Friends Without Benefits

by Dena Blake

  What if Emma didn’t have the same feelings? What if she ended up in the same “friends” place with Emma that she had with Grace? She took in a deep breath and blew it out slowly. There was one big difference between the two. Grace had never kissed her like that. She could still feel the kiss vibrating through her, with the sensation now settled uncomfortably between her legs. Wow!

  The whole day had gone so perfectly. No complaints about the length of the walk from the parking lot to the festival. No off-the-cuff remarks about the lack of taco variety, or how they should always have a different type of food at any festival. Grace would’ve insisted on having a burger or something totally different than tacos, and Dex would’ve had to hunt down something for her.

  The festival had been so much more enjoyable with Emma than it had ever been with Grace. Come to think of it, Emma hadn’t asked Dex to do one single thing for her. She hadn’t expected anything of Dex, and she’d even shared her tacos with her. The kiss they’d shared, right there sitting on the concrete, had been spectacular. She’d been so wrapped up in Emma, Dex had almost forgotten they were in public, surrounded by hundreds of people. The thought of it made Dex’s knees go weak again. Emma was breathing life into her suffocating heart.

  The comfortable easiness between them had been there from the beginning. Emma had even let Dex drive her car on the way home. She was so different from Grace, who always insisted on driving and was a constant backseat driver when she didn’t. Total control freak. Emma was relaxed and let Dex make the choices all day, and Dex liked it. The whole day had been so much more fun without the pressure of someone scrutinizing her actions as well as the event.

  When she’d stared into Emma’s silvery blue eyes, she’d been mesmerized by the way the light scattered in them. Dex had also thought she’d seen a glimmer of want. Yes, that was definitely what it was. Emma had slowed down for some reason, and that meant Dex needed to be patient. Had she been through a recent breakup? Was it a surprise? Was it heart-destroyingly horrible? The thought of someone hurting Emma made her heart squeeze. She needed more details. Maybe she should get more background on her from Grace…or maybe she shouldn’t.

  Chapter Twelve

  Emma sat at her desk gazing out her office window at the city. Today seemed like the longest day in history. She had another date with Dex tonight, and time was literally crawling slower than a snail going up on the down escalator. Dex had sent her a text early this morning before she’d even gotten out of bed. The soft ting of the chime had gently pulled her from her sleepy haze into the surprisingly vivid dream she seemed to be living. She hadn’t gotten much sleep after leaving Dex last night and had kinda hoped she’d had the same problem. It was ridiculous how giddy she’d felt when she read the message.

  Do you know the ceiling fan above my bed rotates sixty-eight times per minute?

  No, but I found out the Home Shopping Network has great deals on jewelry during the wee hours of the morning.

  That’s the best news I’ve heard all year. Can I see you tonight?

  I think that would be wise or I may be making five small monthly payments for the rest of my life.

  Dinner, my place @ 6?

  Can I bring something?

  Just you.

  The tingle buzzed through her again as she thought about the text exchange that went on until they’d both, reluctantly, had to get up and dress. She would’ve never made it to work on time if she’d spent the night with Dex last night. She brought out the best of Emma, and she liked giving it to her.

  Her boring weekend had quickly morphed into a wonderful whirlwind of fun and adventure. The sparkle of Dex’s green eyes burned vividly in her memory. She’d have to remember to thank Brent for the introduction. She hadn’t seen him yet today. In fact, she hadn’t looked up from her desk all morning. The advertising copy she’d scheduled to work on at home yesterday had to be done early this morning instead. She’d arrived at the office after eight this morning, and it had been past midnight when she’d gotten home from Dex’s house last night. She smiled. Yesterday was well worth the punishment this morning.

  Brent poked his head into her office. “You have time for lunch?”

  “Yes. I’m starving.” She’d been so focused, she hadn’t had anything but coffee this morning. Food would’ve put her into a coma.

  “Downstairs okay?” Brent asked.

  “Perfect.”

  He motioned her in front of him as they headed to the elevator. “So the party was good, eh?”

