by Robin Laine
Her words sting, bringing tears to my eyes. Tatum has been my best friend for so long that she knows me better than I know myself sometimes. I slump down on the edge of my bed. I twist my fingers together as I stare at them. “I’m just scared, Tay,” I whisper. “I don’t want to go through that kind of pain again. I don’t think I could survive it a second time.”
She sits next me on the bed. She lays her head on my shoulder as her left arm wraps around me, giving a light squeeze. “I know you are Azley. Listen to me and listen good. This better be the last time we have this conversation. No more of this I’m scared what if he leaves me bullshit. You need to stop thinking every man out there is like Eric. He’s his own special brand of assholery. A weapons grade douchebag that should come with a warning to all women. Beware, daddy’s boy with commitment issues and a tendency to flee when babies are involved, and has a needle dick that can’t even be found with a magnifying glass.”
I laugh so hard I snort, causing more laughter from Tatum and myself. I stand and get dressed while wiping tears from under my eyes. “Okay, stop! Now please do my make-up for me.”
“So, where is Whiskey taking you tonight? You’re dressing rather casual.” I shake my head at Tatum’s nickname for Evan. Ever since I described him to her, that’s all she calls him. She takes in my outfit with a slight look of distaste, her little nose scrunched up and her grey eyes squinting. I sit at my vanity and face her as she pulls items out of her make-up case.
“He didn’t say where he’s taking me; just said to dress comfortably. He assured me, though, it would be fun and if it wasn’t, he’d hand his balls over to me.” I couldn’t help but laugh so hard I snorted when he told me that. I knew he was talking metaphorically, or, at least I hoped he was.
“Nice! Not often a man hands his balls over to a woman on the first date.” Tatum laughs as she finishes making my face pretty and I turn to look in the mirror. She used a light dusting of taupe color in the crease of my lid, and lined my eyes with a purple liner. She finished with a purple tinted mascara, bringing out the green in my hazel eyes. After applying a light coral lip stain, I’m ready to go.
“I have a half an hour before Evan gets here. Tell me how things are going with you and Parker.” I lead her out to the living room and sit on my couch. Tatum sits on the other end with one knee pulled up so she can turn and face me.
“It’s not going,” she replies without any emotion on her face or in her voice. She turns her head away and sighs heavily. Tatum can’t be pushed into talking about anything, so I wait patiently as she gathers her thoughts. Finally, she turns back to me with an amused expression lighting up her face.
“What’s so funny? Why do you have that look on your face?” I ask her.
“We went on a date Tuesday night. It was going great. He took me out to dinner and then we went to a club. We got so heated up dancing together, what with all the writhing and grinding against each other, that we decided to take things back to my place. Once we got in his truck, I thought a little pre-sex teasing was in order. You know, get him primed.” A devious little smirk crosses Tatum’s lips.
I know where she’s going with this, but I ask her anyway, “What exactly did you do to prime him up for this sexcapade you were about to embark upon?”
“I gave him a blow job. It must have been the best he ever had, because before I knew it he was blowing his load in my mouth. Without any kind of warning!” Her face scrunches up as if she just sucked on a lemon. I gasp, covering my mouth to muffle the giggles I can’t help but let out. Tatum is pretty open sexually. She’ll do just about anything at least once, but what she refuses to do is swallow cum. She doesn’t even want it touching her tongue, ever.
“What did you do?” I can only imagine how this scenario played out. Tatum is impulsive and no holds barred when it comes to her actions and reactions.
“I spit that shit all over the cab of his truck is what I did! For fucks sake, let a girl know you’re about to come. That shit’s disgusting. Then that jerk had the audacity to get pissed at me. At me! Seriously, I was the victim, not him. So, I had him take me home and told him never to call me again.” I double over laughing, and soon Tatum is too.
We continue chit chatting until the doorbell rings. “Keep Tyler in his bedroom please,” I tell Tatum, then skip to the door in excitement, feeling giddy to see Evan. I hear Tatum giggling so I turn to stick my tongue out at her before composing myself. Running my hands down the front of my outfit to smooth it out, I take a deep, calming breath before opening the door.
