Sex Snob (22 page)

***

After a few more minutes, I had composed myself enough to go back inside. We took our seats just as the servers were delivering our salads. Kyle caught my eyes as I settled in, his eyes wide, asking me if I was okay. I nodded and smiled. The meal was delicious and we fell into easy conversation with our tablemates. They were all Jesse’s friends from college, here with their wives or girlfriends. A rowdy group, I instantly liked them.

Once the entrees were cleared, the DJ put on Robin
Thicke’s “Blurred Lines,” and told everyone to get out on the dance floor. Our entire table stood. Except for Shane. I looked at him. “You coming?”

“I don’t dance.”

I sat back down as everyone else made their way onto the floor. “Not at all?”

He shook his head.

“Why not? No one expects you to be Chris Brown out there.”

“I just don’t dance.
I have, like negative amounts of rhythm. You can go though.”

I settled back in my chair, knowing that I’d never leave him sitting alone.
“Nah, I’d rather stay and bother you.” I smiled at him with mock sweetness.

“Gee, thanks,” he said sarcastically.

Shane and I sat quietly, watching the hijinx happening out on the dance floor. But eventually, we found a new favorite game: making fun of all of the dancing drunk people. By the time everyone returned to the table for the cake cutting, Shane and I were in tears over some old woman who was shaking her ass like she was working a pole.

The cake cutting was . . . well, a cake cutting.
But dessert was set up on a huge table against one of the far walls. They had everything: cake, cookies, cupcakes, fondue, ice cream. Kyle and I were in heaven. Shane and Kate, of course, insisted they were full from dinner.
Fucking liars.

Kyle and I returned with our plates brimming with sweets.

“Are you really going to eat all of that?”
Shane asked.

I widened my eyes like little kid on Christmas morning as I nodded my head.

“You better be at the gym on Monday.
Come to think of it, maybe you should stay for two classes.”

I put a piece of carrot cake on my spoon and rocked it like a pendulum in front of Shane’s mouth.
“Come on, Shane. You know you want some. And it even has carrots in it. It’s practically like eating a vegetable. Totally Paleo friendly.”

“Get that away from me.”

I put the spoon in my mouth, “Fine. Just sit there and suffer then.”

After the dessert, the party kicked into overdrive.
The lights were dimmed so much, they were practically off and strobe lights flashed. Our table was empty save for Shane and me. We resumed our game. Suddenly I heard a voice behind us.

“
Yo, buddy. I thought that was you over here.”

I looked up to see a guy standing behind Shane, the man’s hand resting on Shane’s shoulder.
He was handsome, with dark hair slicked back into a sophisticated style, lean body and square jaw. He directed his words at Shane, but his eyes were on me.

“Hey, Sebastian.
I didn’t know you were here.” Shane’s face was difficult to read, but it didn’t look like he was all that happy to see Sebastian.

“Yeah, I got here late.
Completely missed the cocktail hour.” Sebastian’s eyes had still not wavered from me. “Who’s your date? I didn’t know you were seeing anyone.”

“Oh
sorry, Sebastian, this is Amanda. Amanda, Sebastian.” I could tell by Shane’s body language that he would have preferred ripping out his fingernails than introducing
me to Sebastian. Sebastian, however, seemed clueless and he took the empty seat on the other side of Shane, leaning over him to shake my hand.

“It’s a pleasure.”

“Nice to meet you, Sebastian.”

Shane hadn’t responded to Sebastian’s first round of questions, but that didn’t deter him.
“So, how long have you guys been together?”

“We’re not together,” Shane grumbled.
“We’re just here as friends.”

“Oh, is that so?”
Sebastian’s eyes sparkled. “Well, your loss, Shane.”

“Not really,” Shane stated.

My gaze swung to his face.
He was not going to start this shit now. Was he?

“What do you mean?” Sebastian asked, clearly confused by Shane’s rudeness.

“She’s a sex snob. So it’s not really my loss.”

Oh, he was going to start shit all right.
When was he going to learn that he couldn’t win these games with me?

I plastered a bright smile on my face and gazed adoringly at Sebastian.
“Last time I checked, just because a girl isn’t interested in dating you, doesn’t mean she’s a sex snob. Some people have standards.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Shane’s jaw tighten.
Sebastian erupted into a laugh and I instantly regretted my words. My goal had been to put Shane in his place, not embarrass him in front of a guy he clearly didn’t care for.

Suddenly, Shane scoffed.
“You have standards? Last time I checked, you’d slept with enough guys in the past year to field a football team.”

I narrowed my eyes at Shane, all remorse vanishing.
I leaned in toward him, my lips turning up slightly, “A baseball team would probably be more accurate.”

Shane withdrew from me, sitting back farther in his chair.
Game, set, match.

“Well, you two are interesting friends,” Sebastian chimed in.
“So, Amanda, would you like to dance?”

My eyes darted to Shane, but he refused to look at me.
I didn’t want to dance with Sebastian. Shane clearly didn’t like him, and that was enough warning for me. But Shane had started this little war, and I was damn sure going to make sure I won it. “Sure, I’d love to.”

Sebastian stood and offered his hand to me.
I put my hand in his and we made our way to the dance floor. Maroon Five’s “Love Somebody” was playing, though it had been altered to have more of a techno vibe to it. Sebastian wasted no time pulling me into him, grinding against me like he was trying to mark me with his scent. I nearly pushed him away when I saw Shane watching us. So, instead, I turned around and pushed my ass into Sebastian. If Shane was going to stare at us, I would make sure I put on a worthy show to watch.

As that song ended, the DJ announced that he was going to slow the music down for a minute.
I was ready to return to my seat, but Sebastian pulled me to him. I put my arms around his neck, but braced my forearms against his shoulders to prevent him from getting too close to me. I had a very good douche-meter, and Sebastian was making it twirl nearly out of control.

