“Oh God, you’re coming on the video. It’s so sexy, I’m going to . . . ahhhh . . .” She whimpers and moans. The sound is so high pitched it’s as though she’s being fucked into next week.
“Jesus, fuck me!” I groan as my dick goes off for the second time tonight, covering my hand in my own release.
For at least two to three minutes we both lie there just listening to one another breathe.
“Peaches?” I call out.
“Mmm.”
“You good, baby?”
“Mmm,” she sighs. “So good. I love you,” she whispers, and her voice seems to be fading away.
“Sleep good, Sky.”
“Mm-hmm. Dream of me,” she mumbles sleepily, and I smile.
“Always, baby. Good night.”
I can hear her soft puffs of air signaling that my girl is knocked out. She’s fallen asleep while listening to my voice, probably with the phone right next to her head.
I leave my phone on and put the volume way up so I can hear her breathing and sleepy little sighs as I clean myself up. Once done, I get back in bed, flick off the table lamp, and turn on my side with the extra pillow in my arms held tight to my chest as if it’s my girl instead. I set the phone on the bed right next to my head.
“I love you, Skyler. I love you so much.”
She hums and mumbles, “Love you, Park.”
I grin, close my eyes, and fall asleep to the sound of my woman breathing, the same way I do every night back home.
It’s the best night’s sleep I’ve gotten all week.
“All right, ladies and gents, stand on your marks. We’re going to run through this group first, then the second round. Tomorrow is showtime, and we do not want any of you to look unprepared,” Louise calls out in a stern tone that demands attention. Royce and I sit to the right of the stage in the voting booth on the guys’ half.
“Okay, action.”
The male host lifts the mic to his lips as one of the cameras zooms in on him. “Today is the day you’ve all been waiting for. The next generation of love connections making television history on . . . Mix and Match!” His voice rises on the name of the show as he nods and smiles wide into the camera. He looks out to a pretend audience; his hair is perfectly coiffed, his trendy designer suit fitting his frame like a glove.
“Thank you to our live audience for being here, and all of you at home. I’m Rod Gentry, your host, and this is Mix and Match! Let’s meet our first three male contestants. First up, Lamar Williams . . .” Rod’s voice rises and dips excitedly.
Lamar approaches the stage just as we taught him. He stops in front of his chair, looks at the camera, and offers a sexy smirk and a chin lift before sitting down. Thankfully he sits with one leg on the rung and the other on the floor. He’s wearing shorts and a polo, but on the day of the show he will be dressed to the nines. The outfit Royce and I chose with the show’s stylist should make him look his best.
“Welcome, Lamar!” Rod waits an appropriate amount of time as the stagehand plays the sound of an audience clapping in the background. It fades away, and Rod addresses the camera again. “Next up, Joshua Tipton.”
Josh enters the stage, his blond hair swept back, his blue eyes dazzled with excitement. He struts over to his chair, lifts a hand, and offers a jaunty wave before easing down and putting his ankle up to his opposite knee like we practiced. He rests his hands on the crossed leg at the knee and ankle in a casual yet still attractive pose.
“Thanks for coming, Joshua,” Rod announces. “And last but definitely not least, we’ve got Jimmy Handle.”
Jimmy Handle? What the hell was the kid thinking? He went from Jimmy Jones, sounding like a sausage or a pizza place, to a name that makes people think of grabbing their dicks?
I shake my head and sigh.
Royce grunts under his breath and covers his mouth while he laughs silently. Fucker. He knows I’m going to have to have yet another uncomfortable conversation with the guy.
Jimmy walks across stage, his ever-present folk-inspired hat on, ginger beard trimmed to perfection. He smiles so wide when he sits down he looks like a loon. Switch out his rounded fedora, place a dunce cap on his head, and you’ve got a life-size garden gnome. I roll my eyes and press my finger and thumb to my temples to work out the tension.
“Shee-it, brother looks like a creepy leprechaun in his plaid shirt, hat, and crazy-as-hell smile. He needs to tone that back.”
