Making Her Wait Page 9

  In the end, I pick out a smaller, curved, purple wand. I like that it doesn’t look like a penis. I like that it’s simple and uncomplicated. Maggie says it’s a great option because it’s waterproof, wireless, and rechargeable, plus it comes with a cleaner, so it’s everything I need with one purchase.

  When she tells us the total, my eyes nearly pop out of my head. The cost of this vibrator rivals that of the car battery I purchased last week.

  “Holy smokes! Are you kidding me?”

  Maggie and Walker share a smile as my new toy is boxed up and put in a discreet bag. Walker, ever the gentleman and buyer of expensive sex toys, holds the door for me on the way out, then takes my hand again as we make our way through the sparse parking lot.

  “I don’t know how comfortable I am with this anymore.”

  “Why?” he demands, holding the car door open for me, as well.

  “Because that little… toy! Is really expensive! You shouldn’t be spending that much money on me when I don’t know if I’ll be able to give up the real thing for an overpriced plastic dick and date you like you want me to.”

  “I’m willing to bet you will. And given enough time, I’d bet good money you’ll even thank me for it.”

  Rolling my eyes as we pull out of the parking lot, I consider the fact that today, he’s proving to be somewhat arrogant. Not that I mind. I like a guy who gets a little cocky occasionally, as long as he can back it up.

  That’s what I’m questioning.

  How can he be so sure that little massaging wand is going to make me come so amazingly that I’ll be willing to give up three guys who know just what to do to get me off?

  Walker doesn’t know it’s three, at least I hope he doesn’t, but thanks to Callie’s comments, he definitely suspects it’s more than one.

  “Besides. It’s already yours,” he reminds me. “You may as well see what kind of job it can do.”

  “This is the weirdest date I’ve ever been on, just so you know.”

  “Good. I like knowing I’m memorable.”

  “You’re memorable, all right,” I promise as I slowly get more and more comfortable the farther we travel from the store we just left.

  He slides his hand back over mine. “If I’m so memorable, when was the first time you ever saw me?”

  I pull my hand free, letting my fingers fall in the space between each of his, my palm to the back of his hand. Uncomfortable silence fills the car, and his fingers squeeze mine as he waits for my answer.

  “That night at the bar,” I whisper, keeping my eyes on our hands. “The first time I went home with Chad.”

  “Hmph. I didn’t think you’d noticed me.”

  “I did,” I admit, remembering him and that night easily. I was more interested in him than Chad, but Walker’s eyes held so much more than lust. Walker’s eyes held questions, and all I wanted was a trip to Orgasm-ville.

  “Then why’d you go home with him?”

  “You’re not the type of guy who would fuck me the same night we met.”

  “Oh, Genny,” he sighs. “How long have you been doing this? Since you broke up with the cop?”

  “Not quite. I took some time to get over him first.”

  “You go home with a lot of strangers, or do you stick to your regulars?”

  “Are you judging me?”

  “Not at all. I’m trying to figure out how many guys I’m up against to convince you that a real relationship is better than what you’re used to.”

  Tucking my hand into my lap, I stare out the window. He says he’s not judging me, but I didn’t believe him the first time he said it, and I still don’t now. “I think I’m done answering your questions about my sex life.”

  He sighs, staring out the windshield before turning his gaze back to meet mine for a second. “You wanna ask me some, instead?”

  Jumping at the chance, because it’s been almost entirely one-sided so far, I ask the first question I think of. “Were you in a relationship with the last person you had sex with?”

  He side-eyes me with a shake of his head. “No.” Shooting him a hypocritical look, I watch as he shrugs his shoulders. “I was looking for one, but it didn’t work out.”

  “When was the last time you had sex?”

  “Last year.”

  “What?!”

  He simply looks at me, knowing I wouldn’t be able to give an answer anywhere near as acceptable considering our circumstances. Thinking about how attractive he is, how confident and sweet, arrogant and funny… Why are girls not throwing themselves at him?

  They probably are, he just doesn’t want them.

