Page 12 of Shy Girls write it Better
Right?
Carter
Carter cursed under his breath when Lucy announced the arrival of the woman she not-so-affectionately liked to call the Wicked Witch of the East.Tara.He’d completely forgotten: he’d made arrangements to take her to the ballet two weeks ago.
Outings of that sort were part of their agreement: he took her on a date twice a month, and she also had a credit card he paid for.In exchange, she ensured she always was… available to him.
It sounded pretty bad, said that way, but she wasn’t a prostitute; Tara was an associate at Pierce, Norman, and Trend, a respectable law firm.She loved her career, she loved sex, and, like him, she didn’t have the time for a relationship; she also didn’t have the funds to indulge in her love for expensive shows and handbags.What they had was a win-win for all parties.
Anyway, it felt that way most of the time.Today, Carter wasn’t so sure.
Tara came in, barely sparing a glance towards Lucy, and not bothering to return her greeting.Instead, she went right to him, wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.
Carter normally reacted to her practiced lips, so he frowned, wondering why he wasn’t growing hard.It might have been her overbearing perfume.
She must have felt he wasn’t into it, because she took a step back and observed him with her keen eye.
“Let me guess,” she said, rolling her eyes.“You’d forgotten about today.”
Damn right he had, or he would have cancelled.He really wasn’t in the mood for her.
“You normally call to confirm,” he replied reproachfully.
“You’d think your secretary would keep on top of your schedule,” she retorted immediately, shifting the blame.
As she glared daggers at Lucy, suddenly acknowledging her presence, Carter wondered how he’d put up with her for three years.The responses he could come up with didn’t paint a flattering assessment of his character.
“Lucy is an executive secretary of Harris Toys, Tara.She doesn’t keep track of whom I fuck and when.Now let’s go before I change my mind.”
If he’d had half a valid excuse, he would have cancelled on her, but the only thing on his schedule would have been takeout, a walk with Buddy, and a one-on-one with his Kindle; he had three new books to read.
Three books that would have his acquaintances questioning his sexuality if they ever saw them.Teach Me If You Can, Sue Me If You CanandSave Me If You Can.
Honestly, he’d looked forward to catching up on little Cassie’s bibliography, but he wasn’t so cold as to abandon his date in favor of something he could do any day.
“What was it that you said we’d watch today?”
He all but groaned.Hehadn’t said anything, she’d been the one to request tickets to the premiere.At first, he’d assumed that she was fond of ballet, but if she couldn’t even remember what they were seeing, it was probably just because she knew there would be some press around the event.
“TheNutcracker, Tara,” he replied, just as the door of the elevator opened on the ninth floor, in front of a slender blonde whose green eyes went from his date to him, before she redirected them to the floor.
Shit.
He wasn’t sure why he felt awkward; he had absolutely no reason to – but seeing Cassie and his bedmate in the same confined space was… odd.
It made him compare the two women.Many a man might have disagreed, but in his opinion, Tara really had the short end of that stick.
Tara wore a short, tight red dress that left very little to the imagination; her long, slender legs were on display, accentuated by four inch stilettoes she had no problem working with.The garment was tight against her chest, making it obvious that the two humongous bullets sticking out, clearly disproportionate to the rest of her body, were man-made.
In contrast, Cassie was all woman, all natural, all softness.Her grey shift dress reached her knees, and while he could see a hint of the swell of her breast and the curve of her shapely ass, it wasn’t on display; the mystery made him ache to peel the layers off.Slowly.With his teeth.
Jesus H.Christ, this was becoming too close to an obsession.
“Doing anything nice tonight, Cassie?”
Carter’s head snapped up.He hadn’t noticed the man who’d come in with her until he spoke to her, with a familiarity he didn’t like.
Carter recognized the guy; he’d seen him on her floor a couple of days earlier.It was one of her colleagues, no doubt.He was attractive, and clearly interested.
