Page 169 of The Single Dads Club
I shucked off my rain boots, leaning for a moment to steady myself on the wall.Whoa. A wave of nausea washed over me, and I sucked a deep, cleansing breath into my lungs. That was the third time today that had happened.
Shaking my head, I followed Mandy toward the workstations, and after washing my hands at the sink, I sat down on the stool next to her.
“Now, spill it, Bren,” she said, grinning at me like she knew something I did.
“Fine.” I shrugged. “I took your advice. Are you happy?”
She pumped her fist in the air. “You got laid! I’m so proud. Give me all the squishy details. And leave nothing out. Todd barely has the energy for sex anymore, and when he does, I have to be in the mood to deal with his beer belly.”
I inwardly shuddered. The idea of holy matrimony had never interested me, and Mandy sure as shit wasn’t selling it. Honestly, I didn’t want to fall in love. It just didn’t appeal to me. I saw all the negatives and none of the positives. Being single with a great career as a zoologist was more than enough for me. It didn’t take years of therapy for me to figure that my dad passing away when I was young and my mom falling into a deep depression had shaped that view. But, hey, I got lonely sometimes and a girl had needs. Hence my magical one-nighter.
“I was thinking about what you said—about needing to put myself out there more. I considered online dating.”
Mandy grinned. “But?”
“Filling out that long profile and answering hundreds of random questions was so daunting, and I didn’t like the idea of putting all my personal info on the Internet. It just didn’t seem necessary to exchange names with someone I merely wanted to exchange bodily fluids with.”
Mandy patted her heart. “Sometimes you make the feminist inside me very proud.”
I rolled my eyes. “So I figured before I went that route, I wanted to try things the old-fashioned way first. I got dressed up cute and went to a bar I never normally go to—you know, one of those young, hip, way too crowded places?”
She nodded, totally absorbed in the story. “A meat market is the technical term, yes.”
“I sat alone at the bar, sipped my drink, and made eye contact with a couple of cute guys around the room. A few minutes later one of them came up to talk to me.”
Her eyebrows wiggled. “And bow-chicka-wow-wow?”
I laughed. “Not exactly. He was cute, but he didn’t get my blood pumping. After I made an excuse about needing to go to the restroom, I spotted the most gorgeous man I’d ever laid eyes on sitting alone in a booth in the corner. He looked so unhappy, and I thought that was so odd—like the two of us were the only ones in the entire club who were just enduring this scene rather than partying it up like everyone around us seemed to be.”
“Hmm.” She nodded thoughtfully. “Then what happened?”
I closed my eyes for a moment, and it was almost as if I was right back inside that club, the bass of the music pulsing through my veins, the handsome stranger’s electric blue eyes locking on mine from across the crowded room—the hair on the back of my neck standing up when I realized he was even more attractive than I’d first realized—and then ducking my chin to scurry away—sure that no man in his class would ever been interested in me.
“A few minutes later, when I came out of the restroom, I was ready to call it a failed mission and head home. But Mr. Tall, Dark, and Sexy was waiting for me.”
As a delicious shiver traveled up my spine, I recalled the way he’d towered over me, even in my wedges, and the commanding edge to his voice when he asked if I’d like to get a drink with him. I’d merely nodded, my voice trapped beneath the weight of my libido.
“He led me to his private booth in the back, where we ordered another drink and talked.”
Mandy frowned. “If this story doesn’t end with you taking it up the honeypot, I’m out.”
I laughed at the unusual euphemism. “I’ll speed things up for you.” Mandy didn’t need to know about the way the conversation had flowed so easily that night, or the current of raw sexual tension snapping between us with every barb we exchanged.
“A little while later he asked if I’d be interested in going someplace quieter, where we could talk. He suggested his place, and off we went. His apartment was gorgeous—one of those glittery sky-rise places that towers above the city.”
“I’m jealous—did this hunk have a name?”
“Mason.” Just the feel of his name on my tongue provoked a response in my body I wasn’t ready for.
“Then what happened? Don’t spoil the fantasy and tell me his meat-stick didn’t measure up. There’s nothing worse than a tiny wiener, am I right?”
“It was an absolutely amazing night. Perfect in every way.”
“Sweet baby Jesus… You’ve got to give me more than that!”
I shook my head. “I am not telling my boss every gritty detail of the best sex of my life.” Only because if I remembered it with that much clarity right now, I’d soak my panties while at work. No bueno.
“Damn, girl. I’ve got to give it to you.” Mandy reached her fist out to bump mine. “I’m all proud and shit.” She faked a choked-up voice and had me laughing again. “Now I see why you’ve been in such a good mood.”