  Why is he after me?

  Does he like the chase, the challenge of something unattainable? What happens when he catches me? Does he get bored after he’s won the prize? Or is he as attracted to me as I am to him? Am I something he’s wanted for a while, but always thought was out of reach, and now that we’re getting a chance to explore this, he’s making sure I’m giving him a real chance, instead of just a half-assed one?

  “Wait,” I ask, repeating his explanation. “If you wanted a relationship, but it didn’t work out, does that mean that even if we end up not being compatible, you’ll have sex with me?”

  “We’re compatible, G.”

  “You don’t know that. We barely know each other at all.”

  “If we weren’t compatible, you wouldn’t be afraid of how this is going to end.”

  I had already forgotten about that. I remember it now, the tension in the air when he was just trying to give me his number, the way I hesitated, somehow knowing that he was going to change me in ways I didn’t think I was ready for.

  I’m still not sure I’m ready for it, but he’s already doing it.

  Matt texted me last night, and I ignored it.

  If it had been Ben, ignoring a text wouldn’t be that much of a surprise. I ignore his texts half the time, because sex with Ben is always a process. But Matt? I hardly ever ignore his texts. Just like he hardly ever ignores mine.

  And this bag between my feet?! I’m going to take paddling the canoe to a whole new level for the man next to me. And I’m going to talk about it to him, a guy I like. Hell, I’ve already talked about masturbation more with Walker than I have with anyone in my life. And I sent him a picture! Of me! With my fingers in a very inappropriate place! Even if he couldn’t see my fingers, there was no question what they were doing.

  I guess I have no one to blame except myself for where this relationship is going. I’m the one who pushed it into any kind of sexual territory.

  He’s right. We are compatible. In a very scary, but very real way.

  And I really like him.

  Plus, I wanna find out how good of a kisser he is.

  Pushing the bag around the floor with my feet, I let myself imagine what it might feel like when I use my new toy tonight. What something other than a dick attached to a real human will feel like. Will the vibrations really make it as good, or even better? Will the fact that I’m in control of every little move make me enjoy it more, or will it just frustrate me? I can’t imagine it’ll be as good as actual sex with an actual guy, but I’ll try it.

  To get a kiss from Walker, I’ll try almost anything.

  “What else are you doing today?” I ask, knowing I’m drastically changing the subject.

  “I was thinking of taking you out for an early dinner if you don’t have anywhere you need to be. Then I’m watching my nephews, so Reese and her husband can have a night out.”

  A small smile washes over my face as I think about Walker watching his nephews. His face lights up when he talks about Zeke and all his little boy adventures. I wish I could see him with them.

  It’s way too early for that, though.

  If I’m thinking its way too early for anything, then I’m already thinking we’re going somewhere…

  “If we don’t go down in flames, can I meet these kiddos someday? You make them sound pretty spectacular.”

  “
Definitely. You can meet my whole family. We usually all get together at some point every weekend.”

  I miss that. Family get-togethers. Calvin moved half an hour away and is usually so busy he can’t make it back into town whenever Callie and I have time off together. Summer’s coming, though, so Callie won’t have classes. She’ll be working more, but maybe I can arrange something so the three of us can get together. We’re a small family, but we’re all we have. I’ll have to text him and see when he can come see us. It’ll probably be easier for Callie and me to work around his schedule.

  “You’re not seeing anyone else, are you?”

  Walker smiles in my direction as he reaches for my hand again. “Only you, G. I love that you were jealous.”

  “I wasn’t jealous,” I huff pointlessly.

  “You’re a rotten liar. Do you have time to go to dinner with me?”

  “Yes.”

  “Good. My friend, Kane, manages a restaurant I wanna take you to, and we’re almost there.”

  Fidgeting in my seat, I try to hide my nerves. “I’m gonna meet one of your friends?”

  Walker tries and fails to hide a grin. “He’s already a big fan of yours, so you don’t need to be nervous.”

  “Why is he already a fan of mine?”

