Five
November-Thirteenth
Whitney
Fade: Are you interested in some company different from your roommates tonight? I saw how annoyed you were with her on your birthday.
Whitney: You don’t give up, do you? What changed?
Fade: I’m just trying to make friends.
Whitney: Well I’m just trying to get some free food and a foot massage.
Fade: How about you come over and I will order pizza and rub your feet until it arrives.
Whitney: Pick me up from my house in thirty minutes and I’ll try to keep the nagging to a minimum.
She tossed her phone onto the bed and stripped down. The extra room attached to her bathroom was still vacant, her personal little luxury and she took full advantage. She washed her body from the neck down, lotioned everything and touched up her makeup. She threw on a blue tank top, jeans and heels, then exited her room, looking at her phone and responding.
Fade: On my way over.
Whitney: k.
“Where are you going?”
Shianne noticed her outfit and stood from the couch, sounding almost upset that Whitney had possibly made plans that didn’t include her.
“I’m going out with someone from work.”
She gave a small lie. “He should be here soon.”
“He?”
She sank back into the furniture. From time to time Shianne made Whitney think that she had never seen a man before.
“Yes, he.”
She peaked out the blinds as a car reflection caught her eye along the wall. “He looks like a good time.”
“What’s his name?”
She reached into her top and pulled each boob up to create better cleavage. “Fade. He’s new. He flew over with me.”
Whitney informed her, knowing Shianne would be spinning through her internal rolodex, questioning if she knew him.
“Oh.”
The door pounded with a knock. “Okay.”
She grabbed her bag. “Bye.”
Whitney opened it enough to slink through without letting Shianne see him. “Hey.”
She stumbled into him on the doorstep.
Fade caught her. “Huh, I didn’t think we would be getting physical right away princess, but if you insist.”
His feet stayed planted.
“Shut the hell up.”
She hissed playfully and walked around him. “Let’s go.”
Fade
She was looking hot in the passenger seat. He glanced at her as she peered out the window for the short drive across Main Street and was hoping she wasn’t a stuck up bitch like she had come across a few times. “So what kind of pizza do you want?”
He knew exactly what he was in the mood for and was hoping Whitney was on the same page. She did create this image when they were on the plane ride over and he hadn’t forgotten it since.
“I don’t know, Hawaiian.”
Her wrist flicked her hand about. She looked at him and he caught a glimpse of her hazel eyes behind her black sunglasses as they pulled into the driveway.
“Hawaiian? Really?”
She smirked. “That was a test and you failed.”
She gripped her bag. “Order pepperoni, or is that too many toppings for you still?”
Whitney opened her door and met Fade at the sidewalk leading to the front door.
“You know, maybe we should just get plain breadsticks as our meal.”
He teased her in return, opening his front door.
“Is your roommate home?”
She took in the living space with minimal to no decor. Typical men.
“No.”
Fade closed the door behind him.
Her arms folded. “Lucky you, my roommate is always home, it feels like.”
Enthused that she was here, he motioned her to his room. He didn’t know how it was going to go or if they would even talk after this. It could end up as just a one and done. Shit, he reminded himself that he didn’t even know if she was actually interested. He reassured himself that she was, she was here, wasn’t she? Whitney walked in behind him. “Cozy,”
she said, “you haven’t done much decorating.”
“I’m not bothered by it. Why do I need to decorate?”
Whitney shrugged, setting her bag down and slid her sunglasses into her hair.
Fade closed the door, “Are you going to tell me that your place is all decorated with you working overtime?”
“What can I say? I love to shop.”
She sat on the chair along the wall that was meant for the desk next to it.
“Oh, so you’re one of those girls.”
She stood irritated. “It seems you have me all figured out. What’s the point of me staying if you already know who I am?”
Her hand tightened around the strap to her bag.
“Alright alright, that was unfair. Can I get you anything?”
She sat back down. “Well I was promised a foot rub.”
“Okay, let’s start there.”
He sat on the bed across from her as she slipped off a heel, placing her bare foot in his lap. Whitney’s bag slid off her arm and she set it onto his desk to place her sunglasses on top of it.
“So, let’s hear it, why did you go to prison?”
He sighed, “Are you sure you don’t want to start with my favorite color?”
“Uh,”
She was thrown off, “Sure? What’s your favorite color?”
