Page 7 of Last First Love
None of that's going to happen under my brother's watchful eye though.
I've teased Elliott before that he might as well buy me an all expenses paid vacation to the nearest convent, but his response is always the same. Elliott likes to joke that a chastity belt would be a better gift to me. At least, I think he's joking. Maybe.
"Come on, the guys here would be idiots not to see what a beauty you are. But if any of these truckies do flirt with you, I might have to introduce them to my fists, repeatedly." Elliott hugs me to him, tucking me under his arm and squeezing me in a sweet, comforting way.
"Seriously, Lily. Don't let these guys get to you. Especially Daniels. He's not good enough to even look at you, even if he is my best friend."
I sigh and pull away from him, then see Ken Daniels standing right behind my brother. I'm not sure how much he heard of our conversation, but he's wearing his usual too-wide, plastic looking smile, so maybe he didn't hear us at all. Or maybe he doesn't care about whether he gets to flirt with me.
I mean, he's the kind of guy who has his pick of available women. So why would he look twice at a nobody like me?
"Hey Daniels," I say, giving my brother a little nudge to get him to quit with the threats already. "Elliott here was just telling me that he's going to buy you lunch."
His eyes light up. "Really? Even on your teeny tiny medic salary? That's great. Check it out, Lily, let's both order the lobster." He gives me a conspiratorial wink and my heart speeds up a little tiny bit, the traitor.
Elliott folds his arms in front of himself and frowns. "Riddles doesn't serve lobster."
"False," I pipe up. "They have a lobster mac and cheese that is beyond amazing. It's practically a food-gasm in my mouth."
I pause because what in the name of embarrassing things did I just say to my older brother and the hottest firefighter in town?
Elliott's frown doubles down and I swear he practically growls. "Lily Pad...." He lets his voice trail off in a way that I'm sure he means to be vaguely threatening, but come on. I'm a modern woman and if I don't know the difference between a food-gasm and the regular big O, then my brother's disapproval isn't going to change that.
My eyes slide over to Daniels, who is staring very intently at my mouth. Like he's imagining eating me up, or tasting me right here, right now, in front of Elliott, God, and everyone. The look he's giving me is hot enough to start a five-alarm fire and we're not even doing anything risqué. We're talking about macaroni and cheese for heaven's sake.
Although I did say it was food-gasmic. Well, it's lobster mac and cheese. What's not to love about that?
I shrug, pretending that I don't notice the big, burly waves of disapproval coming off my brother like last week's body odor. Maybe if I pretend like he's not looming over me and acting like I don't have a libido of my own, then he'll take the hint and stop treating me like I'm still thirteen. Twenty-three is old enough to know what I want and go after it when I see it.
I lick my lips and give Daniels my best version of sex eyes that I can. "But honestly, there's nothing as good as having a big, hot mouthful of meat though. Those hot juices dripping from between my lips." I give a small moan, to make sure both guys are getting the point.
Then I look Daniels right in the eye. "Am I right?"
Ken Daniels looks like he's been hit by a bus. His eyes are glazed over and his mouth is hanging open a little bit, like one of those cartoon characters who's been hit in the head by a shovel. And I'm the one that did it to him. A sweet thrum of pride runs through me as I take in his very overt interest in my flirtatious banter.
ThenElliott makes a noise that might be a moose mating call. Yeah, he definitely got the message from me too, loud and clear. And judging by the thunderstruck look on Daniels' face, he got the not so subtle hint from my brother too.
"Shall we?" I say sweetly, extending my hand toward Daniels, as if I expect him to take my hand, or tuck my arm into his elbow while he escorts me out of the studio that's the scene of the crime. As in the place where I single-handedly murdered all of my meathead older brother's assumptions about me and my sex life.
Not that he's entirely wrong. I am pretty darn sheltered, all thing considered. And no matter what smart mouthed crap I just spouted off, I'm definitely all talk and no action when it comes to getting naked with a guy. Plus, look at Daniels. He's practically dripping sex appeal, even when he's fully dressed and acting like a regular dumb guy. There's no way on earth I'd ever get naked with a man like that and have him actually look at me.
It's difficult enough to look in the mirror every day and see what I see. The rolls, the dimples, the bulges, the sagging, and all those places that curve out instead of being flat and lean. And if I'm next to a guy like Daniels, who has an entire eight pack of visible abs when he's not wearing a shirt, then all of my many imperfections would be magnified by a million.
Plus, he practically invented the sport of hot chick smash and dash, or whatever he calls his one night stands. Okay, okay. Maybe some of those bimbos he's dated last an entire week, but never have I ever seen Daniels with anyone who would qualify as a real girlfriend. And for that reason alone, I'm definitely not his type.
I know he made a joke with me about it and everything, but in reality, I am looking for a guy who's boyfriend material. I'm not going to be content to be another notch on this guy's bedpost. Not any guy's bedpost. Never again.
I don't have to settle for whatever scraps of attention a guy might be willing to give me. I've been waiting this long for Mister Right, and I don't see the point in giving in to some random creep's advances just to have some ultimately unsatisfying sex and then have some douchebro like Daniels tell everyone and their mother how much fun it was to bang a big girl for a change.
Because big girls try harder in bed. Because big girls are freaks. Because a big girl is one more item on your sex bingo card. That's all I could ever be to a guy who is all surface and flash like Daniels. I learned that lesson the hard way, and I’m not willing to try that ever again.
If only Daniels would suddenly break out in hives or uncontrollable Justin Bieber karaoke. Something that would make him so much less attractive that it would be easier to bear that he doesn't think I'm even worth remembering. That I'm worth anything to him other than some sort of easy target to flirt with, because it doesn't really matter.
I wish I hadn't seen him today. But not as much as I wish I could get him to reach out right now and take my hand, lead me away from this awkward ass situation with my brother and kiss me slow and sweet until we can't handle it, and then kiss me all over again like he's drowning in me.
But instead, Ken’s eyes flick over to my stupid, hulking brother, who is more likely than not actually breathing flames right now, and he gives me a small, apologetic smile. "Another time, Lily. I'd better go have a sit down with Ell right now before I do any more stupid things today."
My cheeks heat again, but this time with anger rather than lust. Or maybe some combination of the two. L’anger? I’m beyond irritated right now, even as I can’t keep my lecherous eyes off Daniels’ sexy body.
