Page 37 of Stroked Hard
He chuckles, the noise so erotic in my ears. Fuck. Me.
“Changing the topic when you’re uncomfortable, I get you, sugar tits. We can change the topic, back to my question before we were diverted by your Orlando Bloom-penis comment. Since I like to help Mother Nature, I thought we could ride to the barbeque together and before you say no,” he says quickly, “I already talked to Reese and he said he only has room for one car in his driveway, so that means we kind of have to ride together.”
“I highly doubt Reese King only has room for one car in his driveway. Smooth lie though.”
“Does that mean you will ride with me?”
I bite on my bottom lip and weigh out my options. Either way, I’m going to have to see the man, might as well save on gas.
“Sure. But no hand holding.”
I can almost hear the smile in his voice. “I will take what I can get, baby. Fuck, I can’t wait.”
Who knew a man could be so happy about driving another person to a gathering? Who knew a man could sound so determined and intent on spending timewith me? Why is that so endearing? Ugh, this man is going to get the best of me, I can feel it already.
So why did I just give in to his question? Gas isn’t that expensive anymore . . .
Chapter Nine
HOLLIS
“Why are you rushing? We have to go over our workout and talk about our positives and negatives.”
Any other day I would never try to duck out on my sister but I have to pick up Melony for the barbeque, and I won’t be late. Just from the brief interactions I’ve had with her, I can sense she’s skittish, that she doesn’t trust much. I want to make sure she can trust me. When I tell her I’m going to pick her up at a certain time, you can bet your ass I’ll be there on time, even a few minutes early. I don’t ever want to her to not be able to trust me.
Ever.
Knowing Holly won’t let me leave without telling her what’s going on, I confess. “Remember that girl I was telling you about a little bit ago?”
“The one who won’t give you the time of day?”
Of course Holly wouldn’t miss one of my shortcomings. She loves rubbing it in when she gets a chance.
“Yes, that one. Her name is Melony. Reese is having a small gathering today and he invited us. Melony lives in my complex and I offered to drive her.” With a bright smile and my chest puffed, I say, “And she agreed.”
The moment she said yes, I did a private dance in my condo. I fist-pumped the air so fucking hard.
“She agreed to you driving her to a gathering. So you’re her chauffer?” Holly shows no hint of happiness for me.
“It’s more than that. I’ve been busting my ass to spend a little alone time with this girl, so I’m fucking stoked I get to drive her.”
Holly looks at me as if I’m crazy but I don’t care. I woke up this morning with one thing on my mind: getting to see Melony and spending some time with her. Fuck, it’s driven me to have one of my best practices since Coach Wilson passed. A little bit of it has to do with Holly and her coaching technique, but I also think it has to do with the potential I see in my future with Melony.
“Whatever works for you. Tomorrow morning we’ll go over what we accomplished today. Does that work?”
“You’re the best, Holls.” I lean down and place a kiss on her forehead. “I would love to stay and watch you beast mode it in the gym but I have to shower and get the hell out of here.”
“Okay, but be safe driving. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind if you were a few minutes late. And don’t look at your phone when driving.”
As if she has to remind me. I would never make that mistake again.
As long as I fucking live.
“You got it, Holls.” I shoot her a wink and say, “See you in the morning.”
I spend the next ten minutes showering, dressing, and shooting a text to Melony that I’m on my way. Thankfully I already purchased some beer to take to Reese’s barbeque, so I don’t have to stop at the store.
This is going to be the best fucking car ride of my life. And who knows, I might take the long route to create a few extra moments with her.
