11. Chelsea
CHELSEA
This is quite possibly the most humiliating conclusion to this disastrous morning.
Today has been a series of mistakes from beginning to end, starting with accepting the bid to change the location of the meeting.
When Jake had sent a text saying that he was sick and wanted to meet somewhere closer to home, I thought it would probably be at another restaurant or a hotel with a conference room or something.
But once the Uber turned down a residential lane, I should have known where we were going and hightailed it out of there.
My only defense is that it looks totally different during the day than at night.
Or maybe it was my panicked thoughts that made it look so sordid that night, like some kind of red light district rather than a fairly average upper-middle-class neighborhood with cute suburban homes with trimmed gazebos and old women going on power walks on the side of the road.
By the time the car stopped in front of their house, it was too late. He opened the door and caught me before I could make up an excuse to leave.
But it wouldn’t have been if I’d stuck to my guns and insisted that we go somewhere else.
But no.
I let myself be lured in by his guileless look and his charm and his apron, and I walked into the same living room I escaped all those nights ago.
Instantly, the memories began flashing through my mind. What we did on that couch. Bending me over the table, my naked breast pressed on the glass as he drove into me. Tongues licking me out on the soft carpet. A cock slowly sliding into my mouth as my body shivered from aftershocks.
It all hit me wave after wave, yet somehow I still believed I could do this and have the meeting here.
I thought it was just something I had to get over, and maybe exposure therapy would do the trick.
Even when it became apparent that Jake was flirting with me again, and that Sam was staring at me with interest still simmering in his sultry gaze, I told myself that maybe I was reading too much into things.
I mean, I already told them I wasn't interested, so they would have to back off after that. It’s not like I'm the last woman in the world, and I’m not so irresistible that they have to have me, and no one else.
Our night might have been crazy for me, but it was probably just an average Tuesday for them, considering how often they do things like that.
So I told myself that the flirting had nothing to do with me. Jake has a naturally flirty personality, and Sam merely has a way of looking at people like they're the only ones in the room.
It doesn't mean they still want me.
But as the meeting went on, it became impossible to ignore the blatantness of the suggestion. The fact that Jake kept sliding into personal questions. The fact that Sam seemed to hang on to my every word and need, and when I drank the coffee, he instantly got up and went to fetch me water.
That type of attention, I'm simply not used to it.
I've never been the girl that guys fawned over.
I've always been the cute friend that you fall for after knowing her for a while, never the one that triggers instantaneous lust. So this is very new for me, and it was making my body react in very unexpected ways.
I wonder if it's a game for them, but I feel myself falling for it anyway.
That desire began to thrum into the atmosphere once again.
Despite knowing I should stay away from them, just being surrounded by them with their intense gazes and their attention had shivers racing through my body, anticipation beating my heart, coaxing me with the words Just one more time.
Not to mention the memories that still bombard me now and then...
Eventually, I can't take it anymore.
I made an excuse and rushed into the bathroom to cool off, and somehow I had the bright idea that the only way to escape from this situation was to climb out of their window.
Yeah, dumb, I know, but I figured, hey, this is what girls do all the time when confronted with their exes or awkward dates. Except this is neither. This is a work event that I somehow struggle to remain professional at.
I've never been this flustered before, not even with Eric.
But with my heart pounding and my pussy pulsing, somehow my brain thought that this was the only way out, forgetting that I had brought a laptop and documents and a whole bunch of other things that I would probably need to leave with.
I guess I thought maybe I could pick up all that stuff later. For now, I just needed to get away.
I had climbed up onto the toilet to get to the window. In my view, it looked just about big enough to get myself through, but as it turned out, I either underestimated my girth or overestimated the window, because it’s not.
Or maybe it’s the angle. Maybe I would have been able to get out if the ground wasn't so far down.
Either way, once I get my two hands and my shoulder through the window, somehow the rest of me gets stuck. Stuck, as in, I can’t get back out on either side.
I try, pushing and pulling, but one foot isn’t enough to gain leverage on the ground, and I don’t want to break their toilet.
That’s when I’m faced with the humiliating task of having to call out for help.
I don’t even know who I’m hoping shows up. All of them would be similarly terrible, but when Adam’s amused voice says, “What happened here?” I want to die of mortification.
God, not him.
Maybe anyone but him.
While the rest of the guys have very intense energies today, he seemed the more laid-back one.
But he still managed to snag my attention here and there.
He’s so put together, so mature. He gives me the energy of a man who already knows who he is and is so completely comfortable in his own skin, self-assured without being arrogant, kind without being a pushover.
That gentle dominance he displayed when he told me to drink slowly after I tried to gulp the water down.
