by Starr, Faith
“Not so much anymore. At least not with our fans. Truth be told, I was nervous to ask you out. I haven’t taken a woman on a date in ages. I feared you’d shoot me down.”
“Really?” That made me feel on top of the world.
“Yes. Really. I behaved myself on Thursday because I didn’t want you to think all I wanted from you was sex. Of course, I wanted that too. And now that we’ve had it, I hope to get a lot more of it.” He flashed me his devilishly handsome smile. “But I hesitated that night. You deserve respect.”
Tears stung the backs of my eyes. I reached out and touched his chin. “That’s thoughtful. So what happened to hesitating this morning and last night?”
“A man only has so much willpower when in the presence of a beautiful woman.”
“You’re such a man!”
“It’s the truth.” His face didn’t have an ounce of teasing on it.
“I hope so.”
“If it wasn’t, you wouldn’t be in my apartment right now. I told you I don’t bring women here. This is my home. It’s the one place where I can separate from everything else. I don’t share it willingly.”
“Thank you for having enough faith in me to bring me here.”
“All I ask is that if and when I piss you off, please don’t give anyone my address.”
“Ooh. You’ve given me a bargaining tool.”
“Damn it. You’re right. Maybe I should blindfold you and get you out of here so you don’t see anything else in my place or in the building.”
“Not to worry. Your privacy is safe with me.”
“I know that, which is why you’re here.” He kissed me. I found him to be super attentive and affectionate. It was awesome. “We better get out of this shower before we turn into prunes.”
“It’s too late.” My wrinkly fingers were proof of that. “We’re taking far too many showers.”
“I have no issue with that because it means I have your naked body next to mine, but I am ready to get out.”
“The charming never ends, does it?”
“Do you want it to?”
“No.”
“Then I’ll keep it coming.” He winked at me.
We got out of the shower and towel dried. He dressed in the same shorts and shirt he had removed prior to our lovemaking.
“You mentioned earlier it’s been a while for you. Exactly how long has it been?”
“You’re really fixated on that, aren’t you?” I sat on the bed, still in my towel.
“I’m curious about it.”
“Why?”
Don’t sound so defensive. It makes you come off as insecure.
I am insecure.
“Just am.”
“Three years.”
“Three years?”
You’d think I had told him thirty with the surprised tone in his voice.
“Yup. I think it’s different for men.”
“Must be. I couldn’t imagine going a week.”
His reply summed up where the two of us were headed in a nutshell: nowhere.
“With all the women at your disposal, I guess you don’t have to.” Me and sarcasm worked well together, a happy coexistence.
He sat next to me on the bed. “I shouldn’t have said that. I’m sorry. It was disrespectful.”
I shrugged. “You’re being honest. You don’t owe me anything. We’re having fun, right? Same as you do when you’re on the road.” My stomach grumbled, and it definitely wasn’t a hunger call.
“Listen, I know it sounds cliché for me to say I don’t think of you the same way, but I don’t.”
I put my hand up to silence him. “You don’t have to say that. It’s fine.”
“No, it’s not fine. We agreed to spend as much time together as we can while I’m here, but I can’t make any promises after that. My life is on the road right now.”
“I haven’t asked for a thing, other than to please not hurt me.”
“I get that, but you’re upset with me right now. I can feel it.”
“Can we please drop it? We shouldn’t be having this conversation. It’s irrelevant and futile.”
He embraced me. “Can we agree to take things a day at a time?”
“That’s exactly how I live my life.”
“Good. Then let’s do it together, okay?”
I may have been nodding against his chest, but my heart ached. I didn’t get how he had so effortlessly nudged his way inside something protected by steel barriers. But he had, and there was nothing I could do to stop him from taking over the entire darn thing.
15
Ryan
Heavy. Too much heavy for my taste. There was something to be said for fucking nameless women. No morning after awkwardness. No guilt. No nothing.
The best thing for me to do regarding Lizzie would be to exit her life without looking back. Similar to how she felt. Neither one of us was smart enough to face the inevitable truth: this thing between us couldn’t last longer than the length of time I would be in town.
Since not seeing her was out of the question, especially now that I had experienced her, we would have to follow my suggestion and enjoy each other’s company until I left. As long as I remained in the mindset that this was a temporary thing, I’d be fine. Hopefully.
“Do you want to borrow a robe?”
“Sure.”
She followed me into the closet, and I gave her one of the Ritz Carlton insignia robes I had swiped from the place ages ago. The guys and I had been invited to play some shindig event. We had nothing to our names except our instruments, original songs, and our talent. Those were our only possessions of any value.
“Give me a sec to brush my teeth again. I forgot to before our second shower.” I left her in my room to go to the bathroom.
When I finished, I heard rustling noises in the kitchen which indicated where Lizzie had disappeared to.
To my surprise, she had eggs frying in a pan.
“After all that exercise, I thought I’d make eggs. I wanted to make veggie omelets, but it was slim pickings. There are English muffins in the toaster.”
She was making me breakfast? The only other woman who had ever done so was my mother.
