by Laura Lee
“You okay?” he whispers.
I straighten my shoulders to shake out of my stupor and project a confidence I surely don’t feel at the moment. “Of course, honey. I’d be better if we were ripping each other’s clothes off, but I’m being a good girl.” I press my cheek against his and add, “For now.”
His large hand wraps around my right hip. “Something tells me you’ve never been a good girl.” He takes two steps back, once again, putting too much distance between us.
I was once, but that was a lifetime ago. I push back the memory and force a smirk. “Touché.”
A curvy older woman with bright red hair steps in front of us. “Hey there. Welcome to Rose’s. Table for two?”
Sparkles takes my hand, giving me the shivers again. “Yes, please.”
I try to calm my racing pulse by discreetly taking deep breaths as we follow the hostess. Why am I so fucking anxious? Get your shit together, Kat. Sweaty palms and panic attacks are not sexy.
Ariel’s Grandma throws two menus on the table unceremoniously. “Sharon will be right over to take your orders. Can I get you a drink?”
Sparkles waits until I’m seated before sliding into the bench across the table. “Coffee okay?”
“I’ll have hot chocolate.” I know it’s totally childish, but I love the stuff. Plus, the trace amount of caffeine in it won’t dull my buzz. I really need one of those right now to counteract my damn nerves.
He nods in approval. “That sounds really good. Make it two hot chocolates, please.”
I smirk. “You seem more like a coffee man to me.”
“I am,” he says. “But I’m in the mood for something…sweet.”
I grab the dessert menu and flip through it silently until our cocoa arrives. “No cake…but they have every kind of pie imaginable.”
“I like pie.” His tone has double entendre written all over it.
“I bet you do.” So does mine. Sparkles is getting playful. That’s a good sign.
“So, Red. Are you from around here?”
I nod. “Born and raised. But you’re not. I definitely would’ve noticed.”
He smiles. “You think so?”
“Pft,” I scoff. “Please, Sparkles. Don’t pretend you don’t own a mirror.”
He releases a deep belly laugh that sends tingles to all my girly parts. “I’ll take that as a compliment.” The hostess sets our two mugs of hot chocolate on the table.
“You should,” I say as I take a drink. “So…where are you from then?”
“The Bay Area,” he says. “Sausalito to be more specific.”
I dip my finger into the whipped cream and suck it off slowly. “What the hell would possess you to move here?”
He clears his throat. “Who said I lived here?”
Sparkles watches me with rapt attention as I lick my finger again. “So you’re just passing through then?”
“I didn’t say that either.”
I roll my eyes. “All right, Mr. Evasive, I get the hint. You don’t like personal questions either.”
He shakes his head. “Not true. But I think it should be a give-and-take type of conversation.”
I pull my neckline down slightly and lean forward. “So…like tit for tat?” I pull back with a wink.
He glances hungrily at my chest before meeting my eyes. “Yeah…I like the sound of that. I’ll even start if it makes things easier. My name’s Gavin. What’s yours?”
“Hey y’all. Have you decided what you’d like to order?” Geez, this woman sounds like she’s been smoking two packs a day for the past fifty years.
I don’t need to look at her nametag to confirm that our waitress has arrived. “Hi, Sharon. I think my friend and I need another minute.”
Sharon smacks her gum. “Take your time, hon. Just holler when you’re ready.”
“So,” Sparkles, er, Gavin clears his throat. “You know my name now. What’s yours again?”
“Nice try. Why don’t we stick with Red?”
“It was worth a shot.” He rubs his chin again. Damn, that’s sexy. “Okay, how about starting with something else? Why are you celebrating your birthday all by your lonesome?”
“I’m not all by my lonesome anymore.”
“Fair enough,” he says and smirks. “Let me rephrase…since you’re not wearing a ring, I assume that means you’re unmarried. Correct?”
I wiggle my fourth finger. “Correct. Definitely not married.”
“Boyfriend?”
“Nope,” I answer with a pop at the end.
He smiles. “Girlfriend?”
“Not any that I get naked with.”
“Shame,” he tsks.
I laugh. “Sorry to ruin the visual for you. My turn. Are you married?”
“I was,” he says. “Until she cheated on me with my best friend of twenty years. The divorce was final a few months ago.”
“Oh,” I stammer. I’m caught off guard by his honesty and the stark pain in his eyes. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be,” he assures me. “Clearly neither one of them cared about me as much as they claimed…at least I know the truth. I’ve moved on.”
Total bullshit but I let it slide because no one likes airing their dirty laundry. Lord knows I can understand that. “So…no rebound girlfriend?”
“No anything girlfriend. I’m one hundred percent single. Let’s get back to you. What do you do for a living?”
Oh, I’m about to be a high school senior. No biggie. “Too personal…I don’t want you stalking me at work.” I laugh. “Next question.”
Gavin smiles. “Okay, so our chosen professions are off limits. We’ve established that we’re single and where we’re from. What do you like to do when you’re not working?”
“I like to read.”
