Chapter 9

Nine

CALUM

She’s curled her hair. Not fully, but some of the locks look like rust-colored ribbons falling down her back in a big, fluffy ponytail. Her tight black top shows off her perfect breasts, nipples poking through her thin bra as she steps out of her apartment door to the cold outside. Dragging on the concrete near her feet is a black winter pea coat, which she only shrugs on after I get a glimpse at her curves.

“M’lady.” With a small bow, I open the passenger door and wave her inside.

Flashing me some fluttering lashes, she greets me and says, “Thank you, kind sir.”

Lavender. It invades the air of the small space when I take the command seat in the Tesla, which skirts us toward the edge of West Side heading into East. Neon pink and blue lights from the arcade sign dance up the windshield as we pull into the parking lot.

“Oh, Fizz and Games. I haven’t been here before.”

“That surprises me. I thought you were a big gamer. Never been, huh?” Her green eyes dart to mine. My lips spread into a grin at her sudden movement.

“Ha, yeah…I guess there’s a first time for everything.” Reaching across the car, she lays her fingers around my forearm, causing all the hairs around it to stand erect. “I’m glad I can experience this for the first time with you.” Oh, sweet girl. She’s adorable.

“Wait right there.” Once I get out, I open her door for her and offer up my palm. She slides her warm one inside it. Some of her wispy hairs tickle my nose as she stands in front of me. “Why red?”

“Huh?”

Shit. I didn’t mean to ask that out loud. “Your hair color. Why red? Sorry, that was rude of me to ask.”

Her stunned expression fades into a coy smile. “I think the hairdresser picked it out one day. Said it would go with my skin tone or something.” Same shade as my mother’s. As is the lavender scent.

I walk us to the entrance of the arcade with her long fingers laced between mine. “So you didn’t pick it.” The curls wave in the crisp air as she shakes her head. Cocking my head at her, I ask, “What is your favorite color, Jane?”

Her lids lower as she stares at the concrete. “I-I guess I don’t really have one. I like them all. What’s yours? Is it blue like the foxes on your crest?”

Pushing on the door, I tug her into my chest as we enter. “Green. Like your eyes. Your eyes are my favorite color.”

With a pause, she lifts her emeralds up to meet mine, the flirty, dazed smile gone from her face. For a moment, one tiny glimpse of a second, I see her. A strange emotion grips my chest, one I don’t have a name for. It’s a feeling I’ve never experienced.

Instead of reacting, she studies me, as I’m frozen in whatever impression she’s given me. Now the teacher has become the student.

“Want to grab a drink or snacks first?” I ask, pulling her out of her trance. As quickly as it left, her plastic face returns, and she waltzes inside, shifting her hips for me while sliding off her coat. Grabbing it from her, I throw it over my arm.

“Um, I’ll take a drink, I think. You look so different without your hoodie.”

Glancing down at my gray T-shirt and military jacket over my regular black jeans and Converse, I suppose she’s right. And the fact I want her to like it is somewhat upsetting. “Different good?”

Maybe her acting is improving because the way her eyelids lower as she trails her eyes up my body is convincing to my dick. “Definitely good.”

We step up to the bar. Half of me doesn’t even want to waste the energy asking, but I do. “What would you like to drink?”

Pressing her painted lips together, she puckers them, then glances up at me. “Um, whatever you’re having.”

“Two pale ales. Whatever you have on tap,” I say to the bartender. Shuffling through my wallet, I place a few hundred dollars down on a printed coaster. “They have good microbrews here. Even make their own nearby.” Sliding Alec the bills, he smiles broadly as he sets down our drinks.

“Thanks, Cal.”

“No problem, Alec.”

Sipping some head off her pint, Jane smiles, then sticks out the tip of her tongue to capture some foam gathered on her upper lip. “You’re generous. I mean, I knew that, but that was very kind.”

“No kindness about it. These are my people. This is my duty. I have the money. They need it.” Taking a few swigs of my drink, Jane continues to stare at me with perhaps a level of awe. Nodding to the back wall, I interrupt her concentration. “But hurry and finish that so I can beat you at Skee-ball.”

Glancing to where I pointed, she swallows. “I’ve never played before.”

“Well, I’ll give you a lesson, then embarrass you.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure!” She drinks heavy gulps of her hops, and my eyes follow her lips as I finish mine off. Guiding her with my hands on her shoulders, I place her in front of my embarrassing erection, navigating her over to the game. Once I pay for the tickets, I hand her a stack. Standing behind her, I help her toss a few balls into the rings until she gets the hang of it.

“Now it’s on…” Nailing the middle ring with my first toss, she watches and daintily rolls one up to the bottom ring. My shoulders drop as I watch her. It’s so disappointing.

“Did I do something wrong?”

I toss another into the center ring with a shake of my head. “I just figured you were a tough gal. Maybe I read you wrong. Thought you had some spark.”

From my peripheral, I spot dots of bright red paint her freckled cheeks as she slowly turns her head to face the game again. Setting her jaw, she tosses one into the center ring like an athlete. I nod as she scrunches one side of her face at me and gives a little shrug.

“Maybe I do have a spark.”

As I toss another, tightening my mouth into a pucker so I don’t smile, it bounces out and into the middle ring. A heated competition ensues, and I enjoy every minute of watching her battle her way to beating me. By the end of the round, Jane easily wins, placing her hands on her hips and tossing her ponytail back over her shoulder. When she spins around in a victory dance, I snag the ends and tug until her neck pulls back a bit.

“Hey!” She giggles. “Didn’t anyone ever teach you girls don’t like their hair pulled?”