And whenever I make suggestions he doesn't like, instead of shooting it down, he merely gives alternatives and discusses why my way wouldn't work for their business model.
He's the last person I want to look like a fool in front of, but here I am anyway, halfway out a too-small window, feet dangling off the ground.
And now he probably thinks I’m an idiot, and he’s staring at me stuck in his bathroom window after I tried to crawl through.
“I’m stuck,” I say.
“I see that,” he said. “I’m just curious as to how, because last I checked, neither the toilet nor the sink is through that window.”
I sigh. “Would you believe me if I said there was a spider?”
“Was there?”
“No,” I admit. “But we can pretend there was, and that’s how I ended up here.”
He chuckles, and it’s warm running over my skin like sunshine. I want to bottle it up somewhere and listen to it when I get sad. I like his masculine, low-toned laugh, even though he’s laughing at my expense.
“Come on, let’s get you out of there,” he says. “Then we can talk about how you ended up there in the first place.”
“Please and thank you.” Hopefully, that second conversation never happens.
He comes and fits his hands on my waist, and even though the situation is as unsexy as it can possibly get, I still manage a shiver of pleasure.
He doesn’t mention it thankfully, as he says,
“Okay, now put your hands directly in front of you, straight out.”
"Okay." I obey.
"I’m going to tug in three–"
Before I can brace myself for it, he gives me a hard pull, and I squeak as I come free of my entrapment and fall into his arms.
“You said on three,” I claim breathlessly as I catch myself against his chest.
“I didn’t want you to tense up," he explains. "It would have made things harder.”
“Oh." That doesn't seem right, but then my brain can’t come up with an argument against it either. Mostly because it's preoccupied with the sensation of me being against his chest. His heart beats against mine, and sets off tingles all over my body.
His gaze scans my face.
The tingling intensifies, the scent of him, amber and wood surrounding me.
And my brain short-circuits.
Before I know it, I’m pushing forward, or maybe he’s leaning down. At the last minute, his hips hover over mine, and they pause as though asking permission or maybe fighting with himself about doing this. But I close the gap between us.
His taste explodes in my mouth as he groans on my tongue, tasting of masculine heat and black coffee. His tongue slides over mine, and I moan at the assault of him as he grips my hair, savoring the command of his touch.
His body presses against mine as he pushes me into a wall, kissing me with a hunger that belied his earlier disposition. He seemed so calm on the outside. If anything, he seemed more annoyed at the other two men for derailing the meeting with their flirting.
I thought he was even getting mad at me for giggling and entertaining it.
But his tongue in my mouth doesn't make me mad.
Instead, it reminds me of that first kiss we shared, how random it was, yet consuming, hot, shutting down any rational thought and only allowing desire through.
A desire that burns hotter the more we kiss, and I hook my leg over his hips again, and it drives up my skirt, and he groans into my mouth as he grinds his cock down on aching pussy.
God. I want him so bad.
Moisture dampens my panties, making a mess of them. His movement pushes against my swelling clit, making me cry out.
I want him so badly I can already feel him pushing into me again, splitting me in two.
A knock has us stopping.
He tears his lips away, breathless, staring down at me with a darkened gaze, while I fight the urge to kiss him again.
“Everything alright in there?” Jake's voice sounds oblivious, but it could just be an act.
I don’t know how much noise we were making. Heck, we were practically dry humping each other in here, so maybe the other two heard it.
Oh God.
I have to get out of here.
"We're good," he says. "She just got...stuck."
"Stuck where?" Jake asks.
"I'll explain when we're out."
"Okay. Have fun." He sounds highly amused, which warns me that he knew exactly what was going on here.
As his footsteps move away, Adam finally releases me, and my hand flies up to my mouth.
"I'm so sorry," I stammer.
"It's okay," he says with a kind smile. "We both got caught up."
"I...it won't happen again."
He smiles wryly. "Yeah, I bet." I don't know if that means that he doesn't believe me, or that he's trying to convince himself, but I nod and gesture to the door.
"We should..."
"Yeah, we should. But first, you should probably..." He gestures to my clothes, which are still mussed and rumpled, and I blush.
"Yeah," I right them and take a breath.
When we step out, Jake and Sam are still on the couch, and they look at us. My entire face burns.
"Um..." I say. "Sorry about this, but I have an emergency that I have to take care of. Is it okay if we reschedule the meeting?"
"Sure," Jake says. "Do you want me to give you a ride?"
"No. I'll just catch a cab at the end of the street."
"You sure?"
"Yeah. I'll see you." I gather my things as fast as humanly possible, while they watch me, and get out of there before my skin explodes or I do something else that I thoroughly regret.