“No worries. Thanks for the tour.” Andrew drank some coffee.
“My pleasure.” Alex passed around half-hugs to everyone before darting out of the parlor.
“That was a productive morning.” Ashley munched a cookie and licked the crumbs off her lips. Then, she suddenly dropped the cookie, bending forward instinctively. Her eyes widened.
“The cookie’s that bad?” Kat smiled.
Slanting her eyes to her bump, Ashley cased her belly with her hands. “Oh my goodness—she kicked.”
“What? Let me feel it.” Sitting right next to her, all Bell had to do was stretch her arm. “Wow. I can feel it. Something’s moving.”
“She’s moved plenty of times before,” Ashley said. “But every time it happens, I feel like it’s something special.”
“I can’t wait to see her,” Bella clasped her palms eagerly. “I’m sure she’ll be the cutest baby, since she has such good-looking parents.”
“We’ll love her even if she isn’t cute,” Andrew said, exchanging a visual yes with Ashley. “And hopefully we’ll have her name sorted out by then.”
“If not, you can always let me name her,” Bella volunteered.
Andrew shrank back into his chair. “What would you name her?”
“Penelope.”
The answer was instantaneous because she’d been picking out a name for her unborn child on the sly. But who knew whether she was going to have a child at all, let alone a girl. So it was better to let Ashley use the name.
“That’s a cute name. Penelope Smith.” Face brightening, she jerked her head to Andrew.
Andrew nodded. “I agree.”
“So Penelope it is.”
Chapter 7
Later that night, when Bella was reading a book in bed, her phone vibrated.
A message. And it was from Jamie.
Strange. Why would he text her so late at night?
Reasoning that there might’ve been some last minute change to the script (something that happened often), Bella trawled through his message.
Jamie: At the store right now. Can’t figure out which one to get, there are so many.
This was followed by a picture of sexy lingerie on mannequins.
See-through thongs, plunging lace bodysuits, provocative chemises, suspender belts...even looking at them made heat radiate through her face. Worse yet, she could imagine herself wearing them.
That image turned her on.
A flutter hummed between her thighs. Unable to hold herself, Bella slid a smooth finger down to the vertex of her legs and touched herself. Her exhale was sharp enough to startle her.
With the other hand, she typed a curt reply.
Bella: Huh? Why r u asking me this?
Jamie: I’m buying u a gift. Say thank u later.
Inappropriate as the whole thing was, Bella couldn’t resist the swell of hope in her chest. Maybe, just maybe...
Bella: I didn’t ask you to buy me anything.
Jamie: I’m in a generous mood today.
Okay, this was super weird. Jamie and she simply did not have the kind of relationship where he could casually buy her lingerie.
Had something happened between yesterday and now?
Bella considered the possibility that he might have intended this message to go to someone else. But before she could write back, he wrote something that made her pussy clench.
Jamie: What about the sheer one? I’d be able to see ur nipples grow red and hard when I lick them through it. And I’d be able to taste your sweet, wet pussy through the mesh.
When she looked at the picture, she could imagine it, too. Envision how juicy her tits would look wrapped in sheer red lace...how the thong would slip into her ass and ride over her wet pussy.
Between her legs, moisture started to drip.
Oh, boy.
Her agile fingers raced over the screen of her phone. She’d better cut this off before she got any worse.
She’d intended to write, I’m Bella, but it ended up becoming I’m braless.
Sometimes autocorrect was so far off the mark, she had to wonder if the thing had a mind of its own.
Jamie: Ur making me hard now.
Was she?
Bella: Then we’re even.
Sticking a hand under her panties, Bella petted her damp, throbbing lips. Breath strangled in her throat. Her body begged for more.
For moments, she didn’t type anything. Instead, she put her fingers to better use rubbing circles over her clit, riding the wave of pleasure every little loop created. Warmth prickled her skin.
She’d have dropped the phone altogether, but she didn’t want to stop this conversation with Jamie. Parking it over her pubic bone, Bella allowed the light buzz from the phone to push her even higher.
Jamie: Ur quiet.
The unexpected surge of vibration rocked into her pussy, sending up hot waves of stimulation.
Bella: Flicking my bean.
Parting herself gently, Bella ventured in with two fingers. The hot velvet of her flesh closed around, singing with delight. Wetness slid over her fingernails. She drove deeper, until her G-spot sat right under her finger pads.
But she didn’t make herself come.
Not yet.
Jamie: Baby, you just gave me blue balls.
Bella: Ur welcome. J
If only he knew what he was doing to her. Sometimes, it scared her how much of an effect Jamie had on her body.
Jamie: I need to get outta here fast and come to u. Should we go with the black one?
Deciding that it was time to give herself that last little push, Bella crooked her fingers inside herself and moaned when they ground against her sensitive spot. The surge of ecstasy was immediate. Tapping harder, she stroked her pubic bone with her thumb. Steadily. Slowly.
Building a rhythm, she continued. Shivers coursed up her body.
Bella: OK. Lace is always good.
