by E. L. Todd
“I never opened my clutch.”
“Maybe they’re at my place. They could have fallen out.”
“I never opened my clutch to even look at my phone…”
“Well, we can call a locksmith in the morning. You aren’t going to get anyone out here at this time of night.”
“You’re right.” She crossed her arms over her chest and stared at her door like it might open on its own.
“Let’s go back to my place,” I said. “We’ll figure it out in the morning.”
“It’s okay. I can crash with a friend.”
“And wake them?” I asked. “Just stay with me.”
Hesitance was in her eyes.
“It’s not a problem. I can play guitar until you fall asleep.”
Gratitude moved into her eyes. “You really don’t mind?”
“Not at all,” I said. “Why wouldn’t I want a beautiful woman to spend the night with me?” I winked so she knew I was kidding.
“Well…thanks.” She slapped her forehead. “I feel so stupid losing my keys.”
“I do it all the time.”
“I tend to lose things pretty often. It’s what I’m known for.”
“You can be known for worse things.” I hooked my arm around her waist then guided her down the hallway.
“I guess that’s true.”
“For instance, I’m known for my cockiness—but you already knew that.”
She laughed. “You can’t miss it.”
We left the building then walked back the way we came. I kept my arm around her so she wouldn’t be cold. Normally, guys would stare at a woman like her walking down the street, but with me by her side, they didn’t even look.
They would be stupid to.
“You’re warm.”
“I’m always warm. That’s why I hate summer.”
“Well, everyone hates summer in New York. It’s pretty humid.”
“I’ve always wanted to move to Alaska…”
“Are you serious?”
“Partially. I really like it there.”
“But…isn’t it cold all the time?”
“And beautiful,” I said. “I was stationed there for a few months. It’s quiet. I liked it.”
“Did you see a lot of wildlife?”
“Like you wouldn’t believe. Polar bears, narwhals, you name it.”
“Cool,” she said.
“When I retire, I want to get a place somewhere up in the mountains.”
“Sounds lonely.”
“Friends will visit. I love the city but the peace and quiet is what I really crave.”
She kept walking beside me.
“You’ll visit me, right?”
“Am I invited?” She smiled like she was amused.
“Yeah, I’ll teach you how to fly fish.”
“I doubt you could teach me anything,” she said with a laugh. “I’m not that coordinated.”
“Give yourself some credit. You learned to strip, didn’t you?”
Offense moved into her eyes.
“I didn’t mean that in a bad way,” I said quickly. “Dancing on a pole and spinning around and shit looks hard. You didn’t learn that in a day.”
“My arms were so toned…”
“I bet they were. So, let me teach you to fly fish.”
“I’ll think about it…”
We reached my building then walked back into my apartment.
“You can have the bed.”
“Is it clean?” she asked.
“Clean enough for me.” What kind of question was that?
“I’ll stick with the couch…”
“Honestly, that’s probably more dirty.” I gave her a knowing look.
“Okay…the bed it is.”
I chuckled. “I just washed the sheets yesterday and I haven’t had time to get them dirty so you should be fine.”
“I feel bad making you sleep on the couch.”
“Don’t,” I said. “I’m used to sleeping on a tiny bunk in a room with a hundred other dudes. I can handle it for a night. Besides, if I shared the bed with you, you’d be all over me.”
She rolled her eyes. “I would not.”
“As soon as the shirt comes off, you’ll be pining for me. It always happens that way.”
“Are you really that cocky or do you just act that way?”
“I’ll let you be the judge of that.” I gave her a quick smolder before I walked into the bedroom and grabbed a pillow and tossed it on the couch.
“What about a blanket?”
“I don’t need a blanket. I usually sleep in the nude.”
“TMI…”
“Like you don’t want to see my dick piercing.”
She grabbed the pillow and swatted me in the face with it. “Get a grip, man.”
“What?” I asked with a laugh. I snatched the pillow from her then hit her back gently. “You want to fight? I promise you’ll lose.”
She stood absolutely still with a look on her face that said, “A pillow fight is the stupidest thing in the world.” Then she quickly dashed into the bedroom as fast as she could.
“Oh, I don’t think so.” I followed after her with my pillow in hand.
She snatched the other pillow off my bed and swung at me, hitting me right in the face. Getting hit by a pillow isn’t as soft as you might think. With enough power and strength, it could be uncomfortable.
“You little—”
“Little what?” She smacked me again in the shoulder.
I aimed the pillow at her thigh and hit her gently but with enough force that it wasn’t totally pathetic. “You talk a lot of shit, you know that?”
“Is that all you can do?” She hit me hard in the stomach.
“Whoa…don’t go any lower, sweetheart.”
She hit me again in the face. “Fine. I’ll go higher.”
I growled. “You’re such a brat.” I grabbed her legs and pulled them out from underneath her, forcing her on her back on the mattress. Then I crawled on top of her and pinned her arms back. “I’m officially the victor of this pillow fight.”
“What? You swung it like you didn’t have a clue what you were doing.”