He looks surprised. “Reading, huh? What are some of your favorites?”
“Anything I can get my hands on really. Poetry, the classics, thrillers, mythology, dystopia…” I lick my lips suggestively and add, “romance.”
He smiles. “See, I knew there was more to you than just a pretty face. You’re smart.”
I shrug. “Reading doesn’t signify intelligence. It’s simply a great form of escapism—especially when you’re broke. My library card is well-loved.”
“Ah, Red. Don’t do that.”
“Don’t do what?”
“Downplay your intelligence. It’s obvious from the way you carry yourself. You’re observant, witty, and well-spoken.” He folds his hands behind his head. “If you ask me, it makes you even sexier, which I wouldn’t have thought was possible.”
I smile at the compliment. “Let’s get back to you. Where do you live?”
“About three blocks away.”
I smile at his willingness to divulge that information. “Hey, Gavin?”
“Yeah?”
“Are you ready to order some pie?”
He signals Sharon. “I sure am.”
Gum Smacker is back. “You two ready to order?”
Gavin nods for me to go first. “I’ll have a slice of pumpkin pie, please,” I say. “With lots of whipped cream.”
Sharon writes my order on her notepad and looks toward Gavin. “And what about you, sweetie?”
His eyes twinkle as he stares directly at me. “Pumpkin is my favorite. Load mine up with whipped cream too, please.”
She blows a hair out of her face. “Be right back with that.”
“Is pumpkin really your favorite,” I ask, “or are you just being cute to get in my pants?”
He smirks. “I thought we already established that your pants are wide open for me to jump right in.” He briefly peeks his head under the table. “Although…these pants that we speak of seem to already be missing. Sadly, I can’t take credit for that.”
“Clever,” I say. “Maybe I should’ve said panties, since I’m wearing a dress and all.”
He pouts. “Well, that answers that question.”
“What question?”
And right on cue, Sharon is back delivering our pie. Her brows reach her hairline at Gavin’s comment but she chooses to walk away without a word. We both laugh at her quick retreat.
I nudge his foot under the table. “Hey, Gavin?”
“Yeah?”
“You don’t know what kind of panties I’m wearing.” I take a big bite of pie. “Yet.”
He chokes a little on the piece he was chewing. “Wow, you really don’t have a problem with being direct, do you?”
I shrug. “Not usually, no.”
I inhale my pie at an embarrassing pace. “Damn, this is good,” I mumble through a full mouth.
Gavin eats his as well but with much better table manners. “It is. Although, my mind is now thinking about panties and not pie. That’s weird, don’t you think?”
“You sure like saying panties, don’t you?” I wink for added effect.
He swallows his bite before speaking. “Quite honestly, I never gave it a second thought until five minutes ago. At the moment, my thoughts about them seem to be bordering on obsession.”
“Panties in general?” I ask. “Or anyone’s in particular?”
He smiles. “Oh, I definitely have someone in mind. I can’t stop wondering what color they are on this particular…person.” Flirty Gavin is fun.
“Well, I don’t know who this lucky girl is,” I play along, “but one thing I can tell you is that my favorite color is red. Red lips, red dress, tiny scraps of red lingerie. I also enjoy lacy things…the way the fabric rubs against certain areas of my body feels really nice. Even if they are uncomfortably wet at the moment.”
Gavin groans in response and shifts in his seat. “Jesus,” he mutters.
“Hey, Sparkles?”
He clears his throat. “Yes, Red?”
“Have we done enough talking yet?”
He stands, drops a twenty-dollar bill on the table, and offers his hand. “My place work for you?”
“That sounds perfect.”
HE OPENS THE PASSENGER DOOR to his Tahoe and this time, I hop in. “You’re not worried about my car getting stolen?” I joke. You’d have to be a moron to steal that piece of shit. It’s older than I am and covered in rust from prolonged exposure to the salty air.
Gavin smirks. “I’ll drive you back to get it later.”
I grab a fistful of his t-shirt and pull him inches away from my lips. “After we have hot, sweaty sex, right?”
He stares at my lips. “Right. After that.”
I release his shirt. “Alrighty then. Let’s go.”
He closes my door and walks around to climb in the driver’s seat. “You sure about this, Red?”
“Why do I get the feeling you don’t normally do this? A guy doesn’t usually give a willing girl so many chances to change her mind.”
“Because I don’t,” he says matter-of-factly. “Taking a virtual stranger home is a first for me.”
“Right,” I scoff.
He raises an eyebrow. “Which part is so hard to believe?”
“All of it,” I reply.
He puts the car in gear and reverses out of the parking spot. “Why’s that?”
I gesture toward his finely sculpted body. “Because you look like that. I’m sure you can have any woman you want.”
Sparkles flashes a blinding smile as he drives into the neighborhood behind the diner. “I’m flattered, but it’s not true.”
“So, you’re telling me that you haven’t had sex with anyone since your divorce?”