“Green.”
He stared at her, forgetting to reciprocate the question.
“Mines blue and the weirdest thing you’ve eaten?”
A brow pressed down as he reacted, “Kangaroo. That jerky place next to Fremont Street sold it and I tried it. It just tasted like the seasonings they put on it and it was a little dry. Are you an introvert or extrovert?”
“Depends, I normally like staying home, but I do enjoy going out once in a while.”
“What’s once in a while?”
Whitney shrugged, “I don’t know, one to two times a month?”
“I can understand that.”
She wiggled the foot in his hands, “Okay, enough of that, now tell me.”
Fade’s smirk softened just a little. “You always this direct?
“Pretty much.”
She tilted her head. “You gonna answer, or am I going to have to assume the worst?”
“Depends,”
he said, “What’s the worst?”
She stared up at him, her hazel eyes sharp. “Unpaid parking tickets.”
That made him laugh. A low, rough sound. “Nah. Sorry to disappoint.”
“What was it, then?”
He watched her for a beat. She was good at keeping her face calm, but he could see the curiosity eating at her. She wanted to know. Wanted to figure him out. “Aggravated assault.”
His massage stopped.
Her gaze didn’t flinch. “What’s the story behind that?”
He leaned forward with both thumbs pressed in her sole. “Typical story, caught my ex fiance on top of another dude when I wasn’t supposed to be home.”
“Shit, that’s rough. Was it against her or the guy?”
Whitney cringed as the corner of her lips pressed down.
Fade’s brow twisted. “Wow, the guy. You think I would beat a woman?”
“I just met you, how would I know?”
She slipped off her other shoe and drew her knee to her chest to wrap an arm around it.
“It was against the dickbag she was banging. Her screwing around was short lived because the guy was from out of town, but long enough for me to see how loyal she actually was. What about you?”
He flipped the conversation to her, “You ever been arrested?”
“No, I watched my dad get arrested enough to know how to avoid it, that’s the trick, not getting caught.”
She smirked.
Fade shook his head. “So you have just the dad?”
“No, I never had him, I couldn’t rely on him for shit and left home at seventeen. My mom ran off when I was a kid but I have twin brothers, they joined the military as soon as they could, at the same time from what I heard. I haven’t seen them since and we lost contact.”
Whitney exchanged the foot in his hands.
“I have two older siblings. They also left as soon as they hit eighteen because my mom spends all her time high. Always found wealthy men who could supply her with her designer drugs.”
“That sucks, sounds like a toss up of who had it worst.”
He caught her eyes momentarily then dropped them before his cheeks flushed, “Yeah, let's not play that game.”
“So, how long were you with your ex?”
“Three years, engaged for the last six months of it.”
Her free foot dug into the edge of the mattress, between his legs. Their eyes locked. The tension between them crackled, and he was pretty sure they both knew exactly where this was heading. But Whitney didn’t move closer. Not yet.
“Why me?”
she asked, crossing her arms. “Why are you so determined to hang out?”
He shrugged, keeping his voice casual even though his pulse was picking up speed. “You’re interesting.”
She didn’t believe that for a second. “You barely know me.”
“Exactly,”
he said, his eyes flicking down her body and back up again. “I’m trying to fix that.”
For a second, she just sat there, watching him. Then, slowly, her mouth curved into that sharp little smirk he was already getting addicted to. Whitney smirked, tilting her head. “Oh? You think you can handle it?”
Her toes pressed a little higher, teasing.
“I can handle a lot,”
he murmured, his fingers tightening around her ankle, holding her still. “But you? I think you like pushing buttons just to see what happens.”
“Maybe.”
She arched a brow. “Problem with that?”
“Not yet.”
His grip stayed firm, but his thumb traced a slow, deliberate line along the arch of her foot. “But you keep looking at me like that, and we’re gonna find out real fast.”
The heat between them thickened. Whitney’s heart thumped harder, but she didn’t back down. “Maybe I’m counting on it.”
Fade’s lips curled into that dangerous smirk she was already starting to crave. “Careful what you wish for, princess.”
“Stop calling me—”
Before she could finish, he dropped her foot, stood, and closed the space between them in two steps. He towered over her, and Whitney had to tilt her head back to meet his gaze.
“You gonna keep testing me,”
he murmured, his voice low and rough, “or you gonna admit you like it when I push back?”
