Page 16 of Pretty Please Me
Maybe I’m just broken.
Her words echo in my head as arousal and rage ignite within me. I strain my hand reflexively at the thought of just how much fun I could have with her. What I could do for her, how I could wake her up to something she’s never experienced. Oh, how easily it would be for me to show her just how wrong she is.
I close my eyes and blow out a slow breath to calm myself.
I can’t let my mind go there. I’ve got to shove this urge down deep, along with all the pieces I buried a long time ago.
I’ll need to keep myself thoroughly distracted if this shared living arrangement will ever work. I can’t risk our friendship because I’m making decisions with the wrong head. I need to replace Natalie ASAP.
Jack stands to leave and swings his duffle bag over his shoulder. “Good luck with your new roomie, Samuel. I’ve got to get going. Gwen wants me to pick her up a tub of movie theater popcorn on the way home.”
“Why don’t you just take her to the movies?” Benjamin asks.
Jack shakes his head and sighs. “She says it tastes better when she eats it on the couch at home because she doesn’t have to wear pants.”
I laugh because that’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard, yet Jack doesn’t seem to mind one bit. He’s wrapped so tightly around her finger that he’d probably buy her the whole movie theater if that’s what it took to curb her popcorn craving. “Well, you have fun with that.”
“I’ve got to go, too. Elliot wants to pick out coordinating armchairs for the sitting room. She doesn’t want them to match but wants them to look like they belong together… which means I’ll be chair shopping all day long.”
We say our goodbyes, and I promise to keep them in the loop with the renovations. Once the heavy metal door slams shut, I’m left with the strangest feeling of loneliness. It’s something I haven’t felt in quite a long time.
EIGHT
Maggie
After everything that happened last night, I was spent. I slept so hard that I think I may have aged backward. I woke up to find a note on my side table informing me that Sam had some errands to run and would be back later in the afternoon. Naturally, my first reaction was to panic that he had witnessed me sleeping so deeply, and I bolted to the bathroom to check for any signs of dried drool. And just as my luck would have it, not only did I discover the traitorous stain, but my hair stood in all directions like a cockatoo. That’s what happens when your head is covered in cowlicks, and you go to bed with wet hair. So, here I am, forced to take another luxurious shower.
When I say luxurious, I’m not just talking about the ambiance and water pressure. I feel like I’m in a spa, stocked to the brim with all the best hair products. From shampoo and conditioner to exfoliating body wash and moisturizing body butters, Sam’s bathroom is something out of every woman’s fantasy.
When I step out of the steamy shower, I wrap myself in a plush white robe. A girl could get used to this.
Bending down, I open the cabinet under the sink and find an acrylic organization system filled with razors, hair ties, extra toothbrushes, toothpaste, and an assortment of pads and tampons. Wow, it’s like he thought of everything.
I shake my head when I find the Dyson hair dryer and Airwrap. How many women does he bring home to warrant all this?
I brush out my long strands and flip my head over as I dry my hair and think back to our conversation last night, trying to remember if he mentioned having a girlfriend, but I’m drawing a blank. Come to think of it, I’ve never even heard him mention seeing anyone. He’s certainly seeing someone, though. That’s shockingly apparent.
When I’m finished rough drying—in record time, I might add—I play around with the Airwrap. The time seems to fly as I sing along to my favorite playlist and play around with all the fancy products. I’m having so much fun, like how I imagine it feels to be a little girl playing in her mother’s makeup.
When I’m finished, I take in my appearance and feel so beautiful. I look like I’ve just come back from the spa. My hair is freshly blown out, and my skin is scrubbed and moisturized to perfection.
But when I open the cabinet to put everything back, I knock over another container, and its contents spill out with a clink. A silky red piece of fabric catches my eye—does he keep her panties under here, too? I look over my shoulder as if to make sure he can’t see me, even though he said he wouldn’t be back for a while.
Curiosity gets the best of me, and I reach inside and pull out a long piece of fabric. I hold it out in front of me and assess it like a venomous snake.
It’s a bright red piece of silk about two feet long and three inches wide. I spin it around, searching for any details, but it’s just a boring piece of silk. Maybe it’s her robe tie? I quirk my lips and go back to retrieve the container.
As I pick up the fallen belongings, I pull out a long chain with three clamps on each end and some kind of black leather bracelet-looking things that connect in the center. What is this stuff?
I slide my hand through the center of one as the realization hits me. My eyes widen in horror as I realize what it is, and I panic. I try to yank to cuff off my wrist, but it’s tighter than I realized, so I stand up and use my foot to hold the other side down as I yank with all my force.
Then, suddenly, the cuff snaps open. The force sends me flying backward as the cuffs shoot out across the bathroom, hitting the kinky box and sending its hidden surprises flying in every direction.
I cover my head just in time for the toys to shower me, crashing down in clinks and soft thuds like a naughty thunderstorm of sin.
Once the room goes silent, I lay on the cool tile floor in stunned silence. I don’t know what I was expecting, but finding my friend's secret kinky sex paraphernalia stash was not it. How am I ever going to be able to act like I didn’t find all this stuff? I couldn’t lie if my life depended on it. I don’t know how to keep a secret, and now I have to look Sam in the face and pretend I wasn’t going through his stuff? What if he gets mad and asks me to leave? That’s what I get for being nosey.
I sigh as I slowly push myself up and retrieve the strange contraptions, trying not to think about the who’s and what orifices they’ve been inside. When I’m finished, I place the red sash on top and shove it back in the cabinet in the same spot I found it.