“Hi.” The one word comes out as a whisper. Evan has stolen my breath and caused my mind and heart to come to a stuttering halt. He’s gorgeous, dressed in low slung jeans and a blue cotton tee. I reach up, lightly brushing aside a few strands of his hair that have fallen over his right eye. Those amazing eyes should never be hidden.
Evan leans in slowly, lightly brushing his lips against my cheek before saying, “Hey, beautiful.”
A throat clears behind me so I look over my shoulder to see Tatum standing with a hand propped on her hip. She makes eye contact with Evan and suddenly her cheeks flame before she turns away. I look back towards Evan to see him cough lightly to hide a laugh. “Tatum, nice to see you again.”
“Don’t! Just don’t, Evan. I can’t believe your jerk of a brother told you! I’m going to have to kill him now.” A laugh from me earns a scowl from Tatum as she walks over to us.
“Don’t worry, Tatum, I already smacked him around for you. That boy needs lessons on how to be a gentleman.” He winks at her, and I’m pretty sure I saw her legs clench just a little. We’ll be having a conversation about that later.
“Thanks, I appreciate that.” Tatum turns and walks back to Tyler’s room.
“I’m going to give my son a kiss goodnight. I’ll be right back,” I tell Evan, hooking my thumb over my shoulder then go to my little man’s bedroom.
“Give momma a kiss bye, Tyler,” I lean towards my son to give him a peck on the cheek. He wraps his little arms around my neck and blows a raspberry on my cheek before giggling. “Be good for Aunt Tay, okay?”
“Bye momma. Imma good.”
I close his door as I leave his room, and walk up to Evan. He grabs my hand, leads me out the door and to his truck. After he opens the passenger door for me, he spins me to face him. “I’ve been dying to do something since the last time I saw you. Didn’t know if your son was going to be here or not, so wasn’t going to chance doing it in front of him.”
“Oh? What’s that?”
He looks down at the ground and then brings his eyes back up to me with a grin, peering through his lashes, his thumb swiping slowly across his bottom lip. “I’d like to kiss you, if that’s alright with you.” Oh, that is a smooth move.
“Since you asked so nicely this time, it’s more than alright,” I say with what I hope is a seductive smile, rather than looking like an alien. It’s not something I’ve practiced in the mirror. Maybe I should have, but it’s a bit too late now.
Without wasting a moment, Evan grabs the back of my head to bring my mouth to his in a gentle kiss. I melt into his body, placing my hands on his hard chest for support. The gentleness of his lips soon becomes harder, more insistent and I let out a soft moan. Before the kiss can get too heated, though, Evan pulls back and rests his forehead against mine. We stare into each other’s eyes for a moment, catching our breaths.
“Let me help you up.” His hands grip my waist before lifting me and setting me on the seat. As I buckle my seatbelt, I notice a handful of chocolate kisses in the cup holder.
“Chocolate? I don’t know many guys who like it enough to keep a stash in their car,” I say. “Don’t you worry it will melt in this heat?”
He throws me a crooked grin as he answers, “They don’t last long enough to melt. My mom used to leave them on our nightstands when we were kids on nights our dad was on duty. She would tell us they were our good night kisses from him since he wasn’t there to giv
e them himself. I guess once he passed away, they became a way to stay connected to him in a sense.”
He shuts the door before making his way around the front of his truck to climb in behind the wheel. Once we’re both buckled in, he turns the key and country music starts playing on the radio. This man is a country boy. A flash of Evan in nothing but a cowboy hat enters my mind and I can’t help the little smile that crosses my lips at the thought. He quirks a brow at me before backing out of the parking spot and we’re on our way to… I don’t even know.
Chapter 8
Azley
When Evan pulls into the Golfland parking lot, I start laughing and shaking my head at him. Now I understand his balls statement. He gives me a smirk and a wink as he pulls into a parking spot. Once the engine is off, he tells me to stay put before coming to my door to open it for me and help me down. He entwines his fingers with mine as we make our way up the walk to the window where we rent our putters and Evan puts the balls in his pocket for safe keeping.
