Page 21 of Bang Buddies With Benefits
“Thisishow you try it,” he argued. “Why don’t you just mind your own business while I attend to mine?Ifthe Serrano sisters and I sign a contract, then I’ll ask for your lawyer-y input.”
“Not if I strangle you first,” I fired back.
“With all these witnesses, it should be an open and shut case.”
Had I seriously just declared this enjoyable? The bursts of heat coursing through my veins called me a liar, whispering that this was all part of the fun. And since I gave as good as I got and refused to let him have the last word, I said, “Yeah, well, I’m going to have to start charging my hourly fee if you’re going to be this difficult during our”—I made air quotes—“business lunch.”
“Don’t act like you’re not constantly coming back for more.” He skimmed his hand up my leg, beneath my skirt until his pinky was mere inches from the elastic of my thong. One quick squeeze, and a tingly streak of electricity shot straight to my sex, where it lingered and throbbed and made it next-to-impossible to sit still and act unaffected.
“Right back at you,” I said, but my voice came out breathier than it was supposed to.
Keeping his hand clamped around my thigh, he added a drop of water from the pipette Luciana had placed on the drink tray. Something about it “opening up the whiskey” as though it were as emotionally shut off as he and I were.
“Thoughts?” I probed on behalf of the Serrano sisters as he sipped the contents. Why did vulnerability always have to accompany the sharing of something you loved? Now I cared too much about the answer, my nerves prickling as I anxiously awaited his answer.
“You drank yours too fast.” He set the half-empty glass on the table. “You should’ve savored it, the way a good whiskey should be savored.”
I exhaled that wasted puff of bated breath, shaking my head as I muttered, “This is what I get for asking.”
A crooked smile spread across Zac’s face as he reached up and flicked my earring. Desire zinged, corkscrewing its way from that ear and down my core, causing the now-aching spot between my thighs to flare that much stronger. “I like that you always wear those big rattly earrings, so that whenever you shake your head at me, it emphasizes your dismay. You’re an entire soundtrack, kitty-cat.”
This time, I didn’t hold back the hiss, which okay, might’ve accidently proved his point. “I’ve been meaning to talk to you about using that term of endearment on me.”
“Mm-hmm,” Zac murmured as he moved his mouth to my ear and used the tip of his tongue to flick the earring. Words turned hazy, as did my thoughts, and I accidentally leaned my head to the side to give him better access to my neck.
“I’m…serious.” The low purr that came out as he sank his teeth into my earlobe undermined my statement, and it was a good thing my bra was heavily padded, or else everyone in the restaurant would see how aroused the sexy devil had left me. One side of me silently begged for his fingers to drift to where I longed for them to go, while the miniature haloed bitch on my shoulder whispered that our food might arrive at any moment. “Penny and Ellie are the only people allowed to—”
“Catalina?” Like a bucketful of ice water on a wintery day, my entire body convulsed at the familiar voice, and I immediately jolted upright in my seat. With visual confirmation that yes, yes that was my mom, and she’d just caught me making out with a boy, panic jumped into the fray, my internal organs all racing in opposite directions in an attempt to escape.
The muscles in Zac’s arm twitched and jerked as he struggled to free his hand from beneath the hem of my skirt without exposing any more of my legs—fingers crossed the table did a good job hiding that fact—and getting caught all indisposed like this was starting to become a whole friggin’ thing.
9
Catalina
Mamá devolved into Spanish, a clashing amalgamation of affection at running into me and scolding over not having seen or heard from me for so long. At her side, Tia Yolanda helped her dish it out—as if Mamá had ever required help on that front.
Then they both paused as they registered the guy at my side. For a beat or two, they merely stared, as though frozen in the headlights of an oncoming truck they weren’t sure whether to dodge or embrace.
“Pardon,” Mamá said. “It looks like we’re interrupting a meeting. Are you a client of Catalina’s?”
Embarrassment flooded me in a fiery flash, and I threw my hand over my heated face, as if that’d help. “Ay de mí, Mamá. Zac’s not a criminal. He’s… a friend. Of mine.”
Underneath the table, he tapped my knee with the back of his hand, as if to tell me I’d botched that greeting as badly as I suspected. It wasn’t like I didn’t immediately realize “of mine” was a weird thing to tack on. The corners of his eyes crinkled at my expense, and I’d feel bad for what he was about to be subjected to if his amusement hadn’t earned him a big fat helping of karma.
My mother and my aunt plopped themselves in the two free seats opposite us and began their two-pronged interrogation. They asked Zac what he did for work and pressed for details on his family and how long he’d known me, not bothering to pause for the answers, their eyebrows inching higher with each question.
His gaze volleyed between them, his forehead crinkling as he struggled to keep up.
I let it go on for a beat or two, because like I said, karma. Plus, with the shoe on my foot, I found I rather liked being the highly entertained one. Eventually, I stretched out a finger and ran it over the back of the hand he’d curled around the vinyl seat of the booth. “What do you say now? Need your lawyer to step in and take care of things yet?”
He opened his mouth, and I arched an eyebrow to warn him his response better be nice.
But before he could reply, Mamá’s eyes lit up in a way that set my spine painfully straight. “Gloria a Dios! You’re finally dating again.”
Yolanda beamed and pressed her hands into prayer position. I wasn’t sure if she was thanking or calling upon the angels, but it was unnecessary as it was humiliating.
I waved my hands, desperately trying to distract them from the misguided conclusion they’d leapt to. “Seriously, you two? Less than a minute ago, Mamá accused Zac of being a criminal, and now you’re turning us into way more than we are.”
