Wanted By You

by Steph Nuss

  "Elly," she said, sounding concerned, "What are you doing down there?"

  I reached for my ice cream and she handed it to me. "I'm testing to see if gravity has any affect whatsoever on the vagina. Mine won't quit throbbing."

  Tessa laughed and Paige just shook her head and smirked. She sat down next to Tessa and took a bite of her ice cream. "I take it the reunion went well then?"

  "It went better than well," I said through a mouthful of cold, chocolate chip cookie dough goodness.

  "You know there's already a cure for the throb between your legs. It's called masturbating," Tessa said.

  "Tessa!" Paige hissed, choking on her ice cream.

  "What?" Tessa shrugged. "If I read about it in Women's Health, I feel like I can talk about it." I laughed and Paige rolled her eyes. Paige and Tessa were night and day. Where Tessa said whatever came to her mind, Paige was more reserved. I fell somewhere in between them but leaned a little toward Tessa's side. "Don't act like you guys don't do it. Paige, you bought Elly a vibrator."

  "As a joke because her dry spell was becoming drier than the Atacama Desert!"

  "Hey," I said, not even offended by her jab at Wilson. "When do I get to talk about Carter?"

  They laughed and turned their attention toward me. Paige waved for me to continue. "Okay, first off, how'd he look? Did he get worse or better?"

  I pulled my legs down and to the side as I turned to face them, leaning my back against the wall and stretching my legs out in front of me. I eyed them both and smiled as they waited to hear me gush. "He got so. Much. Better!"

  "Really?" Paige exclaimed.

  "I know. I really didn't think it was possible either, but he did." I took another bite of ice cream. "He has facial hair now. Not a lot; just the perfect amount that makes you wanna brush up against it. He has more muscles than before. Like, he's filled out more. He just looks more … manly. I mean, he was always muscular and hot, but now he's bigger, stronger, like he went from some sort of sex god to this sexy beast, and the sexy beast look is a hundred times better."

  "Are you sure your eyes aren't just playing tricks on you?" Paige asked, smiling. "It wouldn't be the first time, you know."

  "I'm positive," I said. "If there's one thing I know, it's Carter Jennings. That man could have a hair out of place and I'd notice … even though it'd probably look just as sexy and I'd leave it where it was anyway."

  "Okay, so tell us how it all went down," Paige said. "You were just hanging out in Justin's office and Carter came in?"

  I rehashed every glorious minute of seeing Carter again, but when I finished telling them about how I declined Justin's lunch idea, their smiles turned to glares.

  "Elly!" Tessa said critically. "Why would you do that?"

  "Yeah, you did not have to get back to work," Paige agreed. "It's not like we would've been upset if you skipped out on us to have lunch with them."

  "Exactly," Tessa said. She held up her hands like they were weighing imaginary objects. "When you have the option of having lunch with your girlfriends who'll always be there for you or having lunch with two hot guys, one of them being Justin Jameson, you have lunch with the two hot guys!" I laughed and rolled my eyes. Tessa wanted Justin bad, almost more than I wanted Carter.

  Almost.

  "I don't know," I confessed, shrugging my shoulders. "I just felt like if I went to lunch with Carter I wouldn't be able to form two coherent sentences. They understood, and he gave me a hug before I left. And while he was hugging me, he seductively said into my ear, 'You look amazing.' I'm honestly surprised I didn’t faint in his arms right then and there."

  "Ohmigawd, I have goose bumps," Tessa said, holding up her arms.

  Paige rolled her eyes and smiled. "Okay, so then what happened? Did you give him your number? When are you going to see him again?"

  I winced and looked down at my lap.

  "Elly," she warned, "please tell me you gave him your number."

  "I forgot," I said, shrugging. "I mean, I thought about it, but I was so caught up in the moment that the thought just slipped my mind. I could barely think a minute into the future with him around, let alone twenty-four hours."

  Paige sighed. "Okay, well hopefully he asks Justin for it."

  Tessa nodded. "Yeah, or you could ask Justin for Carter's number. Clearly, they hang out if they have lunch together. Justin has to have his number."

