9. Jake
JAKE
Even though I was dying to know what had made her change her mind, the “why” could come later. As I stepped into the elevator, I asked the questions that couldn’t wait.
Jake: Time and place.
By the time I reached my door, she’d given me the deets.
Kate: 8:30. The Rapture, that new club at The Extravagant. I hear the people-watching there is top-notch.
Jake: I’ll be there. Will you have your field guide out, like a naughty research scientist?
Kate: As a matter of fact . . .
As my elevator shot up to the top floor, I stared at her last text, wondering what the rest of her sentence might be. She didn’t continue, though, so I took the initiative and finished it. Because I had a hunch about what she wanted.
Jake: As a matter of fact, we’ll be people-watching and more?
Kate: Yes. Does that work for you?
Jake: Anything works for me. Everything works for me. “More” works fantastically well for me. “More” is exactly what I want with you.
Kate: I had a feeling it might be.
Jake: And I have a feeling more works for you too.
Kate: Well, I AM asking you for it!
Jake: Yes, and I like your initiative. Let me tell you about mine. I plan on whispering filthy words in your ear as we watch others. I bet that works for you.
Kate: How did you know?
She wasn’t coy or sassy. She didn’t say, However did you know?
She seemed legitimately curious how I’d discovered the key to Kate.
And maybe the answer wasn’t hard to find at all.
Perhaps I was good at reading her. Maybe this preference of hers was why she’d kept me at a distance for a while. Because she knew what she wanted from a man, but hadn’t quite known how to ask for it.
Maybe she hadn’t found the man who’d give it to her.
She’d found him now.
Jake: From knowing you. From how you are. From seeing those hungry, dirty eyes of yours and the way you watch people. From spending months trying to figure out what your particular kink is.
Kate: And you’ve found it.
Jake: Yes, and I’ve had my suspicions for a while. But it was clear last night when you threw down those bets. It was crystal clear when you watched those other couples dance. Your reaction gave it away.
Kate: What was my reaction?
Jake: Your eyes darkened, the skin above your cleavage flushed, your breath came a little bit faster. You were tapping into your brand of voyeurism.
Kate: *whispers* I think I do have a voyeur in me.
Jake: You absolutely do, and it’s hot as sin.
Kate: You like it?
Jake: Love it. And I loved figuring this out about you. Though I think you wanted me to figure it out. You might recall a certain day at the diner months ago when you said, “We all have different fantasies.”
Kate: And you think that was an invitation for you to figure out mine?
Jake: I do.
Kate: Maybe it was. Maybe I secretly wanted you to discover it. Have you been thinking about this before?
Jake: In the shower. Late at night in bed. I think about what might get you off.
Kate: And what do you think it will be?
Jake: Tonight, it’s going to be me. And it’ll also be you finally getting to explore your filthiest fantasies.
She didn’t reply right away, and as I unlocked the door and tossed my keys on the table, I imagined the look on her face as she read my text.
A touch of surprise maybe?
A widening of her eyes?
A knowing grin?
All of the above?
But her response surprised me.
Kate: Do you know what else happened that day at the diner? When I said we all have different fantasies, and then you said you wanted to find out mine . . . that’s when I felt that first spark of attraction for you. That’s when I started thinking about what you’d be like in bed.
Holy hell. I was an inferno already. This woman was bold, daring, and spoke her mind. Finally.
Forget being hard to read.
She was a book with the pages spread open now.
Jake: I cannot wait to show you what I want to do to your body. But I would love to know what made you change your mind.
Kate: That’s easy enough. The meeting I had today. I have to market an escort service that’s adding role-playing to its menu. I want to do an amazing job.
Jake: Ah, so you want to practice?
Kate: I do. But I also want to be up-front from the start. This thing we’re doing? How about we agree to this: one weekend, no strings, no promises, nothing more?
This was better than a high score in pinball.
No strings sounded like my favorite kind of deal, especially since my last few attempts at relationships had gone up in smoke.
Two years ago, Cassidy had told me I was a shitty boyfriend because I was married to work. “You always put clients first,” she’d said when we split.
Ouch.
That had stung because it was true.
But Debbie, my last girlfriend, was the reason I had no problem agreeing to zero attachments with Kate.
With my work schedule in the last year, I’d mostly just been interested in having fun with Debbie, and she’d said that sounded good to her too.
Vibrant and carefree, Debbie loved to plan unusual dates—rock-climbing gyms, candy factory tours, laser-tag mini golf.
We’d had a blast together, but after three short months of most excellent dates, Debbie changed her tune one afternoon at Red Rocks after we’d just hiked three miles.
“Let’s get married,” she’d said. “We can even do it this weekend.”
Taken by surprise would be a massive understatement.
I had no empirical issues with commitment. I wasn’t a devoted playboy, planning to swing his dick forever and ever. But neither did I want to sign up for a marriage license with someone I’d only just started dating.
Except that wasn’t the only issue.
Her taste for fun stopped at the bedroom door. And I’d considered compatibility to be vital when it came to beliefs, passions, worldviews, and, yes, the bedroom.
When Debbie issued her ultimatum, I called it quits—with her and with dating for a while.
So, Kate’s rules suited me fine.
Now I’d learn if we were as electric in the bedroom as I’d imagined we could be.
Tonight was no longer about me time .
It was about satisfying a woman who’d intrigued me for a while.
A woman I couldn’t get out of my mind.
A woman I desperately wanted.
I glanced at the clock on the wall of my living room, the time a reminder that the games would be starting soon. I wrote back to Kate.
Jake: I’m about to get in the shower. While I’m naked, I’ll be thinking of all the ways you want me to pleasure you. But I have one thing I need you to do.
Kate: What’s that?
Jake: When I see you tonight, we’re going to do more than watch and talk.
Kate: We are?
Jake: We’re going to pretend too.
Kate: Ohh . . . tell me more.
Jake: We’re going to role-play as we watch others. Think of it as a combo platter of your dirty dreams.
Kate: I like the sound of that. What’s our situation?
Jake: We’re potential business partners. We live on opposite coasts, and we’re in town for a conference. We’ve been working on a deal for months and sending emails that border on flirty and dirty. We’re meeting for a drink to seal the deal.
Kate: I bet the drink turns to something more.
Jake: Only one way to find out.