Royalty
Decker isn’t home the night after my date with Ken, and I hate the jealousy that creeps into my mind. All I can imagine is him out with some big-chested woman with piercings and tattoos.
Worse is the thought that he found someone he feels he fits with better than with me. Someone he can settle down with, and he’s staying with her rather than bringing her here because I’m here.
Yes, I know how irrational and hypocritical it is to be jealous when I’m out here dating like a mad woman. Well, kind of dating like a mad woman. My only good date so far has been with Ken who I met off-app.
Carlos responds almost immediately, suggesting we meet at a bar not far from my apartment in thirty minutes.
Curiosity gets the better of me, and I agree.
The logical part of me that says this is probably a disaster does nothing to stop me from primping before going out.
Even if it’s a joke, I still want to look presentable.
The air has a chill as the sun goes down, but I make it to the dive bar only a few minutes early. Scanning the room, I realize I didn’t look closely at Carlos’s profile picture.
“How will I recognize him?” I ask, reaching for my purse. But then I spot him.
My eyes lock on the back of a man wearing a royal purple robe and a large crown. Yep, this has to be him.
As terrible as it makes me, I just can’t do it. I can’t bring myself to talk to him, and I turn on my heel and head back out the door, the “emergency” message I’ll send already forming in my mind.
“Woah, hey,” a familiar voice says.
Tyler’s hands are on my biceps, stopping me from running him over, and he smiles at me. “Sorry,” I mumble.
“Leaving already? It’s not even that late.”
The look in his eyes twists something inside of me that I didn’t expect. It’s not a look I’ve ever seen before—even when he looked at Rachel when they were head over heels for each other.
“It’s… a date thing. I just… I left.”
“Care to get a drink with me?”
Nodding, I smile but move away from the door. “Yes, but not here.”
He guides me to his car—a sleek Porsche that’s a few years old—and I like how he holds the door open for me. Old-fashioned. Exactly what I like in a man.
The bar he drives to isn’t far, and I know if I indulge too much, I can still walk home. Might have a hangover in the morning, but I’d choose that over talking to a man in a purple cape.
I shoot a quick emergency message to Carlos and apologize, but I don’t take him up on the offer to reschedule.
As I sit in the corner booth with Tyler, our bodies side by side, I begin to have second thoughts. This is my boss. I can’t risk something happening with my boss… can I?
“What do you want?” Tyler asks.
“Um, I’ll take a cider. Any brand and flavor works. I’m not too picky.”
The booth feels darker than the rest of the room, but I don’t know if it’s real or just in my head. And we are very isolated compared to some of the other booths.
Tyler slips out and heads to the bar. When he returns with two drinks, it feels… awkward. Like I’m drinking with… well… my boss.
“Maybe this was a bad idea,” I admit.
“Why?”
“It feels wrong. Like nothing good comes from this.”
Nodding, he sighs. “I’m sorry, Holly. It’s been a while since I’ve tried this dating thing. And… it’s me. I’m awkward.”
“What if we pretend, just for now, that you’re not my boss? That I don’t report to you, and we’re just two people who kind of know each other having a drink and a talk?”
“I’d really like that. I don’t have a lot of friends, and it’s been a little isolating without Rachel around. We may not have been in love anymore, but at least we talked to each other.”
With every sip of my drink, pretending gets easier. Soon, we’re laughing and on our third round.
“You do not strike me as the frat boy type. At all. Did you really pants a freshman and shove him in the women’s showers?” I ask, biting back a laugh at the image of some scrawny guy trying not to trip with his pants around his ankles.
“We did. And he still sends me a Christmas basket every year in thanks.”
“What? Why?”
Laughing, Tyler looks more relaxed than I’ve ever seen him. He smiles more, and his tie is loosened. His hair is slightly mussed from running his hands through it as he told a story, and he looks… normal.
“He walked in a virgin and walked out with three dates.”
“A real matchmaker, you are.”
The scene plays in my head, and I laugh. Dude must’ve had something to offer that the girls weren’t expecting.
“Holly?”
I look up into his eyes. “Yeah?”
His lips meet mine, and the kiss is intense. In a good way. His tongue explores my mouth, and I taste the bitterness of his IPA. While it’s not my drink of choice, the flavor adds something unique that I’ll never forget.
“I’ve wanted to do that for a while now,” he says after pulling back. “I hope that was okay.”
“I didn’t know you wanted to do that until now,” I admit, touching my lips. “But… wow.”
My lips feel swollen, but it was a great kiss. Surprisingly great, coming from someone so strait-laced.
He kisses me again; this time his hand slides up my thigh and under my skirt. I know I should stop him—because of who he is and because we’re in a public bar—but I don’t. Damn this curiosity.
His fingers slip beneath my panties, circling my clit under the cover of the table. I pant as he kisses my neck, glancing around to see no one paying us any attention.