“You must think you’re pretty darn cute, don’t you?” I ask as I bump his hip with mine. Or rather, his thigh since he’s so much taller than I am.
“I know I’m cute, and I also know you think I am, too.” That smirk of his is on full display. I can’t help but grin from his assuredness, because that smirk, it flips my insides around and causes my heart to flutter like I have a hundred butterflies in my chest trying to escape. It’s a new feeling for me. It’s certainly not anything like I felt when I was with Eric. I feel as light on my feet as I do when I’m dancing. As he places one of the colorful golf balls in my hand, Evan asks me, “So, what should we do first? Get dirty searching for the Dutchman’s gold, explore King Arthurs’ land, or would you rather I be your knight in shining armor on the Princess path?”
“Hmmmm, let me think. I’m not much into being a princess. They always need to be rescued. I much prefer to fight my own battles. Let’s search for the gold. I kind of like the idea of getting dirty.” I may or may not put a little extra sway in my hips as I walk ahead to the Lost Dutchman path. I’m pretty sure I hear a slight growl escape Evan’s lips as I bend at the waist in front of him to place my ball on the little plastic tee. I definitely see a hunger in his eyes when I look over my shoulder at him and give him a wink.
As we putt our way around obstacles and occasionally over shoot into the path, Evan and I pepper each other with either-or questions. He’s surprised to learn I prefer horror flicks over comedy, and when I confess that I would rather watch drama instead of a romance themed movie, he’s shocked.
“I thought all girls loved romance. All I hear about are those cheesy romance movies. Are you a romance hater?”
“No!” I proclaim, “I just can’t stand watching all those sickeningly sweet love scenes. It makes my stomach turn. Now, put a book in front of me with those same scenes and I’m swooning into a big pile of mushy goo. I can’t explain the difference. It is what it is.” He’s laughing at me now, but continues on with his questions.
“Star Trek or Star Wars?” he asks.
“Depends, are we talking old or new?” I ask back.
“Hmmmm, old.”
“Easy, Star Wars,” I reply.
“So, no Star Trek?”
“I actually love the newer Star Trek movies.” I tell him
“Interesting. Care to explain?”
“Well, I’m not really a fan of the old Star Trek,” I shrug. “Besides, the newer movies have the amazingly hot Chris Pine! As for Star Wars, the old ones have Han Solo. He’s the perfect alpha male as far as I’m concerned. A roguishly handsome rebel who puts aside his bad boy ways to fight for what’s right and good, and in it all never loses his top dog attitude. He wins the heart of the woman he loves without compromising himself. Plus, his best friend is Chewie! Enough said.”
“Woman, you wound my ego. Don’t ever talk about how hot another man is while you’re speaking to the one you’re currently with.” His lips twitch as he tries to hide the grin threatening to break free and I giggle at his expense.
“Alright, onto the serious stuff. Pet peeves. What’s something a guy does or doesn’t do that just gets under your skin? The deal breaker.”
“Seriously? You really want to know?” I ask.
“May as well get this out of the way, Sugar, it could be a deciding factor in this relationship,” he winks with a twinkle in his whiskey eyes.
Relationship. I ponder on that word for a moment or two, trying fruitlessly to not let it sink in. The word scares me, makes me want to run in the other direction. Being with Evan, though, in just this short time together, he makes it seem easy. He almost makes me want to reconsider. That’s not something I can do. I need to keep this date from getting too serious.
“Hmmm, let me think,” I tap my chin with my forefinger as I contemplate his question. “Oh, a bad kisser. I can’t stand those big, wet, sloppy ones. It feels like being kissed by a carwash. As well as bad breath. That’s just gross. Definite deal breaker, for eternity!”
“Got it, no carwash kisses. Unless, of course, we’re just rolling through one and decide to make out like a couple of horny teenagers,” the wicked gleam in his eyes tells me he’s only half joking, “and make brushing teeth a priority. I’m assuming since you’re here I passed those particular tests.”
“With flying colors. Your turn now.”
