Page 23 of Every Now and Then
"Shut up, Bambi," he retorts.
Yeah, that nickname caught on. Unfortunately.
Halting any more talk of orgasms, Charlotte plods on. “Anyway, back to the festival. Outlaw will be the headliner on Saturday night.”
“Obviously,”Rowdy offers.
Charlotte scowls at his interruption.
“What? You can go off on a tangent, but I can’t?”
“It’s like herding cats to get y’all to focus, I swear.” She rolls her eyes.
I pull back the cuff of my shirt to glance at my watch. I’m supposed to meet a date for drinks in half an hour, and the bar we’re going to is about twenty minutes away. I need to finish up this meeting fast, or else I’m going to be late.
Charlotte catches me checking the time. “Got somewhere more important to be, Hayes?” she asks, her tone imperious.
Before I can respond, Josh does for me. “Whose legs are you getting between tonight? Hope it goes better than your last date!” He chirps as the guys all laugh. “Let me guess, Instagram model-slash-influencer?”
Technically, my date is with a cheerleader for Nashville’s professional football team, but she also models on social media as a side gig. Ignoring Josh, since he’s a perceptive little shit and his guess hits close to home, I grumble, “Can we just wrap this up already?”
Rowdy sends me a wide grin.
Fuck, I’ve set him up, and I know exactly what he’s going to say. That’s what happens when you’ve been best friends since the sixth grade. For better or worse, your minds meld.
“Don’t forget to wrap it before you tap it tonight, buddy.” Then Rowdy drums his fingers on the table to celebrate his dumbass joke.
He doesn’t even play the drums. Would’ve been funnier if James had done it.
But then, of course, James throws in his two cents too. “Based on how antsy he is to get out of here; I’m betting his date is with that cheerleader he met at the NFL game a few days ago. She was fucking hot. Did y’all see her?”
“Whoa, so she’ll be flexible and perky.” Josh hits me on the shoulder. “Right on, man. Keep me in mind if she has any hot friends.”
James looks affronted. “Hold up, don’t leave me out. Surely, she’s got lots of hot cheerleader friends, right? Enough to go around.”
Charlotte looks like she’s about to blow a gasket as Aiden covers his smile with his hand. I shut my mouth, as do the others, so we can get back to business.
As we file out of the meeting a few minutes later, Charlotte stops me. “Hayes, a word, please.”
And here comes the lecture I’ve been expecting.
Aiden arches a brow. “Need me to stay, Charlotte?”
“Might as well, since you’re part of the problem.” Thumping him on the chest, Char admonishes, “Stop inviting Hayes to NFL games! Really, Aiden? We’re trying to get him to behave, and you throw him into a sea of scantily clad women who gyrate across football fields for a living. What did you think would happen?”
Looking sheepish, Aiden simply grunts. “Touché.”
Watching me expectantly, Char inquires, “What happened, Hayes?”
Rubbing the back of my neck, I explain the situation succinctly. “Met a woman on an app and went to her place. I accidentally called her the wrong name while she was sucking my dick.”
But based on the disgusted look on Char’s face, I wasn’t succinct enough.
“Anyway, she kicked me out, naked as the day I was born. Finally, after I apologized profusely, she threw my clothes and keys at me, and I hightailed it out of there.”
It was supposed to be an easy, no strings attached hookup, like all the others before her. I joined the dating app for celebrities, and it’s easy as shit to fuck the women on there.
They know what they’re signing up for: a fun time, but only for one time. I don’t hide my intentions or sweet-talk the ladies with false promises. Nope, I tell it like it is. Good sex is all I’m offering. Nine times out of ten, they take me up on my offer.
