by Hope Stone
Now I’ve engaged in plenty of flirtations. I’ve seen the batted eyelashes, the hair twirled around a finger, the coy smile, but I had never had a girl wink at me. And for some reason, that half-second movement from Claire made my stomach drop right to the floor.
She was too good to resist.
I stood up and followed her as she whisked Kim away. All the while Trey was mopping up his shirt, so he never actually saw Claire. It was expertly done.
Once we were out on the sidewalk, we speedwalked until we were a few blocks away. Then Kim let out a big whoop.
“Fuck, that felt good!” she said. “I’ve always wanted to throw my drink at a guy!”
“You killed it,” Claire said. “Looked like you’d done it a million times.”
The girls high-fived, and I couldn’t help but grin. Kim had been a true showstopper, but my eyes kept lingering on Claire’s face and the way her button nose scrunched up when she smiled.
I had rules about never going for the women who made me feel too much. The ones who stirred up blind desire. That was reckless. That kind of desire had led to the mess with Sara.
But if Claire was going to wear that dark red dress and do things like wink sassily at me while she said something badass, I was going to throw every single rule out the window.
“You get what you need?” Kim asked.
“I got more than enough,” Claire said. “Thanks again for all your help, this is my new record for tying up a case.”
I stiffened. Claire spoke with a tone of finality as she patted her bag. As if she was getting ready to call it a night. Go home. Tie up her case. And I would never see her again.
As if she read my thoughts, Kim grabbed Claire’s arm.
“Well then you have got to let me buy you a drink,” Kim said. “You’ve got a new record, and I’m newly single, that’s worth celebrating.”
Claire chewed on her bottom lip as she considered.
“Come on,” Kim begged. “You have to at least have one drink out of pity for the poor girl who got duped by an asshole. I never would have figured it out if not for you.”
“Ok, just one drink,” Claire said with a laugh.
Kim jumped up and down and squealed in excitement. “Ok, let me call a car to take us to Hive. I need to dance.”
Claire’s eyes widened when Kim mentioned one of the biggest clubs in La Playa, but she didn’t turn away.
“You would have figured Trey out,” Claire said. “And it wouldn’t have taken you very long.”
“Probably,” Kim said with a shrug.
Kim knew the bouncer at Hive, so we were able to cut the line and buy drinks in no time.
I tried not to stare, but I couldn’t help but notice the way Claire’s pale face seemed to shimmer beneath the disco lights. And the way she scanned the room with an excited gleam in her eye, as if anything could happen at any moment, and she would be ready to leap into action.
When she reached up to push her hair off the back of her neck, I was tempted to run my finger down her nape, just to feel how smooth her skin was.
After one round, Kim declared it was time to dance. She strutted out towards the dance floor like she owned it. Within minutes, she was dancing with an eager guy.
“Is she always the life of the party?” Claire asked me.
“Dunno,” I said, liking the way she leaned in towards me as if we were co-conspirators. “I haven’t gone out with her a ton.”
“Well, I think she’s amazing,” Claire said. “And she deserves this after Trey.”
Her mouth flattened into a frown when she mentioned Trey. I wanted to make her forget him. I wanted to make her forget every guy that wasn’t me.
It occurred to me that she could have a boyfriend. In fact, it was likely she did. But then, on the off chance she was single, I had to try my luck.
“Wanna dance?” I asked.
“Sure,” Claire said. She hopped down from the barstool and followed me towards the floor.
“I should warn you, I’m a terrible dancer,” she said.
“Me too,” I said.
She was not a terrible dancer. She just didn’t dance like other women. First off, she didn’t even try to be sexy. There was no sensual wiggling of her hips or gyrating. Instead, Claire just danced however she wanted. She jumped and twirled and spun her arms around and laughed.
Claire wasn’t trying to be anything besides who she was. It was the sexiest thing I had ever seen.
