Guilty Pleasures: A Collection (9 page)

She bit back another laugh.

IshopForYou
: Yes, that too.

TheOne4You
: I aim to please.

She was beginning to have little doubt of that.

TheOne4You
: So, in getting our conversation back on track, does the guy you date have to be good looking?”

IshopForYou
: No, not necessarily. I think finding a man attractive comes from what’s inside. Being able to make me laugh is more important than a person’s looks.

And he’d managed to give her a few chuckles tonight, so he had lots of potential in her book.

TheOne4You
: I love your laughter. It’s husky and sexy.

The fact that he’d been close enough at some point to hear her laugh momentarily took Alyssa aback. Her heart pounded hard and fast in her chest, and her mind tried to conjure up
his
face, but she honestly had no idea who her secret admirer was.

IshopForYou
: You’ve made me laugh?

TheOne4You
: Maybe.

She groaned at that vague answer, though she wasn’t surprised that he was being evasive and mysterious since that had been his M.O. thus far.

IshopForYou
: You’re killing me, you know that?

TheOne4You
: It’s called creating and building anticipation. And sexual tension.

He’d managed to instigate plenty of that between them tonight.

TheOne4You
: Shall we meet the same time tomorrow night?

She was about to type
yes
, until she remembered she already had a date.

IshopForYou
: I’m sorry. I can’t. I have plans with a friend and it will probably be a late night.

TheOne4You
: Your guy friend, by chance?

She was amazed at just how intuitive he was. Or maybe it had just been a lucky guess.

IshopForYou
: Yes. I promised I’d watch The Twilight Zone marathon with him and it’s an all nighter thing.

TheOne4You
: Sounds like a fun evening.

She thought about how Shane teased her about being a chicken because she covered her eyes during the spooky parts, and inevitably he tried to scare her at some point during the night. Shane took great pleasure in making her scream and jump in fright, the rogue.

IshopForYou
: Yeah, we have a good time and it’s something I wouldn’t miss, even though I don’t like creepy movies or shows.

TheOne4You
: Your friend is a lucky guy to be able to spend the night with you.

Alyssa caught the sensual connotation in his reply, and chose not to pursue the direction of yet another sexy conversation with him. As much as she’d enjoyed their discussion about kissing, she figured that was intimate for their first on-line blind date.

TheOne4You
: Since you won’t be around tomorrow evening, I’ll catch up to you at some point in the next day or so. New Year’s Eve is only two days away.

IshopForYou
: I know. I’m looking forward to meeting you.

She genuinely liked him, enjoyed their conversations, and she was undeniably curious to find out what he was really like in person. And with Shane meeting his own date on New Year’s Eve, it would be nice to have one of her own to look forward to.

TheOne4You
: If I was there with you now, I’d kiss you good night.

Her body heated at the intimate undertones inherent in his post, and even her breasts reacted, too, with her nipples becoming tight and tingling. She was fairly certain if he was standing here in the flesh she would have given in to the warm, damp touch of his lips on hers. However, because she didn’t want him to think she was that easy, she played hard to get.

IshopForYou
: It’s only our first date. What makes you think I’d *let* you kiss me?

TheOne4You
: Because right now, at this moment, you want me to kiss you. And now that I know how you liked to be kissed, you can bet I’m going to use all that knowledge to seduce you when the opportunity arises.

He was all but stating that it was a matter of time before she succumbed to his charms. The man was something else, but if she was honest with herself, she had to admit that his confidence excited her on a purely female level. She loved strong, self-assured men who weren’t afraid of going after what they wanted.

And he obviously wanted her.

TheOne4You
: Good night, Alyssa. Have sweet dreams.

He signed off, and she sighed, certain her dreams were going to be anything but sweet tonight after their suggestive, and very tempting exchange.

Later, as she settled herself in bed, she thought about those erotic kisses he’d described and tried to conjure up his features and what he might look like. But as she gradually drifted off to sleep, her secret admirer took on the face of her best friend, Shane Witmer.

