Chapter 17 Pull No Punches
PULL NO PUNCHES
At five the next morning, Chance’s alarm went off. He rolled over to shut it down hoping not to wake Jocelyn, but she moaned out a, “Noooo,” next to him.
“Sorry,” he said. “Go back to sleep. I need to go home and shower before work.”
“What time is it?” she asked.
“Five,” he said, throwing the covers back. He’d had no plans of staying the night. Nothing more than getting a piece of ass and leaving.
The more he thought of Jocelyn, the more he worried this was nothing more than something to run hot, then turn to ash.
He was positive this was exactly what he’d said to her. Just sex. Something to mark off her bucket list.
She was coming to him the same as all the other women he’d been with.
But if it were up to him, he might not have approached her either. Wasn’t that something his grandmother gave him a hard time about? That he made the woman do all the work?
But he reached out to her and they had a great time together. Both times they’d been on a date.
Both times she saw him while he was working.
She tossed the covers back with him. “I’ll make you breakfast and save you that chore.”
“You don’t have to,” he said.
“Yep, I do. I’m positive if you walk out this door without me talking to you, I might have to hunt you down again. I’ll think this is even more one-sided. The least you can do is be man enough to tell me your thoughts.”
“Damn, you pull no punches.”
“I’ve learned not to when it comes to men. There is a spare toothbrush in the closet,” she said.
He laughed and grabbed his clothes that were on the chair in her room, went into the bathroom to piss and shower quickly. Not that he wanted to put on yesterday’s clothing, but it wasn’t the first time he’d done it.
Though he wanted to know more about why she’d made the comment about learning to pull no punches, he wasn’t sure she’d tell him.
When he got out of the shower, he smelled the coffee and made his way toward the kitchen.
“Don’t leave on me,” she said, shoving a coffee cup in his hand. “Watch for the toast. I need to brush my teeth.”
She left him standing there while she dashed away in nothing more than a T-shirt that barely covered her ass. No panties on under it either.
He’d removed them from her a few hours ago when he woke up to her body next to his. His dick had a mind of its own and she was more than willing to let him play, then they both landed back in dreamland.
He wished he didn’t have to work today and could sleep some more, but it wasn’t the first time he was running on fumes and it wouldn’t be the last.
The toast popped and he put butter on it while he shut the stove off and removed the pan from the heat.
The scrambled eggs were done by him.
“I stayed,” he said when she came back.
“I would have chased you down if you had left,” she said.
She was forcing a smile. It almost scared him.
But he laughed instead. “You’re frightening this way.”
“I’m old enough to get to the root of the matter with people. Take it or leave it. I went to the bar last night hoping the night would end this way.”
“It was obvious,” he said, sitting down with a plate that he’d filled with food.
“I’m not good at hiding things. Or maybe I don’t want to. I’m not asking you to give me any kind of commitment, long-term plan, or even a weekly schedule. Just want to know if this was all you wanted and were going on your way?”
“I hadn’t thought that,” he said. “Why would you ask?”
“Oh,” she said, sipping her coffee, then sitting next to him with her plate. “I don’t know. You insulted me and said I was just marking this off my bucket list. Do you really think I had your name down to find you decades later for sex?”
He laughed at her sarcasm. “I didn’t mean it that way.”
She tilted her head. “I think you did.”
“The no-bullshit again, huh?”
“Something like that. Why did you say that?”
He shrugged. “Sex talk.”
“Insulting me is sex talk?”
“It worked,” he said. “Don’t tell me it didn’t.”
She sighed and rolled her eyes. “Fine. It worked. But it still insulted me and that is why we are having this conversation.”
“Sorry for that,” he said. “I hadn’t meant to do it.”
“Yeah, I think you did,” she said again.
Damn. This wasn’t the girl he had known in high school. “Not that way.”
“I’ll buy that. What way then?”
He looked at his watch. “I don’t have much time. The best I can say is that it’s crossed my mind we don’t have a lot in common.”
“Bullshit,” she said.
“You think we have stuff in common?”
“We went to the same high school,” she said, holding up one finger.
“We both had traumatic things happen at the same age with our mothers.” Finger number two popped up.
“We both work around construction.” Finger number three.
“We both have the hots for each other.” Her pinky was released from her thumb.
“We can give each other numerous orgasms in one night.” Her thumb snapped up.
Her other fist rose and he grabbed it. “Got it. We can cover the rest another time.”
“I was going to talk about long car rides, video games, and beer.”
“I know,” he said. “I’ll admit I’m wrong.”
“Sweet,” she said, then picked up her fork and dove into her eggs. “You’re thinking of things when we were kids. We aren’t those people anymore.”
“We’ll always be those people.”
“I’d prefer to think I’ve grown. Be the bigger person and admit it too because it’s obvious for everyone to see.”
There was no use lying. “Fine. I’ve worked hard to make something of myself.”
“And you think I didn’t have to do that.”
“Your social status hasn’t changed much.”
Her lips pursed some. “I don’t care about those things and you shouldn’t either. Don’t make me angry. I can be even scarier.”
He laughed. “I believe it. As for us…I like what we have so far. I’m sure you’re going to get sick of my work schedule.”
“You’ll be the first to know if that happens.”
He finished his eggs and picked up his first piece of toast. “I’m not into anything fancy.”
“Does it look as if I am?”
She had an answer for everything.
“I like to have fun.”
“Last night was a blast. Can’t wait to do it again.”
“Okay, you win,” he said. He stood up with his empty plate and snagged the last piece of toast. He was eating on the run, but he had to get out of here.
Not so much for the time factor but to figure this out.
Nothing like he thought would happen was.
Which wasn’t true. He wanted to fuck her brains out and he’d like to think he’d accomplished that.
But she’d turned it around and done the same to him in her bed.
Jocelyn McCarthy had a little wild side in her he was enjoying more than he anticipated.
She stood next to him, leaned up and gave him a kiss on the lips.
“I hope you don’t think I’m trying to tie you down or coming off like a psycho.
I just want to make it clear that what you’re seeing isn’t there.
Or what you’re thinking. I don’t think you’re the type to make excuses and are going to ghost me, but be honest.”
“I wouldn’t do that,” he said sincerely. “I own up to everything in my life. I don’t ghost women. I tell them what it is and if I’m out of there.”
“Thank you for that. No one wants to be left doubting themselves.”
He did it enough in his life and it was the reason he’d never do it to anyone else.
He gave her one more kiss. “I’ll be in touch. Just don’t know when.”
Which was a first for him to say that. If he said it, he’d keep his word. He didn’t want her to think he’d leave, but he also didn’t agree with her stance that they had enough in common to be more than fun.
If it was working for her, then he’d make it work for him. He wasn’t sure he’d ever be the settling-down type anyway.