Sex Snob (20 page)

This was what I needed: my back rubbing against the rough concrete, Shane’s hand tugging at my taut nipples, his warm tongue caressing my cold flesh as he pushed me closer to release with every deep drive of his hips.

His low groan reverberated through my ear as he tugged my lobe with his teeth.
I clenched around him, and he thrust even harder in response, sensing my need. I wasn’t going to last much longer if he kept up this pace. “Oh . . . God, Shane,” I breathed. “I’m gonna . . .”

“I know . . . God . . . I know.”
His raspy voice interrupted my own as he worked inside me with precise movements.

I couldn’t even finish my thought before the lower half of my body consumed all of my energy.
Waves of pleasure coursed through me as I convulsed around him, shaking as my orgasm journeyed up my body until it found my head, making even my brain fuzz with pleasure. He pounded harder into me as I tightened around him, and within seconds I felt him jerk deep within me. Moaning into my mouth, he kissed me roughly, letting his own release taper off as he continued to slide inside me.

The last few sensations of my own climax escaped when his finally died down.
He remained, unmoving inside me, for a few moments. “Will it make it weird if I just pull away?” he asked with an awkward smile.

I couldn’t help but let out a gentle laugh.
“It’s probably weirder that you asked about it, actually.”

“Right,” he said, withdrawing from me slowly and exiting the pool.
He held up a towel and wrapped it around me as I emerged from the pool. “I’ll be back in a minute,” he said, grabbing his own towel and turning to go inside.

I dried off quickly and put my clothes back on before Shane returned.
When he came back out, he was wearing only mesh shorts. I remembered how I had imagined what it would be like to lick along the outline of his black tattoos. I sighed.
Missed opportunities.
Maybe next time.
Wait, what was I saying? There wouldn’t be a
next time.
This was a “need fuck.” Nothing more. Surely I wouldn’t
need
to fuck him again.
Would I?

He took a seat next to me on the chaise lounge.
“Do you want chicken or beef?” he asked casually.

What the hell is he talking about?

My expression must have conveyed my confusion because he explained further. “Jesse and Jen’s wedding is in two weeks. Kate and I were gonna go together but she’s bringing Kyle now, so I asked Jesse if I could bring a guest. I figured it would be fun for the four of us to go together.”

I rolled my eyes and a slow smile crept across my lips.
“Chicken,” I sighed.

Ten

The next
two weeks were a monotonous routine of work and CrossFit workouts. Shane and I hadn’t spoken about what had happened at his house, and that was just fine with me. But now, as I pulled on my dress, I found myself wondering what Shane would think of it. It was coral,
the perfect color for fall, and the cap sleeves showcased my toned arms. I ran my hands over the lace and twirled in front of the mirror, admiring how the flare caused the dress to flow from my body. My eyes traveled down my shapely calves, which were in plain sight since the dress stopped at the knee. I paired the dress with a silver stiletto that had a strap at the ankle. I would want to fuck me in this dress. But would Shane? And did I want him to? Our last sexual encounter had developed entirely from need, but was that need gone? I just wasn't sure.

I grabbed my clutch and made my way into the living room where Lily was sitting watching
Millionaire Matchmaker
reruns.

“I’m going to go on this show,” she declared without turning toward me.

“Catching millionaires has never seemed to be much of a problem for you,” I said lightly.

She turned toward me with a grimace, which quickly morphed into a wide-eyed gasp once she took in the sight of me.
“Holy shit! You look hot.”

“Yeah?”
I looked down self-consciously, biting my lip. "Can you finish zipping me up?"

“Are you nervous?” Lily looked at me curiously as she walked over, like she couldn’t quite believe what she was seeing.

“No, why would I be nervous?” I was too defensive. I inwardly hoped she hadn’t picked up on it as she finished zipping my dress and I took a few steps away from her.

“You are!
Jesus, I better get a picture to document the day.” As she walked back toward the couch and rifled among the junk that was piled on the coffee table searching for her phone, I silently put a curse on her and her future offspring.

“I’m not nervous.”
Deny, deny, deny.
“It’s just that . . . going to this wedding seemed like an okay idea when he asked, but now I dunno. It seems . . . very . . . date
ish
.” I scrambled for the right words, trying to properly convey what I was thinking without admitting too much. I hadn’t told anyone that I had slept with Shane, and while I was desperate to relieve some of the weight keeping this secret had placed on me, there was no way I was prepared to talk about it.

“Well, you
are
his date,” Lily explained as if I was a moron. “So, it’s really not weird that it would feel that way.”

