Chapter 8 #2
“Oh, yeah,” he said. “No self-respecting Louisianan eats a crawfish the way you did at Doc Landry’s picnic.
Now, pay attention.” He held the shellfish up and went through the proper motions of eating: breaking it in two, sucking the head, and peeling the shell off the fleshy tail before popping it in his mouth. “Got it?” he asked.
“I think so,” Tamryn said. “But I’m not sucking the head.”
“You have to suck the head,” he said. “Sucking the head is the best part.”
“You are so dirty.”
A wicked grin spread across Matt’s lips. “You’re going to thank me for that later,” he said with a wink.
It took her a few tries, but after about a half-dozen crawfish, Tamryn was tackling them like a pro.
“I can’t believe I’m going to say this out loud, but I have to admit that I’m enjoying sucking the heads,” she said.
Matt dropped the crawfish he’d been about to eat and closed his eyes. “Say that last part again, but slower, and with a little more of that sexy growl in your voice.”
She slapped his arm, but when he opened his eyes he noticed her cheeks pinking. He couldn’t wait to see that blush over every inch of her body.
She picked up her beer and took a healthy sip before setting the bottle back on the table. “If I want to stay awake, I should probably switch to coffee,” she said. “Today was exhausting.”
“It looked as if you were enjoying yourself working with Dr. Lawrence,” Matt commented.
“I was. The experience was amazing,” she said.
“Those goosebumps I showed you earlier had been on my arms all day. And you know what was even more enjoyable than watching history unfold before my very eyes? Watching those students as they watched history unfold. Seeing the way their eyes lit up, it reminded me of how my students would become so enraptured during the course of a class. I used to love that part of the job. You know, the actual teaching. I miss it.”
“I don’t get it. If you love teaching so much, why aren’t you doing more of it?”
“You’d have to understand how academia works.
And believe me, that’s not something you want us to talk about on our first official date date,” she said with a rueful grin.
Then she shrugged. “I’ll eventually get back into the classroom.
But for now, I need to concentrate more on publishing. It’s how you build your profile.”
“And that’s your goal? To build your profile?”
She tilted her head to the side, her gaze somewhere over his shoulder. “Honestly, I haven’t thought about my long-term goal in a while. I’ve been concentrating so much on getting this book finished.”
“And then what?” Matt asked. “Once the book is done, will you get back to teaching more than just a couple of classes a semester?”
“I haven’t thought that far ahead yet. I keep hitting so many roadblocks. I’m not sure the research will ever be completed.”
A tidal wave of guilt slammed into him, but Matt quickly squelched it. He refused to allow his sins to weigh down their night. Apparently, Tamryn had the same idea.
“You know what? No more talk about work, or my research woes,” she said. “Let’s just drink beer, suck heads, and have fun.”
Matt tsked as he leaned back in his chair and took a long pull of his beer. “What would your students think if they saw you, Dr. West?”
She shook her head. “I’m not Dr. West tonight.”
“I can go with that,” Matt said. He brought his chair forward and said in a lowered voice, “Just remember that I have this naughty-professor fantasy. So, later on tonight, Dr. West might have to make an appearance.”
The instant blush materialized, and the only thing that stopped Matt from scooping her up and carrying her out of the building was Dooney Boudreaux picking that moment to walk up to their table.
They chatted for a few minutes before Dooney’s wife called for him from the swinging door behind the bar.
A man in an LSU Tigers T-shirt walked up to the microphone on the pieces of plywood that passed for a stage in the corner of the bar and put out a call for karaoke singers.
“You know, I’ve always wanted to do that,” Tamryn said, gesturing to the stage.
“Sing karaoke?”
She nodded.
“Go on up there, then,” Matt encouraged her.
She shook her head. “I’ve got guts, but not that much.”
“We’re having fun tonight, remember?”
She regarded him with a challenging stare as the first singer walked onto the stage.
“Are you waiting for me to say it?” Matt asked. Her brow rose. “Okay,” he said. “I dare you.”
She set her beer down and lifted one of the premoistened towelettes from the basket on the table. She used it to wipe her hands, then pushed her chair back, stood, and strode toward the stage.
Matt turned his chair around and straddled it, folding his arms over the back.
Tamryn stood just to the right of the stage while the guy singing a song from a boy band from years ago wrapped up his number.