Whitney’s face tilted upward, not saying anything, looking down her nose at him, her eyes dark and sultry. His gaze is calm and intense at the same time. His hands slid up her legs, curving around her thighs and gripping her hips, stopping at her waist. In one quick motion, he pulled her up and out of the chair, their bodies colliding just before his mouth crashed into hers. She slammed into him hard enough to send them stumbling backward onto the bed.
Fade kissed her violently while she worked the button of his jeans, feeling him harden beneath the rough denim. She shoved her hand down the front of his underwear, wrapping her fingers around him.
He groaned, breaking their kiss to watch her. The heat in his eyes made her pulse race faster. Without breaking eye contact, she pulled her shirt over her head, tossing it aside along with her bra. He reached for her instantly, his hands rough and greedy on her skin as he lowered his mouth to her neck, biting just enough to make her shiver.
Her hand found him again, and his hips rocked into her touch. But before she could take things any further, he flipped them. In a blink, she was on her back, his weight pressing her into the mattress.
He stood, yanking his shirt over his head and she froze. His chest and torso were a canvas of ink, all muscle and sharp lines. But it was the piercings that caught her eye — silver glinting at both his nipples.
“Damn,”
she breathed, and his mouth curved into a wicked smirk.
“You like what you see?”
he teased, dragging his jeans down his legs, his body hard and ready.
Fade stepped closer, his eyes roaming over her like he was committing every inch to memory. He hooked his fingers into the waistband of her jeans, dragging them down slowly, his mouth brushing against hers when he leaned in. By the time she was bare beneath him, her heart was pounding so hard she was sure he could hear it.
“Fuck,”
he whispered, his eyes taking her in. “You’re perfect.”
His hand skimmed up her thigh, his fingers teasing before sliding inside her.
She arched off the bed with a gasp, her body tightening around him. “Shit—”
she moaned, her head falling back. “Fuck me.”
He lifted himself a few inches from her face, “You know for a pretty girl, you have quite the mouth.”
Her eyes intensified and one brow raised, “I said fuck me.”
The side of his lips curled up on one side, amused and pushed her legs apart, looking at her spread for him. He dragged her mouth to his while sinking inside her. Whitney moaned with pleasure and dug her nails into his back, tightening her grip with each thrust. He alternated between kissing and biting her neck before retreating to her lips again. It had been years since he slept with someone, catching him off guard and without warning he pulled out to finish on her.
Whitney
Are you kidding me? She laid there in thought. What a waste of time, and a man. He panted over her. She was just getting started, it had been four months and this was someone’s sick joke of ending her dry spell, if she would even call it ended.
“Do you want to stay for round two? Pizza should be here soon.”
He knelt over her, staring at her body and waiting for a response.
“Can I get a towel?”
She was still in disbelief that he was a two pump chump. He nodded and got up, leaving the room. I can’t even call this a one night stand. He couldn’t be completely perfect, now could he. her thoughts continued. But round two? I would be interested. Whitney responded, “I can hang out for a minute.”
Fade returned, kissed her gently and wiped her body before disposing of the towel. She fully expected him to toss the towel at her to fend for herself. She stood, finding her clothes across the room. She grabbed her pants as Fade walked back in, still naked, “What are you doing?”
He gripped her pants and slowly pulled her clothing out of her hands as he approached closer.
“What?”
she asked, her voice low as he plucked the jeans from her hands. “I’m getting dressed.”
“I don’t think so.”
Fade stepped closer, crowding her space until she fell back onto the bed. He followed her down, his mouth finding hers before trailing to her neck. “You want your pizza, don’t you?”
His eyes burned into hers.
Her breath hitched. “You may be right, but…”
She propped herself up on her elbows, a slow smile curving her lips. “I want help finishing before it gets here.”
She spread her legs, brushing against his.
Fade’s grin turned wicked. “I can help with that.”
He kissed his way down her body, slow and deliberate. His hands were rough and warm as they cupped her breasts. He rolled her nipples between his fingers with just the right amount of pressure, drawing a soft gasp from her.
When he reached her stomach, he slid her thighs over his shoulders, and the first flick of his tongue made her arch against him.
His fingers followed, pressing exactly where she needed, and the last coherent thought in her mind was that maybe pizza could wait.