18
JAKE
Two months later
Kiera leans over the table. "You have something on your face."
Before I can react, she swipes a finger over the corner of my mouth and licks it while keeping her gaze on me.
I harden, which is especially inconvenient since we're at the office.
I frown at her. "You're distracting me."
She bats her eyes at me. "Oh, am I?"
"Yeah," I take my shoe off and reach under the table to swipe my toe over her leg. I can see her visibly shiver.
"Now who's distracting whom?"
I smirk at her.
"Come on, we need to hurry up," she says. "The final blueprints for the museum project are due next week."
"I know." I prop an elbow on the table to look at her.
She rolls her eyes at me.
The last couple of months have been nothing short of a dream. Things are great at work, and we're making more progress with the museum project than I initially estimated. I got the board off my back for good.
Kiera is excellent. She took over the project entirely and allows me to focus on my most demanding clients. It has been a seamless experience.
And we don't let that spill over into our private time. Kiera has all but moved into my place.
I haven't had the courage to ask her to move in with me officially, but I hope to very soon. Like she wanted, I haven’t told anybody in my life we’re together, not my friends or family, but all I want to do is shout about my love from the rooftops.
My heart lurches in my throat.
I love her.
I don’t think I ever stopped loving her. Even though we haven’t said the words yet to each other—again, I don’t want to freak her out—deep down, I know.
The door opens, and Bea peeks in with her eyes closed. "Is it okay to come in?"
"You don't have to keep your eyes closed every time you come in, you know?" Kiera says.
Bea winces. "Yeah, tell that to my previous manager."
"Yikes," I say. "But yeah, Bea, you can come in. We're proper." I retract my feet from Kiera, and I immediately miss feeling her. I have this constant need to keep touching her.
"I just wanted to come in and tell you that your friend left a message for you," Bea says. "He says he tried to contact you through calls and texts a few times but got no answer, so he'll be here in a couple of hours. He wants to take you out with ‘the boys’." Bea does air quotes at the end.
I groan, rubbing the middle of my forehead.
Great, just great. Obviously, he didn't get the memo that I've been avoiding him.
Kiera looks at me. "Is it Chris?"
"Yes," I say. "Trust me, I have been trying to avoid him. This isn't part of my plan."
"But it's part of Chris's plan," Kiera says. I can't find a trace of anger in her voice. It's neutral.
"I’ll tell him I won't go."
"Don't do that," Kiera says, with a sigh. "I told you before, I don't have a problem if you go out with Chris."
"I can call him back and tell him you're out of the office," Bea says.
"No, Bea, it's fine. He can come in," Kiera says.
Bea looks at me for confirmation. I nod, and she leaves my office.
"I won't go, and that's my decision."
"You can't cut your friends out of your life because of me," she says. "That's controlling, and I don't want to be that kind of a girlfriend."
"Girlfriend?"
Kiera's eyes widen. "I-I didn't mean that. It was just that—" she stammers, the panic showing on her face.
I reach across the table and take her hand. "Kiera, relax. You're fine, breathe."
She starts to take a couple of gulps of air.
"And you are definitely my girlfriend."
"I am?"
"Just because I haven't officially asked you out in this continent yet doesn't mean that's not true. We've been together for more than two months now. And dare I say that this is the most meaningful relationship in my life."
Kiera's lips tremble, and for a second, I fear that she's about to start crying. But instead, she launches at me from the other side of the desk.
I barely catch her in my arms as she snuggles into my neck.
"Are you smelling my neck?" I tease.
"Shut up," she says, taking a good sniff. "It calms me down."
I smile to myself while I pat a hand down her hair.
“I have to go. I have deadlines to uphold.”
Kiera dances out of my grip.
She starts to gather the files off the table. "I really can't keep delaying them. It's unfair."
"What is unfair is that you are not in my arms right now."
She rolls her eyes. "I can't take advantage of my position."
Before I can protest anymore, she's out the door.
Just then I get a text from Chris.
Are you coming or not? I’ve already got Henry’s present. Better not bail this time.
I won’t, I reply. Even though meeting Chris is the last thing I want to do right now.
Where are we meeting? I text.
Chris: Now that’s a surprise.
***
"Surprise!" Chris exclaims.
I stare at the flashing neon sign ahead of us. "A strip club, seriously? Really classy, Chris."
"Yeah, when you said that it was a surprise, this place was the last thing on my mind," Henry adds. "So, color me surprised. Especially since this is supposed to be my birthday celebration, and none of us likes strip clubs. Oh wait, you do, Chris, right?"
"You guys are no fun at all. What happened to the Henry and Jake I knew from college?"
"They didn’t like strip clubs either. Again, that was just you."
Chris rolls his eyes. "Whatever. This place isn't even a strip joint, it’s a gentlemen’s club."
Henry looks at him. "Care to tell us how is that different again?"
"It's a classy place," Chris says. "Come on, don't you want to rock it like the old days? Don’t you remember the ragers we used to throw back in our frat?”
Henry and I exchange a look.
Chris was the one always wanting to party and to go to places like this. We just tagged along with him reluctantly because it was too dangerous to leave him alone.
"Come on, it was going to be a great night, and you're ruining it already. Don't you want to spend it with your best boys?"
I resist the urge to frown.
Chris has always been like this. He wants everything to go his way, or he’ll manipulate others into thinking that’s how it should have been in the first place.
"I mean—" Henry begins.
