Blogger Girl

by Schorr, Meredith

  “What?”

  He shook his head and said, “Yes, I guess Hannah is cute, but you are sexy.”

  I stared at him. “No. I’m cute.”

  He grinned. “Fine. You are cute. But you’re also sexy. And I can’t believe you’d think for a second I’d choose Hannah over you. I mean, she gives a good hand job but otherwise, no thanks,” he said with a straight face.

  I started laughing. “Really? You had to go there, didn’t you?” Shaking my head, I added, “Although considering the way she was touching you, I wouldn’t assume a hand job was out of the question,” I joked.

  Rolling his eyes, he said, “Yeah. She was touching me. Not the other way around. I guess I’m just that irresistible.” He flashed me a cocky grin.

  I poked him lightly in the arm. “You’re such a player.”

  Nicholas’ body froze in place. “You think I’m a player?”

  I raised an eyebrow. “Aren’t you?”

  “I’m sorry if I’ve done anything to make you feel that way. But Kim…” He reached for my hand.

  I looked at him eagerly, “Yeah?”

  “Thanks for ditching me, Long.”

  I turned away from Nicholas and faced Jonathan. For the love of God. Why was he still here?

  ***

  I reluctantly made the official introduction I had awkwardly avoided earlier. “Nicholas, this is Jonathan.”

  Nicholas stood up and shook Jonathan’s hand. “Good to meet you.”

  “You didn’t go to school with us, did you?” Jonathan asked.

  Shaking his head, Nicholas said, “No. I work with Kim. I live a few blocks away.”

  Jonathan grinned at Nicholas. “Good. You didn’t look at all familiar. Age has not been kind to my memory, but still…”

  The banter between Nicholas and Jonathan flowed naturally and I wondered if I was the only one who felt the tension in the air. I raised an eyebrow at Jonathan. “Age? You’re 28. I’d blame any memory loss on too much weed.”

  Jonathan looked at Nicholas and pointed at me. “And you went out of your way to hang out with this one? Hannah might be the better choice.” Turning back to me, he said, “Speaking of which, thanks for leaving me alone with her before. She told me all about her book. You owe me one.”

  I gave him an apologetic frown. “Sorry.” I said a silent prayer that he would drop the subject of Hannah entirely before the “fuck buddy” conversation was reborn.

  “So you finally got Bridget to call it a night, huh? How did you manage that one?” Jonathan asked.

  You don’t want to know. “She finally had enough,” I lied.

  “Well, I’m right behind her. This was fun but I’m good for another ten years.”

  Recoiling, I said, “Let’s not even discuss our twenty year yet.”

  Jonathan glanced from me to Nicholas and then back to me. “You heading out?”

  “I think I’m gonna stick around a little while longer,” I said before turning to Nicholas. “Assuming you still want to hang out.”

  Nicholas said, “Definitely” and then looked at Jonathan. “Why don’t you have a drink with us?”

  I felt my heart drop to the floor. Was he serious?

  Jonathan appeared to contemplate the offer, running his hands through his curly hair. “Thanks, but I’m gonna pass.” Extending his hand to Nicholas, he said, “Good to meet you.”

  Nicholas shook Jonathan’s hand firmly, smiled and said, “You too.”

  I stood and reached up to kiss Jonathan on the cheek. “Talk to you soon. Thanks for letting me drag you here.”

  Grinning, he said, “It wasn’t as bad as I expected” and with a wave and another “Bye,” he walked away.

  I sat back down and turned to Nicholas. “Were you hoping for a three-way or something?”

  Nicholas gave me an amused smile. “I was just being polite. But I’m sure I can catch him if you want.”

  I rolled my eyes. “No thanks.”

  With his eyes still on mine, he ran his hands along his jawline.

  I laughed. “Seriously? I already told you I have a weakness for your lazy shaving habits. You’re totally doing that on purpose!”

  “You got me,” Nicholas said, giving me a sly grin. “Like I said, I like you, Kimmie Long.”

  Hearing those words sent a jolt of electricity through my body and I took a sip of my drink to recover. Since the drink was pretty much all vodka, it was a tiny sip. “I do believe you like me, Nick.”