Jamie: It’d be perfect under a teacher costume, too. J
Somehow, someway, the letters were typing themselves, as she climbed towards a climax.
Bella: U have a thing for teachers?
Jamie: Major thing, since I came close to kissing one a few days ago.
Everything collided then. A dizzying rush of rapture enveloped her as she came so hard, she squirted. Fluid rolled down between her thighs, soaking her panties and tracing a delicate path down her inner thighs. It carried away all the tension she’d been hoarding for longer than she’d known.
Soft warmth wound around her pelvis, penetrating her deepest core, where she was still shaking from the intense contractions. The rhythm of her inhales and exhales broke. Arching her back to prolong the sweet moment, Bella squeezed her eyes shut and lay against the pillows.
She’d not masturbated since last year.
Jamie: U there?
Her post-orgasm snooze was broken by an impatient message from Jamie.
While she’d had her release, she was still not ready to stop her back and forth with Jamie. It was a fake, wishful thing, sexting him when she knew that it wouldn’t lead to anything. But she couldn’t stop.
Bella: Sorry. Tell me about that teacher you kissed.
Jamie: I didn’t kiss her.
Bella: Why not?
Her heart thundered for the few milliseconds it took him to reply.
Jamie: Couldn’t. She’s....a commitment kinda girl. U know, those complicated ones. Man=marriage. Don’t need that headache in my life right now. That’s why I hooked up with u on Tinder.
He...he didn’t mean her, did he? She wasn’t like that...
Bella: Cool.
Anonymity was such a beautiful thing.
Jamie: Be at ur place in an hour?
Bella: Works for me.
Whoever he’d actually been intending to send this message to was going to have a rude shock an hour later.
A pic of the sheer black bra and thong, this time in close up, arrived in her feed.
Jamie: Going with this one. U
r size’s 32B, right?
Bella: 36D.
Jamie: Ur profile said 32B.
For fifteen seconds, her screen went blank.
Jamie: Fuck. You’re the wrong woman.
The next one arrived immediately after.
Jamie: Who r u? I don’t have a name with ur number.
Bella: Better if u don’t know.
Jamie: Sorry, whoever u r. I was trying to hook up with someone who’s number is similar to yours.
Bella: Maybe you’ll text her next time?
Jamie: Hey, u weren’t that bad. U single?
Bella: It’d be awkward if we got together.
Jamie: Shit. You’re Cathy, aren’t u? I’m sorry, delete what I said. I know u love your husband. I would never think of doing anything inappropriate with u, ma’am.
Bella: J
Jamie: Crap.
Bella: Bye.
Jamie: I’m never sexting again.
As she turned off her phone, Bella realized that she wasn’t going to be able to sleep tonight without dreaming of Jamie’s tongue licking her through that sexy black thong.
*
“Bell, why’re you calling at this hour? It’s past midnight.” Kat sounded mildly irritated over the phone.
Stifling the storm of heat inside, Bella squeezed her legs together. “Kat, what’s the female equivalent of blue balls?”
“Blue pussy? I don’t know.” There was a scuffle. “Wait...did you call me at this hour just to ask me that? It’s midnight.”
“I thought you’d know.” Bella counted the cracks on the ceiling. She’d have to fix them soon. “Whatever it is, I’m experiencing it currently.”
Kat coughed and Bella heard a man’s voice. “So am I, Bell. So am I.”
“Shit! Were you and Alex...” Oh boy. Talk about bad timing.
“You know what? I’ll call you later. In the meantime, try a vibrator. It might help your...condition,” Kat suggested. Bella picked up the embarrassment in her voice, and it made her feel worse.
“Gee, why didn’t I think of that one? So obvious. Thanks. Enjoy your night.”
Hastily, Bella hung up, too self-conscious to tell Kat that she didn’t own a vibrator. She, who everybody considered sexually empowered, smart, and modern, didn’t own the most basic sex toy.
She’d had a major mishap with a vibrator when she’d bought her first one in college, and since then, she’d sworn to never let another one get near her vagina. Besides, she’d take a real dick over silicone any day.
Sadly, she wasn’t getting any dicks.
And the only one she’d managed to find had rejected her. Being a spinster was so complicated.
Bella dug a hole in her couch with her head.
Jamie Star was going to be the death of her someday.
*
Grant looked over the top of his beer glass at Eve, who was serenely munching on mozzarella sticks.
He’d seen her in power suits and evening dresses, but he’d never seen her look so sexy. In her faded jeans and Raglan T-shirt, sans makeup, her face glowed.
Stafling a yawn when the band took a five-minute break before starting to play the next set, he enquired, “Is this the point where I’m supposed to ask you about your hobbies?”
Eve scoffed. “I knew you couldn’t do it.”
Not one to admit defeat, Grant soldiered on. “Fine. Tell me about your hobbies.”
The loops a man had to jump through to get sex.
“I run marathons.” Her features grew animated. “I ran the TCS New York City Marathon last year. And I like to read, cook, and do home improvement projects.”