“Look who’s on top. I win.”
“You’re a cheater.”
“Nope. You’re just a sore loser.”
She tried to squirm under my grasp and her dress rose up slightly. Her hair was cascaded around her and her tits shook with every move she made. Feeling her underneath me like that made me think things I shouldn’t, and almost instantly my cock was hard.
“I’ll let you go because I’m a nice guy.” I quickly got off of her because I didn’t want her to feel my raging hard-on. That would be awkward. “Just don’t forget what happened here.” I grabbed my pillow off the ground then carried it back to the living room.
“Do you need anything before I shut the door?” she asked.
“Nope.” I turned off the lights then lay down.
“What are you going to sleep in?”
“My boxers.”
“You aren’t going to be cold?”
“Nope.” I rested my hands behind my head. “Don’t worry about me.”
“Well…what can I sleep in?”
“Oh, sorry. I forgot.” I walked back into my room and searched my drawers. I found a pair of boxers and a t-shirt. “Here. They are both clean. But if you prefer some dirty ones, I can get those too.” I gave her a wink.
She snatched the clothes from my hand. “Stop winking. It’s not sexy.”
“It’s hot?”
“No.”
“It’s irresistible?”
“No.”
“It’s—”
“No. It’s none of those things.” She walked into the bathroom then shut the door. A few minutes later, she came out wearing my clothes. She looked hot in the dress she was wearing but seeing her in my clothes was sexy on a whole new level.
“What?” She realized I was staring at her.
“You look better in my clothes than I do.”
“I doubt that.” She pulled the covers back then got in bed. “Your bed is pretty comfy.”
“Thanks. Sometimes I don’t get out of it.”
She sighed then closed her eyes. When I didn’t leave, she opened them again. “Is there something else?”
“Yeah, don’t go into my closet.”
That got her attention and she sat up. “Why?”
“I have an AK-47 in there. It’s loaded.”
She didn’t flinch at my words. “Why do you have that in your closet?”
I shrugged. “It makes me feel better knowing I can blow someone’s head off at any moment. Our base was invaded a few times, and some guys were shot in their sleep. Since then, I always keep my gun beside me. A few years ago, I managed to put it in the closet instead of leaving it at the bedside. Maybe one day, I’ll dismantle it and forget about it altogether.”
She listened to my words and watched me stoically. She didn’t seem disturbed or uncomfortable by anything that I said. Instead of judging me or saying I needed to see a therapist, she nodded in understanding. “Traumatic experiences take time to recuperate from. And sometimes they never stop haunting you.” She didn’t patronize me by saying meaningless words, she was honest with me.
And I really liked that. “Yeah…” It seemed like she knew exactly what I was talking about. But how would she know?
“Well, good night.” She settled back down and pulled the sheets to her shoulder. “Thanks for letting me sleep here.”
“No problem.” I gave her one final look before I shut the door.
Alessandra
I was such an idiot for losing my keys.
How did I manage that?
Anything I touched disappeared like a mouse hiding under a couch. You saw him make a run for safety, but once he was hidden, you could never find him again. Sometimes I thought I was a scatterbrain. Perhaps Ash and I weren’t that different.
“How’d it go with that hunky guy with tattoos?” Shelly asked when I entered the office.
“Surprisingly well.”
“Why is that surprising?”
I shrugged before I sat down. “I don’t usually have a lot of fun with my clients. But this time I did.”
“What did you guys do?”
“After I met his parents, we went back to his place and he played guitar for me. He’s really good.”
“Sounds romantic.” She gave me a meaningful look.
“He’s so scorching hot.” I wouldn’t lie about that. “But he has more arrogance than anyone I’ve ever known.”
“A guy like that should be arrogant,” she said with a chuckle. “I don’t blame him.”
“It’s his biggest flaw but he has a lot of great qualities.”
“Like what?” she asked.
I tried to gather my thoughts. “Well, he’s really sweet even when he doesn’t mean to be. He gives me compliments left and right without sounding sleazy. He was in the military for years and he has a distinct maturity to him. When his friend passed away in combat, Ash took care of his wife without being asked to. And I told him about…what happened with Tony and he was really nice about it.”
“Wow…sensitive and manly. That’s a deadly combination.”
“But he’s a typical manwhore that never wants to settle down. That’s not what I’m looking for, and he made it clear he would never change.”
“Well, why can’t you just…be with him?”
I gave her a glare. “Because he’s my client. You know that.”
“So, if he weren’t, you would go for it?”
“I don’t know…”
“Yes, you do.” She smiled when she knew she had me. “You would totally jump his bones.”
“Fine,” I said. “If I met him at a bar or something, I’d go home with him. But that’s not our situation. He’s a really nice guy and being friends is actually…not so bad.”
“Not so bad?” she asked.
“I’ve seen a different side to him than he lets most people see. If we just banged and I left the next morning, I wouldn’t know anything about him.”
She rolled her eyes. “I’d prefer to get laid. But whatever.”