A song that I actually loved came on, though I was surprised to hear it at a wedding.
It was “Somebody’s Heartbreak” by Hunter Hayes. Despite my excitement over the song, I was less than thrilled with my partner. I darted my head around, trying not to focus on the predatory look on Sebastian’s face. A familiar voice brought my attention back.

“Can I cut in?”
Shane was glaring at Sebastian, who returned an equally icy look.

“Sure,” Sebastian said curtly before turning to me.
“I’ll be back for you.”
Ugh, another creepy wink.

Shane moved closer to me and placed his hands gently on my hips as I brought my hands to his shoulders.

“I thought you didn’t dance?”

“I don’t,” he replied without looking at me.

“But you are right now.”
I wanted to know why, but he wasn’t going to make it easy.

“Guess I am.”

I stopped moving. “Fine, I’m going back to the table.” But as I made a move to step away, Shane’s grip tightened, his eyes locking with mine. I instinctively moved back toward him as he wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me tighter to him.

I pushed my arms over his shoulders and around his neck, enjoying the warmth I felt in his embrace.
We swayed gently in time with the music, our bodies naturally finding a rhythm with one another.

“I didn’t like watching you dance with him,” Shane said into my ear, finally answering my unspoken question.

“Why not?” My voice was husky, my body already responding, knowing that I was going to like this answer before I even heard it.

“He’s not good enough for you.”
Shane pulled back slightly so he could look into my eyes. “And I didn’t like his hands on you, trying to touch you in places I’ve already been. Places I want to be again.”

I involuntarily gasped at his words.
I definitely had places I wanted his hands to be again. My body was on fire as my clit throbbed at his words.

Shane continued to hold my gaze and I couldn’t have looked away if I had tried.
Our mouths inched closer, the movement so slow that most people probably wouldn’t have even noticed. The song had ended, and been replaced by some upbeat techno crap, but it didn’t matter. Shane and I kept our original pace, holding each other closely, our breath intermingling and sending shivers down my spine. Just as our lips were about to experience the contact we both craved, I pulled back. “Let’s get out of here,” I breathed.

Taking my hand, Shane pulled me away from the dance floor.
We returned to our table briefly to retrieve my clutch and his jacket and then headed for the exit without saying a word to anyone. It was chilly outside and my thoughts briefly ran to the shawl I had left in Shane’s car. As if reading my mind, Shane draped his jacket over my shoulders before reclaiming my hand and pulling me toward his car.

Once settled inside of his Mustang, my brain fought to catch up to what my body had agreed to.
I wasn’t sure how I was feeling; all of the emotions within me were conflicting. I wanted to sleep with Shane again. Who wouldn’t? He was friggin’ gorgeous. And I already knew that he was a great lay. This should have been an easy decision for me.

But it wasn’t.

Because I knew that this time would mean more. The smoldering look Shane had given me, and that I had returned, wasn’t the look you gave someone who was just a convenient fuck. I had been sleeping with Kyle for years and never once had we looked at one another the way Shane and I just had. It was passion, desire, lust, need, want, and adoration all rolled into one. I suddenly knew that I couldn’t agree to this. Tonight would change my relationship with Shane, and I didn’t want that. Except . . .

“Where to?”
Shane asked. I looked around. If we turned right here, we’d be heading toward my house. That was the way I should tell him to go. I could break it to him gently and then go upstairs and pretend that the last half hour hadn’t happened. That was the right decision to make.

“Stay straight.”

Except, maybe I did want it.

***

We walked up to Shane’s front door and I stood close behind him as he opened it.
He stepped back so that I could enter first. He threw his keys down on the table beside the door before taking my clutch from my hand and placing it next to his keys. He then took the jacket from my shoulders and placed it on the knob at the base of the banister that led upstairs. Then, without saying a word, he grabbed my hand and led me up the steps.

He took me into a room that was clearly his bedroom.
The walls were a light grey, which contrasted with his dark furniture. It screamed masculinity. He lightly pulled me in front of him, placing his fingertips on my hips and slowly turning me around so that I was facing away from him. He pressed his chest tightly against my back, bringing his mouth to my neck. He ran his lips along the tender flesh there, but he didn’t kiss me.

“You look so beautiful in this dress.
But as soon as I saw you in it, all I could think about is how much more beautiful you’d be out of it.”

My body instantly responded to his words as I felt the slickness grow between my legs.
I lolled my head back slightly, bringing me into more contact with his body. His fingers left my hips and slowly trailed up my sides, moving to my back, settling on the zipper of my dress. He moved my hair to the side as he pulled my zipper down seductively slowly. Once I felt his hands graze the skin at the apex of my ass, I shuddered with excitement. He caressed my back gently before moving his hands up to my shoulders and pushing the sleeves off my body, causing the dress to cascade to the floor and pool around my feet. Shane loosened his tie and threw it to the floor before returning his hands to me. One rested on my tight stomach while the other drifted to my thigh, where it skimmed down the front, then up the back, cupping my ass. Then, he started the torturously blissful movement again.

He was unrushed, so unlike
the last time we had sex. He was making it clear that this was different. This wasn’t going to be quick and needy. It was going to be slow and meaningful. And in this moment, that’s exactly what I wanted.

I turned my head back so my temple nearly rested on his shoulder as I looked up at him.
He took advantage of my neck being so wide open for him to rain down soft kisses and nips to my neck and shoulder blade. But finally, his eyes found mine. He lifted his hand from my thigh and used it to run his thumb along my jawline while his other fingers tangled in my hair. We stayed like that, our lips inches away from each other again, our eyes searching the other for words we were too afraid to say out loud, until the magnetic pull between us became too much to resist.