I got behind her and wrapped my arms around her then kissed her cheek. Her neck. She was delectable.
“It smells great. You didn’t have to go to the trouble but since you did, thank you.”
“Eggs and toast are hardly trouble. English muffins, that is. What’s trouble is you breathing on my neck. You’re distracting me.”
“How ‘bout you plate the eggs?”
“Now you’re really distracting me.”
“That’s my intention.” I slipped my hand inside the part in the front of the robe and glided it over her stomach and down between her legs to find her wet for me.
Using her ass, she nudged me backward. “Haven’t you had enough?”
“Never.”
“It’s not a marathon.”
“Let’s make it one. It’s Sunday. A lazy day.”
“Not for me. I have to save some of my energy for work later.”
She might have been arguing against my attempts, but she stimulated herself against my palm and dropped her head against my shoulder.
“Let’s shut off the stove before we start a fire,” I advised.
“It’s too late. You’ve already started one.”
Mmm. Mmm. Dirty Lizzie was hot.
She scrambled the eggs faster. When they were to her liking, she clicked the switch off and set the pan on a cool burner. She whirled around in my arms. “Done. Now what?”
“This.” I lifted her onto the kitchen counter. “You sure are beautiful.” I tipped her chin up and planted a soft kiss on her lips.
The air around us heated, and it wasn’t from the burner on the stove cooling. It also wasn’t a lustful heat. I couldn’t describe it. It was more like a feeling.
Stop this thought right now! No feelings. No relationships.
I part
ed her thighs and stood between her spread legs. We kissed harder. Her hand got buried in my hair. My tongue got buried in her mouth.
We remained in that position until the toaster dinged.
She broke the kiss. “Breakfast is ready.”
“Breakfast can wait. I’m hungry for you right now.”
I scooted her body toward the edge of the counter until she was fully in my arms. I carried her to my bedroom since that’s where I kept the condoms stashed. My nightstand had been their hiding spot since the dawn of time.
We collapsed onto the bed together, giggling. I rested on top of her with my knee buried between her legs.
My hand skirted between the part in the bathrobe again. Destination: her breasts. She had such an innocence about her, yet maturity as well—maturity beyond her years. I sensed it.
She stroked my cheek.
Again we kissed. Not fervently, but softly.
Our bodies ground against each other, her pussy having a party with my knee. There was no need for further foreplay. We were both primed, with the shallow breaths and moans to prove it.
“Let me get a condom.” I reached over to my nightstand drawer and tugged one out. I rolled the latex on my dick and entered her, my eyes closing as soon as her warmth sucked me in.
She tightened her arms around my neck and hooked her legs around my back, burying me deep inside her.
Our lips remained connected. Sweat broke out on my neck as our pace increased.
Our kiss lingered long after the lovemaking ended.
Fucking. Not lovemaking.
Right. Keep the two terms separate.
“I think you’ve more than made up for your dry spell.” A content smile broke out on her sweet face in response to my comment. “Shall we go eat cold eggs and hard English muffins?”
“And here I thought I was hungry before. Now I’m starving.”
Frowning, I replied, “You mean I didn’t satisfy your appetite? You’re hurting my ego.” I sat up, holding my heart.
“Oh, don’t worry that swelled head of yours. You’ve more than satisfied it.”
Smiling wide, I rose off the bed. “You’re full of brilliant answers.”
I stuck my hand out for her to grab on to and pulled her off the bed. I disposed of the condom in the bathroom garbage.
With that taken care, I discovered Lizzie had the food plated and on the dining room table.
“Is there anything in particular you want to do this morning?” I asked. “I still have a few hours to kill.”
“I think the swim lesson is out because I don’t have a bathing suit and there’s no chance in hell I’m skinny-dipping in a public pool.”
“Unless it’s only the two of us.” I bit into my English muffin. Fuck. Luckily, the thing didn’t crack a tooth.
She swallowed a bite of eggs. “In a private pool.”
“Rain check on the swim lesson?”
“Agreed.”
“Any other ideas?”
“I’m free until five. I’m open to anything.”
“There you go agreeing to anything again.”
Smiling, she bunched up her napkin and tossed it at me.
“Hey, you’re the one who keeps saying it.”
She glanced at the clock hanging on the wall. “We better get moving.”
“How about a walk along the boardwalk? It’s gorgeous outside, and I could use some fresh air since I’ll be holed up in the studio later.”
“Unfortunately, I don’t have a bathing suit or fresh clothes with me.”
“That could be an issue. Don’t know of any nude beaches in this part of town.”
A sad truth.
“Funny. Seriously though, all I have with me are the clothes I wore last night. It might be hot wearing jeans. Plus, my shoes aren’t ideal for a lengthy stroll along the boardwalk. I hate to be a buzzkill. I hadn’t prepared myself for a sleepover.”
“One must always be prepared.”
“I don’t make it a habit of going home with men after dates.”
My heart fluttered at the notion.
“Glad to hear that. I have a solution. We’ll make a detour on the way to the beach and I’ll buy you something to wear.”