  He hesitates for a second, trying to act like he’s focusing on traffic as he pulls into a Barbeque joint, but I know better. There’s a reason. Walker just doesn’t want me to know about it yet. Instead of an explanation, he offers, “Why don’t we go find out?”

  While he’s parking the car, I glare at him across the console. He smiles, and I remember he thinks I’m adorable when I’m mad. Damn it all to hell. I’m gonna have to work on my mad face. It didn’t work on Callie this morning, and it has the opposite effect of what I’m aiming for with Walker.

  Walker leads me inside, where he walks up to the bar and says something to the bartender. The guy behind the counter gives him a large grin and a high five. We find a seat while the bartender disappears to find Kane, and the hostess makes her way to us with eyes only for Walker and a flirtatious smile on her lips.

  “Walker,” she purrs, totally ignoring me. “It’s been a while. How are you?”

  “I’m good, Chloe. How’re you?”

  Chloe. I instantly hate her.

  Deep down, I know it’s not her, but the easy way Walker smiles at her. They make useless small talk for a minute before Walker introduces me as his date, which somewhat calms my racing heart, but does little to settle my desire to kick her pretty little face in.

  “Genny,” Chloe sneers. “Nice to meet you.”

  “Likewise.” I flash my best smile her way, hoping she can see from my eyes the way I’m giving her a slow, torturous death in my mind.

  A chuckle breaks through our murderous stare-down and Chloe and I both disengage our weapon of choice to eye Walker. It only causes him to break into a full-blown laugh, the chuckle easily forgotten. Watching Chloe stomp away from our table in her stiletto heels, Walker tries to calm himself, and me, down. “Put your claws away, G! There’s nothing there for you to worry about, I promise you.”

  “I was trying to be nice,” I grumble, glaring at her long after she disappeared out of sight.

  “Nice, like a panther stalking her prey.”

  “Whatever. She was flirting with you while I’m sitting right here!”

  “Walker!” a booming voice echoes around us, followed by a very tall, very broad, very dark man I can only assume is Kane.

  Standing up from the booth, Walker and Kane partake in some weird handshake that looks second-nature to them. They’ve probably been friends for decades, I decide from their ritualistic greeting. Eventually, Kane turns in my direction and his eyes easily roam my face and all of my body exposed above the table.

  “Hey, it’s your girl!”

  “Hopefully,” Walker replies as I narrow my eyes. “We haven’t reached a definite conclusion on that yet.”

  Ignoring the fact that Walker’s apparently already telling people I’m his, I stand up to introduce myself. “I’m Genny,” I offer, holding out my hand in greeting. Once Kane wraps his large paw around mine, I ask so very sweetly, “Why are you a big fan of mine, Kane?”

  A grin takes over his entire being, and Kane looks back at Walker. “She doesn’t know?”

  Walker simply shakes his head with a sheepish grin.

  Kane sits beside me, pushing the menus Chloe brought us out of his way. He starts telling me a story, using his giant hands to help him get his point across. “Last weekend, me and two of my buddies are out playing pool, waiting for this sorry excuse of a man to show up. Walker here has been pretty boring lately, so when he showed up late, we all figured he was out with his nephews, wishing he had some rug rats of his own to chase around. But then he’s on his phone half the night instead of playing with us. Worked in our favor, because he sucked, and he had to buy drinks all night long.”

  Walker scoffs, but doesn’t deny anything.

  “Anyway,” Kane continues, pulling my eyes his way again. “He was sitting at the bar, looking all depressed as shit, caressing his damn phone. I figured I’d better find out what’s wrong and cheer him up a little.”

  Walker rolls his eyes and shakes his head at Kane’s description of their outing. He catches me watching him and gives me a smile, but there’s a tightness about his eyes. Where exactly do I fit into this story that has him nervous? I turn my attention back to Kane to hopefully find out.

  “Walker tells me there’s this girl he likes, but she’s drunk-texting him, begging him to come over and play with her.”