  "More than likely," I said, nodding.

  "And you know where he works," Tessa pointed out. "It's not like you can't get in touch."

  "Wait," Paige said, picking up her phone. "Was he wearing a wedding ring?"

  "No."

  "Yay! That's a plus!" Tessa cheered as Paige tapped away on her screen. "But what if he has a girlfriend? When did he move back? Wasn't he in Texas?"

  "Yeah," Paige said, staring at her screen. "According to Facebook, he just changed his current city to New York last week, but that doesn't mean he doesn’t have a girlfriend. His relationship status is set to single though."

  "But sometimes people don’t change that even if they aren't," Tessa said, rolling her eyes. "He could even be engaged. I mean, if I was engaged, I would move for my fiancé. Hell, I might even consider moving for a guy if we were just dating."

  Paige nodded. "You're right. I don't know—"

  "Guys," I said, interrupting their banter. "I know you're being realistic and I appreciate it, but I have to believe he's single. I have to believe that when he heard my name today, when he saw me again, he felt something, because I still feel everything for him. He didn't act like he had a girlfriend. He acted happy to see me—a little surprised, but mostly happy—and for the first time, I thought I saw interest in his eyes, like he wanted me right then and there. I don't know what will happen. I don't know if we'll work out, but what I do know is if I don't make a move, I'll hate myself for the rest of my life. Today was the first time I didn't try hiding my feelings for him, and I have to believe he saw them. I just have to believe that this time around things are going to be different, because today felt different."

  Tessa shot me a small smile, and Paige nodded and said, "Ell, he's not the only one who's changed. You're different now, too." I smiled because I knew where she was going. "I finally got you into a pair of heels and you're dressing sexier, showing off every bit of the beautiful woman you are. You look even better than you did in college and you've gained a little bit of curve in all the places women want them. I guarantee Carter noticed all your differences. He'd have to be completely stupid not to. I've always thought he wanted more from you than just friendship."

  "I know …"

  "No. More. Doubting," she said sternly. "I'm glad you finally saw for yourself everything I saw in him during college. I know you felt like you weren't good enough or that he could do better than you, but that's complete bullshit. You're perfect for him just like he's perfect for you. It's time you did something about it because if you don’t I'm going to kick both your asses."

  I laughed and Tessa gave me a hand getting up from the floor. I dragged them both into a hug and sighed. "Thanks. Thanks for listening to me swoon. I don't swoon often, but when I do—"

  "You listen to the oldies and sing along and dance," Paige said, laughing and pointing to my computer.

  "We know," Tessa said.

  I nodded. Was there any better music? I liked music that had a classic, soulful beat, the kind that didn't have a lot of tweaking done to it, just instruments and lyrics. When my mom was alive, she would always put on music from her college days and dance and sing along while she cooked or cleaned or just hung out with my dad and me. Listening to those same songs reminded me of her, of just how similar I was to her. Most women dreaded becoming like their mothers, but the love of good, soothing tunes was one of my mother's traits I didn't mind sharing.

  "I have a feeling we're gonna be hearing a lot of the oldies now," Tessa said, smiling.

  Damn right. I turned the music back up and proceeded to dance while Grand Funk san
g about how wonderful a woman was. Paige and Tessa joined in, and I spent the rest of my lunch break dancing and singing with my girlfriends, who were more than kind of wonderful to me.

  * * *

  After work, the girls and I met up at Jones Jym and hit the treadmills. I felt like I was on top of the world. I was three miles in and the run was making me feel even more amazing, taking away all the sexual cravings from earlier. Mondays at Jones Jym were normally busy with people trying to exercise away the awful day they just endured, and usually I was right there with them. But not today. No, today was the exact opposite of awful. Exercise was my stress relief, a way to stay mentally and physically in check, and running cured just about everything beside a STD.

  Shutting the machines off and wiping the sweat from our faces, the three of us took the stairs up to the seventh floor to get in some kickboxing. Kickboxing was my favorite thing at Jones. Jabbing, upper-cutting and roundhouse kicking made me feel like Superwoman. It was empowering. My dad taught me how to kickbox when I entered high school, claiming I needed to know the techniques for self defense. Thankfully, I hadn't had to break them out for any self defending, just for some good cardio. I was really getting into it when Justin and another one of our good friends, Fletcher Haney, walked over to us.