She waited for him to leave the stage before stepping up to the microphone in those sexy-ass boots.
Matt placed two fingers in his mouth and let out a loud whistle. The crowd clapped as the emcee introduced her.
The first bars of a Mary J. Blige song began and Tamryn started singing.
Matt’s jaw dropped. He stared at the stage in complete awe, unable to believe how god-awful she was.
Not a single note was in tune. Her voice cracked as it went from low to high in the middle of the same note.
It had to be one of the worst performances in the history of karaoke. All karaoke. Everywhere.
But to see her on that stage with her eyes closed and her body swaying from side to side made it all worth it. At least for him. The rest of the crowd looked to be in agony.
When she was done, Matt stood up and clapped loudly, whistling again and cheering her on. He didn’t call for an encore for fear that they would be tossed out of the restaurant.
When Tamryn came back to the table, the smile on her face was a mile wide.
“I can’t believe you did that,” he said. “That was…uh…something.”
“It was terrible,” she said with a laugh “I know it was, but I don’t care.
That was so much fun.” She put her hand to her chest; her eyes were bright with excitement.
“I swear, I have wanted to sing karaoke for so long, but I couldn’t do it in Boston where I know people.
This was the perfect place for it. Now no one I work with has to know just how bad a singer I am. ”
“Unless someone captured it on camera and you turn into a YouTube sensation,” Matt pointed out.
She brought both hands to her cheeks as a look of horror stole over her face, but then she laughed.
“You know what? I don’t even care. It was worth it.
It’s been so long since I did anything like that.
Just crazy, and silly, and free.” She looked over at him, her eyes soft. “Thank you. I needed this tonight.”
“You’re welcome,” Matt replied.
“Was I really that bad?” she asked.
“Yes.” He laughed. “But if you wanted to do it again, I would walk down to that stage with you and cheer you on from the very front row.”
“You would really do that for me?”
“Damn right. Even though the crowd would probably rise up in protest if they had to go through that again.”
Her features relaxed into an easy smile. “Your brutal honesty stings, but I think you still might be the sweetest man I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing.”
She closed the distance between them and melded her lips to his. Matt soaked in her flavor, detecting her essence despite the spicy food and beer she’d consumed. Her mouth was sweet and delicate, and it tasted better than just about anything he’d ever had in his life.
He was completely lost when it came to this woman. Everything he thought he knew, everything he thought he held dear—his candidacy, keeping his family’s lies hidden—all of it meant nothing when pitted against the chance to feast on Tamryn.
“Are you ready to get out of here?” he asked once they came up for air.
She opened her eyes; her lips hovered a millimeter away from his. “Where to next?” she asked.
“I haven’t given you a proper tour of the Gauthier mansion yet,” Matt said.
He studied her face as the smoldering look entered her eyes, and he knew that she understood exactly what he was suggesting.
“I think I’d like that,” she said.
He released the breath he’d refused to take until he had her answer. Now that he had it, Matt knew that the half-hour bike ride back to Gauthier would be the longest of his life.
Neither saying a word, they gathered their things from the table. Matt dropped a fifty in the center of it, disregarding Dooney’s insistence that his money was no good there.
He was ready to jump out of his skin as they made their way out of the bar.
The anticipation of what was to come had him so on edge, he missed the kickstand when he first tried to release it.
Matt took a moment to pull in a deep breath.
Then another. He took several more, allowing his body the opportunity to find some control.
“Are we leaving?” Tamryn’s warm breath fluttered against his ear, and all the control he’d fought so hard to find rushed out of him.
Matt turned and caught her lips in a deep, fierce kiss that left them both breathing hard. He handed her the helmet and said, “Strap this on. We’re about to break every speeding law in the state.”
“I’m pretty sure that would be an unwise move for a state senate candidate.”
“I’m pretty sure I don’t give a damn.”
Matt revved the bike and took off, winding back the way they’d come. By the time he drove through the open fourteen-foot iron gate at the Gauthier mansion, he was holding on to his control by a flimsy thread. He rode down the driveway, parking at the back of the house.
Tamryn alighted from the bike. As he studied her legs in the skintight jeans, the bottom halves tucked into the equally tight, calf-high boots, the remaining bits of his hard-fought control vanished.