Chapter 4
Chapter Four
Dave
H oly . Shit .
I lay there, limbs heavy, as tired as if I’d just skated a game straight through double overtime. My thoughts were sluggish, liquid things. We’d collapsed side by side on Zara’s bed, but I wasn’t ready to let her go. In an uncharacteristic maneuver for me, I reached for her and pulled her onto my chest .
She was breathing hard, her head on my arm .
“Does that always happen for you?” I panted. “Or should I be inducted into your personal hall of fame ?”
She laughed without bothering to open her eyes. “You want the truth ?”
“Yeah. But go ahead and lie a little if it sounds nicer .”
She squeezed my arm. “You’re hilarious. But the truth is that sex comes easily to me. Literally .”
I chuckled. “So you’re saying I’m not special ?”
She turned her head and gave me a warmer smile than I’d gotten from her yet. “Are you fishing for compliments ?”
“No.” I gave her a playful pinch on her beautiful ass. “Some people can catch a football. Some people can play the piano. But you can have three orgasms on a Friday night without breathing hard .”
“I’m breathing hard .”
This girl . She killed me. I’d had a lot of sex with strangers. That was pretty much the only kind I ever had. Sometimes it was good, and sometimes it was really fucking awkward .
But not tonight. Tonight it was great . Zara and I just clicked somehow on a higher level. I wasn’t done with her yet, either. But first I needed a rest. I wasn’t a teenager anymore .
I lay quietly, listening to our pounding hearts. A lovely calm washed over me, courtesy of endorphins, a beautiful girl, and an irresistible summer night. I became aware of a cheeping sound in the breeze coming through Zara’s window. It was the summery, lifelike sound of nature, the kind we never had in Brooklyn .
“What kind of birds sing at night?” I croaked, my voice as tired as the rest of me .
Zara gave a little snort of laughter against my skin. “Birds don’t sing at night. What you’re hearing are frogs .”
“ Frogs? Like, the kind that hop through ponds ?”
“Is there another kind of frog ?”
For some reason this struck me as hilarious. And when I laughed, she did , too .
“City boy, much?” she asked .
“Yeah. Brooklyn. But I grew up …”
Her hand moved so fast that the woman would have made a decent goalie. She covered my mouth with her slim palm. “No personal stuff .”
“Why?” I asked after pushing her hand off my lips .
She shook her head. “This is just about sex. Don’t wreck it .”
Hmm . “Is this about the bearded guy tonight? Your ex ?”
She turned her face away. Apparently that was the wrong thing to say. Nobody had ever accused me of being smooth with people’s emotions .
“Sorry,” I said quickly. “None of my business .”
“It really isn’t,” she agreed .
“More for me , then .”
She huffed out a laugh and gave me a friendly smack on the thigh. “Come on. I have to be up early,” she said matter-of-factly. “You’d better go .”
“Um…” Honest to God, it took my poor little brain a moment to figure out that she was kicking me out of her bed. WTF? said my ego. I was a professional athlete and accustomed to delivering all the eviction notices. “Okay. Is this because I brought up your ex ?”
“Not hardly. It’s just late. I had a fun time .”
Well, ouch . Those were words I’d said on more than one occasion when I wanted to hurry out of some woman’s bed. It’s just that I’d never heard them before, myself .
I sat up. “Lucky for you, we can have a fun time again later in the week. You work every weeknight ?”
She turned her head and studied me. Those coal-black eyes were more critical than I was used to seeing from women .
Staring back at Zara was really no hardship, though. She was as pretty as the day is long. And I found myself noticing things about her that I don’t usually bother to notice. The length of her neck. The way her tanned skin passed over her regal-looking collar bone. Her nipples were dark against small, perfect breasts .
“I work most nights,” she said eventually. “I manage the bar for my uncle .”
“Right,” I said, having already figured that out. “So I’ll come by on Wednesday or Thursday .”
“Maybe I won’t feel like hanging out after work,” she said. But her eyes made a trip down my chest .
“Maybe you will, though,” I said cheerfully. This was more fun than I’d had in months. She made me work for it. Nobody ever did that. Not since I was a poor rookie in the minors. And often not even then .
“We’ll see,” she said. But her gaze was soft and lazy .
I leaned over and kissed her nose. “You’re fun to talk to. You know that ?”
“Talk, huh?” She gave me a slightly embarrassed smile .
“Yeah. And other stuff, too.” I winked, and she actually blushed. A little, anyway .
Then, for the first time in my life, I got out of bed with a woman before I was ready. I put on my clothes while she watched .
“Don’t get up,” I said. It was a joke because she didn’t look like someone who was about to escort me to the door .
“Goodbye, Dave,” she said softly .
“See you in a few days,” I reminded her, and she just shook her head .
Then I let myself out into the Vermont summer night, where frogs were singing their strange song .