“Yeah, I’ll talk to him. When I’m telling him about his name . . . again.”
Royce grins and dips his head.
“Next up is a beautiful lady some of you may recognize from her screen time and Broadway appearances, Ms. Tara Darling!” Rod watches Tara strut out of a special side of the stage blocked off so the guys can’t see her. She’s working the camera, swaying her hips from side to side. Rod licks his lips as if he’s interested in far more than just her attendance on the show. His eyes are glued to her body and travel up and down her form so fast I swear he has X-ray vision and can see through her clothes or is trying damn hard to.
Tara stands in front of the camera that focuses in on her. She winks saucily and smiles before spinning around, her golden locks flying behind her as she goes to her chair.
“Men, if you’d seen this girl, you’d be beyond excited to meet her.” Rod rubs at his bottom lip with his thumb, his eyes on Tara a moment too long.
The guys make different gestures to this, like clapping their hands and fist-bumping, and Lamar does the super over-the-top kissing of two fingers and directing them out toward the audience as if he’s LL Cool J himself. Hell, he probably doesn’t even know who that is.
The show does a great job of keeping the male and female contestants out of sight from one another, except for the questions. For now, we’re practicing with questions the writers put together, but when the show goes live tomorrow, we’re allowing the two females we’ve chosen to decide what to ask their potential suitors. The showrunner and producer will have viewed the questions to make sure they’re not inappropriate, eliminating stuff like “Have you ever had anal sex?” or “What type of veggie would you compare the size of your dick to?”
You know. The obvious no-no’s.
“Thank you so much for having me here, Rod.” Tara pours on the charm.
“Oh, the pleasure is all mine,” Rod says instantly; then his eyes widen as though he just realized what he revealed. He plays it off. “I mean, the pleasure is all of ours, right, gentlemen?”
This time I chuckle under my breath.
“Speaking of gentlemen, we have two very special guest judges. One you may recognize since his face has been plastered all over the media lately.” I narrow my gaze at the comment but force a fake smile to keep with the plan. “We’ve got Royce Sterling and Parker Ellis from International Guy Inc. They have been instructing our male and female contestants on how to best be ready and open for love. How are you doing, guys?”
Royce leans forward and smiles. “Just fine. Ready to hear how our boys do tonight.”
I smile at Tara and then glance across all of the eager men waiting to be asked their questions. “Looking forward to seeing who Tara chooses. All I have to say to you men is, one of you is going to be very lucky indeed.”
The men clap, hoot, and holler jovially, adding to the fun of the practice round.
“Well, all right, I’d say it’s time to get right to business.” Rod instructs the candidates on how the show will work, making comments to the pretend audience, which will be a full house tomorrow.
“All right, Tara, why don’t you ask a lucky gentleman a question so we can get this party started?”
She smiles into the camera and lifts a blue card. “Contestant number one, what do you think makes a woman beautiful to you?”
Lamar rubs at his chin as if he’s thinking about it. “Well, sweetheart, she’d have to be confident and sassy. Nuthin’ prettier than that.”
Tara giggles. “Contestant number two, same question.�
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“Well, Tara, I can already tell by your voice that you’re beautiful. So, for me, her voice being sultry like yours goes a long way,” Joshua says.
“Okay . . .” She smiles and looks down at her card. “Contestant number three, if I choose you, what would be a perfect date?”
Jimmy sits up taller in his chair. “For you, Tara, I’d take you to a music festival. Bring along my banjo, a blanket, some great food I’d make myself, and we could sit under the stars, watching the people, hearing great music, where I’d then break out my own little ditties for you.”
Tara makes a face of surprise. “Wow, that sounds like a blast.”
“Pick me, darlin’, and I’ll make it your reality.”
The questions continue for another half hour, the director stopping and starting them again, giving feedback on things she likes and dislikes.
