by Elias Taylor
Kayla frowned and glanced to the side. She was tempted by the idea of having a fun night, Tristen could tell.
“You don’t have to drink,” Tristen said. “But I took care of you last night, you believe I’ll take care of you again if need be, right?”
“You won’t have to take care of me tonight,” Kayla said.
She straightened her spine and smiled though. Her decision had been made.
“But I will have one Cosmo,” she said.
“Deal,” Tristen said.
After that round of drinks, they danced some more and chatted with Perry, who insisted on winking at Trisen repeatedly since he was in on the joke.
Then they went out with Perry and some of his friends to a nearby bar.
To Tristen’s surprise, Kayla made not fuss overextending the night. She chatted with Perry and others about living in San Diego versus living in Lyndon and the real estate market.
She was smart. Tristen loved that.
He also loved that she sat by him without hesitation, even though there was no need to continue the charade of couplehood.
When Tristen told a funny story, Kayla leaned into his shoulder and laughed, and Tristen slipped his arm around her. Now and then, she kept fluttering her fingers over his knee under the table, and he responded by pressing his leg flush against hers.
It was simple, physical flirting, and he was enjoying it for certain.
After a few hours at the bar, Tristen realized there was no way he was driving home that night. When the others went to order another round, Tristen leaned over towards Kayla.
“Hey Kayla,” he murmured in her ear. “It’s almost midnight.”
“What?”
Kayla turned to him in alarm.
“How did the time pass so quickly?” Kayla asked. “I’ve only had two drinks.”
“Don’t worry,” Tristen said. “I’ll just get a hotel in San Diego for the night, and we can drive back early tomorrow.”
Kayla raised her eyebrows, and Tristen chuckled.
“Separate beds, obviously,” he said. “I just drank too much, I shouldn’t drive.”
“Ok, that’s fine,” Kayla said.
“I know this was only supposed to be one evening,” Tristen said. “I’m sorry it got extended.”
“No worries,” Kayla said.
She drummed her fingers on the table and examined her empty glass of wine.
“I guess I might as well have one more glass,” she said.
An hour later, Tristen and Kayla stumbled into a hotel room in downtown San Diego, giggling over an old biker club story.
Tristen had asked for two beds, but the concierge had said they were all out of double bedrooms, there was just a room with a king-sized bed.
“We can share,” Kayla said. “Besides if your company ever checks, it will look very suspicious if you got separate beds tonight.”
She laughed out loud over that.
Tristen was tipsy, and so was Kayla, but she was nowhere near as bad as she had been. She didn’t seem out of control, just looser and more relaxed. As if she had let go of half a dozen worries.
Her hair had loosened throughout the night, and she seemed soft and radiant around the edges.
Tristen grinned when he saw the bed and flopped right down on his back.
“Hold on, let me get my heels off,” Kayla said.
After a few clunks indicated she had kicked her shoes aside, Kayla flopped right now next to him.
“Much better,” she sighed.
Tristen turned to look at her. Their faces were so close that their noses were almost touching. Kayla scooted up so that her back was propped on a few pillows, and Tristen mimicked her action.
“How are you?” Tristen whispered.
“Good,” Kayla whispered back. “Why are we whispering.”
Tristen cracked a grin and shrugged.
“When it’s late, I always feel like whispering,” he said.
Kayla ran her fingers over the skirt of her dress.
God, she looked amazing in that dress. Tristen had been imagining what she looked like under the dress for half the night.
“I know this is really lame to say because this whole thing was fake,” Kayla said. “But I had a really good time tonight.”
Tristen turned and looked her full in the face. He had suspected she was enjoying herself, but he assumed she would be too stubborn to admit it.
For a long moment, they just stared at each other.
Then, in the blink of an eye, they crashed their lips together, almost as if they were attacking.
No one started it, it as a magnetic pull that yanked them both together.