Grant closed his hands over his ears when a loud guitar riff wailed, and a swell of hoots followed. Usually, he avoided crowded, noisy places with live bands, but he’d been afraid that a quiet dinner with Eve might end with him falling asleep on the table, so he’d picked this place.
“That’s great...” He absently cheered her on, as she started telling him about the yoga class she attended.
How was he going to get through another hour of such inane conversation?
The music altered pitch and tune.
Eve picked up her head in the direction of the live band. “I love that song.”
“You listen to Top 40?”
He wouldn’t have thought she was the type to listen to anything but slow, boring ballads and country songs.
“I have two teens at home. I listen to everything.”
“Even rap?”
He pulled his knee up to cross his leg. It hit the underside of the table. The contact with wood reverberated in his bones.
“I’ve been to every Kanye West concert in New York,” she boasted.
Now that was shocking.
“And how did you fit in with all the kids in the audience?” Grant leaned forward.
“Didn’t get too many stares,” Eve said, her content face cupped by her hands, her elbows resting on the table. “A young man made eyes at me and said that I was the sexiest grandma he’d ever seen. It was quite flattering.”
Beating his hand on the edge of the table, Grant released a throaty laugh. “If I’d done that, you’d have given me that look you usually give...yeah, that one.”
She had that annoyed face on right now, but it didn’t bother him anymore. He was getting used to it. In fact, he was beginning to find it endearing.
“Enough about me, though.” She ringed her glass of fruity cocktail with her hands. “Tell me about your hobbies. You have any?”
“Women,” he threw, taking a long gulp of Budweiser. That was the best he could do.
She clicked her heels below the table. “That’s not a hobby.”
“It is to me.” Angling for a bigger sip this time, Grant got that nervous feeling again.
“Of course it is,” She gave her attention to the band. “Although, I’m assuming that when you said women, you didn’t mean talking to them. Because you clearly don’t excel at it.”
“I don’t have to. A simple, ‘Wanna do the deed?’ works most of the time.”
Eve didn’t look shocked, but she flinched. “I wonder why anyone would want to date you,” she muttered, under her breath, reddening.
“You tell me.” He pointed a sharp gaze at her. “What’s the point of this? Sipping stupid cocktails and pretending to be interested in each other’s lives. I don’t give a fuck about your hobbies or your kids. I just want to fuck you. Why don’t we cut the chase short and get between the sheets already?”
Eve hissed, collecting her purse. “Fine. If you’re not interested in doing this, let’s just go home.”
Grant popped to his feet and lent her his arm. “I’m guessing it’s my house we’re heading to.”
He flashed his teeth in a charming smile.
“You’re incorrigible!” She threw her hands in exasperation and trotted away.
He waited.
If she felt even half the attraction he felt towards her, she wouldn’t be able to walk away. Not tonight.
Predictably, she was back at the table a minute later. Nobody escaped Grant Star. Sometimes his sex appeal even surprised him.
“Changed your mind?” Grant coaxed, with a smug grin.
“No.” Her eyes burned a hole through his skull. “I forgot to pay my share of the bill...a fiesta burger, a Cosmo and mozzarella sticks....”
She studied the menu for the price and extracted the exact change from her purse. “Thirty-five dollars.”
“We never agreed to split the bill.” Knowing her, he didn’t expect his words to make any difference.
She pulled up the neck of her top. “I never agreed to let you pay, either.”
“It wouldn’t hurt you to be gracious sometimes.”
“There’s nothing gracious about letting a man pay for me.” Crossing him, she sat back down and waited for the server to bring them the check. Probably trying to make sure that he didn’t pay everything himself.
“I still consider this a date.” He tipped the w
aiter who cleared away the table. Honestly, he wondered sometimes whether sex with Eve was going to be worth all the time and effort he was investing into it. It had better be. “Which means we have only two more to go until the three date rule goes out of effect.”
Aghast, she skated her palm over the smooth edge of the table.
“I don’t have a three date rule. I have an after-marriage rule.” The words were firm.
Grant forgot to swallow. She didn’t really mean that, did she?
“Come on, you wouldn’t have a rule like that. I thought you believed in feminism and equality. Sex after marriage is...” He looked for a word that would hit her in the right spot. “...patriarchal. Outdated. Anti-feminist.”
He tried to come up with more big-sounding words as panic hit him. It felt like something was slipping away from him. Something he didn’t want to let go of.
“It’s what I want.” Eve held determination in her tone. “But to be clear, I don’t want to marry you or anything. I just meant...we’re not going to do it...well, it doesn’t matter now. I think this is going to be our last date.”
Zipping her Louis Vuitton tote hastily, she moved one foot away from the table when her phone went off, and its ringtone cut through the noise of rock music.
Glancing at the caller ID, she pressed her cellphone to her ear and murmured a concerned “Hello.”
The chatter coming through was faint but hurried.
“Are you okay? You’re not hurt anywhere?” Eve grasped her phone tight.
The crow’s feet around her eyes intensified. Grant squashed the crazy urge to touch those lines on her face, feel their texture, watch her eyes widen when she reacted to his touch.
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