  With an eyebrow raised, Nicholas repeated, “Nick?”

  “Doesn’t anyone ever call you that?” I asked.

  “Not if I can help it.”

  “Duly noted, Nicholas,” I said, emphasizing the second two syllables.

  He smiled.

  I shook my head and suppressed a smile. “Anyway, I do believe you like me. I’ve noticed you checking out my boobs on several occasions.”

  Leaning in towards me, he let his eyes drop down to my chest and back up to my eyes. “They’re very nice boobs.”

  “I know,” I laughed.

  “Just like I know my five o’clock shadow is sexy. We’re even.”

  I laughed again. “Okay so we’ve cleared the air. I like you and you like me. But exactly how many other girls do you like right now?” First and foremost on my mind was little Miss Mary Jones.

  Without missing his beat, he said, “None as much as I like you.”

  “For real?”

  Nicholas crossed his heart. “For real. What about you? Things really over with ‘the ex’?”

  “Absolutely,” I said.

  “For real?”

  I nodded. “For real.”

  Nicholas wrinkled his nose. “You sure?”

  “What part of ‘for real’ did you not understand?” I joked.

  Nicholas’ lips curled up. “Want another one?” He raised his empty glass.

  “Do you?”

  “I wouldn’t mind another drink but they’re kind of pricey here. On the other hand, my apartment is open bar.”

  Giggling, I said, “Do you admit to being a cheapskate or is this a not-so-smooth way to get me back to your place?”

  Nicholas placed his hand on my knee. “It’s definitely an extremely smooth way to get you to my place.”

  As my body officially took over my brain, I felt butterflies in my nether regions. If he was a player, he was really good at it. I placed my hand over his and stood up. “I hope you know how to make a dirty martini.”

  CHAPTER 13

  I HAD NO RECOLLECTION of walking to his apartment on Broome Street from the hotel, but somehow I found myself standing in his living room where after I declined his offer for a drink (I didn’t really want another dirty martini), he gently moved me against the wall and kissed me, softly but passionately. I was happy for the support of the wall because I lost all feeling in my legs as the blood moved its way up to the center of my body. As his hand found its way to the slit in my dress, I reached up and grabbed his face with my hands so I could kiss him hungrily while actually touching the roughness of his skin I had found so annoyingly irresistible over the past couple of months. As his lips and tongue met mine in perfect balance, I swooned. The boy could kiss. With his other hand, he gently tugged my shoulder strap so that it fell to my elbow and I grabbed the bottom of his T-shirt and pulled it over his head in one urgent motion. Then I giggled.

  “What’s so funny?” Nicholas asked, with a wounded look.

  I clarified, “Well, I’m all gussied up in a fancy black dress and designer shoes and you’re wearing an Elvis Costello T-shirt and jeans. We make an odd couple.” Crap. One kiss, albeit a great kiss, hardly made us a “couple.”

  Seemingly unaffected by the “couple” comment, Nicholas said, “What? My Converse sneakers not fancy enough for you?” Laughing, he added, “No matter, we’ll both be naked in a few minutes.”

  “What makes you think that?” I asked. I tugged my other strap from my shoulder and let the dress shimmy down to my ankl
es so I was wearing only a bra, panties and my Louboutins. The voice inside my head chastising me for being a slut was almost entirely drowned out by how badly I wanted to be naked and in bed with Nicholas.

  Nicholas’ eyes slowly grazed the length of my body. “I thought you might have been laughing at my lack of muscles.” With a crooked smile, he said, “Am I one of those guys who looks better with his shirt on?”

  Despite no bulging biceps or six-pack abs, Nicholas had a flat stomach and lean muscle tone and there was a smattering of hair across his chest, just enough to look manly. He definitely looked better with his shirt off. Touched by his insecurity, I reached out to run a finger from his belly button up to his throat. When he shivered in response, I said, “You look perfect to me.” And then I second guessed my honesty, wondering if pretending to be insecure about his body was another way he worked his charm. “Of course, I haven’t seen what’s inside your pants,” I said, giggling again.

  Closing the distance between us, he said with confidence, “I can assure you it’s bigger than what’s inside yours!”