Every nerve ending in Tristen’s body jangled as he pressed his mouth against Kayla’s full lips. She met him with eagerness.
In an instant, Tristen had his hands on her waist so he could pull her closer. She echoed his sentiment by wrapping her hands around his neck.
Tristen shoved his tongue deep into Kayla’s mouth, and he could feel her answering grin as she wormed her tongue between his lips.
It was a sloppy kiss, but Tristen enjoyed a drunken make-out this much in a long time. As he savored the wet feel of her mouth, he felt his cock hardening. He wanted her in the uncontrolled and excited way of a teenager.
Kayla broke the kiss and pressed her forehead against his. She gave him a sly grin.
“What are we doing?” she whispered.
“I dunno,” Tristen mumbled.
“It feels good,” she said.
In answer, Tristen kissed her again while he pushed her back against the bed and crawled on top of her.
The whole night had felt like it was leading up to this. From the moment he saw her in that dress, Tristen had wanted to run his hands over every inch of her body.
With a soft moan, Kayla opened her legs a little wider so that Tristen lay between them. He ran his hand down the length of her torso, relishing the curve of the side of her breast. Kayla gasped at his touch, and when he reached her thigh, Tristen realized her dress was hiked all the way up.
“I want to take it off,” Kayla murmured.
At those words, Tristen’s erection throbbed.
He raised himself on his forearms and looked down at her, her luminous face surrounded by the dark halo of her tresses.
“Are you sure?” he asked.
“Yes,” Kayla said. “I want...I want to have fun.”
She pushed Tristen’s chest with a gentle hand until she was able to crawl out from beneath him and stand beside the bed.
Tristen sat and stared at her as she turned. He raised a worshiping hand to her waist.
“Can you unzip me?” she asked.
Tristen smiled as he slowly lowered the zipper, exposing the glorious expanse of her back. With a small wiggle, Kayla was standing before him in a black lace bra and matching panties.
Tristen’s rock-hard flesh pressed against his pants, and he hurried to remove them as Kayla unbuttoned his shirt.
In a flash, she was straddling him, and they were back to the enthusiastic kissing, but this time, there was an edge to it. The kissing had gone from a funny joke to something more sensual and passionate.
Her bare skin was even softer than he could have imagined, and Tristen slipped a daring finger underneath the waistband of her panties. Kayla inhaled with anticipation, and Tristen was overcome with the desire to please her. To make her cry out his name.
He hadn’t expected this. Any of it. He had figured Kayla would go through with her side of the bargain, and then they would go their separate ways and never speak again.
Even if it was unexpected, Tristen didn’t regret this turn of events. In fact, he wouldn’t have it any other way.
He tangled his hand in her hair and started to kiss her neck. He felt a thrill of pleasure at how she arched her back in response to him.
Tristen slipped his finger down towards her satin flesh and nearly jumped when he felt how wet she was. He slid his finger ov
er her folds and then pressed on her clitoris.
Kayla let out a soft mewl of enjoyment. She was so sensitive, that Tristen knew exactly what she wanted to do.
In one swift movement, he flipped Kayla onto her back. Then he tore off her panties. She lay on the bed gasping and looking up at him.
Kayla’s eyes widened as Tristen fluttered kisses over her flat stomach. When he ran his tongue over her wetness, she moaned, and Tristen smiled to himself.
He wasn’t doing this because he owed her for what she had done that night. He was doing it because he wanted to. He wanted to make her feel so good, she forgot everything else. He wanted her to let go of all her stress and anxiety about work and her future. That’s what he wanted to do for her.
He licked and tugged with urgency. It was no slow and soft build. Both Kayla and Tristen were too tipsy and impatient for that. He slobbered all over her pussy, and Kayla gasped in excitement and pressed herself into his mouth.
Tristen felt when Kayla was taken by the rising waves of her orgasm. He sucked and nipped harder and faster as she tipped her head back and cried out in pleasure.