“But I’m not dating him.
This isn’t a date.” I was adamant, trying to convince myself more than Lily.

“Christ, is this about your rules?”
She took my silence as a yes. “Listen, you guys are going as friends. He wouldn’t even have asked you if Kate hadn’t wanted to take Kyle. So, what are you worried about? You’re his date to the wedding, but you’re not there
on
a date. They’re totally different.” Lily sat back like everything that had just come out of her mouth made perfect sense.

And I could accept her words.
I just couldn’t accept that they made me feel worse. She was right. Shane wouldn’t have asked me if Kate hadn’t bailed on him.
What is wrong with me? This revelation should make me feel better, not worse.

Lily
eyed me expectantly, so I forced a smile on my face and tried to dig the sadness out of my voice. “You’re totally right. I’m freaking over nothing.”

I felt my face start to flush at my
lie, so I quickly turned around to locate my purse so that I could transfer the things I would need tonight into my clutch. Lily, thankfully, kept quiet. Once I was done, I dropped my clutch onto the dining room table and pulled my hand to my hip. The clutch hit the table with more force than I had intended and I could feel Lily’s eyes on me, but I didn’t turn around. I stood there for a few moments, just trying to get myself together. When the buzzer sounded, I nearly jumped out of my skin. I spun around, but Lily was already off the couch and speaking into the intercom.

“Who goes there?”

She is such a dork.

“Hi, uh, it’s Shane?” He phrased his response like a question, clearly uncomfortable with speaking into the intercom.

“I don’t know anyone by that name,” Lily said flatly.

I smiled, appreciating the show she was putting on.

“Is this Lily?”
Shane asked hesitantly.

“I thought you said you were Shane?
Do you not know who you are?” She was smiling now, thoroughly enjoying herself.

“No, uh, wait . . . what?”

“Well, first you said you were Shane and then you asked if your name was Lily. Are you schizophrenic?”

Shane finally caught on to her little game.
“Very funny. Are you done being an asshole?”

“I don’t appreciate strange men talking about my asshole,” Lily scolded.

“Lily, if you don’t open this door, you’re going to be doing burpees until your arms break.”

With no further retorts, Lily buzzed him in and then swung the door open to wait for him.
As he approached she began catcalling. “Hey, hot stuff, bring some of that down here. Oww!”

I began laughing uncontrollably.
This was out of character for Lily. She didn’t know Shane as much more than her trainer, so her taunting of him could only have been for one reason. And as the heaviness lifted from my chest, I appreciated her dearly.

“You are going to pay with your life,” Shane muttered to Lily before his eyes swung to me.
He stilled in the doorway, his eyes widening.

“Told ya you looked hot,” Lily said to me as she clapped a hand on Shane’s back to break his trance.
“Doesn’t she, Shane?”

Shane blinked hard, as if the action caused his brain to begin working again.
Then, he registered that Lily had asked him a question. “Yeah. Yeah, wow, you look . . . you look beautiful.”

“Thank you,” I replied, breathily.
I cleared my throat, not wanting to sound so affected by him. But I was. He looked drop dead sexy in a light grey two-button suit that was tailored to his muscled frame. He wore a simple white dress shirt, but it was paired with a silver and blue tie that made his eyes pop. If
GQ
ever teamed up with
Muscle and Fitness Magazine
, Shane would be featured on the cover. “You don’t look so bad yourself.”

“Thanks.” Shane looked down at himself briefly, seemingly unaware
of how delicious he looked. It only endeared him to me more.

“Should we go?” I asked, picking up my clutch and starting toward him.

“Yeah, definitely.” I picked up a shawl I had placed by the door so I wouldn’t forget it. The weather had started to cool and while the temperature was pleasant currently, it would probably drop when the sun set.

We walked out of my apartment building in awkward silence, Shane’s hands buried in his pockets. He escorted me to the passenger’s side and opened the door.
I slid in and then waited for him to close the door. But he didn’t. I flicked my eyes up to him, and then gave him my full attention when I noticed he was staring down at me.

“I meant what I said.
You look gorgeous in that dress.” He grinned shyly as he closed the door and strutted around to the driver’s side. I fought to suppress a smile, but I failed miserably. I was nearly beaming as he slid in beside me.

“Ready, guest?” he asked with a smirk.

“Ready as I’ll ever be.”

***

It was about a twenty-five minute drive to the Villanova Conference Center, where the ceremony and reception were being held. We passed the time with inconsequential chatter. I knew Jesse from the gym, but I didn’t know him very well. Shane said that he had also met Jesse through CrossFit Force, and they had become good friends over the past year.

