She crossed her arms over her chest and pursed her lips, her signature move with me. “I own plenty of relaxed clothing, but this was what I wanted to wear today.”
I rolled my eyes at her. “Look, I just came by to make sure no one had bothered you.”
“I’m fine, as I told you I would be.”
I nodded and turned to go, but her voice stopped me.
“Why do you care about what I wear? You don’t even like me.”
I turned and looked her over again. She looked good, I couldn’t deny it. This woman would look good in a potato sack.
“You look good, I just wondered if you knew how to let loose. You’re always so buttoned up. You don’t let down your hair. You follow the law to the fucking letter and you correct people’s grammar. Don’t you know how to have fun?”
“Despite what you may think, you know very little about me. Didn’t your mother ever teach you not to judge people before you get to know them?”
“Care to prove it?”
“Prove what?”
“That you can break out of your shell and let your hair down.”
She stood up a little straighter and pursed her lips again. “Bring it on.”
Of course, it sounded ridiculous coming from her prim and proper, little mouth, but something about that was inexplicably sexy.
“Go get in some leggings and a long sleeve shirt with socks and tennis shoes.”
She quirked an eyebrow, but did as I asked. I pulled out my phone and made a quick call to ensure she had the time of her life. We were just about to leave ten minutes later when I noticed a problem.
“Do you have to wear your glasses to see?”
“Well, I don’t have to, but it definitely helps. Why?”
“Hmm. I don’t think we have time to get you something different.”
“I have contacts if that will help.”
“Perfect. Go put them in.”
She came back a few minutes later, blinking and rubbing at her eye.
“Everything okay?”
“Yes. I just don’t like wearing contacts if I don’t have to. They irritate my eyes.”
“Bring your glasses and lens case with. We can swap them when we’re done.”
Five minutes later we were on the road and headed out of town.
“So, where are we going?”
“You’re gonna have to wait and see.”
“Honestly, I can’t believe that I came along to prove to you that I’m not some uptight prude that doesn’t know how to have any fun.”
“If you do what I have in store for you today, I’ll stop calling you a prude.”
“Normal people just talk to one another.”
“Alright. We have about a half hour before we get to our location. I’ll ask you a question and then you get a question.”
“Fine.”
“First question. Why are you such a rule follower?”
“I don’t know. I guess the way I was raised. I wasn’t taught that it was okay to bend the rules. They’re in place for a reason.”
“Sure, but still, you’ve never gone over the speed limit even by a few miles? I mean, everyone does that.”
“I don’t. Not intentionally anyway. I always watch my speed very closely.”
“Okay, how about this. There are two rooms left at a hotel and you have three people. Both rooms have an occupancy limit of two. Do you tell the hotel that you have three people and pay for two rooms or do you sneak the third person in?”
“I tell them we have three people. It’s not that I don’t want to save money, it just wouldn’t occur to me to lie about something like that.”
“Why?”
“What if there was a fire? If you were trapped in that room, the firemen would only be looking for two people. Like I said, the rules are there for a reason, for the safety of everyone. I can’t believe that as a cop you would question me on this.”
“It’s not that I’m against you following the rules, but you make sure every T is crossed and every I is dotted.”
“Well, I am an English teacher.”
I glanced over at her with a smirk. “Was that a joke?”
She blushed and looked away. “Okay, my turn. Why did you kiss me when you obviously hate me?”
“I don’t hate you. As for the kiss, you are every man’s fantasy.”
When she didn’t say anything, I looked over and saw her chewing on her lower lip, her eyebrows scrunched as she looked off in thought. A moment later she turned to me.
“I don’t understand.”
“The fantasy? Naughty school teacher? You wear those glasses and your hair’s pulled up. You wear those tight skirts that show off your ass. Oh, come on. Don’t tell me you don’t know what you do to all those assholes you work with?”
“But..you always make fun of me for the way I dress.”
“No, I make fun of you because you have the attitude to go with it. I just think you need to loosen up a little.”
“I’m plenty loose.”
“Darlin’, I would love to have first hand knowledge of that.”
Her face turned the shade of a lobster and she quickly changed the subject. “When are we going to be there?”
“Fifteen more minutes. My turn. How many men have you been with?”
“Excuse me? I hardly think that’s an appropriate question. I hardly know you.”
“Yet, I still asked.”
She silently fidgeted, not looking at me for a few seconds. “I’ve had one boyfriend,” she finally said.
No way. She was practically a virgin. Who only slept with one man by the time they were almost thirty?
“Aren’t you like, late twenties?”
“Yes.”
“How long were you together?”
“Less than a year.”
“Damn. No wonder you’re so buttoned up. You need to release that build up. I’d be glad to help you if you need it. I’m sure your vibrator could use the rest.”
“You know, this is really not..I don’t think we should talk about this-”
“Relax. Everybody goes through a dry spell. I’ll gladly tell you my number if it’ll make you feel better.”
