Courting Innocence

by Kimberly Dean

Her voice wasn’t that loud, but it was sharp. More than that, the words were the kind that caught people’s ears. More than one table turned, but she didn’t back down. Her jaw was set, and her eyes blazed.

  At the next table, Jason chuckled.

  ‘Shush,’ Sienna hissed.

  ‘It’s funny,’ he insisted. ‘She’s tiny, but she’s got spunk.’

  Colton turned to defend himself, but he caught Sienna putting a hand on Sloan’s knee under the table.

  ‘Do you want to sleep with me?’ she asked.

  Jason cleared his throat and shot a look at the audience. His voice dropped. ‘Hell, yeah.’

  ‘Then stop laughing.’

  The tough businessman clammed up fast. He knew when negotiations had become critical.

  Colton looked out over the crowd. It wasn’t his imagination. People were staring at them. The whole room was watching, some craning around in their chairs to see.

  ‘What’s going on here? Why are you seated up front like this?’ The four tables behind the speaker were small and rectangular. Only one couple sat at each of them.

  Erin folded her arms across her chest. ‘We’re playing the Newlywed Game.’

  ‘Say what?’

  By then it was too late. The bubbly woman with the microphone was already approaching the first table. ‘All right,’ she said. ‘I think we’re ready. Our female contestants answered a series of questions while in the other room. Now, we’re going to see how much their men truly know about them.’

  ‘Oh, hell.’ Colton spent his days in front of crowds of people, but he’d never been the one on the stand.

  ‘Buck up, King,’ Jason challenged from the next table. ‘Princess and I are leading. Erin didn’t get any questions right with the first guy.’

  The first guy. Colton looked at her in disbelief. ‘You played the Newlywed Game with an escort?’

  ‘Marty and I RSVP’d to this three months ago,’ she hissed. ‘Do you have any idea how horrifying it would have been to come stag?’

  So she’d hired an escort, because she’d needed an escort? Colton rubbed the back of his neck.

  Her eyes narrowed dangerously. ‘Did you think I hired him to get back at you?’

  He had no defence.

  ‘Unbelievable. You can use Luxxor’s escorts for more than dates, but I can’t call them when I need someone to accompany me to a charity event?’ She rolled her eyes and sat back with a harrumph. ‘Talk about a double standard.’

  Colton winced. He was in such trouble. A buzzer sounded loudly when contestant number two answered incorrectly.

  ‘What is this supporting?’ he whispered. The hostess was already approaching Jason and Sienna’s table.

  ‘The Couples Center of DC,’ Erin answered. ‘They’ve started offering marriage counselling services to the underprivileged.’

  ‘One of Marilyn’s causes,’ he deduced.

  ‘You are so lucky she’s not here tonight.’

  Colton was rubbing both hands over his face when he heard a ding. Jason pumped his fist in the air and gave Sienna a quick kiss. Whatever the question had been, he’d answered it right. Was the guy this competitive in everything?

  ‘And couple number four.’ The hostess had the strangest look on her face. ‘Have you found a new significant other since the beginning of the game, dear?’

  The crowd laughed, but there was real curiosity showing. The way Ken Escort had run out of the room, more than one supposition was floating in the air.

  ‘Sorry I’m late,’ Colton said into the microphone. He was used to thinking on his feet. He could do this. ‘There was a reason my assistant couldn’t answer any questions.’

  The crowd laughed, and Erin let out a sigh of relief.

  ‘You think you’ll do better?’ the hostess said with a laugh.

  ‘I’d better,’ he replied with a growl.

  More laughter followed, and the tension in the room dissipated. All except the tension at their table. Erin was not happy with him, but she was more than angry. He could see it in the set of her shoulders. She looked dejected.

  And that bothered him even more.

  He was so used to her being happy when she saw him, he’d taken it for granted.

  ‘OK, time to fish or cut bait.’ The hostess lifted a flash card and read aloud. ‘What is Erin’s favourite colour?’

  Colton eased back in his chair. Was that all this was? ‘Hot-pink.’

  ‘Erin?’ the woman inquired.

