Page 339 of Rock Me All Night
5
That dream. God, that dream. I need a swimsuit and a pool and about a million laps. Something to clear my head. Something to think about besides the angles of Tom's body.
Almost there. The cursor hovers over theSendbutton. I double-check the email. Cover letter attached. Resume attached. Ten edited photos of sexy, boudoir perfection attached.
Here goes nothing. I clickSend. A second later, the message is sent. And just in time too. It's fifteen till noon. It takes forever to edit with a track pad.
My still-damp hair sticks to my skin. The air conditioning in the lobby is cranked up high, but I'm sweaty and flushed. Even twenty minutes after a shower.
Coffee. I need coffee if I'm going to even fathom getting through today. I find a Thermos of complimentary java and fill a paper cup to the brim. It's bitter. Stale. So much for rescue. A little cream and a lot of sugar help take it up to semi-decent.
I sink into one of the cushy chairs and hug my bag into my lap. The room comes into focus. It's bright outside. The big glass windows mean the entire lobby is backlit. There are about a dozen people here. Most are waiting, sipping drinks, staring at cell phones. Normal hotel stuff.
Crap. Tom is walking towards me. I cross my fingers that he hasn't seen me. How am I supposed to look him in the eyes after that dream?
No luck. He nods hello. A moment later, he plops next to me.
He takes a long sip of a black iced coffee and holds up two pastry bags. "You eat breakfast?" He offers me one of the bags.
"Supposed to have it with Drew."
"It's almost noon. Count that as lunch."
I take the bag. There's an egg, cheese, and avocado bagel inside. Doughy comfort food. Perfect. I take a greedy bite, chewing and swallowing too fast to actually taste it. "Thank you."
His eyes go to my complimentary coffee cup. "There's a Peet's down the street if you want something decent." He holds out his iced coffee, offering it to me.
I take a sip. Damn that's good. It's black but there's no bitterness. It's rich and chocolaty.
When I try to hand it back, Tom waves me away.
"Keep it." He opens the other bag and bites into his bagel sandwich. "You look like you're about to come."
"I do not."
"I like it." He steals my complimentary cup and takes a sip. "No wonder. That's total shit. What do you normally drink in the mornings?"
"I can get my own beverages."
"You want to fight over it, or you want to tell me?" He takes another sip, sticking out his tongue with distaste. "I've got things to do, but I'll wait."
He seems earnest about it. Demanding actually. Okay, if he wants to get me coffee, I'm not going to turn it down.
"Dark roast," I say. "Or cold brew iced coffee if it's a hot day. I like it sweet and creamy. Almond milk if it's available. Half and half if it's not."
"Picky all of a sudden."
"Sorry."
"Don't be. I like a girl who knows what she wants." He smiles. "Even if she's bossy about it."
Oh. He's talking about sex. My cheeks flush. "Are you... bossy?"
"I know what I like."
"Oh." My head fills with delicious mental images of Tom back on that bed, unzipping his jeans, issuing all sorts of illicit demands.
"You look fucking adorable when you blush." He pushes out of his seat. "Good thing I made that rule about us being platonic or I might get ideas."