  Ok… From my texts, I get that I may have been begging, but I never said I wanted him to play with me. It may have been implied, but still…

  “He’s staring at his phone, caressing this dark, locked screen like some pathetic douche. He’s got the icon telling him he has a text, but he doesn’t know if he wants to open it. See, he really wants to go play with the girl, and he’s tired of resisting, right? I finally tell him to just open it anyway, cause I want to know how bad she wants him.”

  I wanted him so badly I did things I never would have dreamed of…

  “He eventually grows a pair and opens her text. Well, hot damn if she didn’t send him a picture of just what he was missing out on when he refused to come over. You are one confident, sexy-as-hell woman, Genny!”

  Wait. Kane saw it?! Kane? Oh my fuck!

  My eyes flash to Walker; he’s trying not to laugh. Doing my best to keep control of my neutral expression, I slowly look back toward Kane, who also has a huge smile on his face and is still talking to me. “I’m wishing you’d taken off a little more; that bra was pretty, but I’m betting what’s underneath is even prettier. I have feeling Walker is damn glad you didn’t, though.”

  I have no idea what to think, let alone say.

  As far as I can tell, I have two options, here. I can drop my head in my hands and cry, or I can laugh with these two, who are now in a very small group of people who’ve seen me in a very intimate position.

  At least he called me sexy, right?

  “I guess I’ll have to send a warning text from now on before I send Walker any half naked photos of me.”

  Kane laughs. “That’ll take all the fun out of it for me, Miss April.”

  Walker just raises those beautiful expressive eyebrows, silently asking if I really plan on sending him more.

  “Miss April?” I ask, turning my attention back to Walker’s friend.

  “You should be the centerfold of the month, Genny girl. You made me so hard in that half second I got to see your sweet little body…”

  “Oh Lord,” I finally cave, giving up my couldn’t-care-less act. “Erase that from your mind! You weren’t supposed to see it. Had I not been wasted, Walker never would have seen it either! The picture never would have been taken!”

  “Never, April. I’ll be picturing you like that as you walk down the aisle at your wedding.”

&nbs
p; “Whoa, whoa, whoa!” I abruptly hold up both hands to stop this at once. “I’m just starting to consider dating again! Let’s not ruin this night with talk of weddings or marriage, please!”

  Kane gives me a manipulative smile. “I’ll only stop if you give me that menu. You don’t need to even look at it. I’ll make sure you get the best food you’ve ever had. I’ll be seeing your O face again tonight, but it’ll be covered in my signature barbeque sauce!”

  And I thought Walker was arrogant! Handing over the menu, I try to hide the grin that’s taking over my face. Kane may be crude, but he’s still giving me compliments. And he’s funny. And he’s Walker’s friend. Walker is a good guy. I can’t see him being friends with a total dickhead.

  Kane pushes himself out of the booth. “You want a drink to go with your meal?”

  “Right now, a drink sounds great.”

  “Awesome. I’ll make sure it’s a good one. I know you have to be drunk to take half naked pics of yourself.”

  “Go away!” I beg with a laugh, physically pushing his leg to get him moving away from our booth. Shaking my head, I look over to find Walker quietly laughing at me as his friend walks away.

  “So, that’s Kane.”

  “You let him see that picture?”

  “I didn’t let him see anything. It just happened. A warning before pictures like that would be great.”

  I shake my head. “I doubt I’ll be sending anymore pictures like that.”

  “Don’t stop because of me. I thought it was a great picture. Some people don’t photograph well, but you? You looked amazing. And as long as you give me a warning, Kane will never see another one. Neither will anyone else. I don’t like to share, remember? Ya know, you should take another tonight, while you try out your new toy.”

  “Shut up,” I hiss, not wanting anyone to hear about what I’ll be doing later.

  Nudging my foot to get my attention, he tips his chin and eyes to the bar. The bar where Chloe is sitting and watching us. When my gaze locks onto hers, she tosses her long hair over her shoulder and directs her attention to something somewhere else.

  “You think she was flirting with me, huh?”