  Erin obligingly lifted her poster board to show her answer. Polite applause rang throughout the room.

  ‘Don’t get cocky, King,’ Jason called. ‘It’s only one question.’

  ‘I’ve known her since she was a teenager,’ Colton replied. ‘How long have you known Sienna?’

  ‘Ooooo,’ the crowd responded.

  Jason waved them off, but he was too confident. On the very next question, he stumbled. ‘Sienna’s favourite activity was debate,’ he answered.

  The buzzer sounded loudly when his girlfriend lifted her poster with the answer ‘cross-country running’.

  ‘Awwww,’ the crowd responded. They were starting to have fun with the game.

  The hostess ventured to the last table in the row. She had red hair with brown showing at the roots. ‘All right, contestant number four. I don’t believe I caught your name.’

  ‘Colton.’

  ‘Dead meat,’ Erin muttered under her breath.

  ‘Colton,’ the hostess said brightly. ‘What was Erin’s favourite activity while in school?’

  This one was trickier. She’d been involved in everything. ‘Can you specify if that means a sport or are other school activities included?’

  ‘No cheating over there,’ Jason called.

  The crowd chuckled.

  Colton tossed a look at Erin, but she was not amused. He remembered the picture he’d promised to show Sloan, the one of her and Sienna in their short skirts and skimpy little cropped tops. She’d loved dancing in those half-time routines, and she’d practised all the time. Those had been tough days for him. Excruciating. ‘Pompom squad.’

  Erin’s eyebrows jumped. When she lifted her poster board to show her answer, a hoot or two came up from the back of the room.

  Colton lifted his hands innocently in Sloan’s direction. The guy pointed at him in return, and Colt nodded. He remembered what he owed him.

  ‘You don’t know me as well as you think you do,’ Erin muttered.

  After the mistake he’d just made with the escort, Colton knew better than to respond. Anything he might say would only get him into hotter water.

  The game progressed, and the questions got tougher and more intimate. Soon, the other two couples were out of the competition. Jason had dropped the ball on a few more questions, and by now everyone was convinced that Colton and Erin were the real deal.

  ‘All right, Colton,’ the hostess said as if they’d been buddies for years. ‘Time to get more personal. Where did you and Erin first kiss?’

  His hand fisted atop the table. Considering that their first kiss had happened only a couple weeks ago, he remembered it pretty damn well.

  ‘In the back seat of my car.’

  A catcall went up from a septuagenarian on the far side of the room.

  Erin’s lips pressed together tightly when she confirmed the answer. Colton’s eyes narrowed. Hold on. When she’d been answering those questions, her escort had been out here, waiting to answer them. She couldn’t have met the guy more than an hour before event time. How fast had things gone between them?

  Or had she been out with the Ken doll before? Nina had set her up before she’d matched the two of them.

  The muscles in his shoulders cinched tighter.

  ‘So you have kissed her, huh?’

  Colton was glaring at Jason when Sienna took matters into her own hands. There, in front of the crowd, she kissed her boyfriend slowly and sultrily. The 70-year-old comedian acted like he was going into heart palpitations.r />
  The ice blonde ran her fingertip along her boyfriend’s jaw line. ‘Not another word.’

  ‘Yes, ma’am,’ Sloan said, his eyelids heavy.

  With an apologetic look in Erin’s direction, Sienna sat straighter in her metal folding chair. Jason tugged on the end of her braid and she pulled it over her shoulder, out of his reach.

  ‘It’s getting down to the wire now, folks,’ their hostess said. Her voice lowered to a dramatic tone. ‘Jason?’

  ‘Yes?’

  She held up the card. ‘How many children would Sienna like to have?’

  The tough ex-hockey player took the question like a punch to the nose, and Colton felt his breath leave him too. Jason looked at Sienna and all the teasing left his face. ‘Two?’ he said uncertainly.

  Sienna lifted her poster board slowly, and the warning buzzer rang.

  Jason leaned forward and craned his neck to read what she’d written. ‘Four?’ he croaked.

  Sienna turned an interesting combination of pink and green. ‘I’m an only child.’