I shoot him an apologetic look. I know he's dating someone, so it's possible that he wanted to spend the evening with her rather than get warm beers with us or ogle at naked ladies he has no interest in.
I know I would rather be spending the evening with Kiera. But tonight isn't about me.
"Alright, let's go in. It might be better than expected," I say, the lie unconvincing to myself.
We walk inside, and we're immediately greeted by extremely loud music and the smell of cloyingly sweet perfume. The music is ridiculously loud and people are shouting to make themselves heard over it.
I regret my words immediately.
"Not that bad, huh?" Henry glares at me.
Chris grabs on to either of our shoulders and walks us inside before we can walk back out again.
The place is pretty crowded. There are plush couches and lounging chairs set up while ladies clad in lacy lingerie weave through the crowd, serving drinks to the men who ogle at them.
"I can see every single nipple on the waitresses," Chris says. "Jake, look at that chick's tits."
"Yeah," I say reluctantly.
"What’s wrong with you, man? This is titty heaven," Chris says. "Don't tell me you're not loving this place."
"It has its charms," I answer.
While Chris isn't looking, Henry elbows me. I scowl at him. "What's wrong with you?"
"I can ask you the same question," Henry answers. "What's wrong with you?"
"What do you mean?"
"You've barely looked at any women," Henry says.
"So?"
" So ?" Henry answers, one of his brows raised.
I shake my head. "You're reading too much into this. I'm just not into a place like this. I'm not twelve years old anymore for Christ's sake. Not even twenty."
"When on Earth did that happen?" Henry says.
I resist the urge to laugh.
"Anybody call for me?" Chris says. He has started to sashay with three girls, trying to get them to sit on his lap.
"Please, God, tell me we weren't like that in college," Henry says as we watch Chris make moves on all three girls.
"I know I wasn’t," I say. "I can't speak for you."
"Time for the cake!!" Chris exclaims. Moments later, two more girls in even skimpier clothes come out with a cake on a tray and hold it up to Henry.
"Make a wish, cutie," one of the blonde girls says, winking at him.
Henry looks flabbergasted. The cake itself isn't adult themed, so thank god for that.
He cuts the cake, and the girls sing in unison for him. After a while, he actually seems to be into it.
Chris breaks open a new bottle of champagne. "I told you, you would like that."
Henry looks a little flushed. "I mean, it's not that bad."
"Are we hitting any other places after this?" I say.
Chris frowns. "Why the hurry to get away?"
"I just thought we would have dinner at a nicer place," I say.
"Why? What's wrong with this place?" Chris says.
Before I can answer, a girl sashays up to me. Her arm slithers over my shoulder. "Hey, handsome."
She's voluptuous and blonde, and in normal conditions, just my type, but she does nothing for me today except wanting her gone. Definitely not touching me.
I shake her arm off myself, glaring at Chris. "This."
“What’s wrong with you, man?” Chris says. “Chill the fuck out. You’re acting like I got you to prison. Sorry it’s an inconvenience that beautiful women are all over you.”
“You really thought this was the place we were all supposed to be at for Henry’s twenty-sixth? Real mature, man.”
Chris scowls. “Well, this is where I’d like to spend my birthday, so why not? Besides, I’m not the one who keeps blowing their friends off. You’ve been ignoring us for months.”
“Guys, chill out. Both of you.” Henry looks at me pleadingly.
“Fine.”
“Whatever,” Chris says.
"Let's have dinner at a nice place," Henry says. "Can we do that?"
"I still don't understand why we can’t have that here. It’s like suddenly you’re both under ball and chain or something."
I scowl at him.
"What? Are you? Did you get a nice piece of ass to keep at home every night and now you don’t need randos anymore?"
I almost punch him in the face for referring to women like that. To Kiera. But this is exactly what Kiera was trying to avoid.
I take a deep breath. "Of course not. This is just not my scene. Never was. And besides, tonight is about Henry, not me."
“Okay, whatever.”
***
By the time dinner is over and I finally escape to go home, it's already past midnight. I let myself quietly into the apartment.
Kiera texted me to let me know that she's staying back at my place.
I tried my best to come home to her as quickly as I could.
I hum a tune under my breath as I open the door to my bedroom and stop dead, my mouth falling open.
Kiera is lounging casually on the edge of my bed, except she's in a half-undone bathrobe with her legs spread apart.
"Hey," she says, a sexy smile playing on her face. "You're back. I've been waiting for you."
"Kiera, what—" I'm at a total loss for words.
"What? You don't like it?" She sits up straighter, and the robe opens ever further, exposing her heaving breasts. Her nipples are hard and jutting out as she opens herself to me.
My mouth goes dry, and at the same time I feel it water. Without saying a word, I lift her off the bed and into my arms and kiss her.
I slant her head to the side for easier access as my tongue dips into her mouth, coaxing hers out.
She grabs onto me, slowly taking my coat off until it falls in a heap around her.
Kiera's robe comes undone until she's naked.
I press kisses down her neck, making her gasp as her arms circle me.
"I think—" she whimpers. "It's a little unfair that I'm completely naked and you aren't."
I loosen my tie and start to unbuckle my belt, pressing my hardness into her. "I think it's a little unfair that I'm hard all the time around you."
She giggles, peeling back to look at me. "How was the night out?"
"Exhausting," I confess.
"How about a good, long shower with me to wash it off?"
In answer, I take her in my arms and start carrying her toward the bathroom. "Say no more."