“Keep going,” she cried. “Tristen, keep going.”
He had no intention of stopping, but the sound of his name on her lips made his erection throb with determination.
She shuddered as Tristen sent her over the edge. Ever since he had first met her, Tristen had never seen Kayla lose control. She had always been composed and completely in command of her bearings. But as she hit her peak, he could see her release all her control as she gasped in abandon. He raised his head and felt her with his fingers as she moaned through the dizzying rapture.
Before her climax had fully dissipated, Tristen plunged into her wet depths. She accepted him easily and wrapped her legs around his waist to pull him in even deeper.
Tristen groaned as he slid in and out and felt the slick walls of her tight pussy. While pressed into her, Tristen tore at her bra and tossed it to the floor so he could seize her plump breasts with his hands.
He found a rhythm he liked, and Kayla accommodated it. Tristen bent to suck on one of her nipples and her moan in response sent him to a deeper level of ecstasy.
Tristen’s release came hard and fast. He felt the rising power of his orgasm, and he cried out as he exploded inside her. His body shuddered as his passion crested, and he let out a final sigh of satisfaction.
He collapsed beside her, his chest gleaming with a soft sheen of sweat.
Sated, Kayla rested her head on his chest.
A warm and fuzzy glow seemed to overtake both of them, and Tristen’s limbs went slack and heavy. He was exhausted; it had been a long night.
“Tristen,” Kayla whispered.
“Yeah,” he said.
“You’re definitely not mediocre at that.
Chapter Eleven: Misstep
When Kayla woke up, her first thought was that she was so warm. Not too hot or sweating or anything. Just warm. It was nice.
Then she jolted in alarm when she didn’t recognize her sheet. Or the harsh amount of sun streaming through the window.
Kayla wrenched herself up. The hotel room. After their night out. She and Tristen...
Kayla fell back in the bed with a groan.
She was naked beneath the sheets, and her hair was a rat’s nest. All the smoothness of the night before had evaporated, and now tangled clumps scratched her cheeks. She probably looked a fright too, since she hadn’t bothered to wash her face before falling asleep.
“Hey, you’re awake.”
Kayla swallowed with trepidation and turned to see Tristen, curled up by her side. That explained the warmth.
She pulled the sheets even tighter around her chest.
“I can’t believe this happened,” she whispered.
She pulled the sheet up until it was covering her face. Above her, she heard Tristen laugh. What was he finding so funny? Was he that used to spontaneous hook-ups?
“Calm down, I thought it was fun,” Tristen said. “We have to check out soon, but you have time for a shower.”
A shower was good. A scalding hot shower was exactly what Kayla needed. She just had to get from the bed to the bathroom without any further embarrassment.
She grabbed the thick comforter and wrapped it around her shoulders as she scooted to the edge of the bed and stood. Wrapped up like an arctic explorer, Kayla waddled to the bathroom.
“You ok?” Tristen asked from the bed.
“Yes,” Kayla said.
Then she ducked into the bathroom and closed and locked the door behind her.
Kayla leaned her shoulders against the door and shut her eyes. How had she ended up here? She couldn’t believe what she had done only hours before. She had kissed Tristen, he had kissed her. And so much more.
It hadn’t been part of the plan. She hadn’t intended for things to go that far. Now everything was going to be awkward and complicated. Sex always complicated things.
The worst part was that Tristen was right: it had been fun. And passionate, and so delicious. Even in the harsh reality of morning, Kayla got a tiny thrill in her stomach as she remembered how he had touched her.
But it had been irresponsible. The extra drinks, going out to the other bar. Kissing him. Taking off her dress. It had all been irresponsible.
This right here was everything Kayla had been trying so hard to avoid. She gave herself a cold look in the bathroom mirror. She was disheveled and her eye makeup was smudged, and she was freaking out over a night with a guy. She was completely distracted and obsessive, and it had only been one night. This was why she had dodged dating and relationships for so long. Romance messed her up.