The first group finishes, and the men are ushered off to a separate section of the stage to keep Tara hidden. The second group goes through the process next. There are even fewer problems with this group. They seem to fit right into the program and have taken our feedback to heart and put it into action. Louise is thrilled and decides that they’ll be first up, with Tara in the second group.
Once the rehearsal is finished, Tara hustles over to where Royce and I are sitting at the edge of the stage, coffee in our hands.
“Hey, um, guys, I just wanted to get your thoughts, see if there were any pointers you had for me. I’m pretty nervous about tomorrow.”
“Don’t be. You did well out there,” I offer.
Her corresponding smile is wide and enthusiastic. “Thank you.”
“Have you given any thought to who you’re going to pick for your date?” Royce asks.
She shrugs. “Based on their answers, I’m leaning toward Jimmy,” she says, surprising me.
I glance at Royce and see that he’s surprised too, especially since we know what he looks like. Now I really need to make sure he’s on his A game tomorrow.
“He seems really funny and nice. He’ll be so focused on making me happy, I might actually have a fun date. Lamar and Josh seem a little too full of themselves. And besides”—her eyes lift to mine—“it’s not like you’re on the stage, Parker. If that were the case, those other guys would have to watch out, because I’d be gunning straight for you.”
A niggle of trepidation pricks at the back of my neck and runs down my spine. “Uh, Tara, that’s really sweet of you to say. Though you know I’m completely off the market.”
She moves a couple of steps closer and puts her hand on my knee.
Royce lets out a breath. “Aw damn.” He looks the other way, trying to give me a little privacy but still be there in support.
“We could, you know, have fun together and maybe, um, not tell anyone.” She whispers low, but I can tell Royce heard because he grunts loudly.
I grab Tara’s hand on my knee and remove it. “Like I said, Tara. That was a nice compliment, but I’m gone for Sky. There is no other woman on this planet for me.”
She takes a couple of steps back, giving me space while pushing her hair off her neck. She presses her lips together. “Does she know that? In my experience, all men are dogs, and they never tell a woman what they really think. Usually the woman finds out the guy’s not as committed as she is when she hears about her man in bed with another woman.”
Damn, this woman has some issues hiding under the surface, some demons the next guy she finds is going to have to unearth and get to the heart of in order for them to find happiness together.
“I’m glad you’re a good guy and didn’t take what I was offering. Not a lot of guys turn me down, even when they’re in a relationship. I sure hope your Skyler knows you’re so committed, since you haven’t put a ring on her finger or anything.”
Spear. Right to the heart.
I frown. Do women expect that?
I mean, I get that women want their men to be so into them they take that ultimate step, but we’ve already got a house together, dogs, share just about everything. Sky and I have talked about our future. She seems ready to take that leap, maybe even a little eager to, but I’ve been worried that she’s doing it to substitute for something she’s missing, like her ex-best friend and her parents. Now that things are settling in, I want her to be happy and confident in the fact that I’m not going anywhere. I guess an engagement ring might go a long way toward showing her that in action instead of my just telling her that I’m committed.
“Shouldn’t you be getting back?” Royce gestures with a chin lift to where the other female contestant is being chatted up by the producers, getting her orders for the next day.
She hops and then claps her hands, twirling around. The move is exactly like something my Sky would do. My heart clenches at the thought of Skyler back home, all by herself, waiting on me. At least I hope she’s waiting. Not pining, but at least thinking about me too.
I groan and rake my fingers through my hair, leaning back and looking up into the dark abyss of the studio ceiling. Pipes, walkways, and a variety of other equipment, all painted black, crisscross paths like a spider’s web above our heads.
Royce puts his hand on my shoulder. “That woman don’t know shit about you or Sky. Don’t take anything she said to heart, hear?”
I frown. “Yeah, but doesn’t mean it doesn’t make me think.”
“Thinkin’ is good. What you did, pushing her off without being a dick, was kind. You took the compliment and told her like it is. You’re into your woman. You’re all about her, and she’s got no in. Period. No harm done on either part. She made her play; you thwarted it. That’s done.”