She turned toward me in her seat. “Fine. I have a question for you. What’s the situation with you and Vira?”
“There is no situation.”
“But you dragged her out of the bar the other night, and your friends made several comments about the two of you not being together anymore.”
“We were never together. We were fuck buddies. I wanted more and she wasn’t willing to give it. That night was a slip.”
“And how many times do you slip?”
“One other time, but she’s made it perfectly clear where she stands.”
“So, even though you’re sleeping with another woman, you’re still flirting with me and trying to get me to sleep with you. That’s the problem with relationships nowadays.”
“What is?”
“Sleeping around. Even though you know Vira doesn’t want more, you continue to sleep with her. You don’t mean anything to her, yet you don’t look for someone who would truly care for you. In the meantime, you flirt with me, leading me to believe that even if I were to sleep with you, I would never have anything real with you. That’s not what I want. I want someone that will cherish only me. I want someone that will give themselves to only me and vow that I would be their forever. Otherwise, what’s the point in giving yourself to someone?”
The cab of the truck got quiet as I digested that little rant. Was that really what was happening with Vira? Did I really mean nothing to her? I had never considered that she was only using me for sex. I always assumed that she just wouldn’t let me in because of something that had happened in the past. But if I looked at it from Lillian’s point of view, that was exactly what was happening. If I was asking for more and she wouldn’t give it, what was the point? Was she really worth a good time?
Lillian was also right that I was sending
off the wrong vibes. If a woman I barely knew could see that I was hung up on another woman, but still flirted with her, she would also know that I was using her. How could I ever really move on with another woman if it was so obvious that my heart and head weren’t available?
We drove the rest of the way in silence and arrived at the airfield ten minutes later.
“What are we doing here? Are we going somewhere?”
“We’re going up.”
✯✯✯✯✯
We were sitting in the back of the plane while the instructor got Lillian attached to me. I had been skydiving many times, so I was comfortable with Lillian tandem jumping with me. Lillian looked a little nervous and hadn’t said much since we entered the airfield.
She had very willingly listened to all the instructor had to say, but I couldn’t be sure if it was because she wanted to jump or if she was determined not to back down. Now she kind of looked like she might puke.
She was now firmly strapped to the front of my body and the instructor was getting ready to open the door. He signaled a count down and I nodded, letting him know I was ready. What I wasn’t ready for was Lillian taking a running jump as soon as the door opened. My body was quickly pulled behind hers as she bolted for the door of the plane and jumped with a scream as she catapulted us into the sky.
“Holy cannoli!” She screamed as we spread our arms and legs out, catching the wind beneath us. I linked my fingers with hers, happy that she was enjoying this. I wanted to make this special for her, so I wrapped my legs around her, pulling them together and then wrapped our arms toward her chest. I twirled us around as we moved faster and faster toward the Earth.
Her peels of laughter made my chest tighten knowing that I was giving her this joy. I didn’t have much time left before I had to pull the chute, so I did a few more twirls before I flattened us out once again, allowing her to enjoy the free fall a little longer.
When our time was up, I pulled the chute and together we experienced the wonder of flying through the air for a little while. I maneuvered us to our landing site, feeling Lillian tuck her legs up as we landed. There was a guy waiting at our landing site to grab the chute and I was able to quickly unhook Lillian. She turned around with a huge smile on her face.
“That was amazing, Sean! Thank you so much!”
She jumped into my arms and laid a huge kiss on my lips that took me by surprise. When she didn’t pull back right away, I wrapped my hand around the back of her head and held her to me as I deepened the kiss. Sliding my tongue against hers, I tasted the minty flavor that still lingered from her toothpaste. I had no idea how long the kiss lasted. I was still lost in the feeling of holding her in my arms. When she pulled back, she was panting and her face was filled with desire. As with our first kiss, her fingers went to her lips, no doubt still feeling the lingering zing that electrified us.
✯✯✯✯✯
We stopped at a diner on the way back home for some lunch. While we waited for our food, I studied the woman in front of me that turned out to be quite different from what I originally thought. Sure, she was prim and proper to an extent, but she could let go. She just needed someone to have fun with.
“I may have misjudged you.”
“Really, detective. And just what exactly did you misjudge?”
My cock tightened whenever she called me detective. I imagined her in some naughty lingerie, maybe a trench coat over it, wearing a patrol hat and calling me detective. Cuffs would be involved. A strip search for sure. I shook my head to clear away the images that started running through my mind.
“You have a bit of a wild side in you.”
“Well, of course. Did you assume that because I like to dress nice and I use proper grammar that I don’t like to have fun?”
“I may have assumed that.”
“Well, I do like to have fun, when done in a safe way.”
I grinned at that. “I didn’t think you would consider skydiving as safe.”
“I’ve actually always wanted to go, but I didn’t have anyone to go with. I don’t have a lot of friends and they’re mostly work colleagues more than anything else.”
