Beautiful Player
Page 19
We both snapped around at the sound of a voice. “Will!”
I glanced from the perky redhead jogging toward us, to Will, and back again.
“Hey!” he said awkwardly, waving as she passed.
She turned to run backward, calling out to him, “Don’t forget to call me. You owe me a Tuesday.” She gave him a flirty little smile before continuing down the path.
I waited for an explanation but none came. Will’s jaw was tight, his eyes no longer smiling as he focused on the trail ahead of us.
“She was pretty,” I offered.
Will nodded.
“Was she a friend?”
“Yeah. That’s Kitty. We . . . hang out.”
Hang out. Right. I spent enough time on college campuses to know that ninety-five percent of the time the phrase hanging out was boy-code for doing it.
“So, not someone you would introduce as a girlfriend.”
His eyes shot to mine. “No,” he said, looking almost as if I’d offended him. “Definitely not a girlfriend.”
We walked in silence for a few moments and I looked back over my shoulder, understanding dawning. She was a nongirlfriend. “Her boobs were . . . wow. She clearly knows Jesus.”
Will completely cracked up and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. “Let’s just say finding religion cost her a lot of money.”Later, when we were done, and Will was stretching on the ground next to me, reaching for his toes, I peeked over at him and said, “So I have this thing tonight.” And then I winced.
Beneath his track pants I could see the pop of muscles in his thigh and so almost missed it when he repeated, “A thing?”
“Yeah. It’s sort of a work . . . thing? Well, not really. Like, a social mixer, an interdepartmental thing. I never go to these, but in the spirit of not dying alone surrounded by feral cats, I figured I’d give it a go. It’s Thursday night so I’m sure it’s not going to be that wild.”
He laughed, shaking his head as he switched his position.
“It’s at Ding Dong Lounge.” I paused, chewing my lip. “Seriously, is that a made-up name?”
“No, it’s a place over on Columbus.” Reaching up, he scratched his stubbly jaw, thinking. “Not far from my office actually. Max and I go there sometimes.”
“Well, a bunch of my coworkers are going, and this time when they asked if I was going I said I was, and now I realize that I totally have to at least pop in and see what it’s about, and who knows, maybe it could be fun.”
He peeked up at me through his thick lashes. “Did you even breathe during that entire sentence?”
“Will.” I stared him down. “Will you come tonight?”
He snickered, shaking his head as he looked down, stretching.
It took me a beat to understand why he was laughing. “Ugh, pervert.” I groaned, shoving his shoulder. “You know what I mean. Will you come with me?”
He looked up at the sound of me smacking my forehead.
“Oh my God, that’s worse. Just text me if you’re interested in coming.” I winced, turning to walk down the trail toward my apartment building and basically wanting the trail to crack open and transport me to Narnia. “Forget it!”
“I like it when you ask me to come!” he called after me. “I can’t wait to come tonight, Ziggy! Should I come around eight? Or do you want me to come around ten? Maybe I’ll come both times?”
I flipped him the bird, and kept moving away down the trail. Thank God he couldn’t see my smile.
CHAPTER FOUR
My legs burned from sitting at my computer all day, and beyond that I had a wild itch to get to the Ding Dong Lounge—never thought I’d say that—pull up beside Ziggs at the bar and just . . . relax. It had been a long time since I’d had so much fun with a woman without getting naked.
Unfortunately for me, the more time I spent with Ziggy, the more I wanted it to morph into something that involved being naked. Which felt like a cop-out, like my brain and body wanted to fall back on the familiar comfort of sex over emotional depth. Ziggy pushed me, even if she didn’t know it; she made me think about everything from why I did my job to why I kept sleeping with women I didn’t love. It had been forever since I’d felt like I wanted to take over someone’s sexual history, completely overwrite it with my hands and dick and mouth. But with Ziggy, I couldn’t tell if that was because sex would somehow be easier than the way she had my brain all twisted, or if it was because I wanted her to twist me in other ways entirely.
