“And I was enjoying it until you barged in here!” I watched her eyelids flutter and her toes point.
“Um, Care?” Drew looked at me and then motioned to Sarah.
“Oh, right. You don’t want me here. I shouldn’t be here. I’m just um, going to go and, you know, find a noose to hang myself with.” I closed the door behind me and leaned against it, laughing really hard.
“I can hear you!” Sarah yelled out before she yelled Drew’s name in her big finish. I hopped back to the kitchen to get my coffee.
Twenty minutes later, Drew hightailed it out of the apartment as I sat on the couch reading a manuscript. Sarah strolled into the space moments later covered in her fluffy pink robe.
I snickered.
“I can hear you, you know.”
“I’m sorry. It was just, so not you. I mean, I expect to walk in on Melody in that situation, not you.”
“Well, then, you don’t know me very well.” She huffed as she poured herself a cup of coffee.
I put the papers down on the coffee table and turned toward her. “You’re right. I don’t know you as well as I should and that’s on me.” I patted the cushion next to me. “Come sit.”
For the next hour we talked about everything. From Steven to the breakup to the one night stand. She told me her fears, her hopes, and what she wanted most in life. We reconnected in a way we hadn’t since college.
We’d graduated from coffee to wine when Sarah said, “I was just sad when you disappeared. I felt like I lost my best friend. And when you came back, you were all weepy and shit. I mean, when you were with Steven you weren’t the Caroline I knew but that sobbing six-week mess was not even in the vicinity of who I knew you were.”
“I didn’t know. I am so sorry. I deserve an oblivious asshole award or something.”
“Nah. Sometimes I wish I was that wrapped up in someone. The kind of love that’s the reason to look down at my phone and smile when he calls. Then promptly walk into a pole.”
“Stupid love.”
“Yes!”
“Steven wasn’t my stupid love. I think Brian is.” I ducked my head, waiting to hear the lecture that never came.
“I think he is, too. Come on, let’s get ready. We’re meeting at the bar in an hour and a half and I really, really need to shower.”
“Bring that vibrator in there with you. That thing needs a good cleaning.”
“Ha! Glad I have someone to use it with.”
“You should have seen your face when I clocked Drew with the umbrella. Priceless!”
“Yeah, well.”
“He has a nice ass, though.”
“You saw?” She smiled.
“I saw more than I care to ever see again, seriously. I’m still trying to gather up enough brain bleach to get the visual of you handcuffed to the bed, spread out like jelly on toast, out of my mind.”
“You loved it.”
I laughed and stopped at my door. “So, we’re good?”
“We’re forever good.”
I watched her strut into the bathroom and close the door. I went into my room to pick out my outfit for the night and pack my overnight bag.
Smiling, I ran and pulled my phone from my purse. Back in my room, I stripped off my shirt, snapped a pic, and sent it to Brian. Giggling at his open-mouthed, surprised selfie, I went back to getting ready.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
We didn’t hit the bar until close to nine. Sarah and I stopped at the sushi place to stuff our faces. Apparently reminiscing and apologizing works up a massive appetite.
Everything was falling into place. I couldn’t have been happier.
I bounced into the bar, walked right up to Brian, and planted a long slow kiss on his lips. When we pulled away from each other, the bar erupted in cheers. The old me would have been embarrassed but the new me took a bow.
“What was that for?” Brian wrapped his arms around me.
“No reason.”
“Well, I like no reason. And thanks.”
“For kissing you? That’s hardly a chore.” I gave him a quick peck on the nose.
“No. For talking to Ryan. He came over earlier and we had a little chat. Seems like you’re a little Miss Fix-It.”
“Yeah, well, I had to fix it with Sarah today, too.”
“How’d that go?” He stepped away to pull a beer.
“The conversation went well. I’ll tell you all about it later. The preconversation was a little spicy.”
“Spicy?”
“Yeah. Let’s just say I know how many freckles are on Drew’s ass.”
