Page 122 of The Single Dads Club
Alexa’s eyes were back on mine, drinking me in. She just sat there blinking up at me, waiting expectantly.Oh fuck, I was going to hell.
“I can’t fuck you, sweetheart,” I murmured, instantly both proud and disappointed in myself at once. “You’ve had too much to drink and losing your virginity is something you should remember.”
Her mouth dropped open in surprise and .her swift intake of breath at my words made the hair on the back of my neck stand. “Do you have a pen?” I motioned to MacKenzie’s giant purse sitting on the table. She jumped into action, rooting around inside and seconds later, thrust a pen toward me. I reached across the table and turned over Alexa’s arm, brushing the soft flesh with my thumb. Her skinwasas soft as I’d imagined, and the sensation stopped me in my tracks for a second. “If you still want to tomorrow, and I doubt you will, meet me here.”
I scribbled the address along her inner arm, tossed some bills on the table and left.
And instead of the pills making my cock throb, it was now all because of a pretty nurse who had looked at me like I could change her world.
I was in so much fucking trouble.
Chapter 4
Alexa
“Alexa.” My mother’s disapproving tone demanded my attention. She tapped a red lacquered nail against the table and pulled me from my hungover thoughts. “You look an absolute mess. I hope your night out with your so-called friends was worth it.”
I straightened the sundress around my knees, and shifted in my seat. Though my memories of the night before were somewhat foggy, a slow smile spread across my lips. Last night was everything a twenty-first birthday was supposed to be. Too much alcohol?Check. Bad decisions?Oh yeah.Embarrassing things I’d never do or say when I was sober?Ding, ding, ding. And this morning, I’d had the hangover from hell to prove it and absolutely no regrets.
She dug through her purse and with an overzealous huff, she offered me a compact. “You need some concealer.”
The only thing my mother criticized more than my poor manners were my looks and though applying makeup in public would have typically earned me an exasperated sigh,apparently myappearance was dreadful enough that immediate intervention was warranted. That and I guess being tucked back in the tall booth of a dim restaurant wasn’t exactly public.
I took her compact and flipped it open, inspecting my appearance. There were dark circles under my eyes, and my hair hung limply around my face since I hadn’t had time this morning to dry it. I looked like a girl who’d had a damn good night out on the town. Quickly, I twisted my hair into a low, loose bun and secured it with a few pins dug from the bottom of my purse. Then I swiped some of the concealer under my eyes until I was satisfied it was the best I could do.
“That’s better,” my mother said, holding out her hand to retrieve the compact.
We were waiting for my father to arrive, and so far he was an entire seven minutes late. I was sure he’d get an earful about it later from Mom because not only did she have no tolerance for bad appearances, she also did not tolerate lateness. While waiting and to avoid having the what are you doing with your life conversation with Mom, I scanned the menu. My mother had chosen the restaurant—a high-end steakhouse. I was never much of a meat eater, but she and my dad were on a high-protein diet. I scanned the menu for something that didn’t make me want to hurl. I decided on a Caesar salad with grilled shrimp.
My father arrived, slipping into the booth beside my mother and offering her a chaste peck on the cheek in apology. “Sorry I’m late. Business meeting ran over.” He reached across the table and gave my hand a squeeze.
I nodded with a smile. “It’s okay, Daddy.”
I knew my dad had a stressful job. He was a partner at an accounting firm and worked hard to give me and my mother everything and then some. I couldn’t be mad at him for being a few minutes late to a lunch I didn’t want to be at either.
My stomach was still queasy from last night, and I nibbled on bread and sipped my water while my parents discussed the upgradesthey had planned to our vacation home in Aspen. My mind wandered to last night’s events. Oh, all right, directly back to Cade. This morning while I’d stood under the steaming hot spray of the shower, scrubbing his address from my forearm, I couldn’t help but remember his sexy, challenging smile and those eyes that demanded my attention.
Heat swam over my cheeks as I remembered the conversation about my virginity. Seriously, who in the hell arranges a meeting to lose their virginity with a complete stranger who also happens to be a porn star? It wasn’t like I was actually going to go through with it. God, was that insane or what? I really needed to keep MacKenzie on a tighter leash because this was all her doing.
And Tyson offering to be my first? Um, no thanks. Not only was there zero attraction there, it would also be like having sex with my brother.Gross.
But it was the look on Cade’s face at hearing Ty wanting to step up to the plate and be my first that I kept seeing in my hazy memories. It was a look of pure hunger, and when his eyes flashed to mine they were filled with something else… Was it longing? No. Nope. No way. I couldn’t think about the possibility of seeing desire in Cade’s expression because that that had me shuddering for an entirely different reason.
But what was etched most deeply into my memory was the smug look on his face, the certainty that I wouldn’t have the guts to show up today.
That, coupled with my mother’s disapproving glances and not-so-subtle hints about setting me up with Peter Wyndham III were enough to convince me to do exactly what he assumed I wouldn’t. And even though I’d scrubbed away every trace of his writing from my skin, I’d memorized his address.715 Evergreen Terrace.
The thought of ditching lunch made me smirk.Sorry, Mom and Dad, I have to cut this horrendous lunch short to go meet a porn star so I can lose my virginity.Ha! I choked on my water at the absurdity and gained the attention of both of my parents.
“Are you okay sweetie?” Dad asked, worriedly.
“Yes, sorry Daddy. I’m fine.” I took a few bites of food and downed multiple glasses of iced water and somehow I slowly returned to my former self while my parents went back to talking about the next society ball they were planning on attending.
As Mom mentioned a donation they would make I decided that I would go to Cade—but only to tell him off. Who the hell did he think he was? Offering his services like it was a total inconvenience for him, but still agreeing to take my virginity? I shuddered. He was about to get an earful.
My parents insisted on dessert, since it was my birthday after all, so I forced down a couple bites of cheesecake before the three of us said our goodbyes. Once they were gone, I made my way to the restaurants restroom and scanned my appearance in the full-length mirror. I adjusted the spaghetti straps of the form-fitting, cream-colored sundress and smoothed the fabric over my hips. Everything about my look, from the coral gloss on my lips to my French-pedicured feet encased in gold designer sandals ensured Cade would understand I was way out of his league. Satisfied I looked as good as I could manage on a hangover, I straightened my shoulders and grabbed my handbag. This had nothing to do with seeing Cade again, and everything to do with letting him see what he’d never have.
When I pulled up in front of 715 Evergreen Terrace, I figured there had to be some sort of mistake. He’d probably given me a fake address, since I doubted Cade, the porn-star hottie lived in this suburban, middle-class neighborhood. An elderly man mowed his lawn across the street and a couple of little kids on bikes zoomed past me on the sidewalk.