I glanced from the perky redhead jogging toward us, to Will, and back again.
“Hey!” he said awkwardly, waving as she passed.
She turned to run backward, calling out to him, “Don’t forget to call me. You owe me a Tuesday.” She gave him a flirty little smile before continuing down the path.
I waited for an explanation but none came. Will’s jaw was tight, his eyes no longer smiling as he focused on the trail ahead of us.
“She was pretty,” I offered.
Will nodded.
“Was she a friend?”
“Yeah. That’s Kitty. We . . . hang out.”
Hang out. Right. I spent enough time on college campuses to know that ninety-five percent of the time the phrase hanging out was boy-code for doing it.
“So, not someone you would introduce as a girlfriend.”
His eyes shot to mine. “No,” he said, looking almost as if I’d offended him. “Definitely not a girlfriend.”
We walked in silence for a few moments and I looked back over my shoulder, understanding dawning. She was a nongirlfriend. “Her boobs were . . . wow. She clearly knows Jesus.”
Will completely cracked up and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. “Let’s just say finding religion cost her a lot of money.”Later, when we were done, and Will was stretching on the ground next to me, reaching for his toes, I peeked over at him and said, “So I have this thing tonight.” And then I winced.
Beneath his track pants I could see the pop of muscles in his thigh and so almost missed it when he repeated, “A thing?”
“Yeah. It’s sort of a work . . . thing? Well, not really. Like, a social mixer, an interdepartmental thing. I never go to these, but in the spirit of not dying alone surrounded by feral cats, I figured I’d give it a go. It’s Thursday night so I’m sure it’s not going to be that wild.”
He laughed, shaking his head as he switched his position.
“It’s at Ding Dong Lounge.” I paused, chewing my lip. “Seriously, is that a made-up name?”
“No, it’s a place over on Columbus.” Reaching up, he scratched his stubbly jaw, thinking. “Not far from my office actually. Max and I go there sometimes.”
“Well, a bunch of my coworkers are going, and this time when they asked if I was going I said I was, and now I realize that I totally have to at least pop in and see what it’s about, and who knows, maybe it could be fun.”
He peeked up at me through his thick lashes. “Did you even breathe during that entire sentence?”
“Will.” I stared him down. “Will you come tonight?”
He snickered, shaking his head as he looked down, stretching.
It took me a beat to understand why he was laughing. “Ugh, pervert.” I groaned, shoving his shoulder. “You know what I mean. Will you come with me?”
He looked up at the sound of me smacking my forehead.
“Oh my God, that’s worse. Just text me if you’re interested in coming.” I winced, turning to walk down the trail toward my apartment building and basically wanting the trail to crack open and transport me to Narnia. “Forget it!”
“I like it when you ask me to come!” he called after me. “I can’t wait to come tonight, Ziggy! Should I come around eight? Or do you want me to come around ten? Maybe I’ll come both times?”
I flipped him the bird, and kept moving away down the trail. Thank God he couldn’t see my smile.
CHAPTER FOUR
My legs burned from sitting at my computer all day, and beyond that I had a wild itch to get to the Ding Dong Lounge—never thought I’d say that—pull up beside Ziggs at the bar and just . . . relax. It had been a long time since I’d had so much fun with a woman without getting naked.
Unfortunately for me, the more time I spent with Ziggy, the more I wanted it to morph into something that involved being naked. Which felt like a cop-out, like my brain and body wanted to fall back on the familiar comfort of sex over emotional depth. Ziggy pushed me, even if she didn’t know it; she made me think about everything from why I did my job to why I kept sleeping with women I didn’t love. It had been forever since I’d felt like I wanted to take over someone’s sexual history, completely overwrite it with my hands and dick and mouth. But with Ziggy, I couldn’t tell if that was because sex would somehow be easier than the way she had my brain all twisted, or if it was because I wanted her to twist me in other ways entirely.