  "Hey, guys," Fletcher said, throwing us a nod.

  Paige stopped punching and grabbed the swinging bag. "What's up?"

  When Paige walked over to them, Fletcher pulled the towel from around his neck and used it to wipe the sweat off her face. She cringed and punched his arm. "Fletch, that's so fucking gross!"

  He laughed and shrugged her off. "So, what's the plan for this weekend?"

  She shrugged and Tessa and I took a break from our cardio. Tessa grabbed her towel and wiped her face. "I don't know. I kind of wanna do something different. All we ever do is go to Judge's. I wanna go dancing or something, or maybe go see a show. Fletch, isn't your new club supposed to open soon?"

  He smiled and nodded. "Yeah, actually Thursday night is opening night, but maybe Friday we can hit up Judge's for our usual and then head on over to Poison."

  Tessa lit up with excitement and cheered, "Yes! I am totally game for that. I mean, I love the bar, but I just bought a dress that deserves to be danced in."

  "Yeah, it would be nice to do something different," Paige said.

  "I'm in if everyone else is," I said, looking around at the four of them. "Do we just wanna meet up at Judge's and then go from there?"

  "Sounds like a plan to me," Fletcher said. "I'll let Mav know and I'll put you guys on the list for the VIP room because I'm hoping it'll still be just as packed on night two. Text me if you're bringing anyone so I can make sure to put them on the list, too."

  "You rock, Fletch!" Tessa said, bumping knuckles with him.

  As the three of them discussed Poison, Justin and I walked over to the water fountain to fill our bottles. He was quieter than normal, but I just chalked it up to the change in our weekend plans. Justin was a creature of habit and disliked change. I wouldn't be surprised if he just stayed at the bar on Friday and skipped the club.

  "How was lunch?" I asked nonchalantly, even though I wanted know everything he and Carter talked about, especially if Carter said anything about me.

  He shrugged and tilted his bottle. "It was good."

  I nodded and leaned against the wall, waiting for him. I tapped my fingers against my bottle restlessly. I wanted him to define "good." Like, did he mean the food was good or their conversation was good? Did they talk about me? Did Carter think seeing me again was good? I felt Justin's eyes on me so I looked over at him and smiled. "What?"

  He switched places with me and I tilted my empty bottle under the fountain. He shook his head and smiled. "Nothing."

  "No," I said, laughing. "What? Was there something said about me during lunch?"

  He laughed and shrugged again. "Maybe."

  "Seriously!" I said, shoving his shoulder lightly. "You've been my friend longer. You're obligated to tell me what was said."

  "That's breaking bro code," he replied.

  "Screw bro code. I have longer friend code. I have a right to know."

  He smiled and took a drink from his bottle. "What exactly do you wanna know?"

  "What was said!" I said, smiling. "At least tell me if it was good or bad."

  "It was good," he said, pushing off the wall. "He asked for your number. I hope you don't mind that I gave it to him."

  My stomach dropped and I couldn't suppress the enthusiasm that surged through me. I should have been exhausted from all of today's excitement and my killer workout, but no. I just kept begging for more. I capped my bottle and threw my arms around him in a tight hug. "Hell no, I don't mind! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" I kissed him on the cheek and he laughed. "I meant to give him my number but then I didn't."

  "Okay," Justin said, moving out my grasp. "Whatever. You're welcome."

  "No, not whatever. Tell me what else you guys talked about," I said, pushing for more information. I felt like I put him on trial for having lunch with Carter, but that was just my neurosis kicking in again. Every shrink has issues of their own. Why else would we make a living out of listening to other people's issues?

  He grabbed my biceps tightly and looked me in the eyes. "Elly, calm down. Just wait for him to call. Invite him to come out on Friday. He already knows everyone except Tessa, right? I think he could use a night out. All he's been doing is unpacking. He just moved here last week."