  “It was okay.”

  “What? I saw you with Dex. You two were having a great time.”

  “She’s nice, not pretentious like most of the woman I meet.” Totally different from the rest of Grace’s friends.

  “Thanks for the cigars, by the way.”

  Emma chuckled. “I bet Grace was happy with those.”

  “You don’t want to hear exactly what she said, do you?”

  “Actually I do.”

  “Something to the effect of, ‘What the fuck? It wasn’t a bachelor party.’” His voice rose as he mimicked Grace.

  Emma laughed loudly. “Awesome. I wish I’d been there.”

  “Troublemaker.”

  “You love me anyway.”

  He winked and moved her in front of him in line. They ordered their sandwiches, took a number from the cashier, and found a table in the corner of the deli. Brent picked up their drink cups and got them each a glass of water, hers with lemon.

  “Did you get lucky?” he asked as he sat down across from her.

  “No. It took all my resistance to walk away when I dropped her off at her house.” She was sure it would’ve been a night to remember if she hadn’t.

  “What? Why’d you do that?”

  “Because she’s nice and I like her. Besides, she didn’t invite me in.”

  “Oh, playing the sweet-girl game, are you?”

  “It’s not a game, Brent.” She glared at him playfully. “I am sweet.”

  He chuckled. “You’ve forgotten who you’re talking to.” He raised his eyebrows. “You guys were together all night. I thought for sure something was going to happen. You at least had a good time, right?”

  A young, floppy-haired waiter brought over their sandwiches and swiped the number from the table. Emma took hers and pushed Brent’s in front of him.

  She nodded. “We spent the day together yesterday too.”

  “Doubleheader.” He threw his hand up for a high five, and she slapped it with hers. “And you still didn’t get lucky?”

  She shook her head. “She was even harder to resist last night, but I had work due by noon today, so I needed to get some rest.”

  He laughed. “You actually are a good girl. I would’ve blown it off and asked you to help me with it this morning.”

  “I’ll remember that next time.”

  “I got your back,” he said, then bit off a huge chunk of his sandwich. “When will that be?”

  “Sometime this week. I haven’t heard from her yet today.” She didn’t want to tell him she was seeing Dex again for dinner tonight. He’d run with it, and she’d never live it down.

  “Yet.” He bounced his eyebrows at her. “That sounds promising.”

  She let a big smile spread across her face. “In more ways than one.”

  He licked his finger and swiped it down in the air. “Chalk one up for the Brentster for setting up the party.”

  “I owe you one.” She took a bite of her sandwich. “What was with Grace?”

  He gave her a strange look. “What do you mean?”

  “At the party? She pulled Dex into the kitchen to help her with the food. I thought you said she could cook.”

  “She can. There was probably just too much food for one person to handle.”

  “And you couldn’t help her?”

  He seemed surprised by the comment. “She didn’t ask me.”

  “My point exactly. She seems to depend a lot on Dex instead of you.” He needed to s
tart taking care of Grace so Dex didn’t have to.

  “You depend on me, don’t you?” He shrugged. “Who helped you move last year? Who got you a date with someone perfect for you?”

  “Yeah, she is kind of perfect for me.” She took in a deep breath and wondered if Dex was too good to be true.

  “I told you, I got your back, Em. Now let me have the rest of your sandwich if you’re not gonna eat it.”

  She kept the half she’d been eating and pushed her plate his way. “It’s all yours.”

  She hadn’t thought about it that way. It just seemed that Grace took a little more advantage of Dex than Emma ever had of Brent. She would never have hosted a party with her significant other and expected Brent to help her with the food. She’d probably put him in charge of the beer cooler, but never the food. Maybe she was making too much of it. Either way, she wasn’t sure if Grace was in her court on this one. She’d seemed to like having Dex at her beck and call at the party and clearly didn’t like the competition.