  A goofy grin settled on to Jason’s face, but he kept his mouth closed, as promised.

  The hostess faced the crowd. ‘And that’s why we here at the Couples Center of DC think that marriage counselling is so important.’

  Public service announcement over, she stuck the microphone in Colton’s face.

  How many babies? His and Erin’s?

  He still hadn’t caught his wind, but he knew the answer. She’d had her life planned out for ever. She was going to be the most famous interior designer in the world with a house, a dog, and…‘Two kids.’

  People clapped enthusiastically when Erin turned over her card. Everyone looked at the scoreboard. Jason and Sienna might have had a lead, but Colton and Erin had made a strong comeback. Going into the last round, the score was tied.

  Out there somewhere, somebody started a drum roll against a table top.

  The hostess waved the card that held her last question. ‘All right, so far we’ve learned the importance of couples talking through important subjects like religion, finances and living situations, but there’s one more area where couples should communicate well…in the bedroom.’

  The woman’s giggle was embarrassed and uncertain. When she glanced at the card, her eyes went round. She cast a look at what had to be an event organiser. ‘Maybe we should just consider this a tie.’

  ‘Ask it,’ someone in the crowd called. Soon, it became a chant. Most of the men in the audience had probably been dragged to the event, but it had just become interesting.

  Too interesting for Colton’s comfort. He slipped a finger under his collar.

  ‘Ask it. Ask it. Ask it.’

  A dignified-looking woman with grey hair stood up. ‘I’ll donate an extra five hundred dollars if you ask the question!’

  A portly fellow up front raised his hand. ‘I’ll match it.’

  ‘All right,’ the hostess said. Her look was apologetic when she turned to the game’s remaining couples. ‘The people have spoken.’

  Hell, without even knowing the question, Colton knew he didn’t want to answer. He threw a helpless look at Jason. How could they get out of this? Between the two of them, they could easily donate more money. He signalled as such, but it was too late to relay the message.

  ‘Jason,’ the hostess said. Her hand shook as she tucked her multi-coloured hair behind her ear. ‘What is Sienna’s favourite…ahem…sexual position?’

  Sienna’s face flared, and she covered it with both hands. Colton felt for her. She was a classy woman, usually very uptight, although she seemed to relax and enjoy life more around Sloan.

  Colton winced when Jason gestured for the microphone. With his lips nearly pressed against it, he said very clearly, ‘None of your business.’

  Sienna’s head snapped up. She looked at Jason with an expression so happy, even Colton knew the guy would be getting some tonight. She uncharacte‌ristically bounced up and down in her chair as she flipped up her card. There, in crisp, block letters, she’d written, ‘None of your business.’

  The crowd cheered when she caught Jason in a hug.

  Colton turned to stone when the hostess rounded on him. His usually quick mind was suddenly struggling through quicksand. He searched and searched for a safe, pithy answer…Something like Jason had said that would protect Erin’s privacy and save her from embarrassment…

  The problem was that the question was stuck in his head, and his inquiring mind wanted to know. He envisioned Erin in different sexual positions, opening herself up to him…taking him inside her…arching in delight…straining for completion…

  He felt her sitting beside him, as tense as he was.

  ‘On top.’

  The words came out as if they had a mind of their own. The hostess hadn’t repeated the question yet. Hadn’t asked him for his response. Hadn’t even walked over to their table.

  Yet, his own private fantasy had just come straight out of his mouth for all the room to hear.

  ‘Oh,’ the hostess peeped in surprise. ‘Well –’

  Erin flipped up her card and slumped down in her chair to hide behind it.

  The crowd went wild. People jumped to their feet and laughter rumbled through the flooring. Colton looked at her so fast, his neck nearly cramped. She bit her lip but sat staring straight forward. He grabbed the card and turned it.

  ‘On top.’ The words had been written in a flourish with a hot-pink marker. There was an arrow pointing up at the end to make sure there was no confusion, and a smiley face.

  God. Damn.

  ‘And we have a tie!’ the hostess cried out in delight.