I couldn’t take my eyes off her small but wiry form. I wanted to trace the indent of her waist with my hand and run my other hand along the curve of her muscled upper arms.
But I didn’t. I kept my distance. I grabbed her hand to twirl her and, when she didn’t let go, I twirled her again. One song bled into another, and eventually she edged closer and closer to me. I got more and more lost in the way her eyes flashed when she looked up at me. There was something there, I could tell.
Then she was only inches away, and I gripped her back with my hand while we spun. Like it was as easy as breathing, she draped her arms over my shoulders while my other hand found her waist.
We danced like that for a while before having another round of drinks. Kim tracked us down at one point, and we all danced together, but I didn’t plan on leaving Claire’s side. She seemed ok with that.
It was on the wrong side of midnight when the three of us exited onto the sidewalk. Kim had danced with a bunch of people and even made out with a guy in the bathroom, but she wasn’t going home with anyone. She was not the type of girl who needed to fuck a rando to get over a guy.
“Claire!” Kim squealed. “You’re the best, and I love you.”
She wrapped her arms around Claire and hugged her. Given that Kim was at least six inches taller than Claire even without her heels, I was concerned that Claire was going to get squished. Kim had definitely taken a tequila shot or two with her dance partners.
“Thanks,” Claire said. “You’re the best too!”
Claire then helped Kim call a car. Kim waved goodbye to us one last time before departing.
So it was just me and Claire, alone on the sidewalk. The music from inside the club throbbed behind us, but the crowds were a distant memory. The world shrunk to the two of us, beneath a streetlight’s glow.
“Fun night,” I said.
Claire nodded. She looked at the ground and then glanced up at me from beneath her lashes.
“You want to split a car?” she asked.
She had no clue where I lived, and I didn’t know where she lived. For all we knew, we could be on opposite ends of La Playa.
But there was no way in hell I was saying no to her.
“Sure,” I said.
Claire asked with my address and then fiddled with her rideshare app for a few seconds. “It’ll be here in five minutes.”
A bevy of giggling women stumbling out of the club’s side door made us move up against the wall. As the women tumbled into cars and disappeared, I stepped closer to Claire.
I hadn’t known her long, but I knew that she was fearless and bold. And yet as I lifted my hand to touch her jaw, I moved with agonizing slowness, like she was a scared animal likely to bolt.
Maybe I was the one who was scared.
As my fingers rested just near her ear, she lifted her chin and locked her eyes on mine. At that moment, I knew that she wanted me just as much as I wanted her.
I leaned down, and she raised herself on her tiptoes so that our lips met. I pressed gently at first, but then she did this little gasp. Just a quick intake of breath, but I couldn’t hold back.
I deepened the kiss and ran my tongue between her lips. She wrapped her arms around my neck and pressed her entire body against my torso, making it so I was the one gasping with desire. My entire body caught on fire as I gripped her waist with one hand and moved my other hand lower, just above the curve of her ass.
The buzz of her phone made her pull away. I clenched my teeth so I didn’t growl out a curse.
Eight
Claire
I told myself it did not mean anything that Pin was the best kisser I had ever encountered.
Some guys were good at kissing. So what? It didn’t mean that he was different or special than any other hook up. And he was totally a guy to hook up with. That’s it.
We slid into the backseat of the car in silence, but the air seemed to crackle between us. Because, Jesus Christ, he was a good kisser.
As a rule, I don’t like PDA. I’m the type of girl who keeps her head. But as soon as his lips brushed mine, I forgot everything. I forgot we were on the sidewalk outside of a club, which is such a painfully cliche place to make out. I forgot that he was a biker from the wrong side of town who probably had like five biker chicks on rotation.
I was only consumed with the flames of desire coursing through my blood as he pulled me tighter with a grip that was somehow strong as iron yet gentle.
I looked at him out of the corner of my eye. Our thighs were a good ten inches apart, and yet I was aching with the desire to throw myself into his lap.
