Chapter 34 Best of Boulder
Calder
Wyatt, Trista, Max, Cozy, and Luke all sit at an opulent round table at a banquet hall in downtown Boulder. Finishing off
our large table of guests is Kate and Miles, friends of Max and Cozy’s that I’ve known for years now. Miles is a partial owner
at the Tire Depot in town and a regular at our monthly poker nights. He smiles as his Kate continuously has the whole table
in stitches regaling us with stories of her career as a self-proclaimed smut writer. Pretty sure some of the activities Dakota
and I have been getting up to these past few weeks could be book-worthy, but since I value my own life, I will keep those
stories to myself.
White flowers and candles are spread all over the tables. People are dressed in suits and gowns, sipping cocktails, and mingling
with fellow Boulder business owners. It’s definitely a who’s-who of Boulder here tonight. Max knows everyone of course, and
even me, Wyatt, and Luke have run into a fair share of people we’ve worked with as fellow local business owners.
Though, I haven’t been very interested in idle chitchat with acquaintances because I’m too busy staring at the hottest woman
in the room.
Dakota’s blonde hair glows in the dim banquet lighting as she sits back in her chair and sips her champagne.
My eyes drink her in for the hundredth time tonight.
She’s wearing a one-shouldered fitted little black dress that hugs every damn curve of her.
It has a sexy cut out along her collarbone that I have been fighting the urge to press my lips to all night long.
The thick gold link belt she added cinches her at the waist, giving her that hourglass figure that makes my dick press against the zipper of my slacks.
When I picked her up earlier tonight and she walked outside before I could get to the door, I damn near stroked out at the
sight of her. Her heels are sky-high, her ass is unreal, and the faint remnant of a tan line on her exposed shoulder caused
the strangest word to tumble from my lips...
Mine.
That tan line is mine, those curves are mine, the way her long blond curls tighten throughout the night from the humidity
of the room... mine.
I adjust myself in my black suit pants yet again as I picture my hand tangled in her hair while her red lips wrap around me.
It’s an image I would very much like to make a reality, but this evening isn’t about sex. It isn’t about our PowerPoint checklist
or her quest for sexual awakening. It’s about Dakota and everything she’s accomplished in her life. Her divorce is merely
a footnote to all that she’s achieved this year, and I need to listen to my upper head, not my lower head.
The sex can wait.
However, I do have big plans for her later. We’re planning to spend the night at her place finally, and by the time I’m done
with her, all memories of her ex-husband will be gone for good.
Dakota’s long red nails skate along my thigh as she leans over to whisper in my ear. “Should we go for some extra credit tonight?”
My brows wrinkle as I pull back to look at her, my vision hanging on the sexy pout of her red lips that she’s currently tugging
between her teeth. “What did you have in mind?”
She leans in again, and her hot breath tickles my ear as she replies, “Maybe a little more exhibition action. I saw a family
restroom with a door that locks, and we could...” She nods toward the door, and my cock reacts instantly.
To take her into a bathroom and bend her over the sink sounds fucking divine.
I could shove that tight dress up over her ass and mess up her hair while I fist it and drive into her from behind.
I could even take my tie off and wrap it around her mouth to help muffle her cries of pleasure, so no one hears the filthy things I do to her.
My dirty girl likes a little bondage. And I like the idea of her walking up on that stage with her cunt stretched out from my dick.
Her lips raw from my beard. It all sounds really fucking good.
But my upper head has different ideas than my lower. I swallow the knot in my throat, fighting back the erection growing in
my slacks as I lean into her. “I don’t want this evening to be about that.”
“About sex?” She gapes at me like I’m speaking in tongues. “When do you think about anything but?”
My brows furrow as I fight off the sting of that remark. “I want it to be about you and only you.”
“Okay, sorry,” she murmurs, and a puzzled look casts over her face as she pulls away from me. She shifts in her seat and crosses
her legs, her cheeks flush as a wave of insecurity clouds her gorgeous face.
When I lean in to whisper in her ear again, I feel how tense her shoulders are. “To be clear, Ace... I want to fuck you.”
“Then, what’s the problem?” she hisses, her voice thick with hurt and rejection.
My lips thin as I stare deeply into her eyes. “I want tonight to be about more than that.”
Her chin quakes as she nods and offers me a weak shrug. “Whatever you say.”
Trying to lighten the mood, I squeeze her leg. “I like when you let me be the boss on occasion.”
She rolls her eyes, looking sexy and pouty, and I hate that I made her feel anything other than amazing on her big night.
But this isn’t the time for her to be working through her checklist. This is the time for her to be a boss-ass bitch even if I’m just as surprised as she is that I want that for her.
Not sure where my balls have gone to during this whole arrangement, but I expect they’ll be back soon enough.