  Just when I thought he really was sticking to the bro code—boom!—he dropped a bomb. Now, I knew that Carter hadn't been back long and that he was busy unpacking and settling in. And he wouldn't have told me to wait for Carter to call if he had a girlfriend, right? No, because that would be breaking friend code. Friend code specifically stated: Telling a friend to do something like wait for him to call meant that friend knew said friend was, in fact, getting a call. "You're right. I think I will," I said, beaming with confidence. "Thank you, Justin! I owe you."

  "Whatever," he replied, showing off his dimples.

  Chapter Seven

  Carter

  Wednesday evening, my older sister, Harper, came over and I gave her the two-second tour of my place. I lived in a fucking shoebox now. Even the old apartment I had with Cash during college wasn't this tiny. The “open” floor plan of the kitchen and living room actually meant they were nearly combined, and the small hallway at the back of the living room provided the option of either turning left into the bedroom or right into the bathroom. Like I said, it wasn't anything special.

  "Well, you take what you can get at the last minute in New York," Harper said, following me back into the living area.

  "I know. I'm just happy to be back."

  She looked around at the walls of the living room and took a seat in the armchair as I found my spot on the couch. "It could be a lot worse. All the paint is new and the appliances are new. This really isn't the shittiest place you could be living in. You need some decorations, though, like some pictures or something. The walls are bare."

  I nodded. She was right. With her background in art and design, Harper could make a pile of coal look like diamonds. She found beauty in everything. Even if I had found the shittiest place in New York, she had the craft and the patience to turn it into something valuable.

  "I'm not letting you decorate my place. It'll look weird with all your Greek decorative crap. Sorry."

  She rolled her eyes and sighed. "Well, at least find something to put above the fireplace. With the white walls, it's all just too bare and a little too bright."

  "I have some pictures of all of us that I'm gonna put above the fireplace and some sports stuff to put up on the walls."

  "Good," she replied, settling back into the chair and turning her attention toward me. "So, how's everything going? It looks like you're all unpacked. How's work?”

  "Yeah, I only have a few more boxes. Work's good."

  "Have you tried contacting a
ny of your old friends?"

  I shook my head. Harper had just started her career in fashion design when I moved to New York the first time. She kept busy while I was in college, working on her clothing line and traveling to various countries to meet with other designers and people who were interested in her work. I never really had a chance to introduce her to my friends since I rarely saw her myself back then. "No, I've just been trying to get everything unpacked and get into a routine with work."

  She nodded, and then a small smile tugged at her lips as she drew her legs up underneath her. "So, you haven't tried contacting what's-her-name?"

  "Elly?" I asked, narrowing my eyes over at her. When it came to me and dating, she was definitely the nosier sister.

  "Yeah, have you talked to her?"

  "Yeah, actually I have," I said, and her eyes widened in excitement. "I ran into her on campus while she was visiting Justin. He's one of the professors I met at our meeting with the dean last Friday. Elly's a friend of his."

  Her face morphed into awe and she sighed. "It's like fate jumped in and took care of finding her all on its own!" She placed a hand over her heart as she smiled at me. "That is so sweet! I wish crap like that happened to me."

  "Yeah."

  "Well, go on," she said, twirling her hand in the air to motion the story along.

  "There's really not much else to say." I shrugged, turning the TV on.

  She rolled her eyes again and puffed out an exasperated sigh. "Seriously, Carter? Nothing? That's not romantic at all. Fate did you a favor and you did nothing?!"

  Her disappointment amused me. I told my sisters about Elly a few years ago only so they'd stop trying to find their future sister-in-law. That job was done. I found her a long time ago.

  "Elly's different," I said, making Harper's dark brows furrow.

  "Trust me. Every girl wants some sort of romance. You didn't even make plans to get together and catch up?"

  "No, she had to get back to work."

  "Well, call her tonight and make plans to get together," she ordered, as she stood and walked toward the door to leave. She turned around and looked at me again, her expression more sincere. "Carter, if you still have feelings for her, why waste any more time trying to figure out the best move to make? Just make a move already. And then introduce her to me."