Page 26 of Just the Tipsy
Her phone rings and she huffs, silencing it. Then moments later, it rings again.
“Everything alright?” I ask.
“Just my ex, I’m guessing. He’s getting slightly better with calling from different numbers so I might pick up.” She rolls her eyes but alarm bells start going off in my head.
This is the third time she’s mentioned this asshole bugging her, and as casual as she sounds, I don’t believe that he’s harmless.
“I can install security cameras really easily,” I say.
She shakes her head. “It’s fine. He’s just being annoying. And he’d probably never make it all the way out here.”
“Annoying can turn into more. Are yousureyou’re fine?” I ask. “Because I can help.”
She bites her bottom lip for a second. “It’s fine. He just…it’s complicated.”
“Mm.” I go back to fixing the shower head, making a mental note to get some security cameras anyway if she changes her mind. I don’t trust this asshole.
“Basically, he just wants me back because then he’ll get back in with my dad and all of his connections in the music industry.” She flips over her phone, her expression falling. “He was going to propose and it was basically all for clout.”
“Jesus.” I step out of the shower so I can test the water pressure. “I’m sure he loved you. Loves you.”
The thought of a man getting down on one knee for Bianca just for the connections makes my blood boil. Surely no one’s that shallow, but the more she tells me about her life in LA, the more I realize it’s extremely different from Jepsen.
“Mm, doubtful.” She waves her hand. “Whatever, it’s not a huge deal. I just want to move on and take some time for myself. I’m so not about relationships in general right now.”
“I feel that.” I test the water and the pressure still sucks. “This might be a plumbing issue that I can’t really fix. But I can try to fix the other stuff before I try to troubleshoot more.”
“Thank you.” She tugs at the end of her curls. “So you’re a permanent bachelor?”
“Probably.” I shrug. “I like my life now with my dog and my friends. I just want to live life without bullshit.”
I leave it at that. Just the thought of Catherine puts me in a bad place, making my stomach churn.
“Maybe you should have a bucket list,” she says. “Or bucket lists.”
“Maybe.” I half-smile, getting down on the ground to look under the sink just a few inches. To be honest, since I’ve been single, I’ve fallen into a comfortable routine. Trivia nights. Watching football with Jeremiah. Hanging with Wes and Rose. Work. Rinse and repeat. “I’m not sure what I’d put on just one, much less multiple.”
“What haven’t you done that you want to do?” she asks. “Like the craziest shit you could think of.”
My brain goes to the basic stuff, like skydiving or travel, then immediately veers over to all the sex I haven’t gotten to have. It’s a long list.
The hookups I had between the first time Catherine and I were together and the second were very, very hit or miss, but at least I got some experience beyond the vanilla, missionary-in-the-dark sex that Catherine and I had.
“I don’t know. I don’t think it’d be stuff you want to hear.” I smile at her. Her eyes are wide and curious. My blood rushes south, and I decide to push it a little bit. “But I like your idea of having different ones.”
“All three of them?” she asks, shifting so she’s sitting on her hip, her thighs pressed together. I’ve never been much of a leg guy, but hers, even under her sweats, are turning me into one.
“Yeah.” I push my hand through my hair, holding her gaze.
“What’s something on each of your lists?” she asks, her voice soft.
“For the big, crazy stuff? Maybe climbing a mountain. Not like Everest, but maybe one of the smaller ones in North America. Regular day to day stuff, I honestly don’t know. And the sex list…”
I genuinely haven’t thought about this — usually my desires come and go based on how horny I am.
And right now, my dick wants everything about her with a laser focus. I want to feel her lips around my cock. How she feels under my hands without her clothes in the way. See her lose the grip on her control.
“I don’t know,” I say. “But I’d like to know what’s on yours.”