I heard him yell, “What?” as I walked toward the back. I was giggling when I reached the table.
“Caroline!” Berk and Danny exclaimed in unison. “Thank God you’re here.”
“Thank God, huh? Nice to see you, too.” I flopped down on the chair Berk kicked out for me, grabbed an empty glass from the table, and filled it with what was left of the beer in the pitcher. I popped a French fry in my mouth and leaned back.
“Yeah. Apparently you know how Drew got the lump on his head,” Berk offered.
“I already told you—” Drew began.
“Hush now. Caroline will clear the matter up.”
Both Drew and Sarah stiffened and turned bright red. I looked between the two of them and smiled. “I think he fell down. Is that right Drew?”
“Yeah, that’s what I said.”
“Then how on earth”—Berk made an elaborate gesture with his hands—“did Sarah get those red marks on her wrist?”
I looked over as Sarah dropped her hands to her lap. “Rubber bands.”
She looked at me.
“Rubber bands?” Danny asked.
“Yeah. You know, she’s a teacher and she puts rubber bands on her wrists and they were too tight. Rubber bands that are too tight leave red marks. Everyone knows that.”
Both Berk and Danny looked at me skeptically. Melody stifled a laugh. She didn’t know the story but her imagination was probably on target.
“That doesn’t sound right. We’re missing something here.” Berk stood.
“Well, that’s my story.”
“Right. I’m going to get more beer. Anyone want anything?”
“Yeah! Tell Brian to send over some shots.” Melody leaned against Danny with a smile on her face. “So”—she looked between Sarah and me—“did you two square things away?”
“We did, actually. We had a good talk. Learned new stuff about each other.”
“We did. I saw a whole new side of Sarah today. One that I won’t forget for a long time.”
“Will you be requiring the brain bleach?” Melody’s eyes twinkled.
“I will, as a matter of fact.”
“Oh shut up, Lots O’Lube.” Sarah laughed.
“Lots O’Lube? That’s that nasty shit Ryan buys.” Danny’s eyes widened. “You didn’t!”
It was my turn to freeze.
“Who’s talking about me?”
Ryan arrived at the table, beer in hand. He looked perplexed when the entire table erupted in laughter.
“What’s so funny?”
“Nothin’ man. Welcome back.” Danny grabbed Ryan’s hand and pulled him in for a hug.
Berk walked over with a tray full of shots.
“What do we have here?” I asked. “And why are you always delivering the drinks? Aren’t there waitresses who work here, for tips?”
“Do you see any waitresses? I come bearing a tray full of Tight Snatches. Please, drink at your own risk.”
“Why does yours look different?” Melody asked.
“Considering, even though you ladies are quite lovely, I don’t prefer the snatch, tight or not, I decided to drink something that reflects my own personality.”
“Which is?”
“A Dr. Pecker. I thought it quaint considering my new flavor is a doctor anyway.” Berk winked and downed the shot without waiting for the rest of us.
“I’ll never get used to t
he fact that you like dick, man.” Ryan said.
“You’ll never get used to the fact that I like dick or that I don’t like your dick?” Berk leaned down and planted a juicy kiss on Ryan’s lips.
“Get off me!” Ryan laughed as he wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his shirt. He spazzed out enough that Berk had to catch the chair from tipping over. “What the hell man? I have a reputation to uphold.”
“As do I. I hope no one saw me kissing you. I wouldn’t want anyone thinking I switched teams.”
“What’s wrong with kissing me? I’m a great kisser.”
I secretly agreed but kept my mouth shut.
“A little sloppy.” Berk made a show of wiping his entire face with a napkin.
“Sloppy? You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“The lady doth protest too much, methinks,” I offered.
“Watch who you’re calling a lady, lady.” Ryan snorted into his beer glass.
Everyone grabbed a shot.
“Here’s to none of us getting friend-zoned tonight!” Drew lifted the shot glass.
