Page 35 of Dirty Desires
Chapter Fifteen
Nina
I got home, took a long hot bath, and then climbed into my bed. It was all of seven o’clock, and I was done for the night. Not exactly what I had envisioned when I left work early.
My head wasn’t into anything. All I wanted to do was stop thinking about Ashton Lange and how he’d made me feel. But I couldn’t seem to do it.
A loud commotion in the living room had me climbing back out of bed to see what was going on. When I opened my bedroom door, I found my roommate, plus some company. Sandy had come in with two guys flanking her. “Oh, my bad. Are you sick, Nina?”
I looked down at my nightclothes. “Um, no. Just kind of worn out.”
“You’re home a lot earlier than usual. You should get dressed and come out with us,” she urged me.
“Yeah, you should,” the guy on her left said. “I feel like a third wheel.”
“I don’t know.” I was never much one for going out. “Where are you guys going, anyway?”
Sandy came to me, taking me by the shoulders as she pushed me back into my bedroom. “Somewhere we can get our groove on. Now put on something tight and short that shows lots of skin.”
The guy who must’ve thought he and I could be third wheels together chimed in, “I like red. And the name’s Ty, by the way. Nice to meet you, Nina.”
I didn’t have a chance to respond, as Sandy had already pushed me into my room and forced me to sit on the bed. “I had better pick something out for you. You’re good at picking out work clothes, but party clothes are not your forte.”
“Sandy, I’m not really sure I’m up for partying. Not by your standards, anyway. I could probably just go for some wine and a little jazz.”
I didn’t go on with my idea of a good time, as Sandy shot me a look that told me I wasn’t cool in the least. “Jazz? Wine? What are you, sixty?” With a toss of her head that sent blonde curls falling over her shoulder, she reached into my closet and pulled out a garment from a few years back. The sexy devil costume that I’d worn once for a Halloween party—and I hadn’t even kept it on the whole time, having felt too uncomfortable.
“No.” I shook my head furiously. “I should’ve thrown that away. That thing is tight and just too naughty.”
She held it up to her chest. The red lace corset plunged into a V shape in the front. It left very little to the imagination. And when she found my black leather skirt to pair it with, I just couldn’t stop shaking my head.
But she nodded. “Yes, this will look amazing on you. And I’ve got red heels that will match. All you need to do is gather your hair up in a messy ponytail and throw on some makeup, and we’ll be good to go. As soon as I change, that is.”
Peering out my bedroom door, I jerked my head toward it. “Hey, the Ty guy doesn’t think this is a date, does he?”
“So what if he does?” Her hand went to her ample hip. “All that means is that you won’t be paying for any of your drinks. There are worse things to have than an easy date for the night, girl.”
“Yeah, but ...” I looked again, to be sure neither of those guys was listening to us. When I found no one anywhere near the door I went on, “Most guys think a date ends with a kiss, at the very least.”
She laughed so loudly and abruptly that I jumped up and went to put my hand over her loud mouth. She pushed my hand back as her blue eyes danced. “Nina, stop being such a prude. One little kiss won’t kill you. And if you’re lucky … well, then you’ll get lucky.”
But I didn’t want to get lucky with anyone other than Ashton. And now, not even him. “I should just stay home. I’m going to ruin that guy’s fun.”
“No, you won’t.” She walked over to my door, kicked it shut then came at me. “If I have to put these clothes on you myself, then I will.”
I laughed as she pushed me onto my bed and ripped my shorts right off. “I’ll do it myself! God!”
Tossing the thin jersey shorts off to one side, she wagged her finger at me. “Hurry up. I want to get going. The night is young, and so are we.”
She finally left me and I set to work, making myself slutty enough to meet Sandy’s standards. It wasn’t a look I usually went for, but I needed to make some changes anyway. I wasn’t really going to be slutty. But I could look that way for a little while. And I could shake my ass for a few hours, if it helped me get my mind off things.
A mere half hour later I emerged from my room and found Ty and the guy who was supposed to be Sandy’s date with their jaws gaping. I laughed at their expressions. “Come on, guys. Don’t mess around with me.”
Ty was quick to walk over to me. His hands took mine as he held me back and looked me over. “All I can say is I’m damn glad I came up here with those two and met you first. You’re something else, baby.”
“No.” I pulled my hands out of his. “No baby. I’m Nina. You’re Ty, and there will be no exchanging of sweet nicknames or anything like that.”
“Sandy said you were single.” He eyed me with his large dark eyes. He was cute, really. Tall, dark, and handsome enough. He smelled nice, and his beard was pretty cool too. But he didn’t do it for me.