“I didn’t say that,” he chuckles. “I said never with a stranger. The last woman I was with…it was a brief friends-with-benefits type of thing right before I moved here. Before that, I was with my ex-wife, Hailey, and before her, my high school girlfriend. That’s it.”
I do the math in my head. “So, you’re saying that you’ve only slept with three women in your entire life?”
“Yep.” He pulls the car into a driveway. “Is that a problem?”
I think about how many guys I’ve been with since I lost my virginity at fifteen. I couldn’t give you an exact number, but if I had to guess, I’d say it’s almost ten times that many. “Not as long as you don’t have a problem with my number.” He starts to open his mouth but I cut him off. “Before you ask, I can’t give you one. Not that I don’t want to; I can’t. But I’m always safe. Always.”
Gavin pulls his key out of the ignition and contemplates that for a moment. “No judgment, Red. We all have a past, right?”
I release a breath I didn’t realize I was holding. “Right.”
“This is it.” He nods toward the house as we both step out of the car.
I look up at the quaint cottage-style home which is pretty typical for any beach community. The porch light allows me to see a bench under the overhang with flower beds in front. The yard is perfectly manicured and lined with an honest-to-God white picket fence. Overall, the place seems to be in remarkably good condition. I can hear waves pounding against the rocky shore so I’m sure it has a great ocean view during the day too.
“Nice place. Vacation rental?” Rentals are pretty popular along the coast during the summer months.
“It used to be,” he nods. “I’ve only been here a week so I haven’t had much of a chance to put my stamp on it. It was move-in ready, though, so I’m not complaining.”
“You bought it?” Cybil and I have lived in a run-down apartment my whole life. Well, when I wasn’t bouncing around the system anyway. I couldn’t imagine being able to afford this place. Although it’s not very large, maybe fifteen hundred square feet at best, it’s well-cared for with a view. That’s not cheap real estate, even in shitty Depoe Bay. Usually places like this are owned by wealthy people who rent it out for a week or two at a time.
Gavin shrugs. “I made a nice profit on my house in Sausalito after the divorce. I wanted to stay by the water but in a much smaller town. This place fit the bill.”
“But why this town?”
“I got a job,” he replies. “I applied for several positions along the coast and this one came up first.”
“And what job is that again?”
He smirks. “What was it you do for a living, Red?”
Oh right…we’re not discussing that. “Touché.”
Opening the front door, he says, “You coming?”
I step toward him with a cheeky grin. “If you do your part right, I will be.”
So fast I can barely register the movement, he grabs a fistful of my hair and fuses his mouth to mine. Holy fuck! His lips are just as soft as I imagined but there’s nothing forgiving about this kiss. He dives into my mouth with no hesitation whatsoever. His velvety tongue caresses mine, mimicking what I hope our lower bodies will be doing shortly. His hard muscles press against me in the doorway, the frame digging into my back while his large erection grinds into my stomach. This man is pure cockiness right now. There’s no doubt about who’s in charge as he works me into a fever pitch. What kind of game is he playing? And why am I so effing turned on by the possibilities?
He pulls away, leaving me panting for breath. “Does that give you an idea of what to expect?”
I nod dumbly. “Uh huh.”
He opens the door fully and gestures for me to come in. With a boyish grin he adds, “Good.”
He leads me through the foyer, past a large dining room, into an eat-in country kitchen. I smile when I see the ceramic roosters perched atop the cabinets.
“So, you have a thing for cocks, huh?”
His eyes follow mine and he barks in laughter. “Not really my scene…but I’ve recently developed a fondness for you saying cock.” He punctuates his statement with a wink. “The roosters came with the house, I swear. They’ll be one of the first things to go. They don’t exactly scream bachelor pad. I’m afraid they’re already affecting my game.”
“Maybe just a little,” I agree.
He wags his brows. “Then I’ll just have to rectify that.”
“Oh yeah?” I ask playfully. “And how are you going to do that? Now that I think about it, they are pretty emasculating.”
He places his hands on my hips, leans into my neck, and inhales. “You smell incredible. I want to devour you.”
God bless Victoria’s Secret body splash. I rake my hands through his hair and press him into my skin. I moan when I feel his tongue trace the nape of my neck.
“Then do it.”
He lifts me onto the counter and my legs instinctively wrap around his waist. Our eyes meet and I’m stupefied by his awed expression. He brushes the back of his knuckles against my cheek with great care. “What is it about you, Red? Please tell me I’m not the only one feeling this…this connection between us.”
I gulp. “You’re not.” I tighten my grip with my legs and pull him closer. “I’d really like to make that a literal connection right now though.”
He presses his forehead against mine. “Please tell me your name.”
“No,” I whisper.
“Why not?” he groans.
His lips are so close I can’t help but lick the seam. “I already told you.”
He returns the gesture and pulls back with a little bite. Framing my face with his hands he says, “Break your stupid rule. I need to know your real name.”
I shake my head in refusal. “Sparkles, don’t ruin this.”
He scowls. “How would knowing your name ruin anything?”
Tears prick at my eyes. “I have the rules for a reason. Please don’t press the issue.”