“Friend-zoned?” I asked.
“Yeah, when she doesn’t change her mind when she’s drunk,” Drew explained.
“To not getting friend-zoned!” Brian appeared behind me and joined in the toast.
“No chance of that,” I countered.
“I would hope not. Hey Drew, what’s this I hear about freckles on your ass and why does Caroline know how many there are?”
“I knew there was more to the story!” Danny yelled, jumping out of his seat as his face broke into a huge grin.
Sarah spit out her shot and Drew found something on the floor suddenly very interesting.
“You and I”—Brian pointed from his eyes to Drew—“will chat about this later.” He leaned down and whispered in my ear. “You need anything?”
“You?”
He looked around the bar. “Give me five minutes and meet me upstairs.” He twirled his towel and snapped it at me.
“No fair!” Melody called out. “You can’t sneak off when none of us can do it here!”
“Should I rent out my bedroom? A few hundred bucks an hour? I bet I could clean up.”
“Why use a bed when you have a perfectly good bathroom to get freaky in? That’s your thing, right, Caroline?” Danny shot back.
“My thing?” I shook my head in confusion.
“Yeah. Melody told us about your bathroom escapade from last weekend.”
Danny flinched when Melody smacked him on the arm.
I whipped my head around. “You told him?”
“I didn’t know it was a secret. It was pretty funny!”
“Do you know how long it took us to get her in that thing?” Sarah asked.
“About as long as it took me to get it off her?” Brian quipped.
“It’s not funny! That thing was squeezing my insides out my ears.”
“It’s a little funny.”
“It’s a lot funny,” Drew said.
“Hey.” I pointed at him. “You want me to tell everyone what’s so funny?”
He held up his hands. “Shutting up now.”
“That’s what I thought. I can’t believe you told them.”
I couldn’t decide whether to laugh or crawl under the table.
“How about the next time I do something terrifyingly funny, you can tell everyone all about it?”
I made a face. “Deal.”
“Shake on it?” Brian offered his hand.
“Nope. Kiss on it.”
He kissed me quickly. “Like I said, five minutes. Be there.”
“With bells on.”
“How about that smile I left you with?” Brian winked and went back to the bar.
“Aww. That’s cute.” Melody pouted her lips. “I want to be cute with someone.”
“You can be cute with me,” Danny said.
“Is that right?” Melody’s eyes shined.
“Sure. Why not?”
“We’ll see. Anyway, I have to go to the little girls’ room. Be back.” Melody made eye contact with Danny and tilted her head toward the bathroom.
“Um, I have to go, too.” Danny jumped up and raced after her.
“So, Ryan. Did that waitress give you her number?”
“There was a waitress?” Drew took a moment from making out with Sarah to ask.
“Yeah. Well, I don’t know. We’re going out Wednesday night.”
“Huh, maybe she can teach you not to be such an asshole.” Drew laughed like he’d told the funniest joke he’d ever heard.
Ryan playfully shot back. “Hey, I’m not an asshole. I just don’t give a fuck a lot.”
It was my turn to shoot beer out of my nose. Sarah handed me a napkin.
Ryan and Drew continued the conversation about the waitress; Sarah got up to go talk to one of the other teachers she worked with. I watched Brian make drinks and check his phone. He looked up, whispered to another bartender, threw down his towel, and stepped out from behind the bar. I watched him walk to the apartment door and disappear.
I smiled, slid my chair back, and did my best not to sprint after him.
The upstairs entrance to the apartment was open and as I stepped through, Brian appeared out of nowhere, pulled me aside, and slammed the door closed. Smiling, I maneuvered him back so he was up against the door.
“What are you doing?”
“What?” I tilted my head as I worked his belt buckle open.
“You don’t have to.” He breathed as I shoved his pants and boxer briefs over the round of his ass.
“You don’t want me to?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“Good.” I gripped him in my fist as he continued to swell.
