I pull my shoulders protectively up to my neck. It’s not like I have a choice in the matter. I have no education, like Mom is always reminding me, and I get good healthcare. So I steer the conversation back to the landscaping company and ask Jace how he likes working outside all day.
“I love it,” he confesses. “The fresh air, the sun and the sweat? I could never function in an office.”
I have to admit the rest of my evening is enjoyable, and I stay much too late at the bar getting to know Jace better. He’s never inappropriate—not even his hand wanders when I pick up my purse and move to the barstool next to him.
Strangely, though, I wish he would make a move. He’s thick and stocky, like he could pick me up without trying too hard. His dark hair has a cute wave to it. When the bartender tells us it’s last call, Jace pays the bill, even for my wings earlier.
“It’s the least I can do for the way we all treated you. Plus, that job on Work Street is paying well enough.”
A warm feeling bubbles up inside me. “Thank you.”
When we get up, I almost expect him to invite me back to his place. Would I want that if he did?
I call an Uber, and Jace insists on waiting with me for it to show up. I think I like him. I think I’m disappointed he didn’t try to do more tonight. But maybe he’s not interested in me like that, and this was just a very kind apology.
Still, I can’t help but feel there’s more to it. Am I imagining that electric energy between us, something that feels bigger than just politeness?
The Uber finally pulls up, but I signal to the driver to hold on. I want to know if Jace is vibing with me the way I am with him.
“Jace?” I ask.
A grin lights up his face. “Yeah?”
“Do you want to, um... do this again?”
He has a hopeful look that reminds me of a puppy. “Yes! I mean, yes, if you do.” He takes my hand in his. “Tiff, would you go out on a date with me?”
A pulse of excitement radiates out from the place he’s holding my hand. “I would love to.”
There’s plenty of beer coursing through my veins right now, so I don’t think twice before I rise on my toes and kiss him. I probably should have asked first, but it suddenly doesn’t seem like a problem when Jace wraps his arms fiercely around my waist, pulling me against him.
He doesn’t try to stick his tongue down my throat like the last guy I went out with. Instead, he tastes my lower lip, taunting it, savoring it. His thick body, with that strong chest and taut belly, presses against mine, and it triggers a mountain of filthy thoughts. I wonder what he would feel like without clothes between us?
His hand travels down my back, pausing just above my ass, and I wish he’d venture even lower. Heat bubbles up inside me, ready to boil over the top. It feels like both forever and only a second passes before he pulls away. I’m breathing heavily, and I can feel the impatience rolling off my Uber driver.
Eventually, I slide into the car, but Jace takes out his phone.
“Number?” he asks. I hastily list it off to him through the open window, and he gives me his before the car drives off.
When I finally make it home, my whole body is buzzing. That was only a taste, a hint, of what could happen between us, and I’m intoxicated by the idea of what might happen next. I’d love to breathe in even more of that wonderful scent of his, to feel those hands wander over the rest of my body.
I wonder whether he’ll make an advance next time we go out. Would a guy as sweet, sexy, and smart as Jace want to go all the way with me?
By the time I get in bed, I can’t think about anything but Jace shirtless and sweating under the morning sun. I wonder what it would be like if he were on top of me, how his bare skin would feel under my hands. If his kiss was any indication, he knows what to do with his mouth and tongue—and that triggers even filthier daydreams. I imagine his lips wrapped around my nipple or, even better, around my clit.
My hips rock at the thought, and I know what I have to do if I’m going to get any sleep tonight. When I pull out my vibrator, I imagine the long shaft is Jace’s instead. What would his cock look like? While picturing him kneeling between my legs, I lube up the vibrator and gently work it through my swollen, wet folds. All it takes is closing my eyes to see Jace there, sliding inside me.
I’m halfway to my orgasm before I can blink, ripples of pleasure echoing across my body. In my fantasy, Jace leans down to kiss me, just like he did tonight. I push the vibrator deeper and stroke it in and out, just like I imagine Jace would fuck me. But where the toy is hard and unforgiving, he would be soft and thick in all the right ways.
Fuck. All my muscles go tight as a drawn string as I climb higher and higher until finally, I break. I’m glad I have my apartment to myself as I can’t hold in a sharp cry. This is better than any orgasm I’ve had in a long time.
I withdraw the vibrator, panting, and lie there boneless for a good few minutes. Jeez, I only kissed Jace and I’m already thinking about him like this? I’m hopeless. And maybe desperate.
Feeling a shadow of shame that I just masturbated while thinking about a guy I barely know, I clean the toy in the sink and put it away, then climb into bed, wondering what it would feel like to curl up next to him under the blankets after he fucked me silly.
I hope I get to find out.
Chapter Four