Chapter 10 Blue #2
Liza’s flustered and it’s weird as hell because I’ve never seen her like this.
Pissed yes? Locked in? Hell yeah. Ready to bust some balls?
Always. But tripping over her words, fidgeting her hands and chewing on her damn lip like it’s her last meal?
No. “You’re freaking me out, DeWalt. Here, have a seat,” I say, moving over to make room.
“Get some Hazel snuggles and chill out a little.”
She hesitates, so I roll off the far edge of the bed.
“It’s all yours.” As soon as the words leave my mouth, she sits on the edge of the bed and about two seconds later, Hazel’s curled up in her lap.
I sit down at the bottom of the bed, making sure to give Liza plenty of room because she still looks skittish as hell.
She’s barely touching Hazel, and usually she’s more than happy to spend quality cuddle time with my princess.
“You wanna tell me what has you so freaked out? You’re not worried about pregnancy or some shit are you?” I joke, trying to lighten the mood and failing miserably. “Because it’s not contagious. And we were both clothed. And I didn’t come until—”
“You didn’t come at all,” she says, turning to face me.
Well, this is awkward. “Actually,” I begin, clearing my throat.
Liza looks utterly perplexed. “Oh. You did? Was it when I, um, did? Or after? Or, oh, god, before? Did I not notice? How could I have missed—”
I shake my head so she’ll stop with the play-by-play, though I’m not sure exactly what to say.
Telling her I came in my damn pants like a fucking novice because watching her come undone was intoxicating is the truth, but I’ve embarrassed myself in front of Liza enough times in the past twenty-four hours, so I decide to go with a succinct answer. “Right after.”
Liza’s eyes go wide, and she purses her lips, like she’s trying to rewind the tape in her mind.
I could fill in the blanks and explain that her orgasm went on for freaking ever, during which time she continued to ride the hell out of my hand, which was so hot it pushed me right over the edge I’d been teetering on.
But I need to put this conversation—and the events of last night—behind me.
“So. Hurray for mutual orgasms, amiright?” I say, still not coaxing so much as a smile out of her.
“Now, like you said, we pretend that last night didn’t happen and we move on with our lives.
” I say the words casually, like it’ll be easy, like I’m remotely capable of forgetting the look on Liza’s face when she came apart in my arms. Like I can erase the whimpers and sighs from where they’re embedded in my mind.
Like I can fall asleep tonight without replaying our hot-as-hell encounter in the equipment room.
Because even though I only had a taste of her, it was more than enough to get me hooked.
“We could do that,” she says, nodding as she scratches the top of Hazel’s head. “We should do that. But what if we didn’t?”
Liza’s not looking at me, so I reach out and tip her chin up so she has no choice but to meet my gaze. “What did you say?”
“You heard me,” she answers back, and fuck, I love it when she won’t give me an inch.
“Did I?” My brows raise as I ask the question.
Because if I did, holy shit. I’m a born fuck buddy, so either I’m dreaming right now or those fairies know they did me dirty and they’re making up for it now.
And yet, something doesn’t feel right. I need clarification.
And I need the uneasy feeling in my gut to go away.
“What are you saying? You want to fuck around? With me?”
Next to me, Liza bristles. “You don’t have to sound so offended.”
“I’m not offended,” I assure her. “I’m shocked. And frankly, a little suspicious. Like, maybe I should be worried you’re gonna get me all worked up and then shank me.”
She rolls her eyes, but I’m not done. Humor is my favorite defense mechanism, and right now I need to laugh.
“Or, oh, shit, Liza. I’m onto you. I’ve cracked your little code.
You’re going to seduce me, right? Drive me out of my mind with pleasure, is that it?
And then, when you’ve got me tied to the bedposts, naked and begging, you’re going to leave me stranded here while you head back downstairs to order your moldy little pizza. I’ve got your number, DeWalt.”
I’m expecting a snarky comment, a witty barb.
She’s got a sharp tongue and I like it more than I should, considering her venom is always aimed at me.
Instead, she’s staring at me, her lips parted, her eyes wide.
“You like to be tied up?” she asks, curiosity forcing the words to fall from her lips.
But there’s no judgment in her tone. If anything, she’s intrigued.
Fuck. Resisting Liza is a battle I’ll never win and I should just surrender now.
There are far worse fates than letting her use me as her own personal sex toy.
But dammit, I want more and that might be the death of me.
I turn so that I’m fully facing her. “Giving up control can be a lot of fun. Really liberating, actually. But back to the point. What are you suggesting? You want us to be orgasm buddies?”
Her answer is immediate. “That’s exactly what I want. For scientific purposes, of course.”
“Scientific purposes?” I’ve heard some pick up lines in my day, but that’s a new one.
She’s biting her lip again. “I told you I’m doing a study for the psych department, right? And I have to enter data every week. And getting that, uh…data is not always easy for me. But it was last night. And I only have until midnight Sunday to have another orgasm.”
Her words come out in a rush, but as I process them, there's no doubt my eyes are bugging out of my head. “That’s two days away. You’ve got forty-eight hours to get off, Liza.
I don’t think this is the code red emergency you think it is.
” She hits me with a glare and flips me the bird.
There’s my girl. Except she’s not my girl.
She’s Liza. Just Liza, but at least now I know she hasn’t been body-snatched.