  Moments later, well more like after 45 minutes of exquisitely torturous foreplay, we were having sex. Usually when I tried to predict what a guy would be like in bed, imagination did not match reality. This was not the case with Nicholas. I imagined he would be spectacular and he was. He wasn’t one of those kiss for two minutes, cup my breasts for one and stick it in kind of guys. There was nothing mechanical about his love making skills, and I relished every second he was inside of me until I felt my body contract around him and I cried out. While I remained in a post-orgasmic daze, I was faintly aware of the squeaking of the bed and Nicholas’ continued movements until his breathing quickened, his thrusts intensified and he collapsed on top of me. He stayed there unmoving for a beat before lifting his head from my chest.

  I opened my eyes and saw him looking down at me with a huge grin on his face. “Wow.”

  Still breathing heavily, I ran a hand through his hair which was a bit damp from sweat. I echoed, “Wow” and smiled back at him. What else am I supposed to say?

  When he reached over me to grab something from his desk drawer, I slid out from underneath him. “Please don’t tell me you’re a smoker.”

  Flipping onto his back, he said, “Definitely not,” and swung a black and silver device in my face.

  Peering closer at the small rectangular instrument, I saw that it was a harmonica. “I can’t remember the last time I saw one of those.”

  Nicholas winked at me and said, “You’re not the only writer in the house. I dabble in some music.”

  Snickering, I said, “Oh Jeez. This should be good. Play me something original.”

  Nicholas closed his eyes for a few seconds and I thought he was going to fall asleep, but then he opened them and sat up. “I’m just gonna wing it. Ready?”

  I reached my arms behind my head, held onto his headboard for an extra stretch and yawned. “Ready.”

  Tickling my armpit, Nicholas said, “You look very sexy right now, by the way.”

  Squirming from his tickling, I pushed him away. “No stalling!”

  “Okay!” He put his mouth to the harmonica, played a few notes and started singing to the tune of the chorus of Penny Lane by The Beatles. “Kimmie Long was in my pants and it felt nice.”

  Giving him a lighthearted slap on the arm, I said, “I’ve heard enough!”

  He dropped the harmonica onto the bed and curled his lips into a frown. “Not impressed, huh?”

  “That was horrible. And I’ve realized that my initial impression of you was way off. I thought you were Mr. Cool, not Mr. Dork!” I started laughing.

  “Okay. Remind me not to ask you to post a review of my songs on your blog.” Nicholas feigned a grieved look but returned the harmonica back to the drawer and leaned back against his pillow. “So, you never did tell me what happened with Writer Chick tonight.”

  Playfully poking him in the belly, I said, “Besides the fact that she hit on you?”

  Looking at me innocently, Nicholas said, “Like I said, I can’t help that I’m irresistible.”

  I rolled my eyes.

  Nicholas laughed. “I have no interest in Hannah.” Raising an eyebrow, he added, “Just like you have no interest in ‘knocking boots’ with Jonathan anymore, right?”

  I pursed my lips. “Right. I thought we were over that.”

  “I’ll move on if you do.”

  I gave him a closed-mouth smile and extended my hand. “Deal.”

  Nicholas returned my smile and gave my hand a firm shake. “Speaking of Ms. Hannah, did she mention her book as suspected?”

  “Yeah. She pretended we were lifelong friends and actually insinuated she was doing me a favor by asking me to promote it on my website. And she managed to throw some back handed compliments my way in the process.” I shook my head in disgust. “None of it surprised me.”

  Inching closer to me on the bed, Nicholas questioned, “So what did you say?”

  Smiling, I said, “I made her suffer. Wouldn’t give her an answer either way. Said I’d see if I could fit her book into my very busy review schedule. And then I walked away.”

  Nicholas high-fived me. “Yay, Kimmie!”

  “Yup.”

  “So what are you gonna do?”

  I lay on my side to face him. “Dunno. What do you think I should do?”

  Without hesitation, he said, “I think you should read the book.”

  Not what I wanted to hear. “You do?”

  Nicholas turned on his side and faced me. “Yes, I do. Aren’t you curious whether it’s any good?”

  “I suppose,” I mumbled. But ignorance was bliss.