Then again, it had been nice. More than nice. And even as she panicked, she felt a strange sort of joy bubbling within her.
That will never last, she told herself. Her and Tristen would never last, no matter how much she liked spending time with him.
She had to nip this thing in the bud. Kayla jerked the handle to turn the shower on, and she discarded the layers of blankets and stepped into the hot stream of water.
Tristen had asked her for a favor. She had done that. She had played the part of his fake fiancée. They had both gotten carried away, but that was it. This had to be a one-time thing. No matter how much Kayla might crave more of his caresses, she knew where this road led. After six months, give or take, it would blow up or fizzle out, and Kayla would realize that she was behind on work because she had been so preoccupied, and she wouldn’t even have anything to show for it. Tristen could only give her a broken heart, nothing more, nothing less.
Kayla spent the shower coming up with what she was going to say. She wanted to be kind, but firm. She wanted him to understand that she did enjoy herself last night. She wanted him to know how much she appreciated what he had done.
After the shower, Kayla felt like her old self. No more giggling, no more getting distracted. She had scrubbed her hair and face and then wrapped herself up in the hotel robe. She wouldn’t have chosen the fluffy white robe as the garment she wore for a serious talk with Tristen, but she wasn’t about to pull her cocktail dress back on until she absolutely had to.
Kayla stepped out of the bathroom and lost her breath for a moment when Tristen looked up at her from the armchair he was sitting in. He had pulled his dress pants and button-down shirt on, but the shirt had several buttons undone, and it wasn’t tucked in.
He flashed her a saucy smile as if they were in on some big secret together.
“Hi, beautiful,” he said.
Kayla pursed her lips and focused her gaze on his left shoulder. If she looked him full in the face, she would get distracted by his good looks.
“I need to address this situation,” Kayla said.
“Is it a situation?” Tristen asked.
“Yes,” Kayla said.
Her curt tone made Tristen clamp his mouth shut and raise his brows.
“Last night should be a one-time thing,” Kayla said. “I had
a great time, but I can’t date you or anything like that.”
She snuck a peek at Tristen’s face, but it was blank. Kayla took a deep breath.
“I’ve got too many things on my plate right now with work and my upcoming accounts,” Kayla said. “I like my life the way it is, and I don’t need or want any distractions.”
Her miniature speech over, Kayla paused. She hadn’t planned to end her declaration on a question mark, but she found the question slipping out.
“Does that make sense to you?” she asked.
Tristen just gave her a small smile. Then he stood up and crossed the room. Kayla froze as he stood above her. She didn’t know if she had the strength to pull away if he tried to kiss her.
Tristen leaned down and gave Kayla a small and chaste kiss, right in the middle of her forehead.
Kayla was certain all her insides had melted into a pile of slush.
“I’ll take you home,” Tristen said. “As soon as you’re ready.”
He sat back down on the bed to put his shoes on, and Kayla took some meek steps back into the bathroom to pull on her dress.
After checking out, Tristen took Kayla to his car and opened the door for her.
They were silent for most of the ride back.
When Kayla finally got back to her apartment, she breathed a sigh of relief. It was over. The whole thing could become what it was meant to be: just a blip.
She had made a misstep but quickly smoothed over the whole thing. Tristen understood. She had been very clear, and he had the idea.
Kayla told herself that over and over for the rest of the day, but she still felt like she had made a massive mistake, she just couldn’t put her finger on which exact choice had been the wrong one.
The next morning, Kayla got to work bright and early. She settled into her desk and beamed at all the familiar sights.
This was where she belonged.
After a few hours of engrossing herself in detailed spending analyses, Kayla checked her cell phone.
Her eyes widened when she saw she had a text from Tristen. Not trusting herself to read it without making a face, she dashed to the bathroom stall before opening the message.
Thought about you all night. I want to take you out, on a real date. How is this weekend.
