8. Chapter 8 As Long as He Heard Buzzing, He’d Know Where She Was
Chapter 8: As Long as He Heard Buzzing, He’d Know Where She Was
W ADE
Wade led the way through checking in for the conference. After getting their packets, they were directed to other lines to sign up for restaurant hops, off-site events, sight-seeing tours, and other activities. Jenny seemed surprised at how busy it was already, and Wade was grateful he hadn’t underestimated the demand.
Jenny was lost in thought and seemed to have a difficult time concentrating. She blamed it on being sleepy from the car ride, but she was preoccupied. Wade wracked his brain to figure out if he had pushed her away.
They finished checking in and returned to their suite to relax for a couple of hours before the conference started. Wade made casual conversation in the elevator, but Jenny was noticeably more distant than in the car ride.
“Are you worried?” he blurted out after they exited the elevator.
Startled eyes met his, and Jenny stopped in the hallway to gape at him.
“Worried about what?”
Her confusion seemed genuine. If she wasn’t worried about sharing the suite with him, why was she giving off such a weird vibe?
“Sharing the suite with me. I know—”
“Nope, I’m not worried,” she said as she resumed walking.
Wade followed helplessly as they plodded down the long corridor to their suite. He heard a strange grinding noise followed by an almost animalistic growl.
“Are you okay?” Wade glanced at her as they walked.
“What? Yes.”
“Oh, okay. I thought you said something. Or growled?”
Jenny giggled.
“No, no growling here.”
“Oh-kay,” he drawled, which only made her giggle again.
He quirked a grin at her, and she blushed. What was going on with her? First, she would barely look at him and was lost in her own world, and now she’s giggling, blushing, and making strange noises.
As they approached their suite, he kept the conversation going so they wouldn’t immediately separate to their respective rooms.
“Are you excited about the restaurant hop?” he asked.
Jenny stiffened.
“Why?”
“Uh, I don’t know,” he said almost desperately. “Just making conversation. Would you rather talk about the off-site event? I’ve never done one of those escape rooms before. Have you? I wonder what it’s like.”
As they entered their suite, Jenny relaxed. Wade replayed his words and belatedly realized she must have thought he was making an indirect comment about her weight like her ex did. Shit. They’d only been here a couple of hours, and he was already screwing up. Should he apologize, or would that make it worse?
“No, I’ve never done one, but I’ve always wanted to.” Jenny’s face lit up with a smile that made him catch his breath. “I love mysteries and brain teasers, and I love cooperative board games. This is like a live-action version of that.”
Wade’s mind blanked at her smile. He’d give a lot to see that smile directed his way every day. Conversing with a woman he was attracted to wasn’t complicated, but he felt like a tongue-tied teenager with his first boner.
He followed her into the living area and perched on the arm of a chair while she fiddled with the strap of her purse. She seemed as loath to end their conversation as he was, but he needed to keep her interested and talking.
“You like mysteries?” he asked.
“Yes, I read a lot. I like mysteries, fantasy, history, thrillers, even some cozy horror. And, of course, smutty romance.”
He goggled at her for a moment before she exploded in a flurry of giggles.
“Oh my gosh, your face,” she shrieked between laughs.
Wade’s neck and cheeks flushed. He was glad she was talking to him, so he just shrugged it off. Jenny wiped her eyes as she fell back onto the couch.
“I’m sorry for laughing,” she said earnestly. “I wasn’t laughing at you, just the absurdity of the situation. Today’s been a roller coaster. We’re friendly but not close friends, you know? And then we got to know each other a lot better, talked about real things in our lives, shared a deeper connection on the drive.”
“Yeah…” he prompted when she stopped.
“And then there was the whole fiasco with my audiobook—”
“I wouldn’t call it a fiasco.”
“Maybe not, but it was embarrassing. You helped me through it, but now everything’s awkward. I don’t know how else to put it. It’s weird, right? From work friends to getting to know each other to roommates to pretending to date for Suzanne’s benefit. It’s a lot in a short span.”
He nodded slowly.
“You’re right,” he said. “It is a lot. It would be weirder if we weren’t freaked out with how much things have changed.”
“Are you? Freaked out, I mean?”
He smiled. “Nah, but I’m a weird guy.”
Jenny snorted as he continued. “But you’re right that things are different than they were earlier. Why is that?”
Jenny’s eyes slid away. Okay, that was pretty telling, but what did it mean?
“Did I do something to upset you?”
Jenny sighed again and looked at the floor. “No, you didn’t do anything.” She mumbled her next words, but Wade heard them anyway. “And I trust you.”