“Alright, here’s a big one for me. When a woman comes to my house and takes over my TV. Don’t even think of taking my remote and turning off the sports channel. That will definitely get a girl kicked out.” I raise an eyebrow at this, since it’s usually the other way around, and laugh at his confession while vowing never to touch his remote if I ever were to go to his home. Evan just winks, joining in my laughter.
It’s my turn, and I take my time to think about my next choice. “Okay, here’s one, bad table manners. You’re not a caveman, you shouldn’t eat like one. Also, I don’t like it when men don’t show enough respect to open a door for a woman. I know some think it archaic, but some women see it as a show of caring. As a sign of how they will be treated in the long run. A show of respect.”
“Well, considering I opened my truck door for you, and helped you in, I think we can conclude I’m definitely a gentleman. And as far as respect, you can rest assured you’ll get nothing less from me.”
I stare in awe at him, searching his eyes as he tucks a few strands of my hair behind my ear before brushing his fingers lightly down my neck. The touch sends a slight shiver down my spine. I can’t decipher the look on Evan’s face, but he’s silent for a few moments before he leans towards me to whisper in my ear, his breath a slight tickle as his lips brush against the shell of it, “If we weren’t surrounded by a bunch of little kids, I’d kiss the shit out of you right now.”
Well damn, are we done playing this game yet? Because I would really love to have that happen. Right. Now. Would it be too assertive of me to suggest we leave? Damn him and his swoony ways; I’m trying to not be that girl anymore. I’m having too much fun to quit now, though, so I settle in to enjoy the rest of the night.
“As appealing as that sounds, I like the idea of making you wait. Besides, I thought every guy knew he has to feed a girl before he could consider getting to first base?” I turn away to take my last shot.
“Oh no, Sugar, you’ve got that all wrong. Food doesn’t mean first base. Food is what gets you dessert.” We approach the last structure, and Evan takes his turn, getting a hole in one. He raises his hand for a high five.
I happily oblige as I ask, “So what constitutes getting to first base?”
“That would be going against guy code if I told you our methods. Trust me, when we get there, you will be well aware,” He winks and I can’t help but laugh at his odd sense of humor.
I step up to the tee and hit my golf ball, barely sending it two feet. Huffing in frustration, I hit it again with such force, it bounces off the miniature sized town buildings in front of me and back towards my hea
d. Before I can even move, Evan’s arm is around my waist, spinning us away from the ball’s trajectory. We watch as it drops a few feet away before bouncing along the path and into a little pond.
“So, how about that food? I’m a little hungry. You hungry?” he asks as he sets me down but keeps his arm around me. I’m being held against his chest so tight I can feel his heart beating against my back. His words sound calm and cool, but his heartbeat tells me he’s just as shocked by what just happened as I am.
I nod and tell him, “Yes, absolutely.”
Evan releases his hold on me so he can grab my hand as we walk into King Ben’s Castle, then places our order once we reach the counter. As he waits for our food, I walk over to the condiment stand and start filling some of the little cups with my favorite condiments. Evan joins me with a tray full of food, him getting a personal pizza and me a hot dog, along with fries for both of us and drinks. I place the condiment cups on the tray and we make our way to an empty table. Instead of sitting across from, he slides into the booth next to me. This may be a family place, but the closeness of him next to me feels incredibly intimate.
I’m eating a fry when I see Evan out of the corner of my eye staring me. “What?”
“Is that,” I giggle at the shocked look on his face. “Is that mayonnaise?”
“Yes, it is.” I dip my fry in it before putting it in my mouth. I moan just a little as I chew to let him know how good I think it tastes.
“That's gross.” He scrunches up his nose and forehead, looking completely adorable.
“Have you ever tried it before”? I dip another fry then hold it up to his mouth. When he opens, I carefully place the fry on his tongue. He bites down gently around my fingers and I can’t help but think how erotic it is as his lips and teeth glide over them. My stomach clenches at the look of lust that takes over his eyes. I’m sure mine reflect that same look. Swallowing hard, I break the contact first and ask him, “So, what do you think?”