“Or you could take me to my house so I can get clean clothes.”
“Your house is out of the way. I live near the beach. We’ll stop someplace. It’s no big deal.”
“Maybe for you it’s not, but I don’t feel comfortable with you buying me clothes.”
“What if I want to?”
“It doesn’t feel right.”
“It’s not a diamond ring. It’s a pair of shorts and a T-shirt. Oh, and some flip flops or something for your feet. If it makes you feel better, you can pick the store.”
The yes she gave me was anything but believable.
We finished breakfast and washed the dishes with perfect teamwork and chemistry.
With her dressed in her clothes from the prior night, we were ready to head out.
“Do you need to go undercover on this outing?”
“Nah. We should be okay. There are never any guarantees, though. As I’ve said, public recognition happens more when I’m with the guys.”
She had brought up a good point, though. Why take a chance? Before we left my place, I snagged a baseball cap from the rack I had attached to the wall. I had quite a collection of them.
We took the elevator downstairs to the garage and got in my car.
“When you see a store that catches your eye, say the word. There are a few decent places nearby.”
“Is there a Fields?”
She had to be kidding. “For real?”
“Yeah. I love Fields. You can get everything in one place, and their app is the greatest thing ever. You get extra discounts on certain items, some of which are already on sale. The list changes weekly.”
She was adorable. I brought her hand to my lips and kissed the back of it.
“What?”
“You’re so fucking cute. If it’s price you’re worried about, don’t be. I’ll take you wherever you want to go.”
“No. That’s okay. Fields is perfect.” She had her phone in hand, typing vigorously.
Her choice of stores blew my mind. A part of me dug the fact she wasn’t trying to dip her hands into my bank account. Most women in this type of situation would have asked me to take them to a high-end designer boutique or department store. Not Lizzie. I had hit the jackpot when I met her. She was so down to earth. And here I had started to lose faith that a woman like her still existed.
“Yay! Fields has discounts on sportswear this week.”
“What?” I glanced at her.
“All their sportswear is on sale. When the cashier scans the barcode on my phone, an extra fifteen percent will come off the sale price.”
“But I’m paying.”
“So. The cashier can still scan my phone and give us the discount.”
Incredible. Not only had she picked an affordable store to buy an outfit, but she was also searching for coupons to save me money. The guys wouldn’t believe me if I told them this story.
Seventy-five dollars later, with the fifteen-percent discount, we were back in the car and Lizzie was decked out in a cute shorts outfit with brand-new socks and sneakers. She looked young and carefree. Speaking of which. “How old are you?” I had never asked.
“Twenty-four. How about you?”
“Twenty-seven.” I pulled out of the lot and onto the main road.
“You’ve got a good head on your shoulders for someone so young.”
“I learned about responsibility at a young age. It served me well.”
“I can see that. You work hard to provide for yourself. You’re levelheaded. I admire that.”
“Thanks. That’s nice of you to say. And thanks again for the clothes.” She checked them out and lifted her foot to inspect her sneakers. “I love the entire ensemble. It’s a new favorite. I could have paid for it myself, though.”
&nbs
p; “And you tried, but I refused. How could I not when the shorts show off your sexy legs?”
“Compliment appreciated. Your gesture too. Thoughtful but unnecessary.”
“And it wasn’t necessary for you to cook me breakfast. But you did, and it too was appreciated.”
“I wanted to cook for you.”
“And I wanted to buy you something to wear to the beach. We’re even.”
“Fine. We’re even. But I’m thankful.”
That was something I rarely heard with true intention. These days most of the people the guys and I met or came in contact with expected a lot from us. Give, give, give, pretty much summed it up.
The beach was hopping, visitors galore. I found a parking spot and Lizzie and I walked along the boardwalk. I tugged my hat lower, not making eye contact with anyone but her. Lizzie smiled happily, seemingly enjoying herself, our joined hands swinging between us.
We window shopped and talked about nothing in particular. It was a relaxing way to spend an afternoon.
She stopped in front of a storefront. “Look at that bracelet. It’s so cute.”
We studied it in the window.
“It has a globe, similar to your tattoo.” I pointed it out with my finger.
“You’re right. I didn’t notice that.”
“Since we’re here, do you mind if we go inside to get a drink? I’m dying of thirst.”
“Darn it. We could’ve bought bottled water at Fields. It will probably cost us triple here.”
“It’s fine. Come, let’s go inside and get something cold.”
She followed me into the store.
“Oh shit, I almost forgot. I never called Mason. He asked me to. Would you mind grabbing me a bottle of water and whatever you want for yourself from the cooler?”
“Sure.”
Off she went.
It gave me the perfect opportunity to pay for the bracelet without her knowing. I wanted it to be a surprise. It was a cheap nothing made of shells, but I wanted Lizzie to have it since we had spoken about her tattoo earlier.
Lizzie returned with two bottles of spring water. She handed them to the cashier. I took out my wallet.
The blue-haired, tatted-up girl with a nose piercing had better not say anything about my previous purchase.