“I feel naked.”

Arms crossed over her chest, Alyssa leaned against the bathroom doorframe that connected to Shane’s bedroom and grinned at her best friend, who was examining his new hair cut in the mirror above the vanity. Despite his claim, he was fully dressed in one of his new collared knit shirts and a pair of navy Dockers—darn it. But she did have a moment of fun imagining that lean, toned body of his without any clothes on.

“Trust me, you certainly don’t look naked,” she told him.

He slanted her a wry, you’re-such-a-comedian kind of look as he ran his fingers through the much shorter strands that had been shaped and layered to fall right back into place. Which they did, much to his chagrin.

“You know what I mean,” he grumbled at his reflection. “I’m used to having hair around my ears and neck, and now there’s . . . nothing.”

“There’s plenty, and it’s trimmed nice and neat, just how you wanted.” She tried to soothe his ego with a calm, placating tone, because it was becoming increasingly obvious that he was having a hard time adjusting to this new look of his. “You’ll get used to it.”

His gaze met hers again, direct and curious. “What do
you
think of the cut?”

It was a definite change for him, and he no doubt looked every bit like a clean-cut, hip, urbane male. But she’d be lying if she didn’t say she already missed his longer, always mussed hair that gave him a bit of a bad boy appeal.

“It’s very stylish.” And without his hair falling over his forehead or his ears, his gorgeous features were now more pronounced. Even his rich brown eyes had taken on a darker, sexier, more compelling gleam.

“Stylish is good, right?”

A hint of uncertainty had crept into his voice, which didn’t happen often with Shane, who was usually so secure in his masculinity. She was beginning to think that he was having a few regrets about getting rid of his longer locks, and she found that bit of vulnerability endearing.

“Stylish is
very
good, and the cut goes with your new image,” she assured him. “In fact, I think you’re ready for your big reveal tomorrow night at the new Year’s Eve party.”

“Thanks to you.”

They headed into the kitchen, where dinner awaited them. On their way to Shane’s place after his haircut they’d picked up Chinese take-out and some snacks for the Twilight Zone marathon, which was due to start in about an hour.

At the kitchen’s bar area where they ate all their meals together, they sat across from one another with boxes of their favorite entries and paper plates set out between them. Shane grabbed one of the boxes, opened it up, and piled his plate with orange chicken before handing it to her.

“So, what are you wearing tomorrow night?” he asked as he added a heaping of chicken chow mein to his meal.

Picking up a pair of the wooden chopsticks, Alyssa broke them apart and rubbed them together to smooth out the edges before eating with them. “I honestly hadn’t given it much thought. Since I’m done with you, I’m free tomorrow during the day so I’ll probably go shopping for something then.”

“Are you going sexy or sedate?” He waggled his brows at her as he started in on his mu shu pork, obviously hoping for the former, which she found amusing.

“You know that sedate is more
my
style.” She had little expectations about what her body could do for her, and she didn’t have one of those cute centerfold figures that she could squeeze into a slinky, revealing dress or outfit. No, she was better off in something practical and far less form fitting.

“I was thinking we could drive to the party together if you like.”

The piece of orange chicken she’d been swallowing nearly choked her. How did she explain to Shane that she, too, was meeting someone at the party, and going together might not be the best idea, depending on how the evening ended for each one of them.

Which she reminded him of. “You know, I really don’t want to cramp your style if things work out with you and your lady friend.” Whom she was absolutely dying to meet.

He looked completely unconcerned about that. “If things work out, we’ll make other arrangements, and if things don’t work out, then you can be my excuse to leave.”

She sighed and absently twirled the chow mein noodles around her chopsticks. It was time to ‘fess up to him about her secret admirer. “Shane, there’s something I need to tell you.”

“Okay.” He took a drink of his soda and pushed his fork through his chicken. “What’s up?”

She told him before she lost her nerve. “I’m meeting someone tomorrow night, too.”