“It’s not that simple,” she protests. “Or that easy. I have a busy weekend. We’ve got a game tomorrow, I have tests to study for, a paper to write, and I’m picking up a serving shift Sunday afternoon. I’m working a wedding and I won’t get home until after midnight, but the tips will be worth it.”
“So, this is your orgasm-window?” I ask, finding it hard to believe this is an actual conversation I’m having. The fact that I’m having it with a woman who’d rather glare at me from across the room than breathe the same air as me is mind-blowing.
“Yes. Exactly,” she says, nodding vigorously like she’s excited that I’m finally catching on. “I even have it blocked out on my planner.”
“Of course you do,” I mutter, stretching back on the bed.
My feet are planted firmly on the floor, but the rest of me has flopped backward onto the mattress because what she’s proposing is batshit crazy, and I need a second to collect my thoughts as I stare at the ceiling fan circling above my head.
And yes, I always sleep with the fan on. Who doesn’t?
Liza turns back to face me. Hazel hops off her lap, clearly annoyed by the slightest change in position, and head buts my hand, demanding a few pets.
I’m obviously not getting the job done, though, because after a couple seconds she stalks away, jumps onto the floor and heads for the recliner in the corner that she staked her claim on a few months ago.
“Are you even listening to me?” Liza asks, clearly annoyed.
“I couldn’t ignore you if I tried,” I tell her, tearing my gaze away from the ceiling fan to let her know she has my full attention.
She takes a deep breathe, like she has to summon all her patience when she’s talking to me.
“I have to write things in my planner, and I have to schedule every minute of the day. School occupies a lot of my time, obviously, but when I’m not in class or studying, I’m working.
And I don’t have some cushy work study job that lets me sit at the front desk of a residence hall and catch up on homework.
I put in a lot of hours at the wolf’s den, and I manage to keep this place from being destroyed, but being an equipment manager and keeping you guys in line doesn’t cover all my expenses, so I have to pick up shifts at the restaurant when I can.
Do I like having to schedule every second of my life?
Of course not, but there’s no trust fund paying for my education. It’s all me.”
Liza leans forward to punctuate her point, but it takes her a second to realize that she’s practically hovering over me.
She pulls back, so I prop myself up on my elbows.
“Point taken. But that brings us back to the key detail here. I believe you once said I’m the last person alive you’d ever ask for help.
So what happened? Did I miss the apocalypse?
And now you’re on an orgasm deadline, and I’m your only hope?
” She rolls her eyes at me, but I wave her off. “I’m serious, Liza, what changed?”
She hesitates, and for a second, I’m sure she’s going to walk out the door and hit me with another line about how this also never happened.
Instead, she stays put on my bed and meets my eyes as she answers.
“The study revolves around the female orgasm, as you know. But it’s not a matter of just…
getting the job done. There are certain…
variables, I guess you’d call them. Ugh, I’m not explaining this well.
So, look. It’s like this. I can’t just diddle myself every few days and write about it, okay?
And even if I could, well, as you know from reading my journal, I can’t.
Not always. The students conducting the study want data on outside stimuli and, god, there’s a whole list. I don’t have to do everything, of course, which is good, because there are some things on that list I’d have to google first. But basically, within the next forty-eight hours, I need to have an orgasm that I don’t give myself.
It doesn’t necessarily have to be from another person.
I’m allowed to use a vibrator, but I can’t do that. ”
Her rambling and stammering is utterly adorable, and it’s obvious that she’s not super comfortable talking about sex, which has me curious about something. “So why are you even doing this study? Just quit.”
She huffs again, and a sick part of me loves the way I manage to get under her skin without even trying.
“I thought it was a sleep study, okay? The last one I did was super easy, so I figured I’d sign up for this one, too.
But that all happened during finals week last semester, and my schedule was hectic.
By the time I actually read the agreement, it was too late to back out.
I mean, I guess I could have, but it just seems rude.
It’s not their fault I signed on the dotted line without reading the fine print.
Besides,” she says, nibbling at that full bottom lip, “I’m sort of intrigued by it, you know?
There’s this whole list of things that could potentially be satisfying.
I mean, I don’t have to do the whole list, which is good, because there are words I don’t know on there.
So, yes, I’m curious. When I’m not totally frustrated, that is.
I’ve never been good at relaxation of any kind, and well, I guess this is my opportunity to get better at it?
To see what all the fuss is about, I guess.
So, I’m sticking with the study, and I want to enlist your help. ”
Jesus. She’s acting like she wants help changing a tire, not changing the way she views sex.
I shake my head, like that will help me make sense of her request, but it doesn’t help at all, and I’m still left with a lot of questions.
“Wait. You said you could use a toy, right? You’ve got that magic Christmas dildo or whatever, right?
” I know she does. How could I forget? I damn near choked when Leo opened what he thought was his Secret Santa gift.
“I do have it, but I should have let Leo keep it,” Liza says. “I should have walked away and pretended it was his all along, because I can’t use it.”
“What? Why? You do know those things come with chargers, right? Unless yours is old school and runs on batteries.”
“That’s not the issue,” she says, toying with one of her braids. “It’s… intimidating. And it has eyes. I know it’s a reindeer and so it has to have eyes, but that’s just weird. And while we’re on the subject, who makes a reindeer vibrator?”
I’m biting my cheek so I don’t laugh. She’s not joking, and she’s not wrong. “So you need outside stimulation,” I say, clearing my throat. “And I’m the only guy in town?”
Liza looks down at me, her brown eyes sparkling. “You’re the only one who’s ever made me come.”