AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Marisa
Trying to silence the noise in my head, I paced back and forth in my living room, flipping my phone end over end in my hands. We’d texted a few times since meeting up for dinner six days ago, but it was now Wednesday, and I hadn’t heard a peep from Tyler for two days. There was still a chance he could change his mind, reject my offer, and call the whole thing off. I couldn’t fathom any reason why he would. We were both single, unattached, and wanting something easy. If the roles were reversed, and I was in his position, I probably would have agreed to his proposition.
I practically threw my phone when it vibrated in my hand. A text from Tyler popped up on my screen confirming he was on his way. The noise in my head stopped, and I immediately felt relief that he hadn’t changed his mind.
And then my synapses fired off again as I realized this was, in fact, happening. Tyler was on his way, and he’d be here in less than twenty minutes. My heart started racing, a tidal wave of emotions flooding my system.
I could feel my throat closing up. I couldn’t get any air. My palms were sweating, and I could feel my heartbeat pumping through each vein in my neck.
Tyler’s text was taunting me.
I couldn’t believe my nerves were this shot. I was nervous. And excited.
I felt like I could dance and vomit at the same time.
But I would never admit that to him. I didn’t even want to admit it to myself. I had to cool my jets and calm down. It had to be my subconscious overreacting. And I, the conscious one, awake and pacing my kitchen, was not acknowledging any of it. Nope. I was in denial.
And I was perfectly okay with that. Because if I willingly admitted to myself that I was excited and nervous about seeing Tyler again, then I’d start to feel afraid. Not afraid of Tyler. Afraid of what it meant that I was feeling anything other than pure, unadulterated lust. That I was thinking about anything other than sex.
I reminded myself that my interactions and relations with men thus far were short-lived. I had a “take what I need when I needed it” kind of attitude when it came to relationships.I’m a moment-to-moment girl. I’m not looking for a commitment. I’m definitely not looking for a relationship. I nodded in affirmation to my inner musings.
The only thing I currently wanted was a regular booty call.On-demand booty. Kind of like how my streaming apps and cable worked. Whenever I wanted, I could push a button, and whatever TV show I wanted to watch would pop up on the screen and play.
And now, Tyler was going to be my on-demand booty call. Every Wednesday night, I’d be able to count on him to take care of my every need.
“This isn’t a first date. You’ve already met him once,” I said, gripping the countertop next to the kitchen sink. A deep breath in. A deep breath out. “Twice,” I answered myself, eyeballing the bottle of wine I’d set aside. “And you had dinner with him the other night.” I was a looney-toon as I talked to myself. It was the only thing that was calming me down though. So if I was crazy, as I was starting to think I was, it was all Tyler Sanderson’s fault.
From the things Catherine had told me and the conversation Tyler and I shared over dinner, I felt he was a decent enough person. He was a noble, respectful, and dedicated SEAL. He had soulful and kind eyes. I instinctively knew I didn’t have to worry about him lying or trying to deceive me. I knew I wouldn’t have to worry about him being with other women if he agreed to our partnership. Even though we weren’t in a quote, unquoterelationship, I could tell he wasn’t a manwhore. He may have been in his earlier days, but he wasn’t like that now.
We both knew and accepted our agreement for what it was. I wasn’t trying to tie him down. Maybe tie him up . . . A laugh-snort of laughter escaped, and my eyes landed on the bottle and glasses I’d put out earlier.
One bottle of wine between us was not going to hinder us, but it was the best way to take the edge off. I could have a quick drink, and then maybe I wouldn’t be so nervous. Maybe I’d stop overthinking everything. Who knew where Tyler’s mind was at? But I wasn’t about to show my cards and let him in on the fact that I was overthinking things—no matter how insignificant my thoughts were.
I took two quick sips, the relief instantaneous. The red wine ran smooth and warm down my throat. A wave of calmness washed over me. I took another sip and reassured myself that things between Tyler and me could be as superficial as we wanted.
Although Tyler was easy to talk to, I wasn’t planning on much conversation tonight. I laughed at the thought.
* * *
I answered the knock at my door to find a freshly shaved man-licious Tyler clad in a pair of well-worn jeans, a blue V-neck sweater over a dress shirt, and dark-brown suede shoes. The scent of his cologne wafted up to greet me before his smile did. He didn’t wait for an invitation to come inside. Two steps of his long, muscular legs, and he was in my apartment, leaning against the wall next to the front door. His cockiness was titillating.
My teeth bit into my lower lip as our eyes met. He reached past me, pushed the door, swiveled on his heel, closed the door behind him with his foot, and locked it without having to turn around to find the deadbolt. Tyler Sanderson definitely had skills when it came to knowing his surroundings.
When his mouth turned up to show off his sweet set of dimples, his beaming smile halted me and almost stopped my breath. It was as if time stood still for me as he bent toward me.
“Happy Hump Day,” he said, his voice tinted with amusement. And with those three witty words, all the anxiety I had been feeling moments before was swept away.
His chaste kiss was gentle as he brushed ever so tenderly against my lips. The feel of his mouth against mine made me want to sag into him and lose myself.
I reached around and secured the chain latch.
“You know that thing couldn’t stop someone from getting in here if they really wanted to, right?” His gravelly voice made my skin shiver with delight.
“That’s what my gun’s for.” I spared him a look over my shoulder as I led the way to the kitchen, where I had the wine poured and breathing. In my pre-arrival freak-out, I downed half my glass. I topped mine off, then handed Tyler his own.
“Cheers,” I saluted as we clinked our glasses together.
We talked about our week at work so far and shared a laugh over Mark complaining about his lack of sleep. As I made my way to move to the couch, he linked our fingers together. Our feet moved in automatic response like we were dancing. We were both trying to lead, both strong-willed and used to being in command. It wasn’t easy for me to give over control, and I could only imagine it was just as difficult for Tyler to do so too.
