CHAPTER 25
Palmer
Not texting Bailey feels like it might kill me.
Not like in the whole “If I never talk to him again, I might die” kind of way. In the whole “I want to keep teasing him and know that he wants me” sort of way. Maybe a little bit in the first way, too, but less dramatic.
That, and I kind of just miss talking to him.
By the time it reaches seven o’clock, I’m pacing my kitchen floor like a caged animal. What’s he going to say? What exactly did he like about the video? What does he want to do to me?
The familiar warmth between my thighs returns, and I squeeze them together. Keep it together.
Unable to wait any longer, I text Bailey.
Palmer: Hey ? You ready for our call?
Bailey: Yep, just got back a few minutes ago.
Bailey: Ready when you are.
Drawing a shaky breath, I exhale then hit the button to call. It only rings once before he picks up, his voice warm and friendly.
“Hey, Palmer.”
My cheeks are already turning pink; I can feel it. If nothing else, I’m grateful for the fact he can’t see me. “Hey.”
“That’s all I get?” he teases. “Just ‘hey?’”
I roll my eyes, smiling. “Hi, Bailey. How are you?”
“Atta girl. That’s more what I was expecting.” Bailey continues, talking about his day. I know he’s just messing with me, but I swear to god, I’m already wet. He knows exactly what saying those kinds of things does to me, and I know that’s exactly why he does it.
He’s toying with me (let’s ignore the fact that I started it earlier today).
Bailey’s voice draws me out of my head. “You there, Palmer?”
“Yeah, sorry. Just got… distracted. What’d you say?”
His chuckle rumbles through the receiver. “I asked how you’re doing and how the cheer funding problem solving is going.”
Horny. Dying to suck your cock, otherwise great. Why do you ask?
Shaking my head to erase the thought, I counter, “I’m doing okay. I found a few grants that might work, and I was going to call some businesses to see if they’d be willing to donate, but it was kind of a long day.”
“Oh? Tell me about it.”
“You know how hard it is to try and get kids to do things they don’t want to do anyway?”
“I do recall you mentioning that,” Bailey muses.
“Well, try having them take a test about something that’s hard for them already and get them to either a) give their best effort or b) not have a complete breakdown because they aren’t sure how to do the questions and don’t want to get a bad score.”
“Yikes,” he commiserates. “I remember having to take those tests in school. They sucked.”
I nod in agreement. “Not much has changed.” There’s a brief pause before I ask, “So what have you been up to today?”
Bailey continues as if he hasn’t heard me. “How’s Mouse?”
It seems odd, but maybe he just didn’t hear what I said. “She’s good. Right now, she’s curled up, asleep on the couch. What about you?”
“And what are you doing?”
“Um,” I stutter. I know for a fact that he heard me that time. Why isn’t he just as hot and bothered as I am just thinking about him? “Just standing in the kitchen. Why?”
“Just wondering,” he replies, his tone nonchalant.
“What are you doing?” I ask, louder and more forceful than the previous times.
Again, he acts as if he didn’t hear me. “So, what’d you have for lunch?”
What the fuck?
My frustration bubbles over. “Bailey.”
“Yes, Palmer?”
The way he says my name makes my stomach do cartwheels. “Did you hear me ask about what you’ve been up to today?”
“Yep.”
My fists settle onto my hips. “Then why won’t you answer me?”
The smirk in his voice is heavy. “Because I wanted to see how long it would take you to call me out.”
The heat in my stomach from my arousal quickly flares into irritation. I open my mouth to retort, but a vibrating pulse interrupts me. Glancing down at my screen, I see a video ringing through. Fuck. I don’t even look cute. I was prepared for some phone sex, but not to be seen.
Here goes nothing.
I tap the green button to answer the call, and Bailey’s face, split into a mischievous grin, fills the screen. What was I going to yell at him about again?
As if he can read my mind, Bailey says, “I like it when you get flustered. Makes me think about the other times you couldn’t quite get your words out.”
Nope, not even going to acknowledge that. I’m the one teasing him right now, not the other way around. Sure, Palmer, keep on telling yourself that. Doing my best to control the blush rising in my cheeks, I ask again, “What are you up to?”
The video on the screen jostles as Bailey scoots the phone back, balancing it so I can see his shirtless upper body leaning against the pillows, the tattoos covering his skin.
Fuck me, I just want to trace the patterns with my fingers and the contours of his torso with my tongue, leading all the way down to the ridge of his—
No. Stop it.
I force my eyes to settle back on his face, realizing he’s been watching me the whole time, waiting to respond until my attention was on him. The wicked grin spreading across his face confirms it.
“I’m just relaxing. About to eat dessert.” From out of frame, Bailey pulls a bowl of ice cream into view. He plucks a cherry out from the bowl and pops it in his mouth, chewing slowly. “What’s your favorite flavor of ice cream, Palmer?” he asks innocently enough.
“Ch—chocolate,” I choke out.
Bailey nods thoughtfully as he swipes the spoon through the bowl of vanilla in front of him. He holds it in front of him, studying it. “I tend to prefer vanilla. You know why?”
I shake my head.
He lifts his gaze back to mine and holds it. “Because you can dress it up however you want to. You can drizzle it with chocolate or caramel. You can put cherries or sprinkles or nuts. I could drizzle it all over your tits and lick it off, and it would only taste better because it tasted like you.”
His words are like lightning to my body, reigniting the searing heat that has been burning low in my stomach all day into a raging inferno threatening to devour me whole.
Bailey puts the spoon into his mouth, his eyes fixed on mine, and drags it out with a slight moan. The sound transports me right back to laying on the island I’m leaning against, his breath hot on my skin.
“So sweet,” he murmurs. “It’s been a little while since I’ve had something this sweet. Not since I last had your pussy dripping down my chin a little over a week ago.”
My eyes widen, and my jaw goes slack. He runs his tongue over the curve of his upper lip, capturing the sweet, melted liquid from the ice cream, and my eyes follow its trail.
Slow and deliberate.
Mesmerized.
Entranced.
This man has got me exactly where he wants me, and I don’t plan on making any effort to escape. Any sort of upper hand I might have thought I once held is gone, replaced only by the throbbing ache between my legs, begging for Bailey.