Page 34 of Clueless
It seemed too soon to be talking about an exclusive relationship, but I’d never been the type to date more than one man at a time anyway.“No.”
He smiled.“Good to know.”He curled his hand around the back of my neck.“I hate games.And game-players.You’ll always know where you stand with me.”
“Same goes for me, Taz.”I narrowed my eyes.“What’s your real name?”
He chuckled, lowering his head.“Tane Azevedo.My folks are from Portugal.Immigrated here before I was born.”
“Ah, so Taz is just a combination of your two names.I like it.Think you’ll use your real name for music or stick with Taz?”
“Tane doesn’t even feel like my real name anymore, to be honest.People, even my sister, have been calling me Taz for years.Besides, some artists just use one name, right?”
I grinned.“Yeah, like Adele.My favorite.”
He raised an eyebrow.“Wait a minute, you’re not a country music fan?”He took a step back, breaking all contact.“Girl, you could have told me that before.It may be a deal breaker.”
I laughed, rolling my eyes.“I didn’t say I wasn’t a country music fan.Just that Adele happens to be my favorite singer.”
He grunted.“I’ll have to see what I can do about that.I’m pretty sure the guy you’re sleeping with has to be your favorite singer.If there’s not a rule about it, there should be.”
I loved that he also had a playful side, and didn’t take himself too seriously.
“Slept with,” I said, raising my index finger.“One time.I’m not so sure that warrants top billing on my favorite artists list.”
“Oh, it’ll be more than one time, I can promise you that,” he said, curling his arms around my waist while nuzzling my neck.“It’ll be so many times you’ll lose count.And trust me, I’ll be topping every damn one of your lists.”
“Ohhh, confident, aren’t we?”
He pulled back to look me in the eye.“You tell me, do I have reason to be confident?”
“Oh yeah.”He was the best lover I’d ever had.There wasn’t even a close second, not that the list of past lovers was a long one.
“Good to know.”His hand drifted to the swell of my bottom and he sighed heavily.“Alright, let’s get dinner started so we can get to dessert.”
“Did you get the strawberries and chocolate?That’s what I had planned for dessert.”
He spun me around, pointing me towards the kitchen as he whispered in my ear.“I got them, but I have very different plans for dessert.We might still be able to use the chocolate though.”
Over dinner, we’d talked about all the things Taz claimed he didn’t need to know during our first meeting at Jimmy’s: favorite food, favorite movies and our childhoods.His seemed more stable than mine, with two hard-working parents and a younger sister he clearly adored, though he claimed she was a nosy pain in the ass most of the time.
But by the time we’d retired to the living room for coffee, he was obviously thinking about all the ways he could put that melted chocolate to use.The way he watched me was intoxicating, like he couldn’t wait to lose himself in me.No man had ever looked at me that way before.Every guy I’d been with cared more about his ego and his gratification than making me feel good.
“Tell me what you’re thinking,” he said, taking my coffee mug away and placing it on the chunky wood coffee table as he inched closer to me on the cushy navy sofa.
I sunk into the oversized cushions at my back while wrapping my arms around his neck.“Just thinking how different you are… from every other guy I’ve ever been with.”
“Hmm.”He started kissing a path down my neck, making me shiver.“Not sure how I feel about you thinking about all the guys?—”
“Three.”
He was still kissing and I was hoping he’d realize I’d worn the dress with a necktie for a reason.Easy access.
“What?”
“Aside from you, I’ve only been with three guys.”
I didn’t know why I felt the need to confess.Maybe it was because of the comment he’d made our first night, or because I wanted him to know that I took sex seriously, or perhaps it was because he’d opened up to me at dinner and I wanted to reward him by letting him know that he mattered to me and I wasn’t taking this lightly.
“Really?”His smile was slow but the flash of white teeth made it worth the wait.“I like knowing that you only sleep with guys you care about.Assuming you were in relationships with those three other guys?”