Shane parked the car and walked over to open my door for me.
He offered his hand to help me out. It was a sweet gesture that instantly made me uncomfortable. People only did sweet things on dates, and I desperately needed him to knock it off. When he put his hand on the small of my back, I had to consciously prevent myself from swinging toward him and punching him in the face. The electric current that radiated through my spine at his touch didn’t help matters.

We entered through a pair of glass double doors, which led into a large foyer.
A server was waiting and directed us straight through the seating area to the lawn. As I stepped out, I heard a gasp leave my lips. The lawn was beautifully manicured and was lined with white wooden chairs. The center aisle was littered with red rose petals. My gaze followed them down the aisle to the pergola that the couple would be married under. Trees and brightly colored flowers surrounded the space, giving it an enchanted garden feel. It was gorgeous.

Shane pointed to my left, and my eyes landed on Kyle and Kate.
We walked over to join them and I settled in beside Kate.

“Isn’t this incredible?” she whispered.

“It’s breathtaking,” I replied absently, my gaze continuing to roam over our surroundings.

“Hey, kid.
Nice to see you, too,” Kyle said as he leaned slightly over Kate.

“Eh, yeah, whatever,” I replied, waving my hand at him.
After a moment, I turned toward him and smiled broadly, “Just kidding, Kyle. It is nice to see you. Especially since you never hang out with me anymore. Thank God you joined CrossFit, or you’d be a virtual stranger.” The words were out of my mouth before I could consider their effect.

Kate squirmed slightly, her smile fading.
She knew that she was the reason I hadn’t seen Kyle. Though I didn’t actually care. I just wanted to give him a hard time.

“
Nice one,” Kyle mouthed at me.

I racked my brain for something to say that would fix what had just come out of my mouth.
I had nothing.

“Yeah, well, too bad we can’t all trade up,” Shane said beside me.
We all shot our attention to him quizzically. “Kyle traded up and now I’m stuck with you,” he clarified. He shot me a wink as a smirk rose to his lips.

Shane Reed to the rescue again.

Kyle began laughing and Kate soon joined in, snickering as I scolded Shane mildly.

“You really wanna start with me tonight, Reed?” I challenged.

“I believe I already have.” His eyes twinkled with mischief.

“Okay.
Just remember that you started this when you’re crying into your pillow later.”

He scoffed loudly.
Just then, a string quartet began playing music and the crowd drifted into silence. We watched as the bride's mom and groom’s parents walked down the aisle, followed by the bridesmaids in varying styles of red, floor-length dresses, and finally the bride herself. I had only met Jen once before at Shane’s barbeque and I was stricken by her beauty. She wore an A-line, satin, strapless gown with a pleated bodice that hugged her petite figure flawlessly. Her dark brown hair was a mass of curls that cascaded down her right shoulder. She looked like the perfect picture of a bride.

An
d as she walked down arm-in-arm with whom I imagined to be her father, a touch of sorrow struck me as I realized that I would never have that moment with my father. And as I watched her walk toward Jesse, his dark eyes sparkling as he gazed at his soon-to-be-wife, I wondered if I’d miss out on that moment too.

I reined in my emotions and watched the rest of the service with an impassive expression on my face.
I tried to focus on the happy couple, but my eyes couldn’t help but drift over to the bride’s parents occasionally. They sat in the front row gazing adoringly at their daughter, each dabbing their eyes every so often. They held hands throughout the ceremony, a symbol of their unwavering love and support of one another. At least, that was how I interpreted it.

The ceremony lasted about twenty minutes
and after the bridal party disappeared to take pictures, we were directed to a stone terrace for the cocktail hour.

“Should we . . .
get a table?” Kate asked, her voice trailing off when she realized that we weren’t listening. Kyle and I were practically sprinting across the terrace. We didn’t play around when it came to an open bar. We were tacky and damn proud of it.

We
sidled up to the bar and my eyes surveyed the bottles lined up behind it. It was a good selection.

“What can I get for ya?”

My eyes glanced up at the bartender before returning to the alcohol. Then, realization hit me. “Oh my God, Mr. Fitzpatrick?”

“Yeah, that’s me.” The bartender looked at me curiously, as did Kyle.

Shane and Kate finally caught up to us, settling on either side of us.

“What’d we miss?” Shane asked as he observed the awkward three-way staring match that was going on.

“I’m sorry.” I shook my head to bring my mind back to the present. “I’m Amanda Bishop. I was in your American History class at Brendall High. That must have been eleven or twelve years ago. I’m sure you don’t remember me, but I loved your class. You were hysterical.”