“Of course you would,” I said sarcastically.
“So, you’ve been single for four months—officially.”
I knew this conversation would happen eventually.
“You need to get back on the horse. Four months is a long time to wait around.”
Ugh, I hated dating. All those awkward dinners where you don’t know what to say to each other, and then the sex is just…blah. You have to go on ten of them before you finally find someone decent, and even then it still isn’t worth it. It took me forever to find Tony. How long would it take me to find the next one? “I will…eventually.”
“Come on. Let’s go out tonight. With that face and that ass, you can pick up someone in a heartbeat.”
“You overestimate my capabilities.”
“I really don’t.”
“You know how awkward I am at the bar scene.”
“Then don’t be awkward.” She said it like it was the simplest thing in the world.
“How about we get some wine and order in? We can watch a chick flick.”
She stuck out her tongue. “That’s lame. Let’s go out and meet some guys. It’ll be fun.”
Ugh, I wasn’t going to get out of this. “Fine.”
***
The bar scene was a big letdown. There were more creepers than I’d ever seen congregated into one area. They were sleazy, and I could see date rapist written all over them. Maybe we just picked the wrong place, but it wasn’t a good scene.
We ended up doing exactly as I suggested, staying in and drinking wine. I preferred that plan anyway. I didn’t like going out and putting myself on display. I preferred organic meetings, when you met someone at a grocery store because you were both going for the last apple in the produce section. Waiting for Mr. Right to hit on you at a bar was so…cliché.
The rest of my week was pretty uneventful, and I spent my time thinking about Ash when I wasn’t distracted. He had really nice hair. It was such a weird compliment to give someone, but it was the truth. It looked soft but also a little coarse. It had a slight curl at the end and I wondered how it would feel in my fingertips. I wondered how many other women had the same thought.
Probably a thousand.
He was stubborn and bossy at times, and if he didn’t get his way, he would throw a tantrum. When he demanded to walk me home, I knew I would never win the argument. He truly seemed harmless. I couldn’t picture him stalking me somewhere down the road. He had too many other options, and he was against commitment so chasing me down was unlikely to ever happen. But I was still on my guard.
I would always be on my guard.
Of course, he got his way. But that was only because I let him. If I were truly threatened by him, I wouldn’t have slept in his apartment with only a thin slab of wood separating us. If anything, he would be the guy who protected me, not harassed me.
The fact he had such an interesting life made me more drawn to him. He did three tours in Afghanistan and was overseas for fifteen months. I couldn’t even imagine having that kind of experience. He saw so many terrible things I couldn’t even dream of, but he was still upbeat and friendly. His parents were terrible to him, but he had nothing but nice things to say about them. Sometimes he was a complete paradox.
But I couldn’t stop thinking about him.
Hearing him play his guitar and sing so confidently was a turn on, I’ll admit that. His fingers moved across the strings with ease, and his voice never shook like he was nervous. He was comfortable in his own skin, probably because he understood just how beautiful he was.
Everyone knew how beautiful he was.
It’s funny to think I was irritated with him when we first met. He talked too much, primarily about himself. And he just didn’t know when to shut up. But his ann
oyances were balanced out by his thoughtfulness. And when he complimented my appearance, I didn’t hate it. I loved it, actually.
I was at work when Shelly took a phone call. “Yes, she’s right here. Let me put you on hold.” She put the phone on the receiver. “That hunky man is trying to call you.”
“Thanks.” It was probably for the dinner with his parents that weekend. “Hello?”
“Can’t stop thinking about me, huh?” His cockiness had returned in full force.
“You called me, idiot.”
“But I bet you were thinking about me.”
“Actually, I was.”
“See?”
“I was thinking how I wish I had this weekend off instead of going to dinner with you.” That was totally bogus but he didn’t need to know that.
“You think I’m going to buy that crap?” he asked. “You conveniently lost your keys so you could sleep over? You think girls haven’t pulled that number on me before?”
“What?” I said defensively. “I didn’t—”
“Kidding.” He chuckled. “Chill, baby.”
“You chill.” My heart was beating fast because I assumed he really thought I was that desperate for his attention.
He chuckled again. “Someone’s wound tight today…”
“I wasn’t until you called.”
“Ouch.” He said it in an amused way. “So, are we still on for Saturday?”
“You tell me.”
“Dinner is at seven. Can I actually pick you up this time? Or do you still think I’m crazy?”
“I do think you’re crazy. But you can pick me up.”
“Good. I felt like a chick when you picked me up last time.”
“Well, you’re paying me for a service and I’m delivering.”
“That’s the part of the service I don’t need.”
“Do you want me to bring something? Make something?”
“Make something?” he asked. “Can you cook?”
“Yes.” Why was it surprising? All people could cook.
“Hmm…what kind of things can you cook?”
“A lot of different things.”
“Well, my mom is super picky so let’s go through a test run. Come over here and cook me dinner and—”
“Only if you pay me.”
“Ooh…someone knows how to play hardball.”
“Naturally.”