I kissed him hard on the mouth, allowing our tongues to tangle for only a moment before I dropped to my knees and ran my lips over his length.
He threaded his fingers in my hair and whispered my name when I spit on the tip and ran my hand up and down the shaft. I fit him in my mouth and his knees buckled. I wrapped my hands around him and gripped his ass, pulling myself in closer to him. He palmed the back of my head and kept rhythm with me as I worked to bring him to climax.
He yelled out my name as he came, his fingers knotted in my hair. I continued to hold on to him until he stopped shaking.
I leaned back and sat on the floor as he slid down the door until he was sitting in front of me. With his pants around his knees he brought his hands to his head and shook it hard like he was trying to focus.
“You okay?” I giggled. His reaction was priceless.
“No. Don’t touch me. Not yet. I need a minute.”
“You don’t want me to touch you?” I ran my hand along his thigh.
“Caroline.” He growled.
“What?” I put his earlobe between my teeth and pulled gently. He closed his eyes.
He didn’t move, so I stood up and took off my shirt. He finally opened his eyes when it hit him in the face. “Well, if you aren’t interested”—I slipped out of my flats and walked toward his bedroom—“I guess I’ll just have to take care of it myself.”
He shot up, pulled his pants back on, and chased me down the hallway as I screamed and ran toward the bedroom. He grabbed me right before I entered the room, lifted me up, threw me on the bed, and pressed himself on top of me.
“You’re killing me.” He moaned.
“I told you I would take care of it myself.” Laughing, I tried to wiggle out from under him.
“Oh no you don’t!”
“Oh yes I can!”
“I know you can. A real woman can do it all by herself, I know that. But a real man won’t let her.”
His lips met mine and we lost ourselves in each other.
An hour later we lay in the bed, quiet but for the sounds of our breathing.
“We should get back.” I broke the silence.
“No.” Brian nuzzled his unshaven face into my neck.
“Everyone
is probably waiting for us, wondering where we are.”
“Let them. The longer we’re up here, the more studly I look.”
“More studly?” I raised my eyebrows.
“You know what I mean. More studly. Studlier. Whatever.” He reached down and smacked my ass.
“Ouch! Come on.” I rolled over and looked for my pants.
“Fine. You’re sleeping here tonight?”
“I was planning on it.”
“Good. You know, Christmas is coming up.”
I turned to him. His hair was disheveled and his eyes were sleepy and relaxed.
“Christmas?” I had totally forgotten.
“Yeah. It’s in like, ten days.”
“Wow.”
He laughed and pulled on his pants while lying down. “Anyway, I was thinking we could go get a tree tomorrow.”
“I haven’t even started shopping yet. I can’t believe it slipped my mind. I mean everything is already decorated. How did that slip past me?”
“I don’t know. What do you say? We can go shopping in the morning, then get a tree before we come back here.”
“I think”—I crawled across the bed and kissed him—“that sounds like a great idea.”
“I was hoping you’d say that.”
“Maybe I’ll call out sick on Monday. We can sleep in and decorate it.”
“Sounds like an even better plan.”
He grabbed my ass and squeezed. I waited until he put on his shirt before we walked out to the living room. I pulled my sweater over my head and we went back downstairs hand in hand.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
I approached the table to see Melody with her hair spread out on the table and Sarah texting someone while she sipped a beer.
“Hey.”
“Hey,” Sarah replied.
“She returns!” Melody lifted her head and slurred before dropping it back to the table.
I cocked my head to the side and squinted before I leaned down and whispered to Sarah, “Does she know her shirt is inside out?”
“That’s nothing, there was a used condom stuck to her shoe.”
I crinkled my nose. “Ew.”
“Yeah.”
I looked around. “Where’d everyone else go?”
“Danny, Drew, and Ryan are playing darts, and Berk is in the back corner making out with his doctor friend. It’s a shame. Two perfectly hot guys completely unavailable to me.” She shook her head in disbelief.
Operation One Night Stand Page 22