“What about people you went to college with?”
“I went to the University of Pittsburgh. It was only an hour drive, so it was cheaper to drive there than to stay on campus.”
“So you didn’t have the whole college experience.”
“No, and quite honestly, it wouldn’t have suited me.”
“You didn’t want to go to parties and get wasted? Wake up with a hangover at noon the next day and then struggle to study for the big test you had Monday morning?”
“Rule follower, remember? I wasn’t old enough to drink.”
“Not even your last year?”
“I have a summer birthday. I didn’t turn twenty-one until I graduated college.”
I nodded in understanding. Still, who didn’t want the college experience? It was part of growing up, kind of like an introduction to adulthood.
“So, tell me, detective. Why did you become a police officer?”
“Well, I went to school with absolutely no idea what I wanted to do. I studied criminal justice just because I thought it was interesting. I didn’t know what I was going to do when I graduated, but then my sister was abducted by a serial killer. I went right to the academy after she was found.”
“And now you’re a detective.”
“I made detective about two years ago.”
“What kind of detective are you?”
“Well, since we aren’t a huge department, we don’t have different divisions of investigation. If you’re a detective, you pretty much take anything handed to you.”
Our food arrived and we ate in a comfortable silence. After I paid the bill, we headed back out to my truck and I completely surprised myself.
“So, what’s it gonna take for you to agree to go out with me?”
“You mean like a date?”
“Well, I would kind of consider this our first date. I bought you a meal, we went and did something, and I got a kiss.”
She blushed as she climbed into the truck, but I didn’t let her shut the door.
“I’m waiting.”
“Sean, I had a lot of fun with you today, but trust me when I say that I’m not the girl for you.”
“Yet, there is definitely a spark between us.” I moved closer so that I was in her space. “Don’t deny it. I’ve kissed you twice now and both times felt like I was hit with an electric shock.”
Her breathing hitched when I ran the back of my hand down her face. I leaned in for another kiss, dying to taste her again, needing to feel her body respond to me. My lips brushed hers lightly and were instantly electrified. I needed more of her. I pulled her against me and ravaged her mouth, pushing my tongue in her mouth to taste the sweetness within. My hands roamed down her waist, squeezing her side and then trailing up to her breast. Right as I was about to feel the perfect swells under my palm, she pushed me away and broke our connection.
“I’m sorry, Sean. I can’t. This isn’t me.”
She turned in her seat and buckled herself in. I stood there for a moment in shock before shutting the door and walking around to my side. I couldn’t believe it. There was no denying there was something great between us, so why was she pushing me away?
I started the truck and headed back to her house. The more I thought about it, the more it bothered me.
“Why won’t you give me a chance?”
“I’m not what you’re looking for, Sean.”
“How do you know?”
“I saw the way you dragged Vira out of The Pub. That will never be me. I won’t sleep with you just because we have good chemistry.”
“What if I took you out with no expectations?”
“No expectations.” She shot me a look saying what she thought of that idea.
“I can do no expectations. We could take it one day at a time and see where it leads us.”
“But
you will eventually want something from me.”
“Lillian, there’s not a day that goes by that I don’t want you, but I am able to control myself. One date. That’s all I’m asking. I’ll take you out and we’ll have a good time. Just like today. No strings attached. No expecting more. We’ll just have fun and see if either of us wants more.”
“I have a feeling more to me and more to you is quite different.”
“Well, if we get to that point, we’ll discuss it like adults.”
I had a feeling that I was winning her over. I just needed her to agree to one more date with me. I didn’t know how this woman had gotten her perfectly manicured nails in me, but she had and I needed to see if the few kisses we’d shared were really as spectacular as I thought.
“One date?” she asked.
“One date.”
CHAPTER TEN
Lillian and Sean
LILLIAN
I couldn’t believe that I had agreed to go out on a date with Sean. He was so sexy, and he was right, I couldn’t deny that there was something between us. But he didn’t know exactly how inexperienced I was. When he asked me about my sexual history, I was vague enough to make him think that I had a little experience. I didn’t know why, but I wasn’t ready for him to know I was a virgin. He obviously had a lot more experience than I did.
Our schedules worked well together for the most part, but he couldn’t help if he was called out on a case. We set up a date for the following weekend, which left me the whole week to stew in anxiety over my attraction for him and what I would say if he asked more questions about my sexual history. I knew I needed to be quite frank with him if he asked again. He had to know that he was dating someone that wouldn’t have casual sex, or even sex if we were in a committed relationship. I wondered how many dates it was appropriate to go on without him having that knowledge.
He called me on Friday to set up our date for the next day. All he would tell me was to dress in leggings, a sporty top, and sneakers. I didn’t think he would take me skydiving again, so I spent the rest of Friday night going over a possible list of things we could do.
Sean: A Love Triangle Romance (For The Love Of A Good Woman Book 6) Page 9