Page 39 of No More Bad Boys
The muscles that felt so good to me a few nights ago are more apparent now than they’ve been in his work clothes. I get a powerful mental picture of him pulling up the bottom hem of that t-shirt and lifting it over his head, and suddenly I’m possessed with the desire to see him shirtless again.
When I first got in the truck and Blake kissed my cheek, I got a whiff of his incredible cologne and of soap, but now all I can smell is… baking bread?
He must have had a little snack on the drive over—itislate, a long time since supper. I know from being around Larson that big guys like him and Blake eat often.
“So, are you going to tell me where we’re going now?”
“Not yet.” He grins, keeping his eyes on the road.
“If your plan is to do some kind of spooky graveyard tour or something, I have to tell you…thatwould be legitimately no-fun for me.”
“Oh, afraid of ducks, and needles,andghosts, huh? The list of irrational fears grows.”
I slap lightly at his arm. “No. I don’t even believe in ghosts. That’s why it wouldn’t be any fun.”
“Okay, well, no worries, because that wasnotmy plan for this evening. And don’t even try to guess what it is, because you willfail.”
The challenge in his tone eggs me on. “Ooh. Throwing down the gauntlet. Let’s see… what do I get if I guess it right?”
He narrows his eyes in contemplation. “Hmm… you get to pick the next date. Anything you want.”
That sets my nerves simmering. He already wants a third date? We’ve just begun the second one.
“Okay… that sounds like a good deal.”
Before I can make my first guess, Blake lifts a hand from the wheel, extending his pointer finger. “But—to make it fair, if you fail to correctly guess in three tries, thenIget a prize.”
I narrow my eyes at him, suspicious. “What kind of prize?”
“I get to walk you upstairs to your apartment at the end of the night. We’re not going to get home until at least three a.m., so I should do that anyway, just for safety’s sake.”
Knowing Kenley will be at Larson’s, I feel a little safer agreeing. Alittlesafer.
“All right. You’re on. But under those terms, I’m going to need a hint.”
Blake glances over at me, smiling. “Okay then—it’s somewhere in Atlanta.”
“What a sucky hint. You can’t cheat your way up to my apartment, you know. You’ll have to do better than that.”
He laughs. “Can’t blame a guy for trying. All right. Reach into the back seat and get that bag. Geez, I might as well forfeit now.”
I turn in my seat and see the bag. Reaching back, I grab it and bring it forward onto my lap.
When I open it, I suddenly understand the baking bread smell. The bag is filled with… toast. There are a couple of squirt guns and a roll of toilet paper as well.
I glance up at him, baffled by the bag’s bizarre contents, and shake my head. “I got nothin’,” I confess.
“Seriously?” He laughs. “I thought you’d figure it out right away. So that means you’re a virgin, then.”
My eyes blink rapidly, my heart rate suddenly going nuts. How did a bagful of bread, water toys, and bathroom tissue give him that impression?
And are we really going to talk about our respective sexual histories right here and now? I haven’t even had a drink yet, for Pete’s sake.
Blake laughs louder. “You should see your face right now. I’m not talking aboutthatkind of virginity. Have you ever heard of the Rocky Horror Picture Show?”
I shake my head.
“Oh, well this is gonna be awesome then. It’s a movie. But it’s more like an experience. They’ve been showing it since 1975, and people are crazy over it. Some of them have gone hundreds of times, and they dress up like the characters—well, you’ll see. They call people who’ve never been to it ‘virgins’ and try to embarrass them. Just play along and don’t admit it when we get inside. And follow my lead when it comes to the toast and water.”
