Textbook Approach: A Small Town Romance

by Lagomarsino, Giulia

  “So, what you’re saying is that you’re not trying to treat me like a hooker.”

  “Male escort,” I corrected.

  “And you just want things to remain on an even keel.”

  “Exactly.”

  I heard him take a deep breath. “Alright. I’m available tonight.”

  “What a coincidence. So am I.”

  “Then I’ll see you in a half hour.”

  He hung up before I could say anything else, like ask for his address, but just a few seconds later, my phone dinged showing his address. I smiled and quickly fixed myself up, then headed out the door to his place. The drive was quick and I found myself practically running up to the front door of his house. I didn’t pay attention to anything beside the door flying open and him dragging me inside.

  His lips molded to mine and his hands immediately started pulling at my coat. I heard the door slam behind us and then he was spinning me around, walking me backward into the house. Little by little, my clothes were being pried from my body until I was just in my bra and underwear. His hands grabbed me under the ass and then I was in the air, being carried down the hallway to his bedroom.

  He tossed me on the bed, standing only in his jeans, and damn did he look good. His blue eyes roamed over my body, taking in every inch of me, and then he pulled down his pants and started stroking his cock. I almost burst apart at the seams right then. I spread my legs in invitation for him and he grinned at me, placing one knee on the bed as his hands reached up to pull down my panties. But instead, he tore them off me and flung them to the side like they meant nothing.

  “Hey! Those were my underwear!”

  “And now you’ll be thinking of me when you drive home tonight,” he said, grinning wickedly at me.

  He gripped my hips and pulled me up to him, slamming inside me hard. His eyes lasered in on me as his hips slammed against me over and over again. It was like he was trying to make sure that I remembered every single moment he was inside me. His hand slid up the center of my chest until he reached my breasts, and then slid over, cupping my breast in his hand. His thumb brushed over my nipple, sending shocks through my body. I wanted his tongue on me. I wanted to feel him lick my pussy and do dirty things to me. I wanted…

  “Oh God!” I shouted when my body started convulsing around him. The earth moved, my body shook…All those things you read about were happening and my body was spinning out of control. I would say angels were singing, but I was pretty sure there were no angels out there condoning what we were doing.

  He flipped me over, laying me flat on my stomach, and then slid back inside me. His hand slipped up around my throat and he held me right against his face. I could feel his hot breath on my cheek as his hips bucked against my ass.

  “You want more?”

  “God, yes.”

  “How much more?”

  “Everything,” I panted.

  His hips started moving faster and lips brushed against my cheek. “Tell me what else you want.”

  “I want,” I started breathlessly as he ruthlessly took me. “I want you to lick my pussy. I want to suck your cock. I want you to fuck me so hard I can’t wake up.”

  His harsh breathing in my ear had me clenching down around him. He grunted hard and then he was coming, his hand on my throat tightening slightly. His head collapsed next to mine and then he stood, slapping me on the ass.

  “For that, you have to stay the night.”

  Will

  “Hey, you wanna grab a beer?” Paul asked after school as I was heading out to my truck.

  “Yeah, why not.”

  “I just have to be home in a half hour.”

  I stopped and stared at him. “So, you want to chug a beer and leave?”

  “It’s just that…since that night, the missus has been quite strict in our routine,” he said, waggling his eyebrows.

  I frowned at him, not sure how a routine made things better. “I’m not following. You’re going to have to fill me in on this routine.”

  “See, we get home and do all the shit around the house that needs to be done. She makes a list and I hurry up and get it done while she’s getting dinner on the table. Then, it’s homework and send the kid off to bed, and then fun time for me.”

  He was grinning so proudly that I almost felt bad about telling him that his wife was playing him. Almost. His kid had cleaned me out, after all. I slapped him on the shoulder and nodded sagely.

  “Paul, I really hate to tell you this. I want you to know that you’re my best friend and I would never do anything to hurt you.”

  He frowned, shaking his head slightly. “What are you talking about?”

  “Your wife is using you.”

  “What? No she’s not.”

  “She’s making a list for you? You rush home to get the list done, and then at the end of the night she rewards you with sex? Man, you’re not recreating romance. You’re getting paid for services rendered.”

  His jaw dropped as he stared at me. “But…”

  “She’s playing you. You want sex and she wants the chores done. Face it, this is not because you took her out and had a great night. This is because she wants cleaning done and she knows she can get it through sex.”

  “No,” he laughed, shaking his head at me. “See, you’ve got it all wrong. I’m not cleaning the house. I’m fixing things around the house. She said she likes to watch my body move as I work.”

  I bit back my smile as I nodded. “And how long has she been asking for this list of things to be done?”

  He stared at me a moment and then he turned angry. “You fucker. You couldn’t just let me enjoy the fantasy?”

  “Hey, if you want to continue with the so-called fantasy, go for it. Do what works for you.”