His chest swelled, but he sensed her uncertainty. Plus, she still wouldn’t look at him.
“I’m just tired,” she offered lamely as she stood. “I’m sure I’ll be more myself and less disoriented after I rest up.”
Wade didn’t want her to go. If she headed off to her room alone, before they resolved this strange tension, he wasn’t sure they could get back to the ease they had earlier. All the progress they’d made towards being real friends would dissolve like smoke. But he wouldn’t make her stay.
“Okay, sure, I understand.” He kept the disappointment from his voice. “But if you change your mind, or if you can’t nap, you’re welcome to hang out with me on the couch and watch some bad TV. I’m sure I can find something cheesy on one of the four hundred cable channels.”
“I’ll let you know,” she said with a small wave before she headed to her room.
Wade slumped onto the couch across from the TV and grabbed the remote control. Listless, he scrolled the channels until he found the ubiquitous nineties sit-com about friends in the big city living improbable lives. He let it play without paying much attention, his mind focused on Jenny. And then he heard buzzing.
***
WADE
Wade wondered if Jenny was using an electric toothbrush because she couldn’t be doing what he thought she was doing. Could she? Now he wouldn’t be able to think about anything else but Jenny, naked and sprawled out on her bed, touching herself with a vibrator.
He wondered what she’d look like naked, all pale skin flushed rosy with arousal, her silky brown hair spread across the pillowcase. More importantly, what would she look like when she came? Would her eyes flare open, or would they be scrunched up tight as an orgasm crashed over her?
He fantasized about her nipples as he’d seen them earlier when she read her dirty book, and his cock hardened further as he let his mind wander. What color were her nipples? Light petal pink, like the shirt she sometimes wore, or would they be darker like her lush mouth?
Wade felt guilty for thinking about her like this, but he couldn’t stop his thoughts. What did her pussy look like? What did she taste like? Would he be able to coax an orgasm from her with just his mouth and tongue, or did she need penetration, too? Is that why no one else was able to get her off?
In his mind, her hips jerked, thrusting her sensitive clit closer to the unforgiving and unending vibrations of the sex toy. But that brought up the question of what kind of vibrator it was and how she used it. So many questions swirled around in his mind, one right after the other.
Was it a smaller vibrator just for stimulating the clit, or did she have one that served dual duty as a vibrating dildo that could fill her up, too? If it was the former, was it because she only needed clitoral stimulation to get off, or did she prefer something smaller and discrete for travel? Or did she have a whole plethora of toys to choose from?
But if it wasn’t a bullet or clit vibrator, did she trade back and forth between her clit and pussy, or did she prefer one over the other? Was it life size, or one of those monster-sized ones? Hell, monster vibrators were popular now. Now he pictured her impaling herself on a purple glowing silicone alien cock.
The buzzing continued, and so did his curiosity.
With a history of only orgasming from self-play, she likely had quite the collection of toys. The thought of exploring her collection with her made him impossibly hard. And shopping for something new just for them use together? He’d go wild and buy everything to find out what she liked best.
The possibilities were endless, and he was going to explode as he tried to guess what she’d prefer. Wade had explored sex toys in previous relationships, but he’d never been as invested in knowing as he was right now.
Fuck, would he ever know how her inner muscles squeezed tightly around his fingers or his cock as she rode out an orgasm? Or was he destined to suffer from an overactive imagination without ever knowing more?
There was no way she’d miss his erection if she left her room now, but he couldn’t move. As long as the buzzing continued, he’d know where she was, so he felt safe in his fantasy land. It would be impossible to stop thinking about her touching herself right now. Fuck. He should move to his own room, give her some privacy if she was doing what he thought, but he couldn’t.
Instead, he sat. Frozen. His body burned with both desire and curiosity.
Was she quiet when she let loose, or would his ears ring from the sounds of her screams? Would she muffle her sounds to keep him from hearing, or would a whimper escape? He strained to hear over the television that played and gave him cover. God, he was such an asshole, listening to her pleasure herself—if that was what even what she was doing.
Shame crashed over him. Fuck, he was being a creep, listening to a woman who thought she was alone. He needed to take care of his throbbing erection—and somehow avoid fantasizing about Jenny while he did it—and find something else to do. She deserved better than this.
He’d never be able to look her in the eye if she found out he listened to her masturbate. It was one thing to discover some of her fantasies through that audiobook. That wasn’t her, personally. Wade stood abruptly and strode towards his room seconds before the door to Jenny’s room popped open. Oh, shit! The buzzing had stopped.