“Still, she had a point. Sky and I have been talking about the future, about marriage and kids. The whole enchilada.”
“Did you come to a conclusion?”
“Not really. She seems ready to move forward, but—”
Royce interrupts. “What, you’re not ready? Puh-leeeze. Brother, you’ve been ready since the two of you fell all over yourselves in London working the James case.”
“Yeah, and then all hell broke loose in our world, but most especially in hers. I don’t want to rush into something when her head isn’t clear. Sky needs to want to be my wife because she wants nothing more in life than to build a life with me, not because it’s an answer to all the loss she’s sustained recently.”
Royce sucks in his bottom lip so it disappears before he lets it go to speak. “I think you need to give your woman a little more credit. She’s smart. Not the type of woman who doesn’t say it like it is. If she says she’s ready, brother . . . she’s ready. A woman doesn’t fuck around when it comes to putting on that white dress if she’s got her man willin’ to give it to her.” He purses his lips. “I say you roll with it and buy your girl a big rock to prove you’re all in.”
“Is that what you would do?”
“Damn straight. That’s what I did do a long fuckin’ time ago when I thought I had it all. Wish like fuck I’d sealed the deal before shit went haywire.”
I reach out and grab Royce’s shoulder and give it a squeeze. “Things happen for a reason. Back then, it wasn’t meant to be. Maybe that time is still coming, maybe not. Only time will tell, but I do know one thing for certain.”
“Yeah . . . What’s that?” His dark gaze meets mine.
I grin wide. “I’m going to enjoy the hell outta watching you two figure it out.”
Royce narrows his gaze and pushes me away. “Fuck you.”
I laugh heartily and catch up to where his long strides are eating up the concrete floor heading to the back door.
“As a matter of fact, I take it all back,” he says. “I hope she leaves your punk ass for a rock star. A girlie-man type with long-ass hair, a belly ring, and a tattoo that says ‘Mother’ across his heart.” He points a long dark finger at me. “That would serve you right.”
I can barely contain the wheezing that comes with the uncontrollable laughter spilling out of me. “I’m
sorry. I didn’t mean it. Well, I did, but in a good way!” I try to catch up to him, but I’m still laughing hard, which hinders my ability to move quickly.
As he walks away he lifts his hand above his head and flips me off.
9
SKYLER
It’s showtime. My palms are sweaty, and my knees are shaking. I clench my teeth and watch as the live audience screams when Parker and Royce are introduced and walked to their special seats in the judging booth. The plan is in place, and today is the day. There’s no going back from here.
Royce and Parker sit, and the host announces the first set of three men, then moves on to the woman. She’s a brunette, pretty, very girl-next-door looks that will connect easily with the viewers. It’s ideal for a show to have individuals who viewers can swap places with in their minds. She’s not exactly thin or thick. She’s average sized, with a simple beauty about her.
The host introduces each man and then the woman. While Parker and Royce are watching I wait for it to happen as planned.
Louise rushes over to Parker and Royce when the cameras are off them, leans down, and whispers something frantically in their ears. She has another man standing behind her. Royce and Parker both stand up, but Louise shakes her head. Parker ends up coming with her while Royce stays behind and the other man sits next to him, taking Parker’s place in the booth.
I know for a fact that Louise just shared that Jimmy Jones Handle, whatever his name is, had a family emergency and had to leave. There was no emergency, but Parker and Royce don’t know that.
Louise will be freaking out behind the scenes, telling Parker the entire show is a bust and that she’s screwed. Parker will offer to help in any way he can.
While I wait, it feels like a hundred years have gone by and, as planned, Parker and Louise do not return. The contestants go through the first half hour of the show, the woman picks her guy, and the audience roars with glee, clapping loudly for the new match.
“You ready to rock and roll?” Elliott’s hand curls around my bicep and nudges me toward the side of the stage.
International Guy: Volume 4 Page 37