  “What do you know about relationships anyway? They take work. So what if she wants me to clean the outside windows in the middle of winter? I’ll do it if it means that she looks at me like I’m the sexiest beast she’s ever seen. After a while, you have to really work to make the sexy times stay alive.”

  “And you’ll hose down her house to keep it that way,” I grinned.

  “You’re a real shit, you know that?”

  I burst out laughing and slapped him on the shoulder again. “Go home and do chores for your wife so you can get laid tonight. We can grab a beer on the weekend.”

  He glanced down at his watch again and frowned. “Yeah, I suppose I should.”

  “And hey, if you hurry through your chores like a good boy, maybe mama will have a treat for you at the end of the night.”

  He flipped me off and headed for his car. I couldn’t help but laugh. The man had been played by his wife and he hadn’t even realized it. I got in my truck and dialed Robert, hoping he was done for the day.

  “Yo,” he answered, sounding a lot more relaxed now that he wasn’t wearing that damn pretentious suit all the time.

  “Hey, you wanna grab a beer?”

  “Uh…I have one more appointment. I should be done in about a half hour.”

  “I’ll meet you at The End Zone.”

  I could practically hear the grimace in his voice. “Perfect.”

  I laughed as I hung up. As much as he had left his old life behind, he still liked the finer things in life, and The End Zone was not one of the finer things. But it was a fun place to hang out and the food wasn’t half bad.

  I headed into the bar and grabbed a table. The place was still slow since it wasn’t even five yet. But that wouldn’t last long. I ordered a beer and was halfway through it when Robert walked in. He jerked his chin at me and went to the bar, ordering his beer before heading over.

  “Long day?” I asked, noticing the circles under his eyes.

  “Long night. Anna kept me up all night.”

  “Nice,” I grinned.

  He glared at me and shook his head. “Not nice. We were fighting.”

  “Over what?” I asked, baffled by this. “You just got back together. How can you possibly b
e staying up all night fighting?”

  “I want her to marry me, and she says it’s too soon.”

  “Well, you’ve technically been together for less than six months.” I counted in my head. “Two months, actually. A whole two months and you’re pressuring her to marry you?”

  “It may only be two months, but she’s been mine since we were kids.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Are you really gonna go there?”

  “What? It’s the truth.”

  “You haven’t been together in thirteen years,” I stressed. “You can’t expect her to just up and marry you just because you know you belong together.”

  “Yeah, but…” He sighed heavily, shaking his head. “I moved down here. I gave up everything to be with her. I sang her that fucking song on a float in front of the whole goddamn town!”

  “Yeah, and it was a great way to win her back, but that doesn’t mean she’s going to run off and marry you. Give her some time.”

  “How much time? I want a family with her.”

  That took me by surprise. “Really?”

  “Don’t give me that shit. We were teenagers. We’re older now, more mature, and I’m ready for all that.”

  “Has she officially stated that the house is both of yours or are you still living with her?”

  He grimaced. “I’m still living with her.”

  “Does she expect you to find your own place?”

  “No,” he grumbled.

  “Then let it go. If you keep bugging her about this, she’s going to kick you out, and then you’re definitely not getting married.”

  He huffed out a long sigh. “Can’t you find some reason that we need to get married? Don’t you have anyone you can marry and then have me take it over like last time?”

  I snorted. “I doubt Charlie is up for getting married. Besides, divorced, remember? Getting married is the last thing on Charlie’s mind.”

  “I thought you two weren’t seeing each other?”

  I grinned. “Well, it just so happens that I got a call last night. I believe that I won that round.”

  “How so?”

  “It turns out, the problem stems from the ex. I guess I can understand.” I sighed, “Charlie’s worried that I’ll sleep in or refuse to leave in the morning.”

  “Well, I can understand that. Being on time for work is important.”

  I shrugged. “Well, I gave in for one night, but the next time, we’ll see what happens. I’m thinking the more time we spend together, the more I’ll get my way. I just have to approach this thing like I would my history class. One step at a time. No skipping ahead or trying to rewrite history. I have to let it play out over the course of time.”

  He nodded in understanding. “A textbook approach.”

  “Exactly. Slow and steady wins the race.”

  “But if Charlie isn’t interested in more, do you really think that this will work?”

  “I wasn’t the one that called,” I grinned. “I was perfectly content to move on. I don’t have time for games. I mean, I always have time for games, but fun games. None of this bullshit about being kicked out in the middle of the night. I want someone that wants to play the same games as me. So, I decided that it wasn’t going to work out, and it looks like I played my cards right because I got the call last night, asking for more.”

  He nodded, studying my face like he was trying to understand something, or see something he hadn’t seen before.

  “What?”

  He shook his head. “Nothing, I just…if this is what you want, you know we all support you, right?”

  I looked at him funny. “Uh…thanks?”

  “It’s just…we know this is a difficult situation to navigate and we’re here for you. Whatever you need.”