  * * *

  When Emma pulled up in front of Dex’s house, she flipped down the visor and assessed herself in the vanity mirror. Why was she so nervous? She’d had an awesome time with Dex yesterday. Who would’ve thought that tacos and Mexican wrestling could make for such a delightful date?

  She adjusted the V-neck on her sweater, which seemed a little low right at the moment. It was the highest cut of the three she’d tried on, so she’d had to go with it. She didn’t want to worry about her cleavage spilling out all night. She’d worn her loosest pair of jeggings, if there even was such a thing, because Dex was cooking and she actually wanted to eat whatever she made. She closed her eyes. She hoped it wasn’t fish. She could handle shrimp, but she wasn’t a big fish eater. She probably should’ve warned Dex of that little nugget of information, but she didn’t want her to know she had flaws just yet.

  She didn’t know how long she’d been sitting in her car when she glanced up to see Dex sprinting out her front door. It was a magnificent sight. Beautiful dark hair flowed dreamily on her shoulders, creating the perfect contrast against the electric-green sweater she wore. That sweater fit her well, and everything slowed as Dex ran like Wonder Woman down the pathway, her arms moving effortlessly and the well-defined muscles in them appearing so incredibly touchable. And the flawless athletic legs wrapped in dark-blue skinny jeans were entirely too much for Emma. She needed something cold to drink. Now. She couldn’t take her eyes off Dex as she rounded the car and opened the door for her.

  “Hey, you.”

  “Hey,” she said as she killed the engine and slid out of the car.

  Dex seemed to take in the whole of her. “You look fantastic.”

  “Thanks. You look pretty awesome yourself.” Her cheeks warmed, and she turned to grab the bottles of wine from the front seat. She handed the bag to Dex. “I didn’t know what you were making for dinner, so I brought one of each.”

  “Perfect.” She tucked the bag to her chest with one hand and took Emma’s hand with the other. “I made roast chicken.”

  The house smelled amazing. Emma hadn’t realized how hungry she was until her stomach let out a loud growl as soon as she took in the scent of food when they stepped through the door.

  Emma grabbed her stomach. “Oh my God. Was that me?”

  Dex laughed. “Well, I’m glad you came hungry.” She took her coat and hung it on the hall tree. “There’s some cheese and crackers in the kitchen.”

  She felt something against her legs and glanced down to see a black-and-white fur ball slipping through them.

  “Sorry. I don’t think you two have been properly introduced.” Dex picked up the cat and held her out to face Emma. “This is Panda. She likes attention, as you saw last night. And her timing is ridiculously bad.”

  Emma took her into her arms and rubbed her behind the ears, and Panda purred softly.

  “She likes you already,” Dex said with a smile.

  She followed Dex into the kitchen. The words cheese and crackers didn’t do the spread on the counter justice. Three small round bowls with different spreads in them were surrounded by an assortment of crackers, and another plate was filled with a variety of black and green olives.

  “This looks wonderful.” She dropped Panda to the floor before she picked up a cracker, spread one of the cheese mixtures across it, and took a bite. “Oh, my. This is heavenly.” She closed her eyes and let the flavors of rosemary and something sweet fill her mouth. “I could live on this alone.” She popped the other half into her mouth, prepared another cracker, and handed it to Dex. “What is that sweetness? Dates?”

  “Figs.” Dex took a bite of the cracker. “They’re not as sweet. It gives the cheese just the right balance with the rosemary.”

  Dex fixed the next cracker for Emma with a different spread. “Can you tell me what’s in this one?”

  Emma took a bite and widened her eyes. “Feta, dill, and maybe…garlic?”

  “Close. Ginger.”

  “Wow, that’s really good.” Emma dipped the knife into the last bowl, spread the cheese onto the cracker, and took a bite before she fed the remaining half to Dex. “This one’s easy. Blue cheese and green onions.”

  Dex shook her head. “Shallots. They’re a little milder.”

  Emma smiled. “I think I may keep you.” She regretted the words as soon as they left her lips. It was too soon. Dex wasn’t really hers to keep…yet.