When he caught me looking at him, I quickly turned my head toward my phone. We were about five minutes from my place. I had put in his address as well. This whole night could end in five minutes. I didn’t have to be thrown for a loop by his spellbinding kisses. But then, I wouldn’t get to kiss him again. And I really wanted to kiss him.
I scoffed at my longing. I didn’t even know him. A laugh escaped my mouth.
“What?” Pin asked.
I shook my head and turned to him with wide eyes. “I just realized I don’t even know your real name.”
“Pin is a real name,” he said.
I clapped my mouth shut. I forgot how serious he took his biker club. I shouldn’t have disrespected his biker name.
I breathed a sigh of relief as he flashed me a kind smile.
“But my other name is Gabriel,” he said. “Gabriel Gallegos.”
“Gabriel,” I repeated. It suited him in a way. It was old fashioned and solid. Masculine but with a touch of class.
“I like it,” I said. “But I think I like Pin better.”
His face erupted in a smile so genuine that my heart started beating twice as fast. When had I become so soft and girly? When had I started obsessing over the way a man smiled?
I had friends who were like this. Who would describe the play by play of meeting a guy as if it was an epic saga? I always hid my eye-rolls. Because could one guy really be all that interesting? Could he be more thrilling than backpacking across Europe? Or living in a van in Alaska for a year? Or going undercover as a spy? Or one of the other thousand things I wanted to try in my life?
No. One guy could not be all that. He could not be my be-all, end-all.
It just so happened that maybe Pin was all that for this one night. Maybe. I glanced at him again. His knee was jiggling up and down in a restless motion.
I reached out and placed my hand atop his thigh. It was the first touch since our kiss had ended. He froze. When he looked at me, I lost my breath due to the intensity in his eyes.
The car pulled to a stop.
“This is me,” I said. “Do you wanna come up?”
His nod was quick and resolute. In times of uncertainty, I acted on instinct. It’s what made me a good PI. My instincts had gotten me out of tight spots more times than I could count.
It felt good to let go and just trust my gut.
I was almost shy as I led the way into my apartment. Most of the guys I hooked up with were business types from La Playa. I had never so much as chatted with a biker. His world had to be so different from mine.
He looked at my decor with interest. I mostly had maps. World maps, city maps. A schematic of the greater LA area. A California road map. I liked to think about how big the world was. But wall art didn’t hold his attention for long.
I stood in the middle of the room and looked up at him. He was three feet away, but somehow I felt his eyes assessing me. For once, I was at a loss for what to say. I usually had a quippy comment or a joke, but when faced with Pin, I drew a complete blank.
I didn’t need to speak though. He closed the distance between us in one stride, and we were kissing with a fervor. I pressed myself against his firm chest and tipped my neck back to give him easy access to my lips, but the contact wasn’t enough. I wanted more.
As if he read my thoughts, Pin placed one hand under my bottom and pulled me up. I wrapped my legs around his waist. The skirt of my dress slid up my thighs in a satisfying rush of silk. I grinned when I realized that his kisses were even better when our faces were at the same level.
He moved his lips away from my mouth and to my neck. I gasped in excitement as he expertly tickled the skin just below my ear. I wasn’t shy anymore. I wanted one thing: him.
His palms burned an imprint on my back, and yet I craved more. I wanted to feel his hands all over me. I captured his lips again and tried to pour all my yearning into my kiss. He let out a small groan of desire that thrilled me to my core, and then took a step forward.
He was stronger than I had realized. He wasn’t overly muscled, but he had a wiry form, as if he was all leather and iron instead of skin and bone.
“Bed?” he muttered. “Where is it?”
I pulled away, catching my breath.
“Through that door,” I said with a nod in the right direction.
In three long strides, he was kicking open my door, stepping into the darkness of my bedroom.
“Careful,” I giggled. “Don’t drop me.”
“I would never.” His words were mumbled, deep and sensual, into the hollow of my collarbone.