“Yeah. They lied.” Sliding up behind her, I place my arms around her waist and lower my mouth to her neck. “Girls love their hair pulled.”

Her bosom raises toward me as she inhales quickly. Turning her head, our lips almost touch, but I straighten up and point us to the next section with a shove of my waist into her back. Probably giving her a feel of my hard cock constrained inside my jeans.

It’s darker in the room filled with racing games and booths. The neon lights dance across the blackened tile ceiling as teens and kids race around the glow on the dark carpet. Old soda stains and green moons coat the floor leading to the far corner. There’s one older racing game no one likes, except me. Leading her with a hand on the small of her back, I guide us to it.

“How many girls have you brought here, Cal?” Jane’s pert lips part into a bright smile as she slides in, fucking me with her eyes. When she sits, I take a finger and run it over her cheek before I join her in the seat next to hers.

“Two.” After placing some tokens inside, I grip the wheel. “But the first wasn’t since I was a teenager.”

Jane settles in, gaze peeled to the screen in front of her, ready to race. “And the second?”

“She’s sitting next to me.”

Three beeps from the machine blare at us to go, and I take off. Jane’s physical dexterities on the Skee-ball machine are no match for my gaming skills. Heading her off on the second curve, I easily pull ahead and gun it. She never catches up, cursing like a sailor with every turn of her steering column. I laugh like I haven’t in years with every new combination of dirty words she strings together.

“We’re going again!” she yells as soon as the game is over, turning in her seat to glare at me. My overwhelming joy changes into that odd feeling I got earlier in the evening and the smile on my face drops.

What is it? I’m not sure…but I want more.

Before she reacts, I snatch her waist and pull her onto my lap, so her thighs straddle me. Lifting my hands, I run them around her neck, letting my thumbs brush over her speckled cheeks as she quickly inhales and holds a breath. Our eyes lock onto each other’s, a million diamonds sparkling in her irises as the neon lasers dart about the room, dazzling me like I’ve found buried treasure.

Is it fear? There is some element of that there. Lust? Yes, I feel that, too. But there is also something else. The unnamed. Anonymous. And all I know is that it’s real, and it’s true.

As I lean into her face, the skin of my cheek almost touching hers, the sound of her gathering another breath and fluttering her lashes closed gives me pause. Holding there for a moment, I decide. My mouth seeks hers like there are no longer only zeros and ones.

We’re two.

My lips plunge and make love to hers. Our tongues battle for space, for dominance, as my hand clutches the back of her head, the other gripping her ass as she grinds on me. There’s no doubt she’s gotten me where she wants me as my hardness pokes into her stomach, seeking out her core. Every movement of her mouth makes my abdomen sink in with the anticipation of a thrust. The vibrations of her moans send shock waves down my spine.

Breaking the seal to catch our breaths, my forehead rests against hers. Her hands still clutch my chest and shirt, as if I’m her rescuer. A little laugh escapes her mouth as she raises her eyes to mine, the vision of her so close, it’s like I’m looking through a fishbowl. When I lean against the seat, I brush her hair back into some semblance of order, watching my fingers as they run through the red strands.

“I have a crush on you,” I say.

With a small smile and a gleam in her eyes, she says, “Well, Mr. Von Dovish, you should know that everyone I’ve dated recently has wound up maimed and murdered.”

“I’m aware of how dangerous you are.” She laughs her fake little girlish huff. It’s off putting and irritating. “But I’m willing to take my chances. What if I beef up security around you?”

She swallows. “What do you mean?”

“I’ll have some more cameras installed around your apartment. Maybe a tracker on your phone or car?” Letting my palms gently rub down her arms, she shivers slightly under my touch, the lavender scent being replaced by some panicked pheromones. It’s tasty. Especially because it’s real.

I remember the first time I saw her about a year ago, stumbling on the sidewalk just outside West Tech. Everything about her called to me, from her flaming red locks to her delicate demeanor. She had two bags in her hands that spilled onto the pavement. Books on coding, an old laptop, knitting, and even earbuds that popped out playing Beethoven. Her shaking limbs and the terror in her eyes were delicious. When I asked if I could help, she simply burst into tears, sobbing while trying to pick everything up off the ground. It took her a few huffs before she could say she’d just been let go from her job up north. To her luck, I just happened to be looking for someone to work the front counter. So I hired her the following week, after some brief training.

“Oh, no. I couldn’t have you do all that. No, that’s too much.” Batting her lashes repeatedly, she tries her best to redirect my thoughts.

“Nonsense. I’ll keep you safe, Jane.” Snagging her hand, I pull us out of the booth. “Come on, let’s get some food, then I’ll take you home.”

For the rest of the date, she plays coy, smooth, but nervous. A perfect, innocent date. It annoys the shit out of me. I’ve got her number, and it’s back to zero. When I drop her off at her apartment, my lips press onto her pink cheek as we stand outside the glass door to her building. The night air is starting to warm toward spring and the gold awning over her entry protects us from the misting rain.

Her ponytail swishes and dazzles with the dew-covered strands before she spins and gazes at me with her big green eyes. The tip of her tongue escapes as she tucks her thick bottom lip under her top teeth for a moment before asking, “Do you want to come up?”

“Nah.” Squeezing her hand, I bid her leave. I don’t want to spend time with this…this plastic figure. She’s too afraid. Though I do hold a glimmer of hope to see more of whoever it was I got a sense of tonight. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” Sliding across the hood of my Tesla like an 80s movie teen werewolf, I smirk at her as she gasps, throwing her hands on her hips while I drive away down the street at sixty miles per hour in under two seconds.