After meeting with her at the National Mall six days ago, I didn’t know anything anymore. I wanted to go through with my plan, to become the next womanizer in town, not get attached to anyone, but apparently, I was already attached to Charlotte. Christ, after she walked away from me with that Donnie boy, I could barely sleep. I lay in bed for hours, only thinking about her, about ripping that fancy dress from her, about throwing her on my bed, about licking her entire body, and making her scream my name.
I had to control myself right now. David would come home from work any time now and my roommate didn’t need to witness my hard-on.
I closed my eyes, breathed in and out, and pictured my fourth grade math teacher cleaning his ear with his pinkie nail. Yeah, that did the trick.
What good did that do if, when I opened I eyes, I saw her photo again and instantly remembered all of my nights with her? Christ, I needed a cold shower.
Okay, this was ridiculous. I couldn’t feel this way about her. I didn’t know anything about her. It was insane. And I wasn’t prepared for another relationship. I didn’t want another relationship. Why bother, when someone always ended up hurt? Look at Charlotte and me. Things between us hadn’t even started and it was already hurting.
There must be a way out of this.
My plan. Yes, my plan. Women. Lots of them. No attachments.
I would execute it tonight. Just because I was working, it didn’t mean I couldn’t meet someone, did it? In fact, I had proved it worked, meeting Charlotte that way, and here she was, making her way into my thoughts again.
I shot up from the stool and went into the bathroom, turning on the shower and entering under the cold water in my boxers and all.
Mason
Even though the club wasn’t crowded, the bar area was and, at 1 a.m., I still hadn’t stopped moving and running up and down. What was it with people and Fridays? They all had to come out of their holes and shove alcohol down their throats to survive.
Finally, past two, things started to slow down.
A girl plopped down on a stool. Her hair was pitch black, cut into a neat bob, and her makeup was a little smeared.
“What can I get for you?”
She smiled, but it didn’t touch her eyes. “A kiss?” I stiffened. I hadn’t expected that answer. The girl chuckled. “I’m kidding. A margarita, please.”
I prepared her drink and handed it to her. “Here you go.”
“Though, if you know a guy with free lips, I wouldn’t mind meeting him.” The girl played with the little umbrella on her glass. Knowing I shouldn’t be too friendly to customers—club orders—I arched an eyebrow. “Oh, you know. Boy problems. Boy is a jerk and girl cries for being stupid. Now girl wants to forget about boy.”
I sighed. “I think I heard that before.”
“So, any friends to introduce me to?”
“No, I’m new around here. No friends yet.” I held my breath for a second, considering my options. Well, she was here, right, so why not? “Though, my lips are free.”
Her eyes grew wide, and then she squinted, looking at my body. Her cheeks gained a pink tint. “I gotta say, you’re quite handsome.”
I leaned over the bar. “You aren’t so bad either.”
Smiling, the girl scooted closer to me. “And what is your name, free lips?” Her breath smelled of alcohol. Apparently, she had more drinks before this one.
“Mason. Yours?”
“Jade.” She licked her lips. “What time do you leave?”
I glanced at my wristwatch. “In less than forty minutes.”
“Well, I think I’ll be right here until then.”
She stayed on the same stool for the next forty minutes, and had three more margaritas. I wondered if she would be okay to do anything. I wondered if I would be okay to do anything.
What the hell? Of course I would. I was a guy. Guys never said no to sex, especially when the girl looked nice and seemed a little frisky. Right?
Four in the morning came and I left with Jade. During the short taxi ride to her dorm, we never said a word. We didn’t even touch.
Her dorm was actually a small apartment, much like mine. Jade guided me to her bedroom, putting her finger over her lips when we passed by her roommate’s door.
She closed her door behind us and stood before me.
This was awkward.
A little unsure if I should just get this over with or if I should go slowly, I leaned to her. Without meaning to, she swayed out of reach and giggled.
“Sorry,” she said. “I guess I had one too many drinks.”
I ran my hand through my hair. “That’s okay.”
She took off her heels and approached me. “Where were we?” She put her arms around my shoulders. “Oh yeah, I think it was right here.”
She pulled my neck down and kissed me.
I slid my hands down her waist and kissed her back. It was a nice kiss. Her mouth was soft and wasn’t too slobbery, even after her too many drinks. Okay, I could get into this. I pressed her body to mine and deepened the kiss. My hand reached for her hair, but I fingered the air instead. Startled, I pulled back and realized I had been looking for Charlotte’s long hair, not the bob this girl had.
“What’s wrong?” Jade asked.
I shook his head, clearing his mind. “Nothing.”
I bent into her again, trailing kisses down her neck, and the girl moaned. I inhaled, and the smell of cigars and some flowery perfume greeted me. Very different from the sweet cherry scent I was expecting.
I released her.
She put her hands on her hips—they were a little larger than Charlotte’s too—and stared at me. “Something is wrong.”
Christ, I couldn’t even be a free man anymore. “It’s just …”
Jade nodded. “I get it. There’s another girl, right? You haven’t forgotten her. Believe me, I get it.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be. I’m not mad. I think this was good for you anyway.”
I frowned. “Why is that?”
She smiled at me, all too knowing. “Because now you know you really like her.”
Chapter Eleven
Charlotte
When Liana suggested going to the Gelman Library at George Washington University, since we both had research projects to work on for our summer classes, my first answer was no.
Then, I thought about it. Washington had many colleges, the chances of Mason studying at GWU were low, and he had told me his classes didn’t start until August. Even if he was to study here, the chances of meeting him at the library were low.
Besides, deep down, even though I knew I shouldn’t, I was dying to see him again. It was another boring Monday and nine days since I had bumped into him at the National Mall, but who was counting?
“What is it?” Liana asked after we settled at one of the tables in the library with many books. “You won’t stop looking around.”
I shifted my gaze to the books before me. “Nothing.”
“You’re lying.” Liana looked around, trying to spot whatever had me on edge. Many guys crowded the desk around us. “Oh, I get it. It’s about that Mason guy.”
My cheeks warmed and I put a finger over my lips. “Shush. I don’t want to talk about this.” I opened a book and pretended to have interest in the pages I turned.
We had talked about Mason a lot already, and even though Liana thought it was so romantic to find him here, I thought it was destiny being cruel.
Liana chuckled. “You’re so in love.”
“What? I barely know him. In fact, I don’t know him at all.”
Which made me sad. I had slept with him for a week, had the most amazing connection I could dream of, and yet, I didn’t know anything about him. And it was all my fault. I had been the one to impose the nothing-personal rule on our affair.