  Colton didn’t stick around to find out what their prize was. Confiscating the card, he grabbed Erin’s hand. ‘Let’s go.’

  ‘What?’ She looked out at the crowd, a scandalised look on her face.

  But when he tugged, she followed.

  ‘It was just for fun,’ she said.

  He led her along the side of the room, retracing the route that he’d taken coming in. People at the side tables stood, clapping and smiling as they made their exit. Colton slowed his strides so Erin could keep up. She was shorter than he was by a good ten inches, and those heels of hers really should be outlawed. The black stilettos made her legs seem long and toned, but all he could think about was her wearing them in bed.

  ‘I can’t believe you,’ she hissed as they left the room. She yanked her hand out of his grip. ‘I can make my way home by myself, thank you very much.’

  ‘Where’s your coat?’ he asked as he looked through the racks. He found it, propped the card against his legs and held it up for her.

  She let out a huff, but stuck her arms in the sleeves. He folded his arms around her and pulled her up against his body. Dropping his head down, he pressed his mouth against her hair. ‘I’m sorry,’ he whispered into her ear.

  Her body remained tense, but when he didn’t release her, she softened. Her weight leaned more heavily against his. He pulled the sides of her coat together and looped her belt.

  She sighed and pulled away from him. ‘I’m not angry or vengeful, Colton, and I’m not out to twist you around my finger. What I am is sad. I’m disappointed that the people closest to me don’t trust me to make my own decisions. I’m humiliated that everyone thinks they have to take care of me all the time.’

  He wanted to take care of her all right; she just didn’t understand.

  He caught her hand again and intertwined their fingers. ‘My car is right outside.’

  She frowned in frustration, but stopped fighting him. He led her to his car and tossed the poster board into the back seat. It landed face up with the arrow and the words ‘On top’ pointing right at the passenger seat.

  Colton smirked. A guy could only hope.

  ‘Why did you take that?’ she asked.

  ‘I’m keeping it.’

  In a huff, she got in the car and buckled up. ‘You don’t need to protect my reputation. They w
ould have thrown it away, you know. Nobody was going to wave it in front of any cameras saying, “This is how Erin Foster likes it.”’

  ‘Do you?’

  She looked at him sharply. The lights from the dashboard lit her surprise. ‘Do I what?’

  ‘Like it on top?’

  ‘Ye…I…I was trying to think of a tame answer, but…It got stuck in my head, and…’ Her high heels slid against the floor mat. ‘Are you allowed to ask me questions like that?’

  He ignored the jab. He’d followed the rules for too long now, and he was tired of denying himself. He was even more tired of denying her. ‘Were you thinking of the Ken doll when you wrote it?’

  ‘Who?’

  ‘That’s all I needed to know.’ He backed out of the parking spot and the tires squealed as he pulled on to New Hampshire Avenue.

  ‘I have one big brother who keeps me in line, you know.’ With a pout, Erin looked out of the window. ‘You’d better be taking me to my apartment. If you take me to my parents’ place, so help me…’

  He headed around Dupont Circle, barely managing to keep under the speed limit. He wasn’t feeling even close to brotherly right now. With her, he never had. ‘That wasn’t one of the options you gave me.’

  She went still, but then turned slowly in the bucket seat.

  He laid his hand on hers on the console. ‘My place is closer.’

  Chapter Nine

  Adrenalin started to course through Erin’s body. Adrenalin and nerves and need.

  He’d finally given in. Colton was taking her home with him. She was finally going to get what she’d wanted for years…what she’d craved…him.

  Her nipples tightened almost painfully, and her hands started shaking.

  She’d never thought it would happen. She’d settled for Marty and then she’d found out how her parents had meddled…

  The streetlights blurred as he drove along the Dupont Circle roundabout and turned down one of the spoke streets heading away from the intersection. They were practically on top of his place already. She hadn’t been there for years.

  She’d certainly never been there for the reason they were going there now.

  They were going to have sex.

  There was no time to think, no time to prepare, yet her body was quickly getting up to speed. She squeezed her thighs together so tightly, her muscles burned.