Dakota
A hush falls over the audience as the emcee of the night takes the stage, speaking about the Boulder Business Bureau and its
long-standing commitment to creating the culture in our town. I do my best to listen and live in the moment, but my mind is
relentlessly drifting back to Calder.
He passed up sex with me.
Calder Fletcher said no to sex.
I know he said he just didn’t want to do it because he wants tonight to be all about me, but isn’t giving me an orgasm pretty
much all about me? And it’s my night, so shouldn’t what I want count for something?
A heaviness presses down on me as I consider the fact that he might be getting sick of me. We’ve been doing this arrangement
for a few weeks now, and we don’t have much left to check off the list. Maybe he’s counting down the days until this is over.
He’s made it very clear he’s not a relationship guy, and we’re venturing very close to that territory. And as rejection prickles
into my mind, I start to remember the things Randal used to say to me.
Your thigh dimples show in those shorts. I think you should wear jeans instead.
Maybe if you joined my gym, you could get back those abs you had when I met you.
You should talk to my nutritionist. A lot of the stuff you eat is bloating you.
You hate everything in your closet because you don’t look like you did the day we got married.
I’m just being honest with you. If your own husband can’t point out your flaws, then who can?
Was Calder looking at my stomach just now?
I shake my head and turn to focus on the speaker. It doesn’t fucking matter, Dakota. Calder is one of many men that will judge
you. What matters is that you don’t give a fuck what they think. You’re here to get an award for your business tonight, so
just focus on that.
A deafening round of applause erupts, and Cozy reaches over to nudge me, clapping and smiling. “Get up there, girl!”
My blood pressure skyrockets when I realize I missed them calling my name. On wobbly legs, I stand, smoothing down my dress
and fighting to hold my head up high as my mind spins with a million different thoughts. As I make my way across the stage,
I look out at the audience all clapping for me. For what I’ve done. What have I done?
A glass statue is placed in my hand, and I look at it, frowning at the words etched into it. For Excellence in Business stands out the most. The emcee gestures to the microphone, and suddenly, the speech I had prepared evaporates from my mind.
Guess I’ll be speaking from the heart tonight.
“Thank you so much,” I say, and everyone sits down, quieting around the room for me to continue. I pause to look at the object
in my hand once more and can’t stop the laughter rising in my throat. “It feels so weird to get a trophy as a grown-up.”
The audience chuckles, and I bite my lip, shocked that I just said that out loud.
“My business isn’t rocket science.” I swallow the knot in my throat before I continue. “I literally called it The T-shirt
Shop because when I filled out the grant application for the building, I was a senior in college and cared more about afterparties
than what I was going to do after college.”
More laughing from the crowd, and my eyes find Cozy and Trista and Kate. I glean strength from those powerful women I’m lucky to call friends and force myself to continue.
“But somehow, the Boulder Business Bureau awarded me with that grant, taking a huge chance on me, and somehow, miraculously,
I’ve managed to stay in business for over ten years now.”
Someone in the audience whoops, and I smile when I see it was Kate.
“I don’t write best-selling novels or build houses or fix people’s cars or open up rescue centers for abandoned wildlife.
I just... sell cute T-shirts that I hope people feel good in.”
My eyes land on Cozy, and she’s grinning so big it makes my chest ache with happiness.
“It’s important to feel good... about yourself. Confidence is such a big word that is tossed around like you either have it or you don’t. But I think we’d all be lying to ourselves
if we said we felt confident in every part of our lives... of our businesses. Outside influences are constantly trying
to tear us down. Things that aren’t in our control. It’s a tough world out there, and no one is short of opinions.”
My voice trembles at the end of that sentence, and I clear my throat, feeling my hands grow slick with sweat as I clutch the
glass award.
“But maybe insecurity can be a strength too. Maybe not feeling confident in yourself is what keeps you hungry. It keeps you
evolving and changing and trying new things. Self-doubt encourages self-reflection, and when you really start to look at yourself,
maybe you see something that can push you in a new and exciting direction... like tie-dye classes.”
Light chuckles roll through the crowd, and my mind flashes to the countless groups I’ve had cycle in and out of my store.
It’s a pain-in-the-ass mess, but it makes me a part of this community that I love so much.
“In a lot of ways, I’d say it was my lack of confidence that got me here. The mistakes I made along the way helped me find where I was meant to be.
“But I’ll tell you this. If you can surround yourself with good, kind people, whether that’s colleagues, employees, friends,
or family... people who want to raise you up instead of drag you down...” I take a moment, a deep breath, and my eyes
lock with Calder as I state the last part “...you can feel safe in your insecurities because there will always be someone
there to call you out on your shit. Thank you.”