“You are?” he asked in surprise. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

At least she had some kind of ammunition to use against that line of questioning. “I didn’t say anything for the same reason you’re not telling me who this mystery woman of yours is—because I have no idea if anything is going to come of his interest.”

He processed her response for a few quiet moments as he finished off his chow mein, then asked, “So, who is he?”

She gave him a sheepish smile. “The funny thing is, I don’t know.”

“You don’t know who he is?” he repeated incredulously. “How can you not know who he is?”

She realized how bad that sounded and winced. “What I meant was, I haven’t met this guy face-to-face yet. He’s contacted me a few times through Instant Messaging, and he seems nice enough. He told me he was going to be at Drew and Cynthia’s party, and I’ve agreed to meet him there.”

She waited for a reaction from him, some kind of protective instinct to kick in, or maybe even a bit of male jealousy. To her disappointment, he remained cool, calm and unaffected over the ordeal.

“Well, we can still drive together,” he said, and started in on a second helping of the pork and chicken. “We can be each other’s excuses to leave the party if things don’t work out with our respective dates and we need the outlet.”

 She appreciated that safety net of knowing Shane would be there for her if she needed him, because she really didn’t have any idea what to expect out of her date. “Okay,” she agreed. “I’ll be ready by six.”

She finished up her dinner and watched Shane polish off what was left of the Chinese food. The man had a big appetite, and as a young boy and then a teenager, Alyssa could remember his mother making huge meals for Shane and his father, which they’d devoured with no problem.

Alyssa smiled to herself as those fond recollections filtered through her mind. She’d spent many evenings and weekends at the Witmer house, and because her own father had passed away when she’d been so young, and her mother had never remarried, there had been a sense of security, comfort, and family unit at the Witmer home that she’d loved. Shane’s mother hadn’t been able to have any more children after her son was born because of an emergency hysterectomy, and she’d always treated Alyssa like the daughter she never had.

Setting her chopsticks on her paper plate, she folded her arms on the counter. “Have you heard from your parents since they left for their holiday vacation to Cancun?” she asked. The couple owned a time share at a luxurious Mexican resort, and now that they were both retired, his parents spent a few weeks out of the year relaxing and golfing at the sunny retreat.

“Just once,” he said, and she heard the relief in his voice. “My mom is getting better about not checking up on me as often as she used to.”

“She means well.” Alyssa gathered up their paper plates and stacked the empty take-out boxes together. “Regardless of how old you are, you’re still her baby.”

Shane groaned at that. “Do you think that being an only child tends to make our mothers more clingy and protective?”

She dumped the trash into the waste basket beneath the sink and laughed lightly. “No, it’s strictly
your
mother who’s that way.”

Alyssa had long ago stopped wishing that her mother had given her the kind of unconditional attention that she’d yearned for as a young girl, and even now as an adult. Unfortunately, her mother had let the grief of losing her husband consume all of her emotions, and there hadn’t been a whole lot left over for Alyssa.

After spending years watching her mother mourn her deceased husband, Alyssa had come to the conclusion that she’d never give herself over so completely to any one person and set herself up for that kind of deep, everlasting pain. Which was the reason why her relationships never lasted long, nor did she open herself up enough to any man, to constitute as anything serious.

But come the new year, she was going to try and change all that, and finally break the vicious cycle that had ruled her emotions and relationships since she’d started dating at the age of sixteen.

“My mother calls me very infrequently,” she told Shane.

“You’re serious?” His disbelieving tone cut into her thoughts and brought her back to the present. “Your mom doesn’t call you at least once a week or more to see how you’re doing or if you need anything?”

“No.” Standing at the sink, she rinsed the few dishes and glasses they’d used, her back deliberately to Shane so he couldn’t see the pain sure to be in her expression. She might have come to accept the unusual dynamics of her relationship with her mother, but she never stopped wishing her mother had been more maternal with her.

“Mostly,
I
call
her
to see how she’s doing or if she needs anything. And I’ll make the time to spend with her, like seeing her on New Year’s day so we can watch the rose parade together, like we do every year. But it’s my doing, not hers.”