  Running his hand lightly up and down my arm, he smiled cheerfully and said, “Maybe it sucks and if that’s the case, you get to write a crappy review.”

  I bit my lip. “But what if it’s good?”

  “You won’t know until you read it. Why worry about it now?” Nicholas said, tousling my hair which I assumed was already in a state of disarray from the sex.

  “Okay! I’ll read it.” I let out a long, low sigh. “I’m beat. Can I crash?” I had wanted to fool around with Nicholas some more, but the events of the night had caught up with me and I was too tired.

  Nicholas shook his head. “Sorry, but I don’t do overnights.”

  I punched him in the stomach. “It was rhetorical question, buster. If you want me to leave, you’ll have to physically remove me from your bed! And I’m not as weak as I appear.”

  Nicholas gave me a bemused smile. “I will be sure to be mindful of your supernatural strength.”

  “Good,” I giggled. “Night, Nicholas.”

  When he reached over and turned off his light, I closed my eyes again.

  “Someone’s gonna have to do the walk of shame in her dress and heels.”

  I opened my eyes. Crap.

  ***

  I woke up and looked at the ceiling. I knew I wasn’t in my bed since it wasn’t a popcorn ceiling like the one in my studio. And then the events of the night before came back to me, ending with amazing sex with Nicholas. Nicholas. I turned to my side and he was fast asleep, curled up in the fetal position. He looked adorable. I softly ran my fingertips along his cheek.

  Nicholas opened one eye and grabbed my finger. “Who goes there?”

  “It’s Kimmie. Who else were you expecting?” I paused for a beat. “Don’t answer that.”

  Nicholas opened his other eye and drew me on top of him. “Can I have that encore performance now?”

  I grabbed onto his shoulders. “May I,” I corrected. “And, yes, you may.”

  ***

  Several hours later, after hailing a cab outside of Nicholas’ place since there was no way I was taking the subway all the way uptown in my outfit from the night before, I took a long, hot shower, changed into a comfy T-shirt and yoga pants and called Bridget. My heart was beating wildly because of the way we had left things the night before.

&
nbsp; “Hey!” she answered cheerily.

  Relieved she didn’t sound angry, I said, “Hi! How you feeling?” I cradled the phone with my neck while I opened my refrigerator. I was starving, not surprising after two rounds of sex on a pretty empty stomach.

  “Like the cat’s ass. What was I thinking last night?”

  I grabbed a container of leftover Chinese food from earlier in the week and took a whiff to make sure it wasn’t spoiled before heating it in the microwave. “Which part? Doing repeated rounds of shots on a practically empty stomach or mixing said shots with pot?”

  “All of it,” she mumbled. “Why didn’t you stop me?”

  “I tried!” Repeatedly.

  “Ugh. So, how was the rest of your night? What time did you get home?”

  “A couple of hours ago,” I said as if it was no big deal.

  After a brief hesitation, Bridget said, “Oh? What happened?”

  Unable to contain my excitement any longer, I shouted, “I went home with Nicholas!”

  “Way to go, Kimmie! But I thought you said he was flirting with Hannah.”

  Shaking my head as if she could see me, I said, “No. He wasn’t flirting with her. But she did almost ruin everything by blurting out that Jonathan and I used to date. It was so awkward.” I bit down on my lip. Now that I knew Bridget liked Jonathan, I wondered if it would be awkward every time I mentioned his name. “But I told Nicholas we were just friends now and he dropped it.”

  “Good. So, what happened?”

  I removed the container of chicken and broccoli from the microwave, grabbed a fork and sat down on my couch. “I was seriously slutty, Bridge. But I couldn’t help myself.”

  She giggled. “Was it as good as you imagined?”

  “Yeah, it was. Both times.” I took a tiny bite of broccoli, realized it was entirely too hot and placed the container on my coffee table to cool down.

  “What happened with Jonathan?”

  “He went home. After I introduced him to Nicholas. More awkward-ness ensued.”

  Bridget let out a weak laugh.

  “Bridge?” I said as I chewed on a fingernail.

  “Yeah?”

  “Are you going to be a born-again virgin for the rest of your life?”