unappealing to me, and a struggle it was. I entertained the idea that she was seeing someone but had needed a night of passion. I usually wasn’t one to impose myself into a happy relationship, but I felt certain that even if she were seeing someone, I could convince her to be with me instead. It was a near-crazed thought, as far as I was concerned.