  Dex stared into her eyes, and suddenly the air between them seemed charged. Maybe it wasn’t too soon after all.

  She broke contact and reached for a bottle of wine. “Chardonnay with the chicken?”

  “Sounds fabulous.”

  Thirty minutes later they were sitting at the dining-room table with full plates of roast chicken, potatoes, and vegetables.

  “I hope you saved room,” Dex said as she refilled their glasses with wine.

  “I reserved a hollow leg just for this.”

  “Really?” Dex glanced under the table and then squeezed Emma’s thigh lightly. “Yes. I do feel a little extra room there.”

  The electricity of Dex’s touch almost jolted Emma from her chair. She could still feel the heat when Dex removed her hand from her leg, and when the warmth faded, she missed it.

  During dinner, the silence was clear but not awkward. They simply glanced at each other several times as they ate. The atmosphere was comfortable yet not entirely relaxed. Every time Emma caught Dex watching her, she actually had to think about breathing, an act she’d never questioned before.

  “I don’t think I’ve ever had such delicious chicken.” She caught Dex staring again, and suddenly the candlelight seemed very intimate. Possibly too intimate. Even though they’d seen each other several times over the weekend, officially it was only their second date.

  “It’s one of my favorite meals.” Dex must have felt the closeness too. She got up, gathered their empty plates, and took them into the kitchen.

  “One of mine now as well.” She picked up the remaining items from the table, followed her in, and slid onto the same barstool she’d claimed before.

  Keeping the barrier between them, Dex slid a plate of brownies across the granite countertop. “Dessert?”

  “You’re going to kill me with all this decadence.”

  “Kill? No. Spoil? Maybe.”

  Emma took a brownie from the plate and bit off a corner. “Oh my God. This is delicious. What is that I taste? Cayenne?”

  “Wow. I can’t fool you. If you could tell that, you must be a foodie.”

  “Definitely a foodie.” She nodded, took another bite, closed her eyes, and let out a groan. “It seems like I found the right woman to satisfy my addiction.” When she opened her eyes, the expression on Dex’s face was different. Her eyes were glued to Emma’s lips as she slipped her tongue out slightly to catch the crumbs from them.

  Her stare veered to Emma’s eyes, and her cheeks reddened slightly. “They pair really nicely with a cabernet.” Dex p
ushed away from the counter. “I’ll open another bottle.”

  “I’ll get it.” Emma smiled, popped up, and headed around the counter into the kitchen. “You’ve been working like a madwoman since I—”

  Her words were lost as Dex pulled her into her arms and covered Emma’s mouth with hers. A red-hot bolt of erotic electricity threw her into an inescapable surge of desire. She’d been waiting for this all night, and it was so much better than she remembered. The first kiss had been sweet, slow, and tentative, like a slow sunrise tempered by a soft trickling rain on a summer morning. The second was borderline scorching, something that the most torrential downpour couldn’t douse. Each sensual spot on her body was completely and thoroughly awake now. It was becoming agonizingly clear that she was about to explode at any moment. She couldn’t go back from this.

  Dex lifted her onto the counter and wedged herself up against her. This position, with Dex nestled firmly between her thighs, had her wet beyond measure, and there hadn’t even been any friction. Dex’s mouth, soft and warm, trailed slowly down Emma’s neck to the sensitive spot where her neck met her shoulders, where she stopped and kissed her skin lightly. Emma had to force herself not to squirm closer. When Dex’s hands slipped under her sweater, Emma let out a growl and felt Dex smile against her neck. Dex slid her hands up Emma’s sides, taking the sweater with them, and slipped it over her head, leaving her wearing only a black lace bra. She felt terrifyingly exposed until she saw the steamy glimmer in Dex’s eyes.

  “God, you’re beautiful.” Dex stood back slightly and stared as though she were memorizing every part of her before she captured her mouth again, harder, more urgent this time. Suddenly tongues and hands were battling for control, and Dex pulled her closer, creating the much-needed friction she craved, and Emma couldn’t stand it anymore.