There are a few other booths with couples making out, hands hidden beneath tablecloths like ours, and I suspect we’re not the only ones doing this.
His lips find mine again, his fingers moving faster. I’m dizzy, and it’s surprisingly heady having him work me up in public. I’ve never done this before.
“Is this too much?” Tyler asks in my ear as my leg moves to give him more access.
“Not enough,” I whisper, my chest heaving.
He wasn’t kidding when he said he was a sexual guy. And the fingers he usually types aggressively with in meetings now have my full appreciation.
Taking my nub between his thumb and index finger, he rubs back and forth, nearly sending me up and out of the booth. It’s intense and amazing.
“Tyler,” I whisper, the warm feeling of an orgasm building.
He captures my mouth again, pulling my body closer as he continues to work me, and I feel how turned on he is as I do my best to muffle the moan his mouth swallows.
My entire body shakes, and he eases up before pulling his fingers from my panties. “Want to get out of here?” he asks.
“Yes, please.”
Screw him being my boss. That was hot.
He throws money onto the table, and we hurry back out to his car. It’s parked in a darker part of the lot, and without a streetlight, the shadows would make me uneasy if I were by myself. Right now, it’s perfect.
Pulling him to me, I lean against the side of his car and kiss him. His hands roam over my body, and I slip a hand down to stroke the bulge in his jeans.
I realize I’ve never seen him in jeans, either. He looks like a completely different man tonight.
“We can’t go to my place,” Tyler groans as I kiss his neck. “Rachel’s at the condo getting the rest of her things.”
“My roommate is home, so we can’t go to my place,” I say, resting my head on the hood of his car as I pant.
I don’t know if it’s true, but I don’t know if I want to risk running into Decker with another man. It’s awkward enough as it is.
Opening the back door, I smile at him, letting him climb in first, and I follow.
“Are you sure about this?” he asks.
I just nod, and he unbuttons his jeans and pulls them down to his ankles. In the process, he grabs his wallet and pulls out a condom, slipping it on in record speed.
Pulling my panties off, I swing my leg over his lap and guide him into me as I lower my body onto his. He grabs my hair at the nape and pulls to expose my neck as I move along his length.
“God, Holly, yes,” he mutters and kisses my neck.
This is wrong. This is so wrong, but it feels so right in this moment. Maybe it’s the alcohol. Maybe it’s seeing my boss not as my boss. Or maybe it’s the fact that I haven’t had sex in the backseat of a car in years.
I’m wearing a button-down blouse, and he quickly undoes every single one to expose my chest. My bra hooks in the front—oddly convenient—and he’s sucking on my bare nipple in no time.
“Tyler,” I moan, rocking my hips as I continue to ride him.
“You’re so gorgeous, Holly,” he whispers. “I’ve thought about this for so long now.”
Damn it, Mona was right.
His hands replace his mouth on my chest, his thumb rubbing over my nipple, and he reclaims my mouth as I rock my hips. He does know how to kiss. I’ll give him that.
Tyler feels good. Not great, but there’s a sort of nostalgia about it. I had sex in the backseat of a limo after prom—a terrible experience losing my virginity—but I did go out to the woods and park with my boyfriends. Fooled around and had fun without going all the way. It reminds me of that.
Headlights flash into the backseat, and Tyler pulls me to his chest, making sure I’m covered until the darkness takes over again. The reality of what we’re doing hits us, and it kind of puts a damper on the appeal.
“We should hurry this up,” I whisper in his ear.
“What do you suggest?”
Flipping around, I ride him reverse cowgirl, bending down to the center console in the front, making sure that if headlights shine on us, I’m not exposed. Tyler holds my hips and thrusts as best he can in the confined space, moaning as the windows begin to fog up.
“Shit,” he mutters.
He thrusts faster, driving as deep as he can while holding me in place until he stills beneath me. I feel the familiar spasms as he fills the condom.
I’d gotten close, but not close enough. “That’s okay.”
“I… Fuck… Holly…”
Climbing off his lap, I fix my bra and shirt while he adjusts himself. Reality really hits now.
“I didn’t mean to come that soon—”
“It’s okay,” I assure him again.
“No, it’s not.”
I gently kiss his lips, but the magic spell has broken. “I got one in the bar, remember?”
“Are you okay?”
Forcing a smile, I nod. “I’m fine.”
“You’re freaked out now.”
“No, I just… I need to think. I’m going to walk home.”
He takes my hand. “Are you sure?”
“I’m sure.”
“I can walk you.”
“It’s only three blocks. I’ll be fine. See you at work?”
The words form a pit in my stomach, and the panic starts to set in. I need to get out of here.
“See you—”
The door shuts as I hurry away, realizing my panties are still in his car, but I don’t care. I need space. I need to think.
And I need to stop dating on this damn app.