I squirmed with pleasure at just the sound of his voice. I had it bad for him, that was certain. I released his hips from my legs and hopped out of his arms.
He made a little humph of displeasure, but I wanted the lights on for this. I flicked the lamp beside my bed on and turned to look at him, illuminated in the soft glow. My breath hitched as I took in his hooded eyes, dazed with masculine desire. All for me.
I locked my eyes with his and didn’t blink as I slipped the straps of my dress off my shoulders, letting it tumble to the floor in a burgundy heap. I kicked off my shoes and stepped toward him, clad in only my black bra and underwear.
His eyes roved over my body, savoring every single inch as I closed the distance. I shivered with anticipation as he grinned when I started unbuttoning his shirt. He reached down to the buckle of his pants, but I swatted his hands away. I wanted to undress him myself.
I thought he might be confused, but his smile only widened. His chest was the same tanned brown as his face, but it had a soft thatch of dark hair. I skimmed my fingers down over his hard stomach and slipped them beneath the waistband of his jeans.
Then his hands were on me. One gripped my bare back, and the other placed on my ribcage, just below the hem of my bra. I kissed him again while I undid his belt buckle.
He let out something like a growl as his pants fell to the floor and then pushed me back towards the bed. I smiled. He wanted to take control. I could work with that. Something told me that he was going to be very good at this.
We tumbled onto the bed, and he rolled onto his back. In an instant, I was straddling him. His hands fell to my hips as if they belonged there.
I sat still and just looked down at him, taking him in. His skin seemed to glow with need, and his hair had long since fallen out of the neat side-part. He lifted his hips and shifted me, my mouth opening in delight as I felt the evidence of his want. He was so hard for me.
I leaned down and kissed him again. As I did, he started to pull my underwear down. I was about to ask him exactly how he planned to get them off of me while I was atop him, but before I could speak, he flipped me over onto my back, now on to. Without even thinking, I raised my hips so he could dispose of the un
derwear.
His lips skimmed over my skin. My neck, my shoulder, the hollow of my clavicle. He nudged at my bra and I suddenly grew desperate with impatience. I pushed him up just slightly and unclasped my bra, casting it to the side as quickly as I could.
I gripped his torso to pull him back onto me, arching my back with a sigh as his mouth found my right nipple. He licked and sucked with eagerness, even as his fingers expertly fondled my other breast.
I slid my hands down his back, enjoying the feel of his firm muscles, until I reached his boxer shorts. I yanked at the elastic and pushed my hand underneath the waistband. I wanted to feel how hard he was.
He let out a groan against my breast as I slid my hand up and down his solid length. He wanted me badly, and my pussy throbbed with longing, already sopping wet for him. I pushed my hips up against his, encouraging him to take me then and there. Instead, he moved down, skimming his lips over my stomach until he reached my satin folds.
His tongue flicked my clit, and even as I whimpered in pleasure, I didn’t want him to feel obligated.
“Pin, you don’t have to,” I gasped.
“Be quiet,” he said. “I’ve been thinking of doing this all night.”
Flames erupted deep inside me at his words, and I lost all ability to speak as he sucked and licked with mounting intensity. Wave after wave of ecstasy washed over me until I was gasping for breath. I moaned and even begged. I would have been ashamed at how much I screamed for satisfaction, but I couldn’t think of anything but Pin and the way he was kissing and touching me.
I felt myself rising to a climax and I wove my fingers through his thick hair. His hands tightened on my thighs, as if he was determined to keep me close to him even as I bucked in physical delight.
“Oh God.” I moaned. “I’m so close.”
When I orgasmed, I saw stars. Pleasure coursed through my body as I rode the sensations higher and higher, lost in the sexual ecstasy.
That’s what I had wanted, all night as I had danced with Pin. I didn’t want to think about how he might bore me in a week, or consider how wise it was to hook up with a biker. I just wanted to chase the feeling of intimacy and sexual pleasure.