  “I guess,” I said slowly. Although, it didn’t seem that difficult to me. I was dealing with a divorced woman, not a married woman that wouldn’t leave her husband. In fact, now that I thought about it, all my brothers were acting weird about this. “Is this all because of the relationship? Because I’m just like anyone else. I want the white-picket fence and all that shit too.”

  “You’ll get it, man. I know you will,” he said confidently.

  What was with all the bullshit encouragement? He was acting like I was on my last lifeline or something. My phone buzzed and I pulled it out, grinning when I saw Charlie’s name. I held the phone up for my brother to see and his eyes lit up slightly.

  “Hello?”

  “Hey, you want to get together again tonight?”

  “Sure, I can do that.”

  “I get off in an hour.”

  “I’ll have dinner at my place. Anything you want?”

  “Surprise me.”

  I grinned. “I can do that.”

  I hung up and held my arms out wide. “What did I tell you? Textbook approach.”

  * * *

  After a wild round of sex, the Chinese food was cold. Neither of us cared though. I watched as she tried to use the chopsticks to eat her food, but she was failing miserably. I pulled a fork out of the drawer and set it in front of her. She stared at it as she continued to try and use the chopsticks, but eventually, she threw the chopsticks down and grabbed the fork.

  I laughed slightly. “That wasn’t so hard, was it?”

  She glared at me, but I could see the faint smile on her face. “You know, if you want to keep me around, you should be nicer to me.”

  “Oh, I think I was very nice to you from the moment you walked through the door.”

  “Maybe,” she acquiesced.

  “So, how does Nathan feel about you coming over here?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Any issues with that?”

  “Why would there be? I told you, our relationship is purely sex.”

  “But not right now, right?”

  “Of course not.”

  I set down my fork and rested my elbows on the counter. “So, tell me how this relationship with him works.”

  She shrugged. “He’s my best friend. I’ve known him for years and we have great sexual chemistry, but we would never work as a couple.”

  “Why not?” I asked, though I was a little irritated to hear about their amazing sexual chemistry.

  “We’re just not compatible that way. The sex is amazing-“

  “You’ve mentioned that.”

  She smirked. “But there’s nothing else there.”

  “I don’t understand how that works. How is he your best friend, you have great sexual chemistry, but you would never work as a couple?”

  She thought about it for a moment. “You know, I’m not sure how to explain it. Neither of us have felt that way about the other. We understand each other and know what we want, but it’s not each other.”

  I didn’t understand it. In fact, there was nothing about her that I seemed to understand. But I really wanted to figure her out.

  “Oh, by the way, Nathan seems to be a little obsessed with you.”

  “Me?” I asked.

  “Yeah, okay, don’t tell him I told you this, but he has a major man-crush on you. I told him I would give you his number.”

  “Am I supposed to call him?”

  “If you want,” she shrugged, as if she didn’t just throw a huge curve ball at me.

  “Isn’t that a little weird? I mean, I don’t know him. He’s cool and all. I know he loves baseball, but what would I say to him?”

  “I don’t know. And you don’t have to call him. I just told him I would give you his number. Beyond that is up to you.”

  Why the hell was she being so chill about this? Now I felt like a chick, trying to decide if I would call or not. Which would be fine, if we were talking about a chick, but we were talking about another guy. It was weird.

  “But now you’ve made it impossible for me not to call him. If I don’t, I come off as a total douchebag that doesn’t have the decency to talk to another person.”

  “I don’t think he would take it that way.�
��

  “Really?”

  “Honestly, if you called him, he would be really excited, but if you don’t, he’ll move on with life. Although, he probably won’t be as happy about our non-relationship.”

  This was ridiculous. It was bad enough that I was trying to navigate one relationship, but now I had to manage a relationship with her sex toy? I had to seriously consider if this was worth it.

  “So, are you ready for round two?” she asked, giving me a cheeky grin.

  I could have said yes. The only thing I wanted was to be inside her again and to feel her skin sliding against mine. But if I did that, she would leave right after. No, now was the time that I had to take a gamble and see if I could get her to stay.

  “I’m not quite there yet, sweetheart. I need some recovery time.”

  “Really?” she asked, glancing at the clock.

  “Is it really going to kill you to wait another hour or two? Look, it’s fine if you want to head out. I’m just gonna watch some TV for a little bit. If you stick around, we can fuck again. If not, call me the next time you need to scratch an itch.”

  She looked a little baffled that I was being so cavalier about the whole thing, and that’s what I was counting on. I headed over to the living room and flipped on the TV, looking for a movie that I had really wanted to see. I waited patiently for her to make up her mind, and when she came to stand in the living room, I looked up at her.

  “Maybe I could stick around for a little bit.”

  I patted the cushion next to me. “Take a seat.”

  She sat next to me hesitantly, like I would bite her if she got too close.

  “So, what movie are you watching?” she asked almost nervously.

  I grinned to myself and put on something